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This day in history

Wednesday, April 9, is the 99th day of 2014. There are 266 days left in the year.

Birthdays: Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is 88. Satirical songwriter and mathematician Tom Lehrer is 86. Naturalist Jim Fowler is 84. Actor Jean-Paul Belmondo is 81. Actress Michael Learned is 75. Country singer Margo Smith is 72. Country singer Hal Ketchum is 61. Actor Dennis Quaid is 60. Humorist Jimmy Tingle is 59. Country musician Dave Innis (Restless Heart) is 55. Actress-sports reporter Lisa Guerrero is 50. Actor Mark Pellegrino is 49. Actress-model Paulina Porizkova is 49. Actress Cynthia Nixon is 48. Rock singer Kevin Martin (Candlebox) is 45. Rock singer Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) is 37. Actress Keshia Knight Pulliam is 35. Rock musician Albert Hammond Jr. (the Strokes) is 34. Actor Charlie Hunnam is 34. Actor Ryan Northcott is 34. Actor Arlen Escarpeta is 33. Actor Jay Baruchel is 32. Actress Leighton Meester is 28. Actor-singer Jesse McCartney is 27. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jazmine Sullivan is 27. Actress Kristen Stewart is 24. Actress Elle Fanning is 16.

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In 1413, the coronation of England’s King Henry V took place in Westminster Abbey.

In 1682, French explorer Robert de La Salle claimed the Mississippi River Basin for France.

In 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

In 1913, the first game was played at Ebbets Field, new home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0.

In 1914, the Tampico Incident took place as eight US sailors were arrested by Mexican authorities for allegedly entering a restricted area and held for a short time before being released. Although Mexico offered a verbal apology, the United States demanded a more formal show of contrition; tensions escalated to the point that President Wilson sent a naval task force to occupy Veracruz, which led to the downfall of Mexican President Victoriano Huerta.

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In 1939, singer Marian Anderson performed a concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

In 1942, during World War II, US and Philippine defenders on Bataan capitulated to Japanese forces; the surrender was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.

In 1959, NASA presented its first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton.

In 1963, British statesman Winston Churchill was proclaimed an honorary US citizen by President Kennedy. (Churchill, unable to attend, watched the proceedings on television in his London home.)

In 1983, the space shuttle Challenger ended its first mission with a safe landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 1984, ‘‘Terms of Endearment’’ won five Academy Awards, including best picture, best actress for Shirley MacLaine and best supporting actor for Jack Nicholson. Robert Duvall won best actor for ‘‘Tender Mercies’’ while Linda Hunt won best supporting actress for ‘‘The Year of Living Dangerously.’’

In 2005, Britain’s Charles, Prince of Wales, married longtime love Camilla Parker Bowles.

In 2009, North Korea’s rubber-stamp Parliament appointed Kim Jong Il to a third term as leader. Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, 22, and two others were killed in a car crash by a suspected drunken driver. (Andrew Thomas Gallo was convicted of three counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to 51 years to life in prison.)

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