Today in History

1778
New Orleans businessman, Oliver Pollock created "$" symbol
1891
William Wrigley Jr Company is founded in Chicago,Illinois. The company orignally sold scouring soap & baking powder It became well known as #1 manufacturer of chewing gum. It was acquired by Mars in 2008 for $23billion
1946
an undersea earthquake est at 7.4 magnitude off the coast of Alaska triggers a massive tsunami in Hawaii killing 159 people
2004
Google introduces Gmail,many thought it was hoax considering the launch date
 

April 1st BIrthdays:
1932
Debbie Reynolds- actress/singer 'Singing In The Rain, The Unsinkable Molly Brown'
1939
Ali MacGraw- actress' Love Story, Goodbye, Columbus'
1953
Barry Sonnenfeld- film director 'Get Shorty, Men in Black
1973
Rachel Maddow- MSNBC political analyst
Deaths:
1917
Scott Joplin- African American ragtime composer' The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag' 48
1950
Charles R. Drew- U.S physcian/surgeon,pioneer in blood plasma research,developed blood bank concept 45{car crash}
1984
Marvin Gaye- soul singer/ songwriter What's Going On, It Takes Two, Let's Get It On' 44{shot by his father during a domestic dispute}
2010
John Forsythe- actor best known TV roles 'Charlie'{never seen,just his voice} in ABC show' Charlie's Angels' ,'Blake Carrington' on ABC drama' Dynasty' 92
 
On This Day In History, April 2nd

2002 Israeli forces besiege the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
The Israel Defense Force had occupied Bethlehem to capture wanted Palestinians. The 39-day siege ensued after some militants fled into the church, which is believed to stand on the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth.

1982 Argentina occupies the Falkland Islands
The invasion escalated a long-standing conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the archipelago in the South Atlantic. It triggered the Falklands War, which was won by the U.K.

1968 Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey receives its world premiere
Upon release, the epic about human evolution, technology, and extraterrestrial life polarized audiences and critics alike. Today, it is considered a classic in its genre.

1800 Ludwig van Beethoven's First Symphony is premiered
The German composer conducted the orchestra himself. The premiere received exceptionally positive reviews.

1792 The U.S. dollar is introduced
The Mint Act of 1792 established the Dollar as a U.S. currency. About two-thirds of global trade today is based on the U.S. Dollar.
 


Births On This Day, April 2nd 🎂

1939 Marvin Gaye
American singer-songwriter

1891 Max Ernst
German painter, sculptor, poet

1840 Émile Zola
French author, critic

1805 Hans Christian Andersen
Danish author, poet

1725 Giacomo Casanova
Italian explorer, author

Deaths On This Day, April 2nd 🪦

2015 Manoel de Oliveira
Portuguese director, screenwriter

2005 Pope John Paul II
1974 Georges Pompidou
French politician, Prime Minister, and President of France

1933 Ranjitsinhji
Indian cricketer

1872 Samuel Morse
American painter, and inventor, co-invented the Morse code
 
April 2 - 1967
The Bee Gees release "New York Mining Disaster 1941", their debut single in America.
The record would reach #14 in the US and #12 in the UK.
In reality there was no mining disaster in New York in that year, although there was one in McIntire, Pennsylvania which killed six people. This was the first Bee Gees single to include Australian drummer Colin Petersen as an official member of the band. He would leave the group two years later.
 
