Today in History

22nd April

1778...late at night, the American Navy attack Whitehaven, Cumbria during the American War of Independence. Marines led by John Paul Jones row ashore, take the fort and the 'strategically vital' quayside pub (drinking it dry), before setting fire to ships in the harbour. Damage to the town is limited.

1838 The British steamer Sirius became the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean from England to New York. The voyage took 18 days and 10 hours.

1930 The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States signed the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.

1943 Britain discontinued printing £1,000 notes.
 

1823
RJ Tyers patents roller skates
1915
1st miltary use of poison gas,chlorine by Germany in WW1
1970
Sen Gaylord Nelson{Wisconsin} who was an environmentalist created Earth Day because at the time there was no EPA,Clean Air/Water Act,no legal laws to protect the environment
1976
Barbara Walters becomes the 1st female anchor at ABC Nightly News,her co-anchor was veteran newsman,Harry Reasoner
1993
Holocast Memorial Musuem is dedicated in Washington,DC
 
This Day In History April 23d

1898 - Spain declares war on the United States
Spain declares war on the United States on This Day 1898 after rejecting America's ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.

1938 - Austria Persecution of The Jews
Jewish shopkeepers in Vienna were forced to picket their own shops with placards saying don't buy from Jews in 1938, they were forced to do this by members of the Hitler Youth Movement, at the same time the librarian of the national library was given a list of non-Arian works to be removed from the library.

1939 - Spain Franco Government Recognized
Following the end of the civil war in Spain, the United States recognizes the Franco government.

1944 - Germany World War II
2000 bombers and fighters from Britain and another 1000 launched from Italy launched an attack on German Plane Plants in Germany, Bucharest, and Ploesti. General MacArthur isolated 100,000 Japanese Troops in New Guinea when beachheads were established at Hollandia and Aitape in New Guinea.

1945 - Okinawa World War II
The United States Tenth Army landed yesterday morning on Okinawa, 362 miles from the Japanese mainland. The landings and assault on the Island met with much less resistance than was expected from the Japanese.
 

23rd April

1564 The birth of poet and playwright, William Shakespeare, at Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

1942 World War II - German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lubeck.

1968 The first decimal coins appeared in Britain - the 5p and 10p pieces - which replaced the 1 shilling and 2 shilling coins.

1982 The launch of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer. The entry level model had 16 kB RAM and an exernal tape recorder was needed to load the majority of software.
 
1962
Ranger 4,1st U.S. satellite to reach the moon was launched from Cape Caneveral in Florida
1984
scientists announced the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS{acquired immunodefciency syndrome} as HTLV-III.It was groundbreaking at the time as much as the world was suffering from major AIDS crisis.The virus attacks infected victims immune systems,leaving them vunerable to contract other diseases,illnesses leaving them in a weakened state
1985
In one of the worst marketing blunders ever,Coca Cola announced it was changing its secret formula after 99 yrs now known as'New Coke'.It went over like a lead balloon,many consumers who were loyal "Coke'drinkers were outraged. The 'New Coke' lasted 80 days
 
This day in History April 24th

1800 - U.S.A. Library of Congress
The Library of Congress ( the research library of the United States Congress ) was established on This Day in 1800 when then-President John Adams signed an Act of Congress providing for the transfer of the seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington.

1898 - Cuba Spain / America War
Spain declares war on the United States after rejecting America's ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.

1916 - Ireland Easter uprising
The Easter uprising begins when some 1,600 militant Irish republicans who are members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood seize several key sites in Dublin hoping to win independence from British rule. British forces suppressed the uprising after six days, and its leaders were court-martialed and executed.

1920 - Mexico Pancho Villa
The rebels in Mexico led by Pancho Villa are to launch a major drive against federal forces and are continuing to gain ground.

1924 - U.S.A. Governor of Indiana
The Governor of Indiana Warren G. McCray has resigned after being found guilty of mail fraud. His sentence will be announced tomorrow and his time will be served at Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.
 
