| 649: | Theodore I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
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| 1264: | Baron's War is fought in England
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| 1509: | Battle of Agnadello: French beat Venitians in Northesn Italy
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| 1607: | The first permanent English-speaking settlement of the “New World”, Jamestown, is founded by 143 emigrants in what later becomes the state of Virginia (the lost colony of Roanoke was THE first; some consider Jamestown to be where the United States began)
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| 1787: | Delegates begin gathering in Philadelphia for a convention to create the U.S. Constitution
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| 1796: | The first smallpox vaccination is administered, by English physician Edward Jenner, to 8-year-old James Phipps (Jenner for the first time used cowpox to create smallpox immunity; previously smallpox itself was used, in a process known as variolation, which made people sicken and possibly die)
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| 1804: | Lewis and Clark leave St. Louis for their exploration of the Louisiana Territory
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| 1811: | Paraguay gains independence from Spain (National Day)
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| 1848: | The Associated Press (AP) service begins operating
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| 1853: | Gail Borden Jr. applies for a patent for making condensed milk in vacuum (but... it is 1856 before he receives American and British patents; he then fails twice to create a milk business in Connecticut [1856 and 1858], but Civil War demand for condensed milk for the troops finally assures his success)
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| 1856: | Sitting in the study of his country home in Down England, Charles Darwin begins writing his book “The Origin of Species”
|
| 1862: | Adolphe Nicole of Switzerland is granted a patent for the chronograph
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| 1874: | Paid Admission is first charged at a college football game (Harvard beats McGill 3-0)
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| 1878: | The name “Vaseline” is registered as a trademark for the petroleum jelly developed by English-born chemist Robert Augustus Chesebrough ()
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| 1894: | A rubbish fire at Boston's South End Grounds “Grand Pavillion” (Boston's first and only double-decked ballpark), set by several boys under the right-field bleachers, spreads to 170 adjoining buildings in Roxbury
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| 1903: | President Theodore Roosevelt visits San Francisco
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| 1904: | The first Olympic games to be held in the United States opens in St. Louis
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| 1908: | The first passenger flight is made in an airplane
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| 1914: | Chicago Jim Scott no-hits Cleveland, gives up 2 hits in 10th & loses 1-0
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| 1935: | Plebiscite in the Philippines ratifies its independence agreement
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| 1940: | The Netherlands surrenders to Germany
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| 1942: | The U.S. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is established
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| 1948: | Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion signs the documents establishing the State of Israel (British rule in Palestine ends)
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| 1949: | Truman signs the bill establishing a rocket test range at Cape Canaveral
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| 1949: | Vaughn Monroe's song, “Riders In The Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” (RCA Victor 47-2902), first appears on Billboard's charts and goes on to become the first 45 rpm record to become a #1 hit (it is the year's biggest hit)
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| 1955: | The Soviet Union and seven other Communist bloc countries sign the Warsaw Pact in Poland
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| 1963: | A laser light beam link first carries the TV signal during a network broadcast in a demonstration during the CBS program “I've Got a Secret” (the signal from a studio camera is used to modulate a laser beam that travels two feet to a receiver that decodes the signal from the beam and then sends the signal to a control room to be broadcast nationally)
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| 1970: | Harry A Blackmun is appointed to the Supreme Court