1792
The Coinage Act is passed which established U.S. Mint authorizing gold coins silver dollar, 1/2 dollar,quarter,nickel
1877
The 1st Easter Egg Roll was held on White House Lawn
1902
The 1st U.S. pernament movie theatre, Tally's Electric Theatre in Los Angeles opens
1931
in a exhibtion baseball game in Chattanooga,Tenn, 17 yr old girl, Jackie Mitchell strikes out both NY Yankees players Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig
1974
46th Academy Award Winners:
'The Sting' won 7 Oscars inc picture/ director-George Roy Hill other winners Jack Lemmon- actor' Save The Tiger, Glenda Jackson- actress "Touch of Class," John Houseman- supp actor 'The Paper Chase, Tatum O'Neal- "Paper Moon",youngest ever to win age 10
1977
Fletwood Mac's album' Rumours' hits #1 on music charts stays there for 31 weeks
 
April 2nd BIrthdays:
1805
Hans Christian Andersen- Danish author of 150 fairy tales 'The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen
1908
Buddy Ebsen- dancer/ actor best known TV role' Jed Clampett' on CBS sitcom' The Beverly Hillbillies'
1914
Alec Guiness- British actor Lady Killers,mini series' Tinker,Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Bridge on the River Kwai, played' Obi -Wan Kenobi' in 1st 3 'Star War' movies
1943
Larry Coryell- jazz guitarist
1954
Ron Palillo- actor best known TV role' Horshack' on ABC sitcom' Welcome Back Kotter'
1961
Christopher Meloni- actor best known TV role' Det Eliott Stabler in NBC police drama' Law&Order: Special Victims Unit
Deaths
1872
Samuel Morse- inventor of electric telegraph,Morse code 80
1987
Buddy Rich- jazz drummer 69
2005
Pope JOhn Paul II -264th Roman Catholic Pope '78-'05 84{heart failure}
2013
Milo O'Sea- Irish character actor, Mass Appeal, Romeo&Juliet, Barbella 86
 
On This Day In History, April 3rd

1996 The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, is arrested
The mathematician who was driven by anarchist ideas sent out 16 letter bombs between 1978 and 1995, killing 3 people and injuring 23.

1973 The first public mobile telephone call is placed on a Manhattan sidewalk
Motorola's Martin Cooper called Joel Engel of Bell Labs. He later told the BBC that his first words were “Joel, I'm calling you from a 'real' cellular telephone. A portable handheld telephone.”

1948 Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan
$12.4 billion was allocated to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II and prevent communists from seizing control.

1940 Soviet troops massacre about 22,000 Polish nationals
The Katyn massacre is considered the worst massacre of prisoners of war in history. The order to execute all captive members of the Polish Officer Corps was signed by Joseph Stalin.

1885 Gottlieb Daimler patents his engine design
The German engineer's so-called “grandfather clock engine” was lighter than previous four-stroke engines and is considered a milestone for the invention of the automobile.
 
Births On This Day, April 3rd 🎂

1961 Eddie Murphy
American actor, director, screenwriter

1958 Francesca Woodman
American photographer

1958 Alec Baldwin
American actor, producer

1930 Helmut Kohl
German politician, Chancellor of Germany

1924 Marlon Brando
American actor

Deaths On This Day, April 3rd 🪦

1991 Graham Greene
English author, playwright, critic

1990 Sarah Vaughan
American singer

1950 Kurt Weill
German/American composer

1897 Johannes Brahms
German pianist, composer

1882 Jesse James
American criminal, murderer
 
On This Day In History, April 4th

1979 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is executed
The former President of Pakistan had been deposed by a coup d'etat. He was hanged despite international calls to stop the execution.

1975 Bill Gates and Paul Allen establish Microsoft
Microsoft has developed into a multinational corporation, and it is the world's largest software maker by revenue.

1969 Denton Cooley implants the first artificial heart
The machine kept patient Haskell Karp alive for 65 hours. He died before a human heart could become available.

1968 Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
The civil rights activist was killed by James Earl Ray. Ray, a segregationist, received a 99-year prison sentence. He died in jail in 1998.

1949 NATO is formed
12 nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty to establish what is today one of the world's most important military alliances.
 

