Today is Tuesday, April 21, the 111th day of 2015. There are 254 days left in the year.
Today’s birthdays: Queen Elizabeth II of Britain is 89. Actress-comedian Elaine May is 83. Actor Charles Grodin is 80. Singer-musician Iggy Pop is 68. Actress Patti LuPone is 66. Actor Tony Danza is 64. Actress Andie MacDowell is 57. Singer Glen Hansard is 45. Comedian Nicole Sullivan is 45. NFL quarterback Tony Romo is 35. Actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw is 32.
In 1649, the Maryland assembly passed the Toleration Act, providing for freedom of worship for all Christians.
In 1789, John Adams was sworn in as the first vice president of the United States.
In 1836, an army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans at San Jacinto, assuring Texas independence.
In 1918, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the World War I German ace known as the ‘‘Red Baron,’’ was killed in action.
In 1960, Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro.
In 1975, with communist forces closing in, President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned and fled South Vietnam.
In 1980, Rosie Ruiz was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon; however, she was later exposed as a fraud.
In 2005, a commercial helicopter contracted by the US Defense Department was shot down by missile fire north of Baghdad; six American bodyguards were among the 11 killed.
Last year, more than 32,000 people defiantly ran the Boston Marathon a year after the deadly terrorist bombings.