MOMENTS IN TIME - April 1, 2010

The History Channel

* On April 12, 1633, physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei is ordered to turn himself in to begin trial for the second time for holding the belief that the Earth revolves around the Sun. It took more than 300 years for the Church to admit that Galileo was right and to clear his name of heresy.

* On April 13, 1742, George Friedrich Handel’s “Messiah” premieres in Dublin. Although singing the oratorio has become a Christmas tradition, the “Messiah” made its world premiere during the Christian season of Lent. Handel composed the score for “Messiah” in just 24 days.

* On April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln succumbs to a gunshot wound inflicted by an assassin the night before, and he is pronounced dead at 7:22 a.m. During the autopsy, Mary Lincoln sent the surgeons a note requesting they cut a lock of Lincoln’s hair for her.

* On April 14, 1912, just before midnight in the North Atlantic, the RMS Titanic fails to divert its course from an iceberg, ruptures its hull and begins to sink. The Titanic’s hull was divided into 16 compartments that were presumed to be watertight, and the ship was considered unsinkable.

* On April 16, 1947, in Texas City’s port on Galveston Bay, a fire aboard the French freighter Grandcamp ignites ammonium nitrate, causing a massive blast that destroys much of the city and takes nearly 600 lives. The fire department tried to douse the flames, but the ship was so hot that the water from their fire hoses instantly vaporized.