History, anything goes, including pictures

[RnR]

1 April 1545 – Potosi is founded in Bolivia after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area.

Potosi was founded on 1 April 1545 as a mining town, and for centuries it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint. Potosi soon produced fabulous wealth, and the population eventually exceeded 200,000 people. The rich mountain, Cerro Rico, produced an estimated 60% of all silver mined in the world during the second half of the 16th century. Between 1560 and 1685 Spanish America supplied 25,000 to 35,000 tons of silver to Spain annually, 40% of that silver eventually ended up in China.

The silver was taken by llama and mule train to the Pacific coast, shipped north to Panama City, and carried by mule train across the isthmus of Panama to Nombre de Dios or Portobelo, whence it was taken to Spain on the Spanish treasure fleets.

Native-American labourers were conscripted and forced to work in Potosi's silver mines. Many of them died due to the harsh conditions of the mine life and natural gases. In addition, an estimated total of 30,000 African slaves were taken to Potosi during the colonial era. Like the native labourers, they too died in large numbers.

 

[RnR]

1 April 1947 – The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.

During April 1947, the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) was affected by a series of peaceful mutinies amongst the enlisted sailors of four ships and two shore bases. Over 20% of the RNZN's enlisted personnel were punished or discharged for their involvement.

HMNZS Black Prince in 1944, during the ship's earlier Royal Navy career.

The main mutiny started on the morning of 1 April, when around 100 sailors from the shore base HMNZS Philomel, in Devonport, declared their intent to refuse duty in protest at the governments' broken promises on pay. They were joined by another hundred personnel from the cruiser HMNZS Black Prince and the corvette HMNZS Arbutus, who marched off the base. After campaigning for three days and winning the right to backdated pay, the mutineers were offered a choice: return to duty and accept punishment, or be discharged. The majority chose the latter. The 23 who returned to duty were punished through rank reductions, reductions in rank and pay, or short periods of imprisonment.

 

[mellowyellow]

April 2
1982 Several thousand Argentine troops seize the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands from Great Britain
Several thousand Argentine troops overcame 84 British marines today and seized the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. ... In London, the Government said ''a substantial number of Royal Navy ships'' were heading toward the islands, and a carrier task force was forming off the British coast.

 

[RnR]

2 April 1792 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.

The Coinage Act or the Mint Act, passed by the United States Congress on 2 April 1792, created the United States dollar as the country's standard unit of money, established the United States Mint, and regulated the coinage of the United States. This act established the silver dollar as the unit of money in the United States, declared it to be lawful tender, and created a decimal system for U.S. currency.

Official United States coins have been produced every year from 1792 to the present. First Philadelphia Mint, 1792, now demolished.

Per the terms of the Coinage Act, the first Mint building was in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States; it was the first building of the Republic raised under the Constitution.

 

[RnR]

2 April 1902 – Tally's Electric Theatre, the first full-time movie theatre in the United States, opens in Los Angeles.

Prior to the Electric Theatre, the new “amusements” of motion pictures were shown in storefronts and decrepit first floors of existing buildings, sometimes in France, sometimes in other parts of the United States. Tally's initial hours were only from 7.30 pm to 10 30 pm, but demand soon forced Tally to provide matinee screenings. Both day and night showings regularly sold out every last one of their ten cent tickets.

Exterior and interior of Tally's Electric Theatre, 262 South Main Street, Los Angeles.

Thomas L. Tally was quite the movie pioneer on several other fronts as well. With James Dixon Williams, he founded First National Pictures, which began life as an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, but then transitioned into production, too. It eventually merged with Warner Bros. Tally also was the first to show a colour film in Los Angeles in 1912. And his company signed superstars Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin shortly before they staged their own revolution, founding United Artists along with D.W. Griffith and Douglas Fairbanks in an effort to control their own fates and careers.

 

[ohioboy]

2 April 1792 – The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.

The Coinage Act or the Mint Act, passed by the United States Congress on 2 April 1792, created the United States dollar as the country's standard unit of money, established the United States Mint, and regulated the coinage of the United States. This act established the silver dollar as the unit of money in the United States, declared it to be lawful tender, and created a decimal system for U.S. currency.

Official United States coins have been produced every year from 1792 to the present. First Philadelphia Mint, 1792, now demolished.

Per the terms of the Coinage Act, the first Mint building was in Philadelphia, then the capital of the United States; it was the first building of the Republic raised under the Constitution.

The Philadelphia White House was there before 1792.

 

[RnR]

The Philadelphia White House was there before 1792.

Thanks Pecos.

