to use in the first non-stop airplane flight between New York and Paris. The Orteig Prize would be won the following month by Charles Lindbergh. Born: Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, was born at 4:30 am in Marktl, Germany, on the day before Easter. The future pontiff was baptized four hours later. (d. 2022) Edie Adams, American actress; as Edith Enke in Kingston, Pennsylvania (d. 2008) Sunday, April 17, 1927 Japan's Prime Minister Wakatsuki Reijirō and his cabinet resigned, and were succeeded by General Tanaka Giichi, leader of the Rikken Seiyūkai Party. Yugoslavia's Prime Minister Nikola Uzunović resigned and was replaced by Velimir Vukićević. Monday, April 18, 1927 Armed robbers near Limón in Mexico's Jalisco state, stopped a passenger train that was en route from Guadalajara to Mexico City, shot anyone who resisted, and then set fire to the wooden cars. More than 150 people died in the holdup. Chiang Kai-shek declared himself to be Chairman of the National Government Committee President of China, with a capital at Nanjing. The other government continued to function at Beijing. Born: Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist and author of Clash of Civilizations; in New York City (d. 2008) Tadeusz Mazowiecki, prime minister of Poland 1989–1990, and the first non-Communist to hold the post after World War II; in Płock (d. 2013) Tuesday, April 19, 1927 The 31st Boston Marathon, and the first to use the internationally recognized marathon distance of 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 kilometers) was run, with Clarence DeMar finishing in 2 hours, 25 minutes and 40 seconds. Convicted on obscenity charges, Mae West began serving a nine-day jail sentence, at the Jefferson Market Prison in New York City. The Cecil B. DeMille-directed epic film The King of Kings was released. Died: Rosa Sucher, 78, German opera singer Wednesday, April 20, 1927 General Tanaka Giichi, leader of the Rikken Seiyūkai Party, became the new Prime Minister of Japan. Born: Phil Hill, American race car driver and winner of 1961 Formula One championship; in Miami (d. 2008) K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist and 1987 Nobel Prize laureate; in Basel (alive in 2022) Thursday, April 21, 1927 The worst failure of the flood control system along the Mississippi River happened at Mounds Landing, near Scott, Mississippi, as the pressure of floodwaters broke the levee and inundated thousands of square miles of land. Born: George E. Shipley, U.S. Congressman (D-Illinois)