April 25th
John Lofting in London received a patent for the thimble
1859
ground broken for the Suez Canal,took 10 yrs to complete.The artifical sea level waterway in Egypt connects Mediterranean &Red Seas
1990
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is placed into orbit by space shuttle Discovery
2019
Microsoft becomes the 3rd U.S. company worth $1trillion after Apple and Amazon
 
This day in History April 26th

1927 - China Attacking Foreign Shipping
Following a series of attacks by China on foreign ships approaching Chinese waters, 3 British warships have attacked and disabled a number of Chinese gun batteries thought to be attacking both British and American shipping in the area.

1936 - U.S.A. Unemployment
5000 to 7000 unemployed joined in a mass demonstration to pressure legislators to provide a relief program for the many jobless around the country, meanwhile states around country are blocking entry from those looking for work by placing police patrols on main roads, states including Colorado and California are just two of those pursuing this policy.

1949 - Germany Berlin Blockade
Talks were underway to end the blockade imposed by Russia on Berlin with a meeting of Foreign Council Ministers and diplomats, and all are hoping some relief will come for the East-West cold war currently gripping Berlin and the rest of the world.

1954 - U.S.A. Polio Vaccine
The New Polio Vaccine is given for the first time in a nationwide polio vaccine test.

1962 - Ranger IV Crash Lands On Moon
The first US rocket lands on the moon Ranger IV three years after the first Russian landing of Lunik II in 1959.
 
1607
Jamestown expedition makes 1st landing in America at Camp Henry which later was renamed Virginia
1925
Edna Ferber wins Pulitzer Prize for her novel'So Big",story of young woman,Selina DeJong who becomes a school teacher in Dutch farming community.She stays with local family,the Pools,encourages the son Roel,to persue his love of art
1954
mass trials of Jonas Salk's anti-polio vaccines begin
1986
world's worst nuclear disaster,4th reactor at Chernobyl nuclear power station explodes in Russia
31 people die,the radioactive contamination reaches most of Western Europe
 
Last edited:
This Day in History April 27th

1938 - US Average Incomes Down Up to 20%
The national average income again dropped in comparison from 10 years ago in 1928 by 7% with some areas of the workforce earning up to 20% less than 10 years ago.

1941 - Greece Nazi Occupation
Nazis take and occupy Athens in Greece.

27 Apr 1945 - Germany War Entering Final Phase
The war in Europe is entering its final phase as Russian and American troops join hands at the River Elbe in Germany. Ten Days later on May 7th Germany signs unconditional surrender.

1958 - Stop Nuclear Bomb Testing
Scientists around the world are asking politicians to stop nuclear bomb tests including the Nobel Prize Winner Dr. Albert Schweitzer.

1968 - The Middle East Continued Fighting
More fighting broke out along the Suez Canal and the River Jordan between Israel and Arab Troops with Egyptian and Jordanian and Israel Forces lined up against each other in a tense middle east.
 
27th April

1667 The blind, impoverished John Milton, sold the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10.

1828 The opening of the London Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park, London. Lady visitors were politely requested to refrain from poking the beasts through the bars of the cages.

1840 The foundation stone for the new Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace) was laid by the wife of the architect Sir Charles Barry.

1943 Judy Johnson rode Lone Gallant in a steeplechase in Baltimore to become the first woman jockey to ride as a professional.
 
1607
English poet,John Milton who was blind&impoverish sold the copyright of his poem'Paradise Lost' for 10 pounds.In U.S. currency it would be $13.90
1865
the steam boat'SS Sultana' explodes on Mississippi River with 2,427 passengers on board,1,800 were killed in the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history.Those killed were paroled Union POW soldiers on their way home
1961
NFL officially recognizes Hall of Fame in Canton,Ohio
1965
RC Duncan patents 'Pampers' disposable diapers
 
This day in History April 28th

1789 - Tahiti Mutiny On The Bounty
Fletcher Christian leads a mutiny against the commanding officer William Bligh aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty. Mutineers set Captain Bligh and 18 crew loyal to the captain afloat in a 23-foot open boat. Captain Bligh and his fellow loyal crew made it after a 47-day voyage to Timor in the Dutch East Indies and returned to England and reported the mutiny. The Mutineers eventually settled in Pitcairn Island and Tahiti.

