Today in History

[goofywife]

1936 FRESH TORNADOES LEAVES 200 DEAD
1814: Napoleon abdicates his throne
1951: Rosenberg spy team receives death sentence
1992: Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton dies

[DianaB]

Are you going to post these everyday? That would be a good idea! Very interesting facts!

[goofywife]

I will do my best!

[katcarasella]

Great idea, I'll be watching!!

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[Janet]

I love this kind of stuff Michelle. It's so fun to see what has happened on the date in the past.

[judy]

That's pretty cool!

[goofywife]

1930: Gandhi ends Salt March

Mahatma Gandhi and his followers, in protest of the salt tax levied by the British Empire, ended their Salt March today at the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat, some 240 miles from their starting point in Sabarmati.

"Mahatma Gandhi manufactured salt from sea water here this morning, thereby breaking the British law establishing a monopoly on salt manufacture," reported the Syracuse Herald on April 6, 1930. "At Dandi last night they prepared for the first definite act of civil disobedience. As the first step, they waded into the waters of the tidal marshes and filled pots with salt water. These were placed in the sun for evaporation of the water, and the residue of salt will be removed for sale."

NOTE: Gandhi is said to have stood in the water with a handful of mud and salt and declared, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." The march led to other acts of civil disobedience across India; however, Indian independence was not achieved until 17 years later.

1993: Blast occurs at Russian nuclear plant

Today, an explosion rocked a Russian nuclear weapons complex in the Siberian town of Tomsk-7. The explosion was blamed on a rise in pressure in an underground tank, which began when nitric acid was added as a cleanser. "Troops scooped up contaminated Siberian soil today after a tank holding radioactive waste exploded in what the government is calling the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster," informed The Capital on April 7, 1993.

1970: California patrol officers are killed

Four California Highway Patrol officers were killed today in what is considered one of the worst officer killings in CHP history. "The four highway patrolmen were killed after they stopped a car whose occupants were reported to have brandished guns at motorists on a freeway. After the shootout, the two gunmen fled separately on foot," explained the Progress-Bulletin on April 6, 1970. NOTE: One gunman was captured and later convicted on four counts of murder, while the other committed suicide before police could arrest him.

1917: U.S. declares war on Germany

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed a declaration of war against Imperial Germany today, signaling the beginning of American involvement in World War I. On April 2, Wilson had called a special session of Congress asking them to approve the war. The vote in the Senate was 82 to 6, and the House of Representatives voted 373 to 50 in favor of war. "Some pacifism developed, but there was no question as to the ultimate outcome -- a hearty support of President Wilson's passage of the resolution," The Frederick Post reported on April 6, 1917. NOTE: The declaration of war came after Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare, attacking and sinking several American ships.

1909: Explorer first to reach North Pole

Robert Peary, an Arctic explorer, became the first recorded person to reach the North Pole today. "From the bleak coast of Labrador Commander Peary today flashed the news that he has attained his goal in the Far North, while at the same moment, in Denmark, Dr. Frederick Cook was being dined and lionized by royalty for the same achievement," reported The Modesto Herald on September 9, 1909. NOTE: Although Peary was later credited with being the first to reach the pole, some still doubt his accomplishment.

1896: First modern Olympics open

The Olympic Games were revived today, opening in Athens, Greece after being banned for more than 1,500 years by Roman Emperor Theodosius I. "The exhibition and recognition of physical excellence in action is the one permanent characteristic common to the old athletics and the new. The essential influence of the purely physical part may be much the same, but the conditions and associations are all changed," explained The New York Times on April 26, 1896.

** I added the news paper byline. Let me know if you think its too much..

[katcarasella]

Thank You Michelle,
I like it, a litte education never hurt anybody.
Looking forward to more like these.

[DianaB]

I agree. I like little tidbits of information. This will be interesting to read!

[goofywife]

1933: Beer is sold once again in US

"Brewery horses galloped once again in 19 of the 48 states and the District of Columbia early today as 3.2 per cent beer was placed on sale at 12:01 a.m.," reported The Charleston Gazette today in 1933.

Most of the larger breweries sent their first case of legal beer to President Roosevelt, while cities like St. Louis, Chicago and Los Angeles held midnight celebrations to mark the return of the legal brew.

In Ohio, The Circleville Herald reported today that the one place busier than the restaurants and hotels selling beer was the state beer commission that issues the permits to sell alcohol.

1970: Stalin's daughter marries architect in Phoenix

Svetlana Alliluyeva, daughter of Joseph Stalin, married William Wesley Peters, chief architect of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, today during a simple Quaker ceremony in Phoenix. “The couple will reside at Taliesin West in the winter months and at the original Taliesin in Spring Green, Wis., the rest of the year,” reported the Sheboygan Journal on April 8, 1970

1945: Infantrymen find Hitler's treasure

General George S. Patton's soldiers found Germany's hidden stash of gold, currency and works of art valued in the billions of dollars in a salt mine 140 miles southwest of Berlin today. According to the Nazi officials taken in the mine, it took five weeks for Hitler's collapsing Reich to move all the treasure from Berlin.

1906: Liquid fire spews from Mount Vesuvius

Effluvia from Mount Vesuvius razed homesteads today as gray ash and liquid fire erupted from the volcano. "The streams of lava were resistless. They snapped like pipestems the trunks of chestnut trees hundreds of years old and blighted with their torrid breath the blooms on the peach trees before the trees themselves had been reached. They razed the homes of the peasants, filled up the wells, and then continued their course down the mountainside," informed The New York Times on April 8, 1906. NOTE: The eruption killed over 100 people.

[Janet]

So interesting...Stalin's daughter...all of it really!

[AngieDoogles]

These are cool facts Michelle. Thanks for taking the time to post them for us.

[katcarasella]

Love it!! Thanks Michelle

[deb22]

Pretty cool stuff.

and.... I love Walmart.

[Gina]

yes Michelle pretty good stuff. I always loved Social Studies class.. Now if we can only find Sister Agatha...lol <wink>