Friday, April 24, 2009

This Week

Here are some interesting things that have happened since last friday... I choose only a few from the lists on this page.

April 17th

1492 - Christopher Columbus signed a contract with Spain to find a passage to Asia and the Indies.

1704 - John Campbell published what would eventually become the first successful American newspaper. It was known as the Boston "News-Letter."

1810 - Pineapple cheese was patented by Lewis M. Norton.

1917 - A bill in Congress to establish Daylight Saving Time was defeated. It was passed a couple of months later.

1964 - Jerrie Mock became first woman to fly an airplane solo around the world.

1964 - The Ford Motor Company unveiled its new Mustang model.


April 18th

1775 - American revolutionaries Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott rode though the towns of Massachusetts giving the warning that "the British are coming."

1877 - Charles Cros wrote a paper that described the process of recording and reproducing sound. In France, Cros is regarded as the inventor of the phonograph. In the U.S., Thomas Edison gets the credit.

1924 - Simon and Schuster, Inc. published the first "Crossword Puzzle Book."

1934 - The first Laundromat opened in Fort Worth, TX.

1949 - The Republic of Ireland was established.

1955 - Albert Einstein died.

1984 - Daredevils Mike MacCarthy and Amanda Tucker made a sky dive from the Eiffel Tower. The jump ended safely.

April 19th

1764 - The English Parliament banned the American colonies from printing paper money.

1775 - The American Revolution began as fighting broke out at Lexington, MA.

1782 - The Netherlands recognized the new United States.

1861 - Thaddeus S. C. Lowe sailed 900 miles in nine hours in a hot air balloon.

1939 - Connecticut approved the Bill of Rights for the U.S. Constitution after 148 years.

1987 - The last California condor known to be in the wild was captured and placed in a breeding program at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.


April 20th

1832 - Hot Springs National Park was established by an act of the U.S. Congress. It was the first national park in the U.S.

1865 - Safety matches were first advertised.

1879 - First mobile home (horse drawn) was used in a journey from London to Cyprus.

1953 - The Boston marathon was won by Keizo Yamada with a record time of 2:18:51.

1989 - Scientist announced the successful testing of high-definition TV.

1992 - The worlds largest fair, Expo '92, opened in Seville, Spain.

Napoleon III 1808 - Emperor of France

Adolf Hitler 1889 - German leader during World War II

April 21st

753 BC - Today is the traditional date of the foundation of Rome.

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

1789 - John Adams was sworn in as the first U.S. Vice President.

1856 - The Mississippi River was crossed by a rail train for the first time (between Davenport, IA, and Rock Island, IL).

1987 - Special occasion stamps were offered for the first time by the U.S. Postal Service. "Happy Birthday" and "Get Well" were among the first to be offered.

Elizabeth II (Elisabeth Mary) 1926 - Queen of the United Kingdom


April 22nd

1864 - The U.S. Congress mandated that all coins minted as U.S. currency bear the inscription "In God We Trust".

1952 - An atomic test conducted in Nevada was the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television.

1970 - The first "Earth Day" was observed by millions of Americans.

Queen Isabella I (Spain) 1451


April 23rd

1900 - The word "hillbilly" was first used in print in an article in the "New York Journal." It was spelled "Hill-Billie".

1964 - Ken Johnson of the Houston Astros threw the first no-hitter for a loss. The game was lost 1-0 to the Cincinnati Reds due to two errors.

1988 - A U.S. federal law took effect that banned smoking on flights that were under two hours.

1999 - In Washington, DC, the heads of state and government of the 19 NATO nations celebrated the organization's 50th anniversary.

2003 - U.S. President Bush signed legislation that authorized the design change of the 5-cent coin (nickel) for release in 2004. It was the first change to the coin in 65 years. The change, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Louisiana Purchase, was planned to run for only two years before returning to the previous design.

William Shakespeare 1564 - Poet, playwright ("Julius Caesar", "Romeo and Juliet", "MacBeth"), believed to have been born on April 23 based on his baptism on April 26, 1616

Shirley (Jane) Temple Black 1928 - Child actress ("Little Miss Marker", "Heidi", "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm")



April 24th

1800 - The Library of Congress was established with a $5,000 allocation.

1889 - The Edison General Electric Company was organized.

1953 - Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

1962 - MIT sent a TV signal by satellite for the first time.

1967 - The newest Greek regime banned miniskirts.

2000 - ABC-TV aired the TV movie "The Three Stooges."

3 comments:

Holly said...

Pineapple cheese sounds...hm, interesting.

Sarah M. said...

Fascinating details... I can't believe (having just flown) that as late as 1988 you could smoke on a plane... crazy... Of course, my first flight was much later than the average person. I didn't fly until 1996. My dad was actually nearly 50 before he flew on a plane for the first time.

Nicole said...

Cuileann, I am still trying to figure out what it would taste like...

considering I'm not a huge fan of pineapple I don't know if I would like it much.

Sarah, I have only flown a couple times, and it surprises me that they allowed smoking at all- the plane would get very... stuffy and smokey very quickly!

How did your dad like the flight?