April 28th

Today's Highlight in History:
On April 28th, 1789, there was a mutiny on the "Bounty" as the crew of the British ship set Captain William Bligh and 18 sailors adrift in a launch in the South Pacific.

On this date:
In 1758, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

In 1788, Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the US Constitution.

In 1940, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra recorded "Pennsylvania 6-5000" for RCA Victor.

In 1945, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed by Italian partisans as they attempted to flee the country.

In 1947, a six-man expedition sailed from Peru aboard a balsa wood raft named the Kon-Tiki on a 101-day journey to Polynesia.

In 1952, war with Japan officially ended as a treaty that had been signed by the United States and 47 other nations took effect.

In 1958, Vice President Nixon and his wife, Pat, began a goodwill tour of Latin America that was marred by hostile mobs in Lima, Peru, and Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1967, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to be inducted into the Army, the same day General William C. Westmoreland told Congress the US "would prevail in Vietnam."

In 1969, French President Charles de Gaulle resigned.

In 1980, President Carter accepted the resignation of Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who had opposed the failed rescue mission aimed at freeing American hostages in Iran.

Ten years ago: Anti-abortion demonstrators marched in Washington DC; authorities put the number of protesters at 200,000, but organizers claimed a turnout of about 700,000. The musical "A Chorus Line" closed after 6,137 performances on Broadway.

Five years ago: In Taegu, South Korea, a gas line exploded in the middle of an intersection crowded with morning traffic, killing 101 people.

One year ago:In a sharp repudiation of President Clinton's policies, the House rejected, on a tie vote of 213-to-213, a measure expressing support for NATO's five-week-old air campaign against Yugoslavia; the House also voted 249-to-180 to limit the president's authority to use ground forces in Yugoslavia. Actor Rory Calhoun died in Burbank, California, at age 76.

"Without heroes, we are all plain people and don't know how far we can go."

-- Bernard Malamud, American author (1914-1986).