Years Ago

April 11, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Today is Sunday, April 11, the 101st day of 2010. There are 264 days left in the year.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

On this date in:

1689: William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain.

1814: Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates as Emperor of the French and is banished to the island of Elba.

1898: As tensions with Spain continued to rise, President William McKinley asks Congress to authorize military intervention in Cuba.

1899: The treaty ending the Spanish-American War is declared in effect.

1921: Iowa becomes the first state to impose a cigarette tax, at 2 cents a package.

1945: During World War II, American soldiers liberate the notorious Nazi concentration camp Buchenwald in Germany.

1951: President Harry S. Truman relieves General Douglas MacArthur of his commands in the Far East.

1970: Apollo 13, with astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert, blast off on its ill-fated mission to the moon. (Although the spacecraft was crippled when an oxygen tank ruptured in mid-flight, the crew managed to return safely.)

1979: Idi Amin is deposed as president of Uganda as rebels and exiles backed by Tanzanian forces seized control.

1980: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issues regulations specifically prohibiting sexual harassment of workers by supervisors.

2001: Ending a tense 11-day standoff, China agrees to free the 24 crew members of an American spy plane.

VINDICATOR FILES