Fun On this date in history...

If I may...

ON APRIL 14th:

In 1775, the first American society for the abolition of slavery was formed in Philadelphia, PA.

In 1828, the first edition of Noah Webster's "American Dictionary of the English Language" was published.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth during a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington.

Also in 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family were attacked in his home by Lewis Powell, one of Booth’s co-conspirators.

In 1890, the First International Conference of American States, meeting in Washington D.C., agreed to form the International Union of American Republics, a forerunner of the Organization of American States.

In 1912, the British liner RMS Titanic collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 11:40 p.m. ship's time and began sinking. (The ship went under two hours and 40 minutes later with the loss of 1,514 lives.)

In 1929, producer/director/screenwriter Gerry Anderson was born in Bloomsbury, London, England. His days of pulling the strings (literally) would come later.

In 1935, the "Black Sunday" dust storm descended upon the central Plains, turning a sunny afternoon into total darkness.

In 1939, the John Steinbeck novel The Grapes of Wrath was first published by Viking Press.

In 1949, the "Wilhelmstrasse Trial" in Nuremberg ended with 19 former Nazi Foreign Office officials sentenced by an American tribunal to prison terms ranging from four to 25 years.

In 1956, Ampex Corp. demonstrated the first practical videotape recorder at the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters Convention in Chicago.

In 1958, actor/director/screenwriter Peter Capaldi was born in Glasgow, Scotland. His roles as an ill-tempered spin doctor, and an ill-tempered Gallifreyan doctor, would come later.

In 1965, the state of Kansas hanged Richard Hickock and Perry Smith for the 1959 murders of Herbert Clutter, his wife, Bonnie, and two of their children, Nancy and Kenyon. The crime would later be recounted in Truman Capote’s book In Cold Blood.)

Also in 1965, the suspense movie “The Satan Bug” had its U.S. premiere in New York City.

In 1968, at the Academy Awards, there was a tie for the Best Actress award between Katherine Hepburn (for “The Lion in Winter”) and Barbra Streisand (for “Funny Girl”).

In 1981, the first test flight of America's first operational space shuttle, the Columbia, ended successfully with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

In 2003, U.S. troops in Bagdad captured Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian terrorist group that killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer on the hijacked cruise liner the MS Achille Lauro in 1985.

In 2008, animator Ollie Johnson, the last of the “Nine Old Men” at Walt Disney Productions, died in Sequim, WA at age 95.

In 2014, two hundred seventy-six schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok, Northeastern Nigeria, sparking global outrage.


Sorry I'm a bit late with this one. I was rendering unto the Feds and NJ that which is theirs.

 

Here are some Lincoln artifacts I got to see recently given the day (he was shot yesterday but died today).

lock of his hair
piece of the shirt he was wearing when killed
cast of his hand taken in 1860
strip of wallpaper from the room he died in

 

April 15, 1952: First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, still going strong today. Go BUFF!

 

O Captain! My Captain!
BY WALT WHITMAN
O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;
Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck,
You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will,
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult O shores, and ring O bells!
But I with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

 

I was going to post this yesterday:


And, since today is the Ides of April:

 

If I may...

ON APRIL 15th:

In 1715, the Yamasee War began as members of the Yamasee tribe attacked English settlers in colonial South Carolina.

In 1850, the city of San Francisco was incorporated.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln died nine hours after being shot the night before by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington; Andrew Johnson became the 17th President of the U.S.

In 1889, Belgian missionary Fr. Joseph Damien, who ministered to lepers on Molokai, Hawaii, died there of leprosy at age 49.

In 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic foundered in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland more than 2 1/2 hours after hitting an iceberg; 1,514 people died, while less than half as many survived.

In 1917, actor Hans Conreid was born in Baltimore, MD. Among his many roles, he’s well-known for doing the voice of Snideley Whiplash on “Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties”.

In 1933, singer/musician Roy Clark was born in Meherrin, GA.

Also in 1933, actress Elizabeth Montgomery was born in Los Angeles. Feel free to twitch your nose in her honor.

In 1938, the Disney cartoon “Donald’s Nephews” was released. It featured the first screen appearance of Huey, Dewey and Louie.

