Posted April 15, 2020 by Jeffrey Totey This Day in Pop Culture

This Day in Pop Culture for April 15

2013: Boston Marathon Targeted for Terrorists

The 117th Boston Marathon was more eventful than previous runs due to the fact that on this day in 2013, two bombs went off near the finish line. More than 260 people were wounded but thankfully, only three were killed. Four days later, a large manhunt for the bombers and a city shutdown was held. Police were able to capture 19-year-old Dzhohkar Tsarnaev, but his older brother and fellow suspect, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died following a shootout with police earlier that morning. Although, no one knows for sure, Investigators believe that the Tsarnaevs were motivated by extremist Islamic beliefs but were not connected to any terrorist organizations. In July 2013, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to the 30 federal charges against him. He is scheduled to stand trial in November 2014, and federal prosecutors have announced they will seek the death penalty against him if he is convicted.

1947: First African American to Play in the MLB

Jackie Robinson broke the baseball color line on this day in 1947 when he played 1st base for the Dodgers. He was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball. That same year, Robinson was the recipient of the inaugural MLB Rookie of the Year Award. He later became an All-Star from 1949-1954 and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award in 1949. In 1997, the MLB retired Robinson’s uniform number of 42 across all major league teams. In 2007, April 15 was dubbed the first Jackie Robinson Day where every player on every team wore the number 42 in his honor, a tradition that continues today.