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| 1970: | NYC local newspaper, “Our Town,” begins publishing
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| 1973: | Gold hits a record $102.50 an ounce in London
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| 1973: | United States launches its first space station, “Skylab 1” (it remains in orbit until July, 1979, when it is allowed to descend and break up in the Earth's atmomsphere)
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| 1974: | The Symbionese Liberation Army is destroyed in a shoot-out (6 killed)
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| 1977: | THe Montreal Canadiens sweep the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup
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| 1981: | NASA launches space vehicle S-192
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| 1986: | Reggie Jackson hits his 537th HR passing Mickey Mantle into 6th place
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| 1989: | For the first time since 1948, a basball player hits 6 consecutive doubles (Kirby Puckett)
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| 1989: | The first Tour de Trump bicycle race is run (Atlanta)
|
| 1990: | The Dow Jones Average hits a record 2,821.53
|
| 1992: | Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev addresses the members of the U.S. Congress to ask for passage of a foreign aid bill earmark to assist the people of the former Soviet Union
|
| 1996: | A tornado destroys 80 villages in nothern Bangladesh, killing more than 440 people
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| 1998: | Singer Frank Sinatra dies of a heart attack at age 82
|
| 1998: | TV series “Seinfeld” airs its final episode after nine years on NBC
|
| 2001: | The Supreme Court rules 8-0 that there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana to ease their pain from cancer, AIDS or other illnesses
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| 1316: | Charles IV, king of Bohemia (1346-78), emperor (1355-78)
(692 years ago)
|
| 1686: | Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, Prussian physicist (introduced the mercury thermometer)
(322 years ago)
|
| 1771: | Robert Owen, England, factory owner/socialist
(237 years ago)
|
| 1787: | Thomas Gainsborough, baptized, England, artist (The Blue Boy)
(221 years ago)
|
| 1881: | Ed Walsh, pitcher, whose lifetime ERA of 182 is the lowest ever
(127 years ago)
|
| 1883: | Julian Eltinge, Massachusetts, vaudeville star/greatest female impersonator
(125 years ago)
|
| 1885: | Otto Klemperer, Breslau Germany, conductor (Das Ziel)
(123 years ago)
|
| 1895: | Lew Lehr, Philadelphia, comedian (Stop Me if I heard this One)
(113 years ago)
|
| 1904: | Billie Dove, NYC, actress (Black Pirate, Stolen Bride)
(104 years ago)
|
| 1906: | James Flavin, Portland Me, actor (Man With a Camera)
(102 years ago)
|
| 1909: | Vladimir Alatortsev, USSR, International Chess Master (1950)
(99 years ago)
|
| 1917: | Lou Harrison, Portland Oregon, composer (Rapunzel)
(91 years ago)
|
| 1919: | Heloise, & her helpful hints (or 04/15/1921?)
(89 years ago)
|
| 1923: | Diane Arbus, NYC, photographer (Nudists)
(85 years ago)
|
| 1925: | Patrice Munsel, Spokane Washington, soprano (Patrice Munsel Show)
(83 years ago)
|
| 1926: | Eric Morecambe, London, comedian (Morecambe & Wise, Picadilly Palace)
(82 years ago)
|
| 1929: | Vladimir Antoshin, USSR, International Chess Grandmaster (1964)
(79 years ago)
|
| 1930: | Edward V “Ned” Regan, Planfield NJ, (Controller-R-NY, 1978- )
(78 years ago)
|
| 1936: | Bobby Darin, Bronx, singer (Mack the Knife)
(72 years ago)
|
| 1943: | Jack Bruce, Lanarkshire Scotland, bassist (Cream-White Room)
(65 years ago)
|
| 1944: | Francesca Annis, actress (Cleopatra, Flipper's New Adventures)
(64 years ago)
|
| 1944: | George Lucas, film director of Star Wars
(64 years ago)
|
| 1946: | Robert Jarvik, inventor (Jarvik 7 artificial heart)
(62 years ago)
|
| 1951: | Jay Beckenstein, saxophonist (Spyro Gyra-Morning Dance)
(57 years ago)
|
| 1951: | Season (Susan) Hubley, NYC, actress (PrettyKill, Vice Squad, Hardcore)
(57 years ago)
|
| 1952: | David Byrne, Dunbartin Scotand, rocker (Talking Heads-Psycho Killer)
(56 years ago)
|
| 1952: | Donald R McMonagle, Flint Michigan, Major USAF/astronaut (STS 39)
(56 years ago)
|
| 1953: | Joe Schram, SigOp of VOA
(55 years ago)
|
| 1959: | Mike Quick, NFL wide receiver (Philadelphia Eagles)
(49 years ago)
|
| 1962: | C C Deville, rocker (Poison-Talk Dirty to Me)
(46 years ago)
|
| 1962: | Ian Astbury, rocker (The Cult-Fire Woman)
(46 years ago)
|
| 1966: | Fabrice Morvan, Guadeloupe, singer (Milli Vanilli-Girl You Know)
(42 years ago)
|
| 1969: | David William Wood, Boston, rocker (New Kids-Lovin' You Forever)
(39 years ago)
|
| 1970: | Natasha Ryan, Los Angeles, actress (Amy-Ladies' Man)
(38 years ago)
|
| 1973: | Shanice Wilson, rocker (Discovery)
(35 years ago)
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