Births On This Day, April 4th 🎂

1979 Heath Ledger
Australian actor, director

1979 Roberto Luongo
Canadian ice hockey player

1952 Gary Moore
Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer

1928 Maya Angelou
American author, poet, actress, director

1875 Pierre Monteux
French conductor

Deaths On This Day, April 4th 🪦

2013 Roger Ebert
American journalist, critic, screenwriter

1984 Oleg Antonov
Soviet aircraft designer founded the Antonov Aircraft Company

1979 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Pakistani politician, 4th President of Pakistan

1968 Martin Luther King, Jr.
American minister, activist, Nobel Prize laureate

1929 Karl Benz
German engineer, and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz
 
1789
The 1st U.S. Congress begins regular sessions during George Washington's Presidency at Federal Hall in NYC,this ends in 1791
1850
city of Los Angeles is incorporated
1902
Rhodes Scholarship fund forms with $10million from British businessman Cecil Rhodes. The scholarship is an international post graduate for people from around the world to attend Oxford University for 2 yrs. The requirement is have a GPA of 3.7 or higher Some famous graduates,ex Pres Bill Clinton, NJ Sen Cory Booker, journalist, Ronan Farrow, singer Kris Kristofferson, ex basketball player/ retired U.S. Sen Bill Bradley,Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg
1945
U.S Forces liberate Ohrudruf concentration camp in Germany, the 1st camp U.S. Army part took in
1964
Beatles single' Can't buy Me Love' hits $1 on music charts, stays there for 5 weeks
1973
World Trade Center, then the world's tallest at 110 stories opens in NYC, was later destroyed during the 9/11 attacks
2017
Pink Star diamond sets world record price for a gem at $7 million at Hong Kong auction
 
April 4th BIrthdays"
1802
Dorothea Day- social activist/ pioneer nurse who created U.S. mental asylums
1821
Linus Yale, Jr- inventor of Yale circular lock
1916
David White- actor best known TV role' Larry Tate' on ABC sitcom' Betwitched'
1932
Clive Davis- record producer/ music industry exec with Columbia, Aristra&Sony
1952
Pat Burns- Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame Coach with Montreal Canadiens,Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, NJ Devils
1966
Nancy McKeon- actress best known TV role' JO' on NBC sitcom' Facts of Life'
Deaths:
1929
Karl Benz- German engine designer/manufacturer Mercedes-Benz 84
1968
Martin Luther King,Jr- cleryman/civil rights activist, assissinated 39
2013
Roger Ebert- U.S film critic 70{cancer}
 
On This Day In History, April 5th

1998 The world's largest suspension bridge opens to traffic
The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge in Japan features the world's longest central span, measuring 1991 meters (6532 feet).

1986 A bomb kills 3 people at the La Belle in West Berlin
The attack on the nightclub, which was frequented by U.S. soldiers, was later blamed on the Libyan secret service. In retaliatory strikes, at least 15 people were killed in Libya.

1955 Winston Churchill resigns as U.K. Prime Minister
Churchill was instrumental in initiating the alliance between the U.K., the U.S., and the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany. His political career spanned half a century.

1951 Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death
The U.S. couple was accused of passing information about nuclear weapons on to the Soviet Union. It later emerged that Ethel was not involved in her husband's activities. Both were executed in 1953.

1895 Oscar Wilde loses his criminal libel case triggered by accusations of homosexuality
The Marquess of Queensbury had left his calling card in the Albemarle Club with the added inscription, “For Oscar Wilde posing Somdomite” (sic).
 


Births On This Day, April 5th 🎂

1937 Colin Powell
American general, politician, 65th United States Secretary of State

1917 Robert Bloch
American author

1912 John Le Mesurier
English actor

1908 Bette Davis
American actress

Deaths On This Day, April 5th 🪦

1997 Allen Ginsberg
American poet

1994 Kurt Cobain
American singer-songwriter, guitarist

1976 Howard Hughes
American engineer, director

1975 Chiang Kai-shek
Chinese military leader, politician, and President of the Republic of China

1928 Roy Kilner
English cricketer
 
5 April 1983
US Interior Secretary James Watt officially announces that he will not invite The Beach Boys and Grass Roots and to perform at the annual Fourth of July celebration in Washington because they attract "the wrong element of people." His choice of entertainers is Wayne Newton. President Ronald Regan would overturn the decision two days later.
 
