April 15 1755: Dr. Samuel Johnson (English lexicographer) publishes his Dictionary of the English Language. 1784: The first balloon is flown in Ireland. 1813: U.S. troops under James Wilkinson lay attack to the Spanish-held city of Mobile in the future state of Alabama.

Portrait of James Wilkinson 1858: At the Battle of Azimghur, the Mexicans crush Spanish supporters. 1871: 'Wild Bill' Hickok becomes the marshal of Abilene, Kansas. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Wild-Bill-5.jpg Photo of 'Wild Bill' Hickok 1861: President Lincoln mobilizes a Federal armed force. 1865: Abraham Lincoln dies from the bullet fired by John Wilkes Booth on the previous day.

Lincoln in 1863 1912: With her band playing on the deck, the sea liner Titanic sinks at 2:27 a.m. in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg the previous day. 1917: British forces destroy the Germans at the Battle of Arras.

The Battle of Arras, April-may 1917 Q6206

Aftermath of the battle of Arras 1923: Insulin becomes publicly available for individuals enduring with diabetes. 1923: The first movies with sound shown to a paying audience appear at the Rialto Theater in New York City. 1940: French and British troops arrive at Narvik, Norway. 1945: President Franklin D. Roosevelt is buried on the grounds of his Hyde Park home.

The grave of Franklin D. Roosevelt 1948: Arab powers are crushed in a fight with Israeli forces. 1952: President Harry Truman signs the official Japanese peace treaty. 1955: Ray Kroc begins the McDonald's chain of fast food eateries. 1959: Cuban pioneer Fidel Castro starts a U.S. goodwill visit. 1960: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizest at Shaw University. 1971: North Vietnamese troops ambush a company of Delta Raiders from the 101st Airborne Division close to Fire Support Base Bastogne in Vietnam. The American troops are on arescue mission. 1986: U.S. warplanes assault Libya. Born on April 15 1452: Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, stone carver, researcher and visionary 1684: Catherine I, ruler of Russia 1741: Charles Wilson Peale, portrait painter and innovator 1800: Sir James Clark Ross, Scottish pioneer who found the Magnetic North Pole. 1832: Wilhelm Busch, German painter and writer, made the forerunner to the funny cartoon. 1843: Henry James, writer and critic. 1874: George Harrison Shull, American botanist, engineer of hybrid corn. 1874: Johannes Stark, Novel Prize-winning German physicist. 1880: Max Wertheimer, Czech psychologist. 1889: Thomas Hart Benton, painter, muralist. 1889: Asa Phillip Randolph, American labor leader and Civil Rights advocate. 1898: Bessie Smith, American blues artist. 1904: Arshile Gorky, abstract painter. 1922: Harold Washington, first black mayor of Chicago 1922: Neville Mariner, conductor. 1932: Eva Figes, British author. 1940: Jeffrey Archer, English writer and politician (Kane and Abel, Honor Among Thieves). All images are supplied by Wikimedia creative commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page