On This Day In History
On this day in 1807, Ohio began prohibiting any Black person from testifying against a white person. This new law allowed white people to commit crimes against Black people with impunity. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/MPJDBZa3Vi
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) April 1, 2022
Marvin Gaye died on this day in 1984. https://t.co/rB484N5rrh pic.twitter.com/HuSZaWbMiN
— Music Palace Radio (@MusicPalaceNC) April 1, 2022
April 2nd
1453 Turkish forces under Sultan Mehmed II begin the siege of Constantinople (İstanbul), which falls May 29
1513 Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain as the first known European to reach Florida
1792 The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins & silver dollar, ½ dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime
1801 Napoleonic Wars: The British led by Horatio Nelson destroy the Danish fleet in the naval Battle of Copenhagen
1917 US President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany
1930 Ras Tafari Makonnen becomes Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
1982 Several thousand Argentine troops seize the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands from Great Britain
2020 Record 6.6 million Americans filed claims for unemployment in last week according to the US Department of Labor, 10 million over 2 weeks
Did You Know?
"Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California
Today in History in 1902
Would You Believe?
The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
Today in History in 1962
This day 28 years ago – 2 April 1993 – Annie Murphy spoke about her relationship with Bishop Eamonn Casey on RTÉ's The Late Late Show.
Casey had fathered a child with Murphy in 1973.
Gay Byrne told Murphy her son would be doing well if he was “half as good a man as his father.” pic.twitter.com/rPeTakRgNK
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) April 2, 2021
#OTD in 1917, Jeannette Rankin took her seat in the US Congress. She was the first woman elected to the House, and is still the only woman elected from Montana. She set many precedents on that day - when this photograph was taken. Read about them here: https://t.co/Mc3Au8ziAl pic.twitter.com/nbnCxaTi2Y
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) April 2, 2022
On this day in 2019, a white man burned down the Greater Union Baptist Church. It was one of three Black churches he destroyed in arson attacks over a 10-day period in St. Landry Parish, LA. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/DI6EdSHBCD
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) April 2, 2022
Flann O’Brien died on this day in 1966. Here are Anthony Burgess’s copies of his books. pic.twitter.com/tS1lEWOm4x
— The Irwell Edition (@IrwellEdition) April 2, 2022
#OnThisDay 1914 Cumann na mBan was established in Wynn's Hotel, Dublin. Their chief aims were to:
Advance the cause of Irish liberty
Organise Irish women in the furtherance of that objectiveThe role they played was vital in achieving Irish independence.#Ireland #History pic.twitter.com/CZv5le6YGz
— The Irish at War (@irelandbattles) April 1, 2022
Also remembering Edwin Starr who died on this date. pic.twitter.com/kebgch4t6B
— On This Day in Black History (@OnThisDayInBlaH) April 2, 2022
Quote from Hot Lips Houlihan on April 2, 2022, 4:55 pm
Half a good a man as his father ? Does that mean it's ok for him to steal money from a charity and lie to the people ?🤔
Not sure about the tweet- it’s kind of leading but not fully- but I think the book was along those lines, BR. Gay Byrne was utterly in the wrong. Not his finest hour. And I think Casey was worse than that.
Annie Murphy 'shocked' at child sex abuse claims against Bishop Casey
https://t.co/VQPMCfbuas pic.twitter.com/RcX6syfMMW— Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) April 2, 2019
April 3rd
1645 English Long Parliament passes the Self-Denying Ordinance, limiting regional armies, significant step toward New Model Army
1922 Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Russian Communist Party by an ailing Vladimir Lenin
1973 1st mobile phone call is made in downtown Manhattan, NYC by Motorola employee Martin Cooper to the Bell Labs headquarters in New Jersey
2016 Panama Papers published – 11.5 million confidential documents from offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca expose widespread illegal activities including fraud, kleptocracy, tax evasion and the violation of international sanctions by the world’s elite in the world’s largest ever data leak
Did You Know?
American outlaw Jesse James is killed by Robert Ford at home in St Joseph
Today in History in 1882
Would You Believe?
A Hawaiian surfs on highest wave ever - a 50-foot tidal wave
Today in History in 1868
This day 50 years ago – 3 April 1970 – Garda Richard Fallon was shot and killed by republican group Saor Éire as they were robbing a bank on Arran Quay in Dublin.
Fallon, a father of five, was the first member of An Garda Síochána to be killed since the outbreak of the Troubles. pic.twitter.com/g0tuQsm5Ts
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) April 3, 2020
#otd in 1978, Marcia Lucas jointly won an Oscar for Best Film Editing, for Star Wars IV. The film was directed by her then husband, George. Marcia's work on American Graffiti had established her as one of Hollywood's best editors. #StarWars https://t.co/qKCT0xdlLH
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) April 3, 2022
On this day in 1911, President William Howard Taft expelled Black soldiers from San Antonio, Texas because local officials claimed they threatened “law and order” by protesting Jim Crow laws. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/LRc4Mm0QMF
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) April 3, 2022
April 4th
1581 Francis Drake knighted by Queen Elizabeth I aboard Golden Hind at Deptford
1655 Battle at Postage Farina, Tunis: English fleet beats Barbary pirates
1789 1st US Congress begins regular sessions during George Washington's presidency at Federal Hall, NYC (ending 1791)
1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty signed in Washington, D.C.
1968 US civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee
1973 World Trade Center, then the world's tallest building, opens in New York (110 stories). Later destroyed in 9/11 terrorist attacks.
1975 Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800
Did You Know?
1st march against nuclear weapons from London to Aldermaston, England, home of the Defence Ministry's Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)
Today in History in 1958
Would You Believe?
Poecilotheria rajaei, a giant tarantula with a 20cm leg span, is discovered in Sri Lanka
Today in History in 2013
This day 182 years ago - 4 April 1838 - the SS Sirius left the town of Passage West, Co Cork, on its way to New York.
It would arrive 18 days later, the first ship ever to cross the Atlantic by steam alone.
It narrowly beat its rival, the much bigger and faster Great Western. pic.twitter.com/ktDiXg1J8k
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) April 4, 2020