April 13 Birthday
On April 13, 1970, 205,000 miles from Earth, an oxygen tank in the Apollo 13 service module exploded. Jack Swigert radioed: "Houston, we've had a problem." (The phrase is commonly misquoted as "we have a problem.") The explosion destroyed the command module's oxygen supply, and the lunar landing was aborted. The crew moved into the lunar module, which was designed for two men for two days and now had to support three men for four days. They conserved power, water, and oxygen. Mission Control worked around the clock to develop procedures for the crew to execute — including building a carbon dioxide filter from available materials. The spacecraft looped around the Moon and splashed down on April 17. It was NASA's most famous failure, and its finest hour. Thomas Jefferson was born on this day in 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia. He was thirty-three when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was governor of Virginia, minister to France, Secretary of State, Vice President, and the third President. He doubled the size of the country with the Louisiana Purchase — $15 million for 828,000 square miles, roughly three cents an acre. He sent Lewis and Clark to explore it. He owned 600 slaves in his lifetime and freed two. He had a decades-long relationship with Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman who was his late wife's half-sister. He freed her children — the only slaves he freed. He died on July 4, 1826, the same day as John Adams. Handel's Messiah premiered on April 13, 1742, in Dublin, as a charity benefit. The audience of 700 was so large that men were asked to remove their swords and women to leave off hoopskirts to make room. The oratorio took Handel twenty-four days to compose. The librettist, Charles Jennens, compiled the text entirely from the King James Bible — there is no original text. The Hallelujah Chorus was reportedly composed while Handel was in a state of religious ecstasy. The tradition of standing during the Hallelujah Chorus reportedly began when King George II stood at the London premiere, though no contemporary account confirms this. Messiah remains Handel's most performed work. Al Green, born this day in 1946, was the greatest soul singer of the 1970s. "Let's Stay Together," "Tired of Being Alone," and "Love and Happiness" defined the Memphis soul sound. In 1974, a woman poured boiling grits on his back and then killed herself. Green took it as a sign from God and became a pastor. He has preached at Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis for over forty years. People born on April 13 fall under the zodiac sign of Aries. The birthstone is Diamond and the birth flower is Daisy. Historical events on April 13 include 1742: Handel's Messiah premieres in Dublin, Ireland, 1943: Jefferson Memorial dedicated in Washington DC, 1970: Apollo 13 oxygen tank explodes ("Houston, we've had a problem"). Famous people born on April 13 include Thomas Jefferson (1743), Al Green (1946), Ron Perlman (1950).