April 20 Birthday
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and killed twelve students and one teacher before killing themselves. The attack was intended to be a bombing, not a shooting — the two had planted propane bombs in the cafeteria that failed to detonate. Had they worked, hundreds would have died. The shooting became the template for a generation of school massacres. It dominated the news for weeks and launched the modern debate about gun violence in America — a debate that has produced no meaningful legislative change. The two killers were not members of the "Trench Coat Mafia" — they were not bullied — they were not targeting jocks or minorities. They were suicidal teenagers with access to guns and bombs. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded on April 20, 2010, killing eleven workers and beginning the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. The rig, owned by Transocean and leased by BP, was drilling a well 5,000 feet below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico. The blowout preventer — the last line of defense against a blowout — failed. Oil gushed from the well for eighty-seven days, releasing 4.9 million barrels. The oil spread across 68,000 square miles of the Gulf, contaminating beaches from Louisiana to Florida. BP's cleanup cost $65 billion. The company pleaded guilty to eleven counts of manslaughter and paid $20 billion in settlements. Marine wildlife populations have not recovered. The well was finally sealed on September 19, 2010. Marie and Pierre Curie isolated radium on April 20, 1902, after processing tons of pitchblende, a uranium ore. They worked in a shed with a leaking roof, stirring boiling cauldrons of radioactive material. They received no government funding. Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win two, and the only person to win in two different sciences (Physics and Chemistry). She died in 1934 of aplastic anemia, caused by radiation exposure. Her notebooks are still radioactive and are stored in lead-lined boxes. Researchers must sign waivers to access them. Jessica Lange, born this day in 1949, was a model before she was an actress. King Kong (1976) was her film debut. She won Oscars for Tootsie and Blue Sky and became the most awarded actress in the history of the Emmys. George Takei, born this day in 1937, was interned as a child during World War II. He came out as gay in 2005 and became an advocate for LGBTQ rights. He has 9 million Facebook followers. People born on April 20 fall under the zodiac sign of Taurus. The birthstone is Diamond and the birth flower is Daisy. Historical events on April 20 include 1902: Marie and Pierre Curie isolate radium, 1999: Columbine High School massacre kills 13 (begins era of school shootings), 2010: Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes, killing 11 and starting largest marine spill in history. Famous people born on April 20 include Joan Miró (1893), George Takei (1937), Jessica Lange (1949).