12/04/10

The trial of Galileo Galilei for heresy began in 1633.  Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumpter in 1861, beginning the US Civil War.  The Salk polio vaccine was declared safe for use in 1955.  Yuri Gagarin became the first man in outer space in 1961 and Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 as Euro Disney.

Born today:  Montserrat Caballé (1933), Alan Ayckbourn (1939), Herbie Hancock (1940) and Bobbie Moore (1941).

It is the feast day of Zeno of Verona.