April 13 in History

• 1668

  April 13, 1668:

  King Charles II appoints John Dryden as Poet Laureate. He becomes the first English to occupy that honorary position.

• 1742

  April 13, 1742:

  Dublin’s New Music Hall hosts the first-ever performance of the oratorio titled "Messiah". It was composed by German-born composer, George Frideric Handel.

• 1870

  April 13, 1870: Metropolitan Museum of Art, located in New York City, opens.

• 1896

  April 13, 1896:

  The popular operetta titled "El Capitan" is performed for the first time at Boston’s Tremont Theatre.

• 1962

  April 13, 1962:

  American baseball legend, Stan Musial sets new record in the National League after recording 1,869th runs.

• 1964

  April 13, 1964:

  Sidney Poitier becomes the first black-American actor to receive a competitive Academy Award.

• 1979

  April 13, 1979:

  After over 100 hours, the longest doubles table tennis game comes to an end. The match was between Mark Warren/Bill Weir and Lance/Phil.

• 1983

  April 13, 1983:

  American boxer, Tony Ayala, is given 35 years jail sentence after he was found guilty of sexual assault. Prior to his conviction, he had won all his 22 fights.

• 1993

  April 13, 1993:

  The "Arcadia" play premieres. It was written by Tom Stoppard and stars Felicity Kendal, Bill Nighy, and Rufus Sewell. Trevor Nunn was the director.