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Deaths on April 23

James Earl Ray
1998Apr, 23

James Earl Ray

James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1928)
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American criminal best known for being convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty plea—thus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentence—and was sentenced to 99 years of imprisonment.

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Events on 1998

  • 4May

    Unabomber

    A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
  • 6May

    Houston Astros

    Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start.
  • 26May

    Ellis Island

    The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
  • 4Jun

    Oklahoma City bombing

    Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
  • 5Jun

    General Motors

    A strike begins at the General Motors parts factory in Flint, Michigan, that quickly spreads to five other assembly plants. The strike lasts seven weeks.