5th April

1902 25 football fans were killed at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, when a stand collapsed during a Scotland / England international match. At least another 200 were injured.

1904 The first international rugby league match was played between England and an 'Other Nationalities team' (consisting of Welsh & Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan.

1942 World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launched a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean Raid. The port was damaged, civilians were injured and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire were sunk south-west of the island.

1982 A British Task Force set sail from Southampton to recapture the Falkland Islands after the invasion by Argentina.

2002 People queued for miles beside the Thames to pay their last respects to the Queen Mother, whose body was lying in state in Westminster Hall, London.
 
1722
Dutch explorer,Jacob Roggeveen becomes 1st European to discover Easter Island/Rapa Rui in Southeast Pacific
1923
Firestone Tire&Rubber Company start producing inflatible tires
1965
37th Annual Oscar Winners:
My Fair Lady' won 8 Oscars including pic/director George Cukor, actor Rex Harrison,best actress- Julie Andrews "Mary Poppins"{her film debut}
1995
pages of Codex Argenteus{Silver Bible},oldest text in 5th century Gothic language was stolen from Uppsala Univ Library in Sweden in broad daylight, was recovered month later
2016
San Francisco becomes the 1st U.S. city to mandate parental leave
 
April 5th Birthdays:
1900
Spencer Tracy- actor Boy's Town, Captain's Courageous, Father of the Bride, Adam's Rib, Guess Who's Coming For Dinner. He was the 1st actor to win back to back Oscars, Tom Hanks is the 2nd
1916
Gregory Peck- actor, Roman Holiday,To Kill a Mockingbird{Best actor Oscar} The Yearling, The Boys From Brazil, Arabesque, MacArthur
1943
Max Gail-actor best known TV role' Wojo' on ABC sitcom' Barney Miller'
1973
Pharrell Williams- singer/ songwriter 'Happy' film producer' Hidden Figures'
Deaths:
1964
Douglas MacArthur- WWII General in Philipines, Korea 84
1976
Howard Hughes- reclusive billionaire/ film producer/ aviator 72
1992
Sam Walton- businessman,founder&CEO of Walmart/ Sam's Club 74
2006
Gene Pitney- singer/ songwriter' Hello, Mary Lou, Town Without Pity, He's a Rebel 66{heart attack}
2015
Richard Dysart- actor best known TV role' Leyland MacKenzie' in NBC law drama' LA Law' 86
 
On This Day In History, April 6th

1994 The Rwandan genocide begins
The assassination of Rwandan President, Juvénal Habyarimana, and Burundian President, Cyprien Ntaryamira, triggered a mass slaughter of ethnic Tutsis with up to 1 million victims.

1965 The first commercial communications satellite is launched
Intelsat I, also known as Early Bird, facilitated the first live TV broadcast of a spacecraft splashdown when Gemini 6 landed in the Atlantic Ocean.

1924 A team of aviators begins the first round-the-world flight in history
Four aircraft left Seattle on a westbound route around the globe. 157 days later, two of them reached the same location.

1909 Robert Peary allegedly becomes the first person to reach the North Pole
Peary's claim has never been verified and is widely contested. The first undisputed journey to the North Pole was the 1948 Soviet Sever-2 expedition.

1896 The first modern Olympic Games are opened in Athens
241 athletes from 14 countries took part in the First Olympiad. The event took place over 1500 years after the last ancient Olympic Games, which originated in Olympia in southwestern Greece.
 
Births On This Day, April 6th 🎂

1963 Rafael Correa
Ecuadorian politician, 54th President of Ecuador

1929 André Previn
German/American pianist, composer, conductor

1928 James Watson
American biologist, geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate

1926 Sergio Franchi
Italian/American singer, actor

1926 Ian Paisley
Irish minister, politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland

Deaths On This Day, April 6th 🪦

1992 Isaac Asimov
American chemist, author

1971 Igor Stravinsky
Russian composer

1528 Albrecht Dürer
German painter, engraver, mathematician

1520 Raphael
Italian painter, architect

1199 Richard I of England
 

On This Day In History, April 7th

1990 An arson attack on the passenger ferry, Scandinavian Star, kills 159
Insurance fraud is today considered the most likely motive for the attack. According to a 2013 report, 9 crew members started the fire and sabotaged the fire crew's attempts to extinguish the blaze.

1969 The Internet is born
The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) awarded a contract to build a precursor of today's world wide web to BBN Technologies. The date is widely considered as the internet's symbolic birthday.

1948 The World Health Organization is established
The WHO is a United Nations agency concerned with fighting disease and epidemics worldwide, building up national health services, and improving health education in its 194 member states.

1827 The first friction match is sold
English chemist John Walker produced and sold the first operable matches. They were soon banned in France and Germany because burning fragments would sometimes fall to the floor and start fires.

1724 Johann Sebastian Bach's St. John Passion is premiered
The sacred oratorio is the oldest extant Passion by the German composer. The highly popular work is a dramatization of the final days of Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel of John.
 
Births On This Day, April 7th 🎂

1964 Russell Crowe
New Zealand/Australian actor, singer, producer

1954 Jackie Chan
Chinese actor, martial artist, director, producer, screenwriter

1939 Francis Ford Coppola
American director, producer, screenwriter

1920 Ravi Shankar
Indian/American sitar player, composer

1915 Billie Holiday
American singer-songwriter, actress

Deaths On This Day, April 7th 🪦

1947 Henry Ford
American businessman founded the Ford Motor Company

1891 P. T. Barnum
American businessman, founded Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus

1804 Toussaint Louverture
Haitian general

1782 Taksin
Thai king

1614 El Greco
Greek painter, sculptor
 
7th April

1739 English highwayman Dick Turpin was hanged in York for murdering an inn-keeper. Before becoming a highwayman, he had been a butcher's apprentice.

1827 Chemist John Walker of Stockton on Tees sold the world's first box of 'friction matches' that he had invented the previous year. He charged one shilling for a box of 50 matches. Each box was supplied a piece of sandpaper, folded double, through which the match had to be drawn to ignite it. He named the matches 'Congreves' in honour of the inventor and rocket pioneer, Sir William Congreve.He created his first friction match by accident, when he scraped a wooden stick he had been using for stirring chemicals against his hearth at home, and it caught alight. He went uncredited for his discovery for decades until independent researchers gave him the recognition he deserved.

1832 Joseph Thompson, a farmer, went to Carlisle to sell his wife, both having agreed to part. A large crowd gathered as he offered her for 50 shillings. After an hour, the price was knocked down to 20 shillings, together with a Newfoundland dog as an incentive.

1853 Queen Victoria became the first monarch to receive chloroform. It was administered to ease the birth of her eighth child, Prince Leopold.
 
1348
Praque Univ which was the 1st Univ in central Europe was founded by Charles IV
1805
explorers, William Clark&Merriwether Lewis leave Ft. Mandan on Missouri River to start their journey to the Pacific Ocean
1933
"National Beer Day', the Cullen-Hansen Act comes into effect, legalizing sale of low alcohol beer
1949
Richard Rodgers/ Oscar Hammerstein's musical' South Pacific' opens on Broadway, starring Mary Martin&Ezio Pinza, runs for 1, 298 performances wins 10 Tony Awards
1983
the oldest human skeleton age 80,000 yrs old discovered in Egypt
2022
Ketanji Brown Jackson, becomes the 1st African American woman Supreme Court justice, US. Senate confirms her 53-47
 

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