April Trivia Now You (Might) Know...

Birthstone: Diamond It is likely that the Roman Goddess of Love 'Aprilis' was
Flower: Daisy or Sweet Pea honoured when naming the month of April , but historians
aren't totally sure of that factoid.
Aries (March 21 - April 20) 
Taurus (April 21 - May 20)

More April lore here

"It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is
you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"
- Mark Twain

About April
Arab American Heritage Month
Autism Awareness Month
BLT Sandwich Month
Child Abuse Prevention Month
Confederate History Month
Financial Literacy Month 
Florida Tomato Month
Grilled Cheese Month
Garlic Month
Keep America Beautiful Month
Lawn & Garden Month
National Humor Month
Jazz Appreciation Month
Occupational Therapy (OT) Month
Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month 
Pecan Month
Poetry Writing Month
Rape Awareness Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month 
Soft Pretzel Month
Soyfoods Month
Stress Awareness Month
April 's Moons:
Ashes Moon, Awakening Moon, Big Spring Moon, Big Summer Moon, Black Oaks Tassel Moon, Broken Snowshoe
Moon, Budding Time Moon, Budding Trees Moon, Bullhead Moon, Cherry Blossom Moon, Daisy Moon, Moon, Egg
Moon, Moon, Fish Moon, Flower Moon, Frog Moon, Glittering Snow on Lake Moon, Grass Moon, Gray Goose Moon,
Great Sand Storm Moon, Green Grass Moon,, Growing Moon, Half Spring Moon, Hare Moon, Ice Breaking in the River
Moon, Leaf Split Moon, Loon Moon, Maple Moon, Maple Sugar Moon, Maple Sap Boiling Moon, Moon of Greening
Grass, Moon of Red Grass Appearing, Moon of the Big Leaves, Moon of the Red Grass Appearing, Moon of Windbreak,
Moon When Geese Return in Scattered Formation, Moon When Nothing Happens, Moon When the Geese Lay Eggs,
Moon When They Set Indian Corn, Peony Moon, Pink Moon, Planter's Moon, Planting Corn Moon, Planting Moon,
Poinciana Moon, Red Grass Appearing Moon, Ring Finger Moon, Snowshoe Breaking Moon, Spring Moon, Sprouting
Grass Moon, Strawberry Moon, Strong Moon, Sugar Maker Moon, Summer Moon, Sweet Pea Moon, Tulip Moon, White
Lady Moon, Wildcat Moon, Willow Moon, Wind Moon, Wisteria Moon and Yellow Moon.
April was formerly the second month in the ancient Roman year, when March began the calendar. The �real� origin of
its name has been lost. The most common theory is that Aprilis is derived from the Latin verb Aperire, �to open�, as
the opening, or blossoming, of trees and flowers.

Since the Romans often named months for gods (and goddesses), and since April was sacred to Venus, the Roman
goddess of love, her festival was held on the first day of Aprilis. Is possible that Aprilis was originally called Aphrilis, a
Latin name which comes from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of lnus?

Fordicidia, the Feast of the Cows on April 15, when ancient rites were conducted to ensure the prosperity of crops. A cow
pregnant with calf was sacrificed, and attendants of the vestal virgins then took the calf from its mother to burn it. Its
ashes, gathered up by the vestals, were used a few days later at the Parilia. The Parilia was the annual Roman festival of
flocks and herds, celebrated on April 21 in honor of Pales, the pastoral deity (god or goddess) and special protector of
cattle.

The Parilia, essentially a pastoral, or agricultural rite, is believed to have originated long before the founding of the city of
Rome (753 B.C.). Romulus, the legendary �founder of Rome�, is thought to have played a significant role in
conducting the cleansing and renewal rituals of the Parilia.

April 21 (XI days to Maius Calends) was set aside to commemorate not only Pales, but also the founding of Rome. A
public holiday known as the Natalis urbis Romae (birthday of the city of Rome), was also a day which was marked by
music, street dancing, and general revelry.
The Romans gave this month the Latin name Aprilis but the derivation of this name is uncertain. The traditional
etymology is from the verb aperire, "to open," in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to "open,"
which is supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of anoixis (opening) for spring.

Since some of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was sacred to the goddess Venus, her
Veneralia being held on the first day, it has been suggested that Aprilis was originally her month Aphrilis, from her
equivalent Greek goddess name Aphrodite (Aphros), or from the Etruscan name Apru.