 

[ohioboy]

Thanks Pecos.

You're welcome Hiawatha.

 

[Pappy]

It took some guts to work on the construction of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. In the 1930s, there was an unwritten rule regarding high-steel bridge construction projects like this one…for every $1 million in cost, the engineers should expect one fatality among the workers. But the $35 million Gold Gate Bridge had an impressive safety record with only 11 deaths. A huge net suspended under the work site is credited with saving at least 19 people. Those 11 construction worker deaths are overshadowed by the more than 1,500 people who have thrown themselves off the bridge, making it the top suicide bridge in the world.

 

[mellowyellow]

April 4
1922 Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party by an ailing Vladimir Lenin
Why Famous: Came to prominence after Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, leading the Communist state till his death in 1953.

Instituted policies of collective agriculture and rapid industrialization lead to rapid growth in the Soviet economy but at a huge cost to Soviet citizens.

Halted the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, helping defeat the axis powers and establishing the Eastern Bloc of communist countries.

Died: 5 March 1953 (aged 74)
Cause of Death: Stroke

 

[mellowyellow]

View attachment 157985

April 4
1922 Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party by an ailing Vladimir Lenin
Why Famous: Came to prominence after Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, leading the Communist state till his death in 1953.

Instituted policies of collective agriculture and rapid industrialization lead to rapid growth in the Soviet economy but at a huge cost to Soviet citizens.

Halted the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, helping defeat the axis powers and establishing the Eastern Bloc of communist countries.

Died: 5 March 1953 (aged 74)
Cause of Death: Stroke

I don't understand how Stalin is becoming popular again in Russia, makes me wonder what past generations have been taught in the classrooms.

 

[mellowyellow]

It took some guts to work on the construction of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. In the 1930s, there was an unwritten rule regarding high-steel bridge construction projects like this one…for every $1 million in cost, the engineers should expect one fatality among the workers. But the $35 million Gold Gate Bridge had an impressive safety record with only 11 deaths. A huge net suspended under the work site is credited with saving at least 19 people. Those 11 construction worker deaths are overshadowed by the more than 1,500 people who have thrown themselves off the bridge, making it the top suicide bridge in the world.
View attachment 157923

Fantastic bridge.

 

[RadishRose]

View attachment 157985

April 4
1922 Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party by an ailing Vladimir Lenin
Why Famous: Came to prominence after Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924, leading the Communist state till his death in 1953.

Instituted policies of collective agriculture and rapid industrialization lead to rapid growth in the Soviet economy but at a huge cost to Soviet citizens.

Halted the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II, helping defeat the axis powers and establishing the Eastern Bloc of communist countries.

Died: 5 March 1953 (aged 74)
Cause of Death: Stroke

Young Stalin

 

[RnR]

It took some guts to work on the construction of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. In the 1930s, there was an unwritten rule regarding high-steel bridge construction projects like this one…for every $1 million in cost, the engineers should expect one fatality among the workers. But the $35 million Gold Gate Bridge had an impressive safety record with only 11 deaths. A huge net suspended under the work site is credited with saving at least 19 people. Those 11 construction worker deaths are overshadowed by the more than 1,500 people who have thrown themselves off the bridge, making it the top suicide bridge in the world.
View attachment 157923

Incredible construction.

 

[RnR]

3 April 1043 – Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.

Edward the Confessor (1003–1066), son of Ethelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy and also known as Saint Edward the Confessor, was among the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England. His coronation was held on 3 April 1043 at Winchester Cathedral.

He restored the rule of the House of Wessex after the period of Danish rule since Cnut conquered England in 1016. When Edward died in 1066, he was succeeded by Harold Godwinson, who was defeated and killed in the same year by the Normans under William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.

Edward's funeral as depicted in scene 26 of the Bayeux Tapestry.

Historians disagree about Edward's fairly long 24-year reign. His nickname reflects the traditional image of him as unworldly and pious. Confessor reflects his reputation as a saint who did not suffer martyrdom. Some portray Edward the Confessor's reign as leading to the disintegration of royal power in England and the advance in power of the House of Godwin, due to the infighting that began after his heirless death. Others portray Edward as a successful king, one who was energetic, resourceful and sometimes ruthless; they argue that the Norman conquest shortly after his death tarnished his image.

 

[RnR]

3 April 1860 – The first successful United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, begins.

The Pony Express was a mail service delivering messages, newspapers, and mail. Officially operating as the Leavenworth and Pike's Peak Express Company of 1859, in 1860 it became the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its brief time in operation, the Pony Express delivered approximately 35,000 letters between St. Joseph, Missouri and Sacramento, California.