In 1941, in the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom killing one thousand people.

In 1945, during World War II, British and Canadian troops liberated the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen.

In 1947, Jackie Robinson played his first major league baseball game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Previously he had only appeared in exhibition games.

In 1955, Ray Kroc opened the first franchised McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, IL.

In 1960, a three-day conference to form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) began at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC. (The group's first chairman was Marion Barry.)

In 1966, the misleadingly-titled sci-fi movie “Women of the Prehistoric Planet” was released in the U.S. It’d later be memorably MSTed.

In 1974, members of the Symbionese Liberation Army held up a branch of the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco; a member of the group was SLA kidnap victim Patricia Hearst, who by this time was going by the name "Tania" (Hearst later said she'd been forced to participate).

In 1985, South Africa said it would repeal laws prohibiting sex and marriage between whites and non-whites.

In 1986, the United States launched an air raid against Libya in response to the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin on April 5; Libya said 37 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

In 1989, 96 people died in a crush of soccer fans at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England.

Also in 1989, Students in Beijing launched a series of pro-democracy protests; the demonstrations culminated in a government crackdown at Tiananmen Square.

In 2013, two bombs packed with nails and other metal shards exploded at the Boston Marathon finish line, killing two women and an 8-year-old boy and injuring more than 260. (Convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is facing the penalty phase of his trial; his brother and alleged accomplice, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died in a shootout with police.)

 

April 16, 1912: Harriet Quimby, who paid for flying lessons with money earned in her modeling career, is the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

 

If I may...

ON APRIL 16th:

In 73 A.D., Masada, a Jewish fortress, fell to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Great Jewish Revolt.

In 1521, Martin Luther made his first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the other estates of the empire.

In 1746, the Battle of Culloden was fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland. After the battle many highland traditions were banned and the Highlands of Scotland were cleared of inhabitants. (There are conflicting reports regarding the disappearance of one James Robert MacCrimmon following the battle.)

In 1789, President-elect George Washington left Mount Vernon, Virginia, for his inauguration in New York.

In 1889, comedian/filmmaker Charlie Chaplin was born in London.

In 1917, actor Barry Nelson, the first actor to play James Bond on-screen, was born in San Francisco.

In 1918, highly-influential comedian Spike Milligan was born in Ahmednagar, British India.

In 1924, composer/conductor/arranger Henry Mancini was born in Cleveland, OH.

In 1935, the radio comedy program "Fibber McGee and Molly" premiered on NBC's Blue Network.

In 1940, Major League Baseball's first (and, to date, only) opening day no-hitter took place as Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians pitched a no-no against the Chicago White Sox, 1-0, at Comiskey Park.

In 1945, during World War II, several events occurred: a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea torpedoed and sank the MV Goya, which Germany was using to transport civilian refugees and wounded soldiers; it's estimated that up to 7,000 people died. U.S. troops reached Nuremberg, while U.S. forces also invaded the Japanese island of Ie Shima. And the U.S. Army liberated Nazi Sonderlager (high security) P.O.W. camp Oflag IV-C, better known as Colditz.

Also in 1945, in his first speech to Congress, President Harry S. Truman pledged to carry out the war and peace policies of his late predecessor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In 1947, the French ship Grandcamp blew up at the harbor in Texas City, TX; another ship, the High Flyer, exploded the following day. (The blasts and fires killed nearly 600 people.)

Also in 1947, financier Bernard M. Baruch said in a speech at the South Carolina statehouse, "Let us not be deceived — we are today in the midst of a cold war."

In 1952, voice actor Billy West was born in Detroit, MI. Space limitations prevent a full listing of his characters.

In 1960, the horror movie “Ein Toter hing im Netz” (better-known as “Horrors of Spider Island”) was released in West Germany. It would later be one of the last movies featured on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”.

In 1962, Walter Cronkite made his debut as anchorman of "The CBS Evening News."

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in which he said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

In 1972, Apollo 16 blasted off on a voyage to the Moon with Mission Commander John W. Young, LM Pilot Charles M. Duke Jr. and CM Pilot Ken Mattingly on board.

In 1979, the Western “Heaven’s Gate” started filming in Glacier National Park in Montana. Filming would be completed nearly a year later.

In 1986, dispelling rumors he was dead, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appeared on television to condemn the U.S. raid on his country and to say that Libyans were "ready to die" defending their nation.

In 1991, principal photography began on “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country”.

In 2005, the BBC announced that David Tennant would succeed Christopher Eccleston in the role of the Doctor on “Doctor Who”.

In 2007, student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech before taking his own life.

In 2014, more than 300 people, mostly students, died when a South Korean ferry, the Sewol, sank while en route from Incheon to the resort island of Jeju; 172 people survived.

 

Oh, one more thing:

In 2015, the second trailer for "Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens" was released, following its premiere at the 2015 Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, CA. The fan reaction was somewhat emotional.

 

If I may...

ON APRIL 17th:

In 1492, a contract was signed by Christopher Columbus and a representative of Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, giving Columbus a commission to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia.

In 1861, the Virginia State Convention voted to secede from the Union.

In 1924, the motion picture studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was founded, the result of a merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and the Louis B. Mayer Co.

In 1936, the science-fiction film “Things to Come”, written by H.G. Wells and starring Raymond Massey, had its U.S. premiere in New York City, two months after its London premiere.

In 1937, Daffy Duck made his debut in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon "Porky's Duck Hunt," directed by Tex Avery.

In 1938, director Richard Marquand, best-known for directing “Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the Jedi”, was born in Llanishen, Cardiff, Wales.

In 1941, Yugoslavia surrendered to Germany during World War II.

In 1960, singer Eddie Cochran died after suffering severe head injuries in a car crash in Bath, Somerset, England at age 21. Musician Gene Vincent and Cochran's girlfriend were injured.

In 1961, some 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in an attempt to topple Fidel Castro, whose forces crushed the incursion by the third day. (Reports that the invasion was the idea of CIA agent Vince Ricardo have not been confirmed.)

In 1964, Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock became the first woman to complete a solo airplane trip around the world as she returned to Columbus, Ohio, after 29 1/2 days in her Cessna 180.

Also in 1964, The Rolling Stones' self-titled debut album was released in Britain.

In 1966, the monster movie “Daikaiju ketto: Gamera tai Barugon” was released in Japan. Retitled “Gamera vs. Barugon”, it would be featured twice on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”.

In 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert splashed down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft while en route to the moon.

In 1973, director George Lucas began writing a story treatment titled “The Star Wars”. It was later made into a somewhat successful movie.

In 1975, Cambodia's five-year war ended as the capital Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge, which instituted brutal, radical policies that claimed an estimated 1.7 million lives until the regime was overthrown in 1979.

In 1984, an 11-day police siege began at Libya's embassy in London when an unidentified shooter inside the building fired on a crowd of protesters, killing police officer Yvonne Fletcher. (The Libyans in the embassy were eventually allowed to leave the country as Britain and Libya severed relations.)

In 1990, the Rev. Ralph D. Abernathy, the civil rights activist and top aide to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., died in Atlanta, GA at age 64.

In 1993, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted two former police officers of violating the civil rights of beaten motorist Rodney King; two other officers were acquitted.

In 1998, musician/photographer/activist Linda McCartney died in Tuscon, AZ at age 56.

 

On This Day...

On April 18, 1993, The nearly two month standoff between the US Government and the Branch Dividian cult lead by David Koresh came to an horrific end, as a fire broke out during the FBI's attempt to get the remaining Branch Dividians out and engulfed the compound. Seventy - six people, including Koresh died in the fire.

 

Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing
Onward the sailors cry.
Carry the lad that's born to be king
Over the sea to Skye

 

If I may...

ON APRIL 18th:

In 1506, the cornerstone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica was laid.

In 1775, Paul Revere and William Dawes began their famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, MA, warning American colonists that the British were coming. They were later joined by Dr. Samuel Prescott as they attempted to continue on to Concord.

In 1865, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman near Durham Station in North Carolina.

In 1882, conductor Leopold Stokowski was born in London. One of the most famous conductors of the 20th century, he’s best-known today for appearing in “Fantasia” and being imitated by Bugs Bunny.

In 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires; estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000 and 6,000.

