Today in History: April 15

1755

English lexicographer Dr. Samuel Johnson publishes his Dictionary of the English Language.

1784

The first balloon is flown in Ireland.

1813

U.S. troops under James Wilkinson lay siege to the Spanish-held city of Mobile in future state of Alabama.

1858

At the Battle of Azimghur, the Mexicans defeat Spanish loyalists.

1861

President Lincoln mobilizes Federal army.

1865

Abraham Lincoln dies from John Wilkes Booth's assassination bullet.

1871

'Wild Bill' Hickok becomes the marshal of Abilene, Kansas.

1912

With her band playing on the deck, the ocean liner Titanic sinks at 2:27 a.m. in the North Atlantic.

1917

British forces defeat the Germans at the Battle of Arras.

1923

The first sound films shown to a paying audience are exhibited at the Rialto Theater in New York City.

1923

Insulin becomes generally available for people suffering with diabetes.

1940

French and British troops land at Narvik, Norway.

1945

President Franklin D. Roosevelt is buried on the grounds of his Hyde Park home.

1948

Arab forces are defeated in battle with Israeli forces.

1952

President Harry Truman signs the official Japanese peace treaty.

1955

Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants.

1959

Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins a U.S. goodwill tour.

1960

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizes at Shaw University.

1971

North Vietnamese troops ambush a company of Delta Raiders from the 101st Airborne Division near Fire Support Base Bastogne in Vietnam. The American troops are on a rescue mission.

1986

U.S. warplanes attack Libya.