1926 - Europe 5,000,000 Unemployed
Unemployment in Europe is at an all-time high with over 5,000,000 receiving doles from their governments with over 1 million in Britain and 2 million in Germany, causes are from many things including antiquated equipment, high taxes, and high production costs.

1935 - U.S.A. 1,200,000 Face Starvation in Illinois
Over 1,200,000 people face starvation in Illinois if the US Federal Government stops providing new deal funding, the reason is that the state must provide $3,000,000 of the $12,000,000 required each month to feed and house the unemployed indigents or the federal government withdraws its funding and the state does not have the money and is not providing that funding.

1945 - Italy Mussolini
Italian partisans executed deposed dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci. Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.

1965 - Dominican Republic US Citizens Evacuated
U.S. Marines evacuated American citizens in the Dominican Republic due to the current civil war.
 
1611
establishment of Catholic Univ in Phillipines,the oldest,largest Catholic Univ in the world
1994
CIA agent,Aldrich Ames,his wife Roseario are arrested and charged with spying for Russia.Ames was 31 yr veteran,stared spying in 1985.She was charged with aiding&abetting her husband.She was sentenced to 63 months in prison,he was sentenced to life with out parole,is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Terre Haute,Ind
2018
world's largest child sacrifice,140 remains are found by archaeologists near Truiijo,Peru dating back 550 yrs
 
This Day in History April 29th

1922 - U.S.A. Lower Louisiana Floods
Starvation threatens victims of the overflow of floodwaters in lower Louisiana with nearly 3,500 square miles underwater and fifty thousand people affected many losing their homes and all possessions.

1934 - U.S.A. John Dillinger
John Dillinger is still on the run from a nationwide hunt after escaping from a band of policemen with orders to catch him dead or alive 1 week ago in North woods Wisconsin, escaping a dragnet was put up in the surrounding countryside but again he escaped and is still Americas Public Enemy Number 1 and still running wild and free.

1934 - Europe Growth of Fascism
With fascist dictators in power across Europe now parading their might and power including Hitler in Germany and Italy's Mussolini democracy is challenged more in this decade than any other.

1941 - Greece Conquest of the Balkans
Hitler and Germany completed the conquest of the Balkans in 1941 when they swept across Southern Greece taking many thousands of prisoners including British, Australian, and New Zealand.

1945 - Germany Dachau Concentration Camp
Dachau concentration camp was liberated today when troops of the U.S. Seventh Army cleared the enemy guards from the camp where gruesome torture rooms and gas chambers were located.
 
29th April

1429 Joan of Arc arrived at the beseiged city of Orleans to eventually lead her French forces to victory over the English.

1884 Oxford University agreed to admit female students to examination. However women were not to be awarded degrees.

1935 Just one year after their invention by Percy Shaw of Yorkshire, 'cats' eyes were being inserted into British roads.

1945 Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker.
 
1852
the 1st edition of lexicographer,Peter Roget's Thesauraus was published in England
1857
U.S.Army Pacific Div HQ was permantley started at the Presidio in San Francisco
1990
wrecking cranes begin to tear down the Berlin Wall at Brandenberg Gate
1992
The jury in the Rodney King trial acquitted 4 Los Angeles cops of excessive force in arresting King in 1991. The video of the severe beating was caught on tape and seen around the world.The verdict stunned many,massive riots started,.63 people were killed,over $1 billion in damages
 
This day in History April 30th

1789 - US George Washington Inaugurated
George Washington Inaugurated as the First President of the United States at Federal Hall in New York City (New York City was the first capital of the United States) New York State.