In 1907, Oscar-winning composer/conductor Miklos Rosza was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary.

In 1923, the original Yankee Stadium, the House that Ruth Built, opened in the Bronx.

In 1930, actor Clive Revill, the original voice of the Emperor, was born in Wellington, New Zealand.

In 1936, singing cowboy Gene Autry recorded his signature song, "Back in the Saddle Again."

In 1942, during World War II, an air squadron from the USS Hornet led by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities.

Also in 1942, the first World War II edition of “The Stars and Stripes” was published as a weekly newspaper.

In 1943, during World War II, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.

In 1945, during World War II, famed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle, age 44, was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa.

In 1949, the Republic of Ireland was proclaimed.

In 1953, actor/comedian/screenwriter Rick Moranis was born in Toronto.

In 1955, physicist Albert Einstein died in Princeton, New Jersey, at age 76.

In 1956, actor Eric Roberts was born in Biloxi, MO. He’s appeared in many, many movies, but I’m still waiting for him to co-star with Derek Jacobi, John Simm, and Michelle Gomez in “The Four Masters”.

In 1965, actress Camille Coduri was born in Wandsworth, London. Whovians know her for playing Jackie Tyler (both of her).

In 1971, actor David Tennant was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland. He recently played a Scottish detective (and the detective’s American doppelganger) in a hit British series (and its American doppelganger). Oh, and I hear he played a doctor in some BBC show.

In 1978, the Senate approved the Panama Canal Treaty, providing for the complete turnover of control of the waterway to Panama on the last day of 1999.

In 1981, the, to date, longest professional baseball game ever played, was begun in Pawtucket, R.I. The game, a Triple-A International league game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Rochester Red Wings, was suspended at 4:00 the next morning after 32 innings, and finally completed with the 33rd inning on June 23rd. (The Red Sox won 3-2.)

In 1983, 63 people, including 17 Americans, were killed at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, by a suicide bomber.

In 1985, Tulane University abolished its 72-year-old basketball program. The reason was charges of fixed games, drug abuse, and payments to players.

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5–4 decision.

In 2012, the book Darth Vader and Son was published by Chronicle Books. At that year’s Star Wars Celebration, author Jeffrey Brown would autograph a copy for your humble correspondent, who then donated it to the South Plainfield Free Public Library.

 

Lest we forget...

 

Sorry, but I can't resist posting this one, too:

 

If I may...

ON APRIL 19th:

In 1775, the American Revolutionary War began with the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Also in 1775, post rider Israel Bissell began a trip to spread word to the Colonists about the battles. The ride started from Watertown, MA and reportedly lasted four ¼ days, though accounts differ on whether he reached Connecticut or Philadelphia, PA.

In 1865, a funeral was held at the White House for President Abraham Lincoln, assassinated five days earlier; his coffin was then taken to the U.S. Capitol for a private memorial service in the Rotunda.

In 1897, the first annual Boston Marathon was held. It was the first of its type in the U.S.

In 1912, a special subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee opened hearings in New York into the Titanic disaster.

In 1935, the Universal Pictures horror film "Bride of Frankenstein," starring Boris Karloff with Elsa Lanchester in the title role, had its world premiere in San Francisco.

Also in 1935, actor/comedian/musician Dudley Moore was born in Hammersmith, London.

In 1943, during World War II, tens of thousands of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto began a valiant but ultimately futile battle against Nazi forces.

In 1945, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Carousel" opened on Broadway at the Majestic Theater.

In 1951, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, relieved of his Far East command by President Harry S. Truman, bade farewell in an address to Congress in which he quoted a line from a ballad: "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."

In 1960, South Korean students began an uprising that toppled the government of President Syngman Rhee a week later.

In 1965, New York City radio station WINS-AM launched its all-news format, which continues to this day, making it America's oldest all-news broadcaster.

In 1968, George Harrison, John Lennon and their wives left the religious retreat run by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi before their studies were completed. Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr had left earlier. Later, all four renounced their association with the Maharishi.

In 1971, the Soviet Union launched Salyut 1, the first space station.

In 1975, India launched its first satellite atop a Soviet rocket.