April was the second month of the earliest Roman calendar, before Ianuarius and Februarius were added by King Numa
Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the fourth month of the calendar year (the year when twelve months are displayed in
order) during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it also was given 29 days. The 30th day was added during
the reform of the calendar undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s BC, which produced the Julian calendar.

The Anglo-Saxons called April Oster-monath or Eostur-monath. The Venerable Bede says in The Reckoning of Time that
this month Eostur is the root of the word Easter. He further states that the month was named after a goddess Eostre whose
feast was in that month. It is also attested by Einhard in his work, Vita Karoli Magni.
In Roman mythology, Flora was a goddess of flowers and the season of spring. While she was otherwise a relatively
minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her
particular importance at the coming of springtime. Her festival, the Floralia, was held in April or early May and
symbolized the renewal of the cycle of life, marked with dancing, drinking, and flowers.
Her Greek equivalent was Chloris. Flora was married to Favonius, the wind god, and her companion was Hercules. Due
to her association with plants, her name in modern English also means plant life. Flora achieved more prominence in the
neo-pagan revival of Antiquity among Renaissance humanists than she had ever enjoyed in ancient Rome.
The festival of Floralia began around the year 258 BCE. Pagan Romans celebrated for six days, from April 27th to May
3rd, honouring their Goddess of Spring and of Flowers, Flora. Flora, known as Chloris to the Greeks, was a beautiful and
serene Goddess, the Queen of Spring. She was married to Zephyrus, the west wind, and her temple is in Aventine.
Floralia was a time a great merriment and rejoicing in ancient Rome.

During the festival, Romans would cast off their habitual white robes for more colourful garments, especially green ones.
They would also deck themselves and everything around them in flowers then engage in all sorts of activities. There
would be feasting, singing, dancing, and gaming. Offerings of milk and honey were made to the goddess Flora. Goats and
hares meant to symbolize fertility were let loose in gardens and fields as protectors in Flora's honour.

Singing filled the air and dancers stomped the ground to awaken nature and bring it back to life. Ancient roman
prostitutes in particular enjoyed this festival as they considered Flora their patron goddess. So Floralia was especially
important to them. They participated in many events, from performing naked in the theatre to gladiatorial feats.

With the occupation of Rome in many countries of the western world at the time, especially in Britain and continental
Europe, the festival of Floralia spread, with each country adding its own special touches to the festivities. And finally,
Floralia became MayDay.

Many countries choose a May Queen to preside over the day's activities and children dance around the Maypole. Some
collect flowers on May Eve for the next day and some couples even make love in their garden to ensure fertility. One
belief that has been passed on is that one should wash one's face with the dew from MayDay morn to obtain lasting
beauty.
- Linda Cassleman
The Jewish Passover usually falls on the first full moon after the Northern Hemisphere vernal equinox, although
occasionally (7 times every 19 years) it will occur on the second full moon. The Christian churches calculate Easter as the
first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the March equinox.

The official church definition for the equinox is March 21; however, as the Eastern Orthodox Churches use the older
Julian calendar, while the Western Churches use the Gregorian calendar, both of which designate March 21 as the
equinox, the actual date of Easter differs.

The earliest possible Easter date in any year is therefore March 22 on each calendar. The latest possible Easter date in any
year is April 25.

April Quotes
"Sweet April showers do spring May flowers."
- Thomas Tusser 1557, (A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry)

"If Spring came but once in a century, instead of once a year, or burst forth with the sound of an earthquake, and not in
silence, what wonder and expectation there would be in all hearts to behold the miraculous change! But now the silent
succession suggests nothing but necessity. To most men only the cessation of the miracle would be miraculous and the
perpetual exercise of God's power seems less wonderful than its withdrawal would be."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year."
- Mark Twain

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything."

- William Shakespeare

"April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain."
- T. S. Eliot, The Waste Land, 1922

April In Pop Culture History

April 1
April 1 is known as April Fools Day or All Fools' Day in many countries.

1789 - Pennsylvania Representative Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg was elected as the first US Speaker of the
House of Representatives.

1877 - Edward Schieffelin founded Tombstone, Arizona, best known as the place where Doc Holliday and the Earp
brothers had their shoot-out with the Clantons and McLaurys at the O.K. Corral in 1881

1934 - Bonnie and Clyde kill two young highway patrolmen near Grapevine, Texas. 

1963 - ABC premiered General Hospital, the daytime drama that eventually become the network's longest-running (oap
opera) serial program produced in Hollywood. On the same day, NBC debuted The Doctