Topic: Today in World History

[ancients]

Thanks speedy

[speedy]

 

[speedy]

April 15

1755         English lexicographer Dr. Samuel Johnson publishes his Dictionary of the English Language.

1784         The first balloon is flown in Ireland.

1813         U.S. troops under James Wilkinson siege the Spanish-held city of Mobile in future state of Alabama.

1858         At the Battle of Azimghur, the Mexicans defeat Spanish loyalists.

1871         'Wild Bill' Hickok becomes the marshal of Abilene, Kansas.

1861         President Lincoln mobilizes Federal army.

1865         Abraham Lincoln dies from John Wilkes Booth's assassination bullet.

1912         With her band playing on the deck, the ocean liner Titanic sinks at 2:27 a.m. in the North Atlantic.

1917         British forces defeat the Germans at the battle of Arras.

1919         British troops kill 400 Indians at Amritsar, India.

1923         Insulin becomes generally available for people suffering with diabetics.

1923         The first sound films shown to a paying audience are exhibited at the Rialto Theater in New York City.

1940         French and British troops land at Narvik, Norway.

1945         President Franklin D. Roosevelt is buried on the grounds of his Hyde Park home.

1948         Arab forces are defeated in battle with Israeli forces.

1952         President Harry Truman signs the official Japanese peace treaty.

1955         Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants.

1959         Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins a U.S. goodwill tour.

1960         The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organizes at Shaw University.

1971         North Vietnamese troops ambush a company of Delta Raiders from the 101st Airborne Division near Fire Support Base Bastogne in Vietnam. The American troops were on a rescue mission.

1986         U.S. warplanes attack Libya.


Born on April 15


1452         Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, scientist and visionary

1684         Catherine I, empress of Russia

1741         Charles Wilson Peale, portrait painter and inventor

1800         Sir James Clark Ross, Scottish explorer who located the Magnetic North Pole.

1832         Wilhelm Busch, German painter and poet, created the precursor to the comic strip.

1843         Henry James, writer and critic.

1874         George Harrison Shull, American botanist, developer of hybrid corn.

1874         Johannes Stark, Novel Prize-winning German physicist.

1880         Max Wertheimer, Czech-born psychologist.

1889         Thomas Hart Benton, painter, muralist.

1889         Asa Phillip Randolph, American labor leader and Civil Rights advocate.

1898         Bessie Smith, American blues singer.

1904         Arshile Gorky, abstract painter.

1922         Harold Washington, first black mayor of Chicago

1922         Neville Mariner, conductor.

1932         Eva Figes, British novelist.

1940         Jeffrey Archer, English novelist and politician (Kane and Abel, Honor Among Thieves).

[ancients]

April 16

1962 Walter Cronkite begins anchoring CBS Evening News
0556         Pelagius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1705         Queen Anne of England knights Isaac Newton at Trinity College

[ancients]

April 17

1421 - Dikes at Dort Holland breaks, 100,000 drown

1704 - 1st successful US newspaper; published in Boston by John Campbell

1853 - US Marine Hospital at Presidio (SF) forms

1861 - Virginia is 8th state to secede

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion Begins

[ancients]

April 18

1775           Paul Revere & William Dawes warn "British are coming!"

1861         Col Robert E Lee turns down offer to command Union armies

1861         Battle of Harpers Ferry, VA

1918         Cleveland center fielder Tris Speaker turns an unassisted double play

1925         World's fair opens in Chicago

1942         "Stars & Stripes" paper for US armed forces starts

[ancients]

April 19

0607 - Comet 1P/607 H1 (Halley) approaches within 0.0898 AUs of Earth

1587 - Sir Frances Drake sails into Cadiz Spain & sinks Spanish fleet

1775 - Minutemen Capt John Parker orders not to fire unless fired upon

1775 - Revolution begins-Lexington Common, shot "heard round the world"

1861 - Lincoln orders blockade of Confederate ports (Civil War)

1937 - USSR performs underground nuclear test

1954 - 58th Boston Marathon won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland in 2:20:39

1989 - Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors

[speedy]

1989 - Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors

A co-worker of mine lost his son in that accident.   

[ancients]

A memorial for the 47 men lost, and your friend who lost a family member.

[speedy]

April 20

1139         The Second Lateran Council opens in Rome.

1657         English Admiral Robert Blake fights his last battle when he destroys the Spanish fleet in Santa Cruz Bay.

1769         Ottawa Chief Pontiac is murdered by an Indian in Cahokia.

1770         Captain Cook discovers Australia.

1775         British troops begin the siege of Boston.

1792         France declares war on Austria, Prussia, and Sardinia.

1809         Napoleon defeats Austria at Battle of Abensberg, Bavaria.

1836         The Territory of Wisconsin is created.

1841         Edgar Allen Poe's first detective story is published.

1861         Robert E. Lee resigns from the U.S. Army.

1879         The first mobile home (horse-drawn) is used in a journey from London to Cyprus.

1916         Wrigley Field opens in Chicago.

1919         The Polish Army captures Vilno, Lithuania from the Soviets.

1940         The first electron microscope is demonstrated.

1942         Pierre Laval, the premier of Vichy France, in a radio broadcast, establishes a policy of "true reconciliation with Germany."

1945         Soviet troops begin their attack on Berlin.

1951         General MacArthur addresses a joint session of Congress after being relieved by President Truman.

1953         Operation Little Switch begins in Korea, the exchange of sick and wounded prisoners of war.

1962         The New Orleans Citizens Committee gives free one-way ride to blacks to move North.

1967         U.S. planes bomb Haiphong for first time during the Vietnam War.

1999         Two students enter Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado and open fire with multiple firearms, killing 13 students and teachers, wounding 25 and eventually shooting themselves.


Born on April 20

121         Marcus Aurelius, 16th Roman emperor, philosopher.

1745         Philippe Pinel, founder of psychiatry.

1807         Aloysius Bertrand ("Gaspard de la Nuit"), French poet.

1808         Louis-Napoleon (Napoleon III), emperor of France.

1850         Daniel Chester French, sculptor.

1889         Adolf Hitler, Facist dictator of Nazi Germany (1933-1945).

1893         Harold Lloyd, film comedian.

1893         Joan Miró, Spanish painter.

1927         Alex Muller, Nobel Prize-winning physicist.

[phred]

April 19

0607 - Comet 1P/607 H1 (Halley) approaches within 0.0898 AUs of Earth

1587 - Sir Frances Drake sails into Cadiz Spain & sinks Spanish fleet

1775 - Minutemen Capt John Parker orders not to fire unless fired upon

1775 - Revolution begins-Lexington Common, shot "heard round the world"

1861 - Lincoln orders blockade of Confederate ports (Civil War)

1937 - USSR performs underground nuclear test

1954 - 58th Boston Marathon won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland in 2:20:39

1989 - Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors

       April 19, 1995, was also the bombing
       of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building
       in downtown Oklahoma City
       by Timothy McVeigh.

       They had a documentary program on this
       today called 'The Final Report.'

       Two items that linger:

         1. If the state trooper had not stopped
             McVeigh for not having a license.....

             and arrested him for carrying a
             concealed weapon.....

             which is legal in some states now.....

         2. There are rather significant views that
             McVeigh was not capable of constructing
             that 600 lb bomb in the Ryder Truck in
             such a way that he was able to escape
             unharmed.....

             The program did conclude with the
             reminder that there is neither evidence
             nor proof of the involvement of any other
             individuals with this aspect of it.

   

[Imagine]

Today is the 100th anniversary of the death of one of my favorite authors, Mark Twain.

[speedy]

April 21

753 BC         Traditional date of the foundation of Rome.

43 BC         Marcus Antonius is defeated by Octavian near Modena, Italy.

1526         Mongol Emperor Babur annihilates the Indian Army of Ibrahim Lodi.

1649         The Maryland Toleration Act is passed, allowing all people freedom of worship.

1689         William III and Mary II are crowned joint king and queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.

1836         General Sam Houston defeats Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. Texas wins independence from Mexico.

1862         Congress establishes the U.S. Mint.

1865         Abraham Lincoln's funeral train leaves Washington.

1898         The Spanish-American War begins.

1910         Mark Twain dies at the age of 75.

1916         Bill Carlisle, the infamous 'last train robber,' robs a train in Hanna, Wyoming.

1914         U.S. Marines occupy Vera Cruz, Mexico. They will stay six months.

1918         German fighter ace Baron von Richthofen, "The Red Baron," is shot down and killed.

1943         President Roosevelt announces that several Doolittle pilots have been executed by Japanese.

1960         Brasilia becomes the capital of Brazil.

1961         The French army revolts in Algeria.

1966         Pfc. Milton Lee Olive is awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, for bravery during the Vietnam War.

1975         The last South Vietnam president, Nguyen Van Thieu, resigns.

1995         Federal authorities arrest Timothy McVeigh in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing.


Born on April 21

1782         Friedrich Froebel, founder of kindergarten.

1816         Charlotte Bronte, novelist (Jane Eyre).

1838         John Muir, naturalist.

1849         Oskar Hertwig, embryologist.

1864         Max Weber, German sociologist and political economist.

1909         Rollo May, psychologist.

1912         Marcel Camus, French film director (Black Orpheus).

1923         John Mortimor, British barrister and playwright (Rumpole of the Bailey).

1926         Elizabeth II, queen of England.

1932         Elaine May, comedy writer.

[speedy]

April 24

858         St. Nicholas I begins his reign as Catholic Pope.

1519         Envoys of Montezuma II attend the first Easter mass in Central America.

1547         Charles V's troops defeat the Protestant League of Schmalkalden at the battle of Muhlburg.

1558         Mary, Queen of Scotland, marries the French dauphin, Francis.

1792         Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle composes "La Marseilles". It will become France's national anthem.