Commemorative stamps 1869, 1940, 1960. Illustrated Map of Pony Express Route in 1860 by William Henry Jackson. Library of Congress.

During its 19 months of operation, it reduced the time for messages to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to about 10 days. From 3 April 1860 to October 1861, it became the West's most direct means of east–west communication before the transcontinental telegraph was established on 24 October 1861, and was vital for tying the new state of California with the rest of the United States.

 

[RnR]

3 April 1888 – Jack the Ripper commits the first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurs.

The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near Whitechapel in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of these eleven unsolved murders of women have been ascribed to the notorious unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.

The Metropolitan Police, City of London Police, and private organisations such as the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee were involved in the search for the killer or killers. Despite extensive inquiries and several arrests, the culprit or culprits evaded identification and capture. The enduring mystery of who committed the crimes has captured public imagination to the present day.

 

[RnR]

3 April 1934 – Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist is born.

Dame Jane Morris Goodall DBE (born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall, 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is a British primatologist and anthropologist. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her over 55-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees since she first went to Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania in 1960.

 

[RnR]

3 April 1973 – Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call.

Martin Cooper, born December 26, 1928, is an American engineer. He is a pioneer in the wireless communications industry, especially in radio spectrum management, with eleven patents in the field. While at Motorola in the 1970s, Cooper invented the first handheld cellular mobile phone, as distinct from the car phone, in 1973 and led the team that developed it and brought it to market in 1983. He is considered the "father of the mobile phone" and is also cited as the first person in history to make a handheld cellular (mobile) phone call in public.

Martin Cooper makes the world's first public mobile phone call in New York on 3 April 1973.

 

[RnR]

4 April 1768 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus in London.

Philip Astley (1742–1814) was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the "father of the modern circus" and a brilliant rider. The circus industry, as a presenter of an integrated entertainment experience that includes music, domesticated animals, acrobats, and clowns, traces its heritage to Astley's Amphitheatre, a riding school that Astley founded in London following the success of his invention of the circus ring in 1768 staging his first performance on 4 April 1768.

Early engraving showing Philip Astley performing one of his equestrian tricks. Print illustrating Astley's Royal Amphitheatre, date unknown. Victoria and Albert Museum.

 

[RnR]

4 April 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

Martin Luther King Jr., American clergyman and civil rights leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on 4 April 1968. King had gone out onto the balcony and was standing near his room when he was struck. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 7:05 pm.

Scenes on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. The silent march in Memphis. The funeral procession of Martin Luther King Jr.

On 8 April, King's widow together with the couple's four small children, led a crowd estimated at 40,000 in a silent march through the streets of Memphis to honour the fallen leader. The next day, King’s funeral service at Ebenezer Baptist Church was nationally televised. A funeral procession transported King's body for 3.5 miles through the streets of Atlanta, followed by more than 100,000 mourners, from the church to his alma mater of Morehouse College. A second service was held there before the burial.

 

[RnR]

4 April 1973 – The World Trade Center in New York City is officially opened.

The original World Trade Center was a large complex of seven buildings in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. It featured the landmark Twin Towers, which opened on 4 April 1973, and were destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks.

 

[mellowyellow]

EASTER RISING: Cpt Marie Carrigy poses after reading the Proclamation at the GPO in commemoration of the 1916 Easter Rising on Sunday. Photograph: Tom Honan/The Irish Times

The Easter Rising also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an independent Irish Republic while the United Kingdom was fighting the First World War. Sixteen of the Rising's leaders were executed in May 1916, but the insurrection, the nature of the executions, and subsequent political developments ultimately contributed to an increase in popular support for Irish independence.

 

[mellowyellow]

EASTER WREATH: President Michael D Higgins leads the Easter Sunday Commemoration in the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin. during wreath laying service at a group of 16 birch trees that were planted by himself and Sabina in honour of the revolutionaries executed after the 1916 Rising. The laying of the wreath was followed by a minute's silence, commemorating those who died in the Easter Rising in the grounds of the Áras marking the 105th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. Photograph: Tony Maxwell/Maxwell's

 

[mellowyellow]

American soldier wearing the crown of the Holy Roman Empire in a cave in Siegen, Germany, on April 3, 1945.




The Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire a hoop crown with a characteristic octagonal shape, was the coronation crown of the Holy Roman Emperor, probably from the late 10th century until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The crown was used in the coronation of the King of the Romans, the title assumed by the Emperor-elect immediately after his election. It is now kept in the Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria.