Today in History

April 5th
1923
Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. starts producing inflatable tires
1985
An estimated 5,000 radios stations around the world simutaneously played the song'We Are The World'
 

6th April

1913 - Suffragettes increased their militant activities by cutting telephone lines and damaging post boxes.

1963 - Britain and the USA signed the Polaris missile agreement. Polaris was a submarine launched, nuclear tipped weapon designed as a nuclear deterrent.

1974 - Swedish pop group ABBA won the 19th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, Sussex, with 'Waterloo'. The Swedish version single was coupled with 'Honey, Honey', while the English version featured 'Watch Out' as the B-side.
 
1896
The 1st modern day Summer Olympics was held in Athens,Greece
James Connolly,became the 1st U.S. Olympic champion in the triple jump.It consisted of 2 hops and a jump
1938
Roy J. Plunkett invented Teflon
 

The 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, when Scotland sought independence from England. Not much has changed!

Some historians believe it to be the basis of the Declaration of Independence.
 
April 7th
1948
United Nations forms the World Health Org
1963
Jack Nicklaus becomes the youngest golfer to win the Green Jacket at the Masters by defeating Tony Lema by 1 stroke.He was 23
 
7th April

1832
www.beautifulbritain.co.uk
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.
 
April 8th
1820
ancient Greek statue,'Venus de Milo' found on Aegan island,Milos.The statue is famous for its missing arms and beauty
1974
Atlanta Braves outfielder,Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run breaking Babe Ruth's record in Atlanta
 
1838 - The day before his 32nd birthday, Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s 236 ft steamship Great Western sailed from Bristol on her maiden voyage to New York. The journey took 15 days, half the time of the fastest sailing ship. She became the first steamship to make regular Atlantic crossings.

2013 - The death of former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, aged 87. She was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990 and the first woman to have held the role.
 
April 9th
1865
Confederate Gen.,Robert E.Lee and his troops surrendered at Appomattox Court House to Gen Ulysses Grant
1872
Samuel R.Percy patents dried milk
 
10th April

1633 - Bananas went on display in Thomas Johnson's shop window in London. This was the first time the fruit had been seen in Britain.

1912 - The British built luxury liner Titanic set sail on its maiden and only voyage, from Berth 44, White Star Line dock, Southampton, bound for New York.

1970 - Paul McCartney announced that he was to leave The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.
 
April 11th
1900
The 1st modern submarine designed and built by John Phillip Holland is purchased by U.S. Navy
2015
Pres OBama and Raul Castro meet in Panama,first meeting of the 2 world leaders since Cuban Revolution
 
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12th April

1606 - The Union Flag became the official flag of Britain. It combined the flags of St. George (England) and St. Andrew (Scotland). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag. In 1801 the cross of St. Patrick (Ireland) was incorporated to create the flag that has been flown ever since.

1831 - Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester caused it to collapse, reportedly owing to a mechanical resonance induced by troops marching over the bridge in step. Forty of the soldiers were thrown into the river. As a result of the incident the British Military issued an order that troops should 'break step' when crossing a bridge.

1927 -The British Cabinet came out in favour of voting rights for women.
 
13th April


On so-called “Black Monday” in 1360, a hail storm kills an estimated 1,000 English soldiers in Chartres, France. The storm and the devastation it caused also played a part in the Hundred Years’ War between England and France.
 
1949
Phillip Hench of the Cleveland Clinic announces discovery of cortisone to treat rheumatoid arthritis
1980
U.S. and its allies boycott Summer Olympics in Russia in protest against Russia invading Afghanistan
 
14th April

1912 - The British built luxury liner Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic shortly before midnight, and sank in the early hours of the next morning. 1500 passengers and crew were killed.

1931 - The Ministry of Transport issued the first Highway Code, a set of guidelines and rules for drivers.

1983 - The first cordless telephone, capable of operating up to 600 feet from base, was introduced. It was made by Fidelity and British Telecom and sold for £170.
 
1841
The 1st detective story by Edgar Allan Poe'Murders in the Rue Morgue' was published
1865
Pres Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at the Ford Theatre in Washington,DC
1960
U.S. record, company,'Motown' was founded by Berry Gordy,JR
 
April 15th
1850
city of San Francisco incorporated
1878
Harley Proctor introduces Ivory Soap
1955
Ray Kroc opens 1st McDonalds fast food restaurant in Des PLaines,Ill
 
1912 - The British built Titanic luxury ocean liner that had collided earlier with an iceberg about 400 miles from Newfoundland sank at 2:20 a.m. More than 1,500 people drowned or froze to death in the icy waters.

1964 - Footballer George Best made his debut for Northern Ireland against Wales.

2010 - All flights in and out of the UK and several other European countries were suspended as ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland moved south. The cloud triggered the UK's worst airspace restriction in living memory and brought much of Europe to a standstill.
 
1786 - The birth of John Franklin, English Arctic explorer who discovered the Northwest Passage.

1889 - Charlie Chaplin, English-born film actor and director was born.

1912 - American Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel. She took off from Dover, en route to Calais, France and made the flight in 59 minutes, landing about 25 miles from Calais, on a beach. Although Quimby died at the age of thirty-seven (in an aeroplane accident), she had a major influence upon the role of women in aviation.
 
April 17th
1972
The 1st yr women are allowed to race in the Boston Marathon. The women's title was won by American,Nina Kuscsik in 3 hrs 10min
1986
Larry McMurtry wins Pulitizer Prize for his novel,'Lonesome Dove'.The book was made into a mini series starring Robert DuVall,Tommy Lee Jones
 
April 18th
1906
San Francisco earthquake kills 4,000 people,destroys 75% of the city
1999
Wayne Gretzky played in his final game.He retired as the NHL's all time leading scorer,holder of 61 individual records
 

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