Trending
Local history
50 years ago: 1974
The new Altoona Area High School planetarium was almost complete and Assistant Superintendent Dr. Ardell L. Feeley said it would be available to the public as well as students.
25 years ago: 1999
The Altoona Housing Authority, David Farrell executive director, was taking bids on a fire alarm system at the Green Avenue and 11th Street towers that would link smoke detectors in every apartment to the Altoona Fire Department. A February fire at Green Avenue Towers killed a resident.
10 years ago: 2014
The Frohsinn Singing Society (1864), William Fink president, was to celebrate its 150th anniversary March 2. It was formed from the German congregation of the Roman Catholic faith in Altoona in 1860 and also founded St. Mary's Catholic Church and School.
-- Compiled by Tim Doyle
World history
Today is Friday, April 12, the 103rd day of 2024. There are 263 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On April 12, 1861, the U.S. Civil War began as Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina..
On this date:
-- In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia, at age 63; he was succeeded by Vice President Harry S. Truman.
-- In 1955, the Salk vaccine against polio was declared safe and effective.
-- In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to fly in space, orbiting the earth once before making a safe landing.
-- In 1963, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, charged with contempt of court and parading without a permit. (During his time behind bars, King wrote his "Letter from Birmingham Jail.")
-- In 1981, former world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, 66, died in Las Vegas, Nevada.
-- In 1985, Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, became the first sitting member of Congress to fly in space as the shuttle Discovery lifted off.
-- In 2020, Christians around the world celebrated Easter Sunday isolated in their homes by the coronavirus. Pope Francis celebrated Easter Mass inside the largely vacant basilica, calling for global solidarity amid the pandemic.
-- The Associated Press