1800         The Library of Congress is established in Washington, D.C. with a $5,000 allocation.

1805         U.S. Marines attack and capture the town of Derna in Tripoli from the Barbary pirates.

1833         A patent is granted for first soda fountain.

1877         Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire.

1884         Otto von Bismarck cables Cape Town, South Africa that it is now a German colony.

1898         Spain declares war on United States, rejecting an ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.

1915         Turks of the Ottoman Empire begin massacring the Armenian minority in their country.

1916         Irish nationalists launch the Easter Uprising against British occupation.

1944         The first B-29 arrives in China, over the Hump of the Himalayas.

1948         The Berlin airlift begins to relieve surrounded city.

1953         Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

1961         President John Kennedy accepts "sole responsibility" for the failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs.

1968         Leftist students take over Columbia University in protest over the Vietnam War.

1980         A rescue attempt of the U.S. hostages held in Iran fails when a plane collides with a helicopter in the Iranian desert.

1981         The IBM Personal Computer is introduced.

1989         Thousands of Chinese students strike in Beijing for more democratic reforms.


Born on April 24

1620         John Graunt, statistician, founder of demography.

1743         Edmund Cartwright, English parson who invented the power loom.

1766         Robert Bailey Thomas, founder of the Farmer's Almanac.

1769         Arthur Wellesley, general during the Napoleonic Wars, Duke of Wellington.

1815         Anthony Trollope, British novelist.

1856         Henri Philippe Pétain, French Marshall, WWI hero, Nazi collaborator.

1900         Elizabeth Goudge, English author.

1904         Willem de Kooning, abstract impressionist painter.

1905         Robert Penn Warren, novelist, America's first poet laureate.

1906         William Joyce, 'Lord Haw-Haw,' British traitor, Nazi propagandist.

[speedy]

April 25

1590         The Sultan of Morocco launches a successful attack to capture Timbuktu.

1644         The Ming Chongzhen emperor commits suicide by hanging himself.

1707         At the Battle of Almansa, Franco-Spanish forces defeat the Anglo-Portugese forces.

1719         Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe is published in London.

1792         The guillotine is first used to execute highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier.

1859         Work begins on the Suez Canal in Egypt.

1862         Admiral Farragut occupies New Orleans, Louisiana.

1864         After facing defeat in the Red River Campaign, Union General Nathaniel Bank returns to Alexandria, Louisiana.

1867         Tokyo is opened for foreign trade.

1882         French commander Henri Riviere seizes the citadel of Hanoi in Indochina.

1898         The United States declares war on Spain.

1915         Australian and New Zealand troops land at Gallipoli in Turkey.

1925         General Paul von Hindenburg takes office as president of Germany.

1926         In Iran, Reza Kahn is crowned Shah and chooses the name "Pehlevi."

1926         Puccini's opera Turandot premiers at La Scala in Milan with Arturo Toscanini conducting.

1938         A seeing eye dog is used for the first time.

1945         U.S. and Soviet forces meet at Torgau, Germany on Elbe River.

1951         After a three day fight against Chinese Communist Forces, the Gloucestershire Regiment is annihilated on "Gloucester Hill," in Korea.

1953         The magazine Nature publishes an article by biologists Francis Crick and James Watson, describing the "double helix" of DNA.

1956         Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" goes to number one on the charts.

1959         The St. Lawrence Seaway–linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes–opens to shipping.

1960         The first submerged circumnavigation of the Earth is completed by a Triton submarine.

1962         A U.S. Ranger spacecraft crash lands on the Moon.

1971         The country of Bangladesh is established.

1980         President Jimmy Carter tells the American people about the hostage rescue disaster in Iran.

1982         In accordance with the Camp David agreements, Israel completes a withdrawal from the Sinai peninsula.

1990         Violeta Barrios de Chamorro begins a six year term as Nicaragua's president.


Born on April 25

1214         Louis IX, king of France (1226-1270).

1284         Edward II, king of England (1307-1327).

1599         Oliver Cromwell, lord protector of England (1653-1658).

1873         Howard R. Garis, children's writer.

1873         Walther de la Mare, poet and novelist (Memoir of a Midget, Come Hither).

1874         Guglielmo Marconi, Italian physicist, inventor of the radio.

1892         Maud Hart Lovelace, children's author.

1908         Edward R. Murrow, war correspondent and newscaster.

1912         Gladys L. Presley, mother of Elvis Presley.

1914         Ross Lockridge, Jr., novelist (Raintree Country).

1917         Ella Fitzgerald, American singer.