“Beware the ides of March,” a soothsayer warns in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” But what about April 15 (which is not the ides of April; that was Monday, April 13, the ides being just the middle of a month on the Roman calendar).
Still, April 15 marks two momentous events – both of which began on April 14. The first was the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C.
The second was the sinking of the RMS Titanic in the north Atlantic, which began when it hit an iceberg, also on April 14.
April 15 is also traditionally tax day – although this year that’s been pushed to July 15, because of the coronavirus.
So April 15 may not be an ides, but it’s still a memorable date.
– Georgette Gouveia