In 1981, actor/producer Hayden Christensen was born in Vancouver, British Colombia. Years later, one of his characters would have some rather extreme views on how to deal with political differences among colleagues.

In 1987, “The Simpsons” premiered as a short cartoon on “The Tracey Ullman Show” on the Fox Network.

In 1989, 47 sailors were killed when a gun turret exploded aboard the USS Iowa in the Caribbean. (The Navy initially suspected that a dead crew member had deliberately sparked the blast, but later said there was no proof of that.)

In 1995, a truck bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. (Bomber Timothy McVeigh was later convicted of federal murder charges and executed.)

In 1996, “Mystery Science Theater 3000” went into general release from Grammercy Pictures in the U.S. Unfortunately for many MSTies, Grammercy booked it into a very limited number of theaters, preferring to back “Barb Wire”, instead.

In 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected pope in the first conclave of the new millennium; he took the name Benedict XVI.

Also in 2005, a Spanish court convicted a former Argentine naval officer, Adolfo Scilingo, of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 640 years in prison for throwing 30 prisoners from planes during his country's "dirty war."

In 2011, actress Elisabeth Sladen died in Southall, London. Whovians still mourn her loss.

 

If I may...

ON APRIL 20th:

In 1775, the Siege of Boston began, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.

In 1792, France declared war on Austria, marking the start of the French Revolutionary Wars.

In 1861, Col. Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the United States Army. (Lee went on to command the Army of Northern Virginia, and eventually became general-in-chief of the Confederate forces.)

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation admitting West Virginia to the Union, effective in 60 days (on June 20, 1863).

In 1893, actor/comedian/filmmaker Harold Lloyd was born in Burchard, NE.

In 1912, Boston's Fenway Park hosted its first professional baseball game while Navin Field (Tiger Stadium) opened in Detroit. (The Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders 7-6 in 11 innings; the Tigers beat the Cleveland Naps 6-5 in 11 innings.)

In 1914, the Ludlow Massacre took place when the Colorado National Guard opened fire on a tent colony of striking miners; about 20 (accounts vary) strikers, women and children died.

In 1937, actor/author/activist George Takei was born in Los Angeles. He’s well-known for his role as Hikaru Sulu on the original series “Star Trek”, and for his ongoing dispute with his co-star William Shatner.

In 1945, during World War II, allied forces took control of the German cities of Nuremberg and Stuttgart.

In 1951, actress Louise Jameson was born. Years later, one of her characters would prefer to solve problems with a knife, a zap gun or a Janus thorn.

In 1955, the science fiction movie “Conquest of Space”, produced by George Pal, was released in the U.S.

In 1959, "Desilu Playhouse" on CBS-TV presented a two-part show titled "The Untouchables", based on the book by Eliot Ness, played onscreen by Robert Stack. It was the basis for a weekly TV series, again starring Robert Stack.

In 1960, Elvis Presley returned to Hollywood following his Army duty. He began work on the film "G.I. Blues."

In 1967, “OK Connery”, a James Bond spoof starring Neil Connery (Sean’s brother) was released in Italy, where it was made. Later retitled “Operation Double 007”, it would be memorably MSTed.

In 1968, on “Doctor Who” part six of “Fury from the Deep” was broadcast on BBC 1. A correction: it was this episode, rather than part four, that featured the last regular appearance of Deborah Watling as Victoria Waterfield.

In 1977, the Woody Allen comedy “Annie Hall” was released in the U.S. And there are “Star Wars” fans who still haven’t forgiven the MPAAS for giving Allen’s movie the Best Picture Oscar, rather than George Lucas’ movie.

In 1979, the horror movie “Dawn of the Dead” directed by George A. Romero, had its U.S. premiere in New York City.

In 1988, gunmen who'd hijacked a Kuwait Airways jumbo jet were allowed safe passage out of Algeria under an agreement that freed the remaining 31 hostages and ended a 15-day siege in which two passengers were slain.

In 1999, the Columbine High School massacre took place in Colorado as two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 12 classmates and one teacher before taking their own lives.

In 2008, Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.

In 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, leased by BP, killed 11 workers and caused a blow-out that began spewing an estimated 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. (The well was finally capped nearly three months later, on July 15.)