By The Associated Press
     - Today is Wednesday, April 21, the 111th day of 1999. There are 254
       days left in the year.

     - On April 21, 1789, John Adams was sworn in as the first vice
       president of the U.S.
     - In 1649, the Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of
       worship for all Christians, was passed by the Maryland assembly.
     - In 1816, Charlotte Bronte, author of "Jane Eyre," was born in
       Thornton, England.
     - In 1836, an army of Texans led by Sam Houston defeated the Mexicans
       at San Jacinto, assuring Texas independence.
     - In 1910, author Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark
       Twain, died in Redding, Conn.
     - In 1918, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German ace known as the
       "Red Baron," was killed in action during World War I.
     - In 1955, the Jerome Lawrence-Robert Lee play "Inherit the Wind,"
       loosely based on the Scopes trial of 1925, opened at the National
       Theatre in New York.
     - In 1960, Brazil inaugurated its new capital, Brasilia, transferring
       the seat of national government from Rio de Janeiro.
     - In 1972, Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke explored
       the surface of the moon.
     - In 1975, South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu resigned after
       10 years in office.
     - In 1977, the musical play "Annie" opened on Broadway.
     - Ten years ago: Tens of thousands of people crowded into Beijing's
       Tiananmen Square, cheering students who waved banners demanding
       greater political freedoms.
     - Five years ago: The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $28
       billion get-tough-on-crime bill.
     - One year ago: Astronomers announced in Washington they had
       discovered possible signs of a new family of planets orbiting a star
       220 light-years away, the clearest evidence yet of worlds forming
       beyond our solar system.

     *Happy Birthday*
     - Actor Anthony Quinn is 84.
     - Ice skater Werner Groebli ("Mr. Frick") is 84.
     - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is 73.
     - Actress-comedian-writer Elaine May is 67.
     - Actor-turned-talk show host Charles Grodin is 64.
     - Singer-musician Iggy Pop is 52.
     - Singer-songwriter Paul Davis is 51.
     - Actress Patti LuPone is 50.
     - Actor Tony Danza is 48.
     - Actress Andie MacDowell is 41.
     - Rock singer Robert Smith (The Cure) is 40.
     - Rock musician Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 40.
     - Actor John Cameron Mitchell ("Party Girl") is 36.