April 30, 1967 - Boxer Muhammad Ali was stripped of his world heavyweight boxing championship after refusing

to be inducted into the American military. He had claimed religious exemption. April 28, 1945 - Twenty-three years of Fascist rule in taly ended abruptly as talian partisans shot former !ictator Benito Mussolini. "ther leaders of the Fascist #arty and friends of Mussolini were also $illed along with his mistress% &lara #etacci. Their bodies were then hung upside down and pelted with stones by 'eering crowds in Milan. April 27, 1865 - "n the Mississippi (iver% the worst steamship disaster in ).*. history occurred as an explosion aboard the Sultana $illed nearly +%,,, passengers% mostly )nion solders who had been prisoners of war and were returning home. Birthday - -ladimir .enin /012,-03+45 was born in *imbirs$% (ussia. He led the (ussian (evolution of "ctober 0302 which toppled &6ar 7icholas and paved the way for a harsh &ommunist regime. Following his death in 03+4% his body was embalmed and placed on display in Moscow8s (ed *9uare% becoming a shrine that was visited by millions during the years of the *oviet )nion. Birthday - Adolf Hitler /0113-034:5 was born in Braunau am nn% Austria. As leader of 7a6i ;ermany from 03<< to 034:% he waged a war of expansion in =urope% precipitating the deaths of an estimated :, million persons through military conflict and through the Holocaust in which the 7a6is attempted to exterminate the entire >ewish population of =urope. April 18, 1942 - The first air raid on mainland >apan during ?orld ?ar occurred as ;eneral >ames !oolittle led a s9uadron of B-+: bombers ta$ing off from the carrier Hornet to bomb To$yo and three other cities. !amage was minimal% but the raid boosted Allied morale following years of unchec$ed >apanese military advances. April 17 April 17, 1961 - A U.S.-backed attempt to overthrow Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba failed disastrously i what became k ow as the !ay of Pi"s fiasco. About 1#$%% a tiCastro e&iles i vaded the isla d's souther coast alo " the !ay of Pi"s but were

overru by (%#%%% Cuba soldiers a d )ailed. *rai ed a d "uided by the U.S.# the e&iles had e&pected support from U.S. military aircraft a d help from a ti-Castro i sur"e ts o the isla d. + stead# due to a series of mishaps# they had fe ded for themselves with o support. *he failed i vasio hei"hte ed Cold ,ar te sio s betwee Cuba's political ally# Soviet -ussia# a d the fled"li " admi istratio of Preside t .oh F. /e edy. *he followi " year# the -ussia s bra0e ly i stalled uclear missiles i Cuba resulti " i the Cuba 1issile Crisis. April 12 April 16, 1862 - Co "ress abolished slavery i the 3istrict of Columbia a d appropriated 41 millio to compe sate ow ers of freed slaves.