Levon Helm: A Musical Icon's Final Bow In the heart of New York City, the music world mourned the loss of a legendary figure when Levon Helm, the esteemed drummer and singer of The Band, passed away on April 19, 2012, at the age of 71.

In a historic moment for the Catholic Church, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected as the 265th pope during the first conclave of the new millennium, taking the name Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005.

In a landmark decision that continues to resonate through the corridors of educational policy and legal interpretations, the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1977 in the case of Ingraham v.

As a prelude to a massive antiwar protest, Vietnam Veterans Against the War begin a five-day demonstration in Washington, D.

On April 19, 1956, American film actress Grace Kelly, 26, marries Prince Rainier of Monaco, 32, in a spectacular ceremony—a “royal wedding of the century” watched by more than 30 million viewers on live television.

President Harry S. Truman officially opens the first White House bowling alley on April 19, 1947.

In Warsaw, Poland, Nazi forces attempting to clear out the city’s Jewish ghetto are met by gunfire from Jewish resistance fighters, and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins.

Mae West, jailed on this day for obscenity, became one of the most successful sex symbols. Fans could not resist the offer: ‘Come up and see me some time.’

On April 19, 1919, the Saturday before Easter, tense and complicated negotiations begin at the Paris peace conference over Italy’s claims to territory in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In 1912, in the wake of the monumental tragedy that claimed over 1,500 lives, a special subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee convened hearings in New York to investigate the catastrophic sinking of the RMS Titanic.