This Day in History

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April 1

Today is April Fools' Day. Trust no one.

Today is also Edible Book Day.

This date is also marked as Fossil Fools' Day.


Events

325 – Crown Prince Jin Chengdi, age 4, succeeds his father Jin Mingdi as emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty.

528 – The daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei was made the "Emperor" as a male heir of the late emperor by Empress Dowager Hu, deposed and replaced by Yuan Zhao the next day, she was the first female monarch in the history of China, but was not widely recognized.

1293 – Robert Winchelsey left England for Rome to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury by the Pope, only to find that there wasn't one.

1318 – Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by Scotland from England.

1545 – Potosí is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area. <---Interesting read.

1789 – In New York City, the United States House of Representatives holds its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first Speaker.

1865 – American Civil War: Union troops led by Philip Sheridan decisively defeat Confederate troops led by George Pickett, cutting the Army of Northern Virginia's last supply line.

1873 – The White Star steamer RMS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in one of the worst marine disasters of the 19th century. Particularly interesting part here.

1891 – The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.

1924 – Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years imprisonment for his participation in the "Beer Hall Putsch" but spends only nine months in jail.

1945 – World War II: The Tenth United States Army attacks the Thirty-Second Japanese Army on Okinawa.

1946 – The 8.6 Mw Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii.

1947 – The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.

1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.

1960 – The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.

1970 – President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General's warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertising on television and radio in the United States, effective 1 January 1971.

1973 – Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.

1976 – Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California, USA. Ronald Wayne sold his interest in Apple for (ultimately) $2300 (~$9296 in 2016 dollars), had he kept it, his 10% stake would be worth over $75,500,000,000 (says Wikipedia).

1979 – Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.

1989 – Margaret Thatcher's new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the "poll tax"), is introduced in Scotland.

1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp is seen passing at perihelion.

2001 – An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People's Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, China and is detained.

2001 – Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.

2001 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it.

2004 – Google announces Gmail to the public.

Births

1697 – Antoine François Prévost, 1815 – Otto von Bismarck, 1823 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, 1873 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1883 – Lon Chaney, Sr., 1885 – Wallace Beery, 1885 – Clementine Churchill (Winston's main squeeze), 1917 – Sydney Newman (co-created Doctor Who), 1920 – Toshiro Mifune (Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, mini-series Shōgun), 1926 – Anne McCaffrey (Dragonriders Of Pern novels), 1928 – George Grizzard, 1929 – Jonathan Haze (The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)), 1932 – Gordon Jump ("As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."), 1932 – Debbie Reynolds, 1934 – Jim Ed Brown♪ ♫, 1939 – Rudolph Isley♪ ♫(The Isley Bros), 1939 – Ali MacGraw, 1939 – Phil Niekro, 1945 – John Barbata(Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship), 1946 – Ronnie Lane(Faces, Small Faces), 1947 – Robin Scott♪ ♫(M, known for the song 'Pop Muzik'), 1948 – Jimmy Cliff♪ ♫, 1949 – Gil Scott-Heron♪ ♫, 1950 – Samuel Alito, 1952 – Annette O'Toole, 1953 – Barry Sonnenfeld, 1954 – Jeff Porcaro(Toto), 1955 – Terry Nichols (Oklahoma City federal bldg bomber), 1961 – Susan Boyle♪ ♫, 1966 – Chris Evans, 1970 – Brad Meltzer, 1973 – Rachel Maddow (mouth), 1976 – David Gilliland, 1976 – David Oyelowo (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Butler), 1977 – Vitor Belfort (MMA fighter), 1980 – Bijou Phillips, 1986 – Hillary Scott♪ ♫(Lady Antebellum)

Deaths

1204 – Eleanor of Aquitaine, 1839 – Benjamin Pierce, 1917 – Scott Joplin, 1922 – Hermann Rorschach (best known for developing the Rorschach test), 1946 – Noah Beery, Sr., 1976 – Max Ernst, 1984 – Marvin Gaye♪ ♫, 1992 – Nigel Preston(The Cult), 1993 – Alan Kulwicki(came up with The Polish Victory Lap), 2004 – Paul Atkinson♪ ♫(The Zombies), 2004 – Aaron Bank (founded the US Army Special Forces), 2004 – Carrie Snodgress, 2010 – John Forsythe (voice of 'Charlie' on Charlie's Angels, Dynasty)