1865-U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington; he dies a day later
1912-RMS Titanic, the world's largest ocean liner, hits an iceberg at 11:40pm off Newfoundland and sinks in the early hours of April 15
1914-Dr. Harry Plotz isolates the bacteria that causes typhus fever at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC
1935-Black Sunday dust storm ravages the US Midwest, leading to the region being named the "Dust Bowl"
1960-American record company Motown, founded by Berry Gordy Jr, is incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit. Michigan
1971-U.S. President Richard Nixon ends blockade against People's Republic of China
1981-The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, returns to Earth after 2 days and 6 hours in space
2003-The Human Genome Project is completed with 99 percent of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99 percent