On This Day In History
This day 50 years ago – 17 April 1969 – Bernadette Devlin, 21, became the youngest woman ever elected to the House of Commons.
In her maiden speech, she said:
“I stand here... in the same tradition as the first woman ever to be elected to this Parliament, Constance Markievicz.” pic.twitter.com/5qCIGVbsdd
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) April 17, 2019
#otd in 1923 Mary Dorothea Heron (left) qualified as Ireland's first female solicitor. She never practiced - but Helena Mary Early, admitted two months later, did go into practice, working until the 1960s in law and left-wing activism. https://t.co/oZZtyQdbtr pic.twitter.com/0Hp7vFd4wg
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) April 17, 2022
On this day in 1915, a white mob took a Black man named Caesar Sheffield from jail and shot him to death near Lake Park, Georgia, for allegedly stealing meat from a smokehouse. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/GDYXdvRSny
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) April 17, 2022
The face is familiar. 😉
Benjamin Franklin, one of the leading figures of early American history, died on #ThisDayInHistory in 1790. During the American Revolution, he served in the Second Continental Congress and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. https://t.co/8WSLa3v9qF
— HISTORY (@HISTORY) April 17, 2022
On this day in History, rather than On this Date in History 😇
April 18th
1025 Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland
1506 The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid in the Vatican by Pope Julius II
1775 Paul Revere and William Dawes ride from Charlestown to Lexington warning the "regulars are coming!"
1783 American Revolution: George Washington issues General Order announcing the end of hostilities with Britain, giving thanks to the Almighty, and offering congratulations and authorizing an extra ration of alcohol to the troops to celebrate [1]
1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire kills nearly 4,000 while destroying 75% of the city
1954 Egyptian Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power and appoints himself Prime Minister
This day 73 years ago – 18 April 1949 – the Irish state officially became a Republic, leaving the Commonwealth, and repealing the External Relations Act.
A 21-gun salute was fired from O'Connell Bridge, and in Cork, IRA veteran Tom Barry read the 1916 Proclamation at City Hall. pic.twitter.com/65LofMBKMf
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) April 17, 2022
#OTD in 1925, the first Woman's World's Fair—set up by Helen Bennett & Ruth Hanna McCormick—opened in Chicago. Run entirely by women, its 280 booths displayed women's ideas, work & products from 70 occupations. The fair drew 200K visitors and earned $50K. https://t.co/MasHPHpNhb pic.twitter.com/NImggNoYMV
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) April 18, 2022
On this day in 1846, New Jersey enacted legislation that, rather than abolishing enslavement, bound Black people to indefinite servitude as “apprentices for life” at the will of white enslavers. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/U9rVqD7X4e
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) April 18, 2022
April 19th
1770 British explorer Captain James Cook first sights Australia. Writes in his log book that “what we have as yet seen of this land appears rather low, and not very hilly, the face of the Country green and Woody, but the Sea shore is all a white Sand.”
1775 American Revolution begins in Lexington, Massachusetts. The "Shot Heard Round the World" takes place later that day in Concord
1909 Joan of Arc receives beatification by the Roman Catholic Church
1995 Oklahoma City bombing, Timothy McVeigh sets a truck bomb at Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 and injuring 500
2011 Fidel Castro resigns his position of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba after 45 years of holding the title [1]
Did You Know?
Bicycle Day - Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann deliberately takes LSD for the first time
Today in History in 1943
Would You Believe?
Leslie Irvin of US makes first premeditated free-fall parachute jump
Today in History in 1919
This day 411 years ago – 19 April 1608 – O'Doherty's rebellion took place.
Derry was captured and burned by Cahir O'Doherty, a once-loyal Gaelic Lord who turned against local governor George Paulet, killing him.
O'Doherty was later killed by troops sent by Arthur Chichester. pic.twitter.com/i54Cd9XbHt
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) April 19, 2019
In 1924, Ntebogang Ratshosa became mothshwareledi (regent) of the BaNgwaketse, one of the eight ethnic groups of present-day Botswana. She introduced improvements to health care and agricultural practices and stood up against the British Protectorate. https://t.co/BDnlc2F9Vc pic.twitter.com/NQjU9Vsq1x
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) April 19, 2022
On this day in 1989, NYPD officers arrested 4 Black and 1 Latino teenagers, engaged in coercive interrogation and charged them with rape despite their innocence. All were sentenced to 5-13 years. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/CY5OYsRZrp
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) April 19, 2022
Lord Byron, a leading figure of the Romantic movement who is regarded as one of the greatest English poets, died on his way to fight for Greek independence #OnThisDay 1824. A strong advocate of social reform, Byron was one of the few Parliamentary defenders of the Luddites. pic.twitter.com/q1WDkjbCBP
— English Radical History (@EnglishRadical) April 19, 2022
19 April 1882. Charles Darwin died (aged 73). He’s best known for his landmark study, On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. It introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. pic.twitter.com/LuClm1eeCt
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) April 19, 2022
OTD 2021.
Jim Steinman, the songwriter behind huge hits such as Bat Out Of Hell and Total Eclipse Of The Heart, has died aged 73.
In this clip from 1981, he talks about his partnership with Meat Loaf, the secret of its success and his solo ambitions. pic.twitter.com/K4t5L56GTq
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) April 21, 2021
April 20th
1862 First pasteurization test completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
1902 Marie and Pierre Curie isolate the radioactive compound radium chloride
1920 Balfour Declaration recognized, makes Palestine a British Mandate
1968 British politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial "Rivers of Blood" speech
1974 'The Troubles', the Northern Ireland conflict between republican and loyalist paramilitaries, British security forces, and civil rights groups, claims its 1000th victim
1980 Climax of Berber Spring in Algeria sees hundreds of Berber political activists arrested
1999 Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School, Colorado
2010 The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes, killing 11 and causing the rig to sink, causing a massive oil discharge into the Gulf of Mexico and an environmental disaster
Did You Know?
First known performance of Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth at the Globe Theatre, London, recorded by Simon Forman
Today in History in 1611
Would You Believe?
President Jimmy Carter is attacked by a swamp rabbit which swam up to his fishing boat in Plains, Georgia
Today in History in 1979