Today in 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first African-American to win an Oscar as Best Actor, for “Lilies of the Field.”
Today in 1970, four-fifths of the way to the moon, Apollo 13 was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst. As Commander Jim Lovell infamously put it: "Houston, we have a problem," but fortunately, the astronauts managed to return safely.
Today in 1981, the Washington Post reporter, Janet Cooke, received a Pulitzer Prize for her feature about an eight-year-old heroin addict named “Jimmy.” Two days later, she relinquished the prize after admitting she fabricated the story.
Today in 1984, Pete Rose got his 4,000th hit. The only player with more was Ty Cobb, who had 4,191 hits during his 21-year career.
Today in 1997, Tiger Woods became the youngest person to win the Masters Tournament and the first person of color to claim a major golf title.
Today in 1998, the world’s first cloned sheep gave natural birth to a healthy baby lamb.
Today in 1999, right-to-die advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was sentenced to ten-to-25 years in prison for second-degree murder in the lethal injection of a Lou Gehrig's disease patient.
Today in1999, S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright cited President Clinton for contempt of court, concluding that the President had given "intentionally false statements" about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky in a deposition in the Paula Jones case.
Today in 1999, a jury in Little Rock, Arkansas acquitted Susan McDougal of obstructing Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's Whitewater inquiry and deadlocked on two other charges, causing a mistrial.
Today in 2004, Barry Bonds hit his 661st career home run, passing over Willie Mays on the all-time list.