Local history

50 years ago: Altoona Police Capt. Daniel A. Disabato was named acting chief of the Altoona police, replacing acting Chief Santo J. Francemore, who was retiring. Lt. Harold l. Pielmeier was named temporary commander of the criminal investigation division, part of a reorganization plan.

25 years ago: Several state representatives of the House Transportation Committee met with Norfolk Southern Railroad officials at the Penn State Downtown Conference Center concerning the planned closing of the Hollidaysburg Car Shops. NS President David Goode attended.

10 years ago: The annual Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Ceremony was held at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg. Stacie Horvath, director of Children, Youth & Families, urged people to “speak up” if they suspected child abuse.

– Compiled by Tim Doyle

World history

Today is Monday, April 13, the 103rd day of 2026. There are 262 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 13, 1997, Tiger Woods, at age 21, became the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, finishing a record 12 strokes ahead of Tom Kite.

On this date:

– In 1743, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, was born in Shadwell in the Virginia Colony.

– In 1861, Fort Sumter in South Carolina fell to Confederate forces in the first battle of the Civil War.

– In 1873, members of the pro-white, paramilitary White League attacked Black state militia members defending a courthouse in Colfax, Louisiana; three white men and as many as 150 Black men were killed in what is known as the Colfax Massacre, one of the worst acts of Reconstruction-era violence.

– In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Jefferson Memorial in Washington on the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth.

– In 1964, Sidney Poitier became the first Black performer to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in “Lilies of the Field.”

– In 2005, a defiant Eric Rudolph pleaded guilty to carrying out the deadly bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and three other attacks in back-to-back court appearances in Alabama and Georgia. (He received multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.)

– The Associated Press