20 APRIL
1824 Alfred Holt Colquitt (April 20, 1824 â March 26, 1894) was an American lawyer, preacher, soldier, and politician. Elected as the 49th Governor of Georgia (1877â1882), he was one of numerous Democrats elected to office as white conservatives took back power in the state at the end of the Reconstruction era. He was elected by the Georgia state legislature to two terms as U.S. Senator, serving from 1883 to 1894 and dying in office. He had served as a United States officer in the Mexican-American War and in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, reaching the rank of brigadier general.
1827 John Gibbon (April 20, 1827 â February 6, 1896) was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.
1882 Holland McTyeire “Howlin’ Mad” Smith, KCB (April 20, 1882 â January 12, 1967) was a general in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. He is sometimes called the “father” of modern U.S. amphibious warfare. His nickname, “Howlin’ Mad” Smith, had been given to him by his troops in the Dominican Republic in 1916.On the eve of World War II, General Smith directed extensive Army, Navy, and Marine amphibious training, which was a major factor in successful U.S. landings in both the Atlantic and Pacific. He subsequently helped prepare U.S. Army and Canadian troops for the Kiska and Attu landings, then led the V Amphibious Corps in the assaults on the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands, the island of Saipan, and Tinian in the Marianas.During the Marianas operation, besides the V Amphibious Corps, he commanded all Expeditionary Troops, including those that recaptured Guam. He then served as the first commanding general of Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, and headed Task Force 56 (Expeditionary Troops) at Iwo Jima, which included all the assault troops in that battle.
1889 Adolph Hitler, German Chancellor & Fuhrer (1933-45), mass murderer, committed suicide 1945.
1918 Edward Latimer Beach Jr. (April 20, 1918 â December 1, 2002), nicknamed “Ned”, was a highly decorated United States Navy submarine officer and best-selling author.During World War II, he participated in the Battle of Midway and 12 combat patrols, earning 10 decorations for gallantry, including the Navy Cross. After the war, he served as the naval aide to the President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and commanded the first submerged circumnavigation.Beach’s best-selling novel, Run Silent, Run Deep, was made into the 1958 movie by the same name.
1920 Lieutenant Colonel Ronald C. Speirs (20 April 1920 â 11 April 2007)[1] was a United States Army officer who served in the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He was initially assigned as a platoon leader in B Company of the 1st Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Speirs was reassigned to D Company of the 2nd Battalion prior to the invasion of Normandy in June 1944 and later assigned as commander of E Company during an assault on Foy, Belgium after the siege of Bastogne was broken during the Battle of the Bulge. He finished the war in the European Theater as a captain. Speirs served in Korea, as a major commanding a rifle company and as a staff officer. He later became the American governor for Spandau Prison in Berlin. He retired as a lieutenant colonel.
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