1921 - England Treaty of Versailles
The discussions over Germany sticking to the Treaty of Versailles and steps to enforce reparations by Germany for the World War are causing rifts between England, France, and Italy with the British prime minister Lloyd George calling an emergency meeting of the cabinet. The French and Italians want the immediate occupation of the Ruhr region of Germany while Britain wishes to pursue more diplomatic means.

1932 - U.S.A. Tuberculosis
The continued growth in TB / Tuberculosis is becoming more widespread and with more variations and the worst affected are infants and young children. It is often transmitted through milk from diseased cows. It can be diagnosed by a chest X-ray and is highly contagious. Side note - this was the most important reason the milk we now buy is pasteurized/homogenized.

1940 - Norway German Conquest
Germany has stated that the conquest of Norway is now complete and has captured most British servicemen who are now in Prison Camps.

1945 - Germany Hitler Commits Suicide
German dictator Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide one day after they were married, just before the Russian troops entered his Berlin bunker at the end of World War II.
 
1859
Charles Dicken's 'A Tale of Two Cities' is 1st published in literary periodical'All The Year Round' in weekly installments
1904
ice cream cone makes its debut at St.Louis World's Fair invented by Ernest Hamwi
1952
"Mr Potato Head' becomes 1st toy to advertise on TV
1989
World Wide Web{WWW} 1st launched in public domain by CERN scientist,Tim Berners-Lee
 
This day in History May 1st

1931 The Empire State Building in New York Officially opens

1962 The first Kmart department store opens

1967 Elvis Presley, married his longtime girlfriend, Priscilla Ann Beaulieu

1982 British Warships and Fighter Bombers bombed Argentinean positions at Port Stanley on the Islands as war broke out over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands

1982 World’s Fair opens in Knoxville, Tennessee
 
1707
Acts of Union forms with England&Scotland to become United Kingdom of Great Britain
1941
General Mills introduces an oat based,ready to eat cereal'CheeriOats'.In 1945 it was renamed'Cheerios"
1961
"To Kill A Mockingbird' by Harper Lee wins Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
1971
The National Railroad Passenger Corp other wise known as 'Amtrak' begins service.Today it operates in 46 states,with 500 service stops
 
This day in History May 2nd

1929 U.S.A. Tornado
A devastating tornado sweeps through Morgantown, West Virginia with the path roughly a quarter-mile wide and ran through the Riverside, Seneca, and Walnut Hill areas.

1933 Scotland Loch Ness Monster
A local Inverness newspaper "The Inverness Courier" publishes an account by a local couple who claimed to have seen "an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface" of Loch Ness.

1938 U.S.A. Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald recorded "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" with Chick Webb’s band. Fitzgerald soon became known as "The First Lady of Song" and is one of the most successful and influential jazz artists in history.

1945 Germany Fall Of Berlin
Russia announced the fall of Berlin and the capture of 70,000 Germans who had surrendered.

1946 U.S.A. Alcatraz
Alcatraz convicts fought a raging gun battle with guards at the rock for their freedom after they seized the guns from the armory and passed them out to fellow prisoners, one guard has been killed and 3 injured. The Guards still do not have control of the Island fully and the fighting continues.

1966 Cambodia
The United States has admitted firing an artillery barrage into Neutralist Cambodia as part of an offensive against Viet Cong troops, the B52 bombers were sent from Guam to help slow the north Vietnamese offensive.
 
1885
Good Housekeeping Magazine publishes 1st issue
1908
"Take Me Out to The Ballgame' written by Albert von Tilzer,lyrics by Jack Norworth is registered for copyright
1938
playwriter,Thorton Wilder wins Pultizer Prize for his play'Our Town'
1941
FCC approves regular scheduled commerical TV broadcasts to begin on July 1st
1949
playwriter,Arthur Miller wins Pulitizer Prize for his play'Death of a Salesman'
2011
Osama bin Laden,suspected mastermind/terrorist in the 9/11 attacks is killed by U.S special forces in
Abbottabed,Pakistan
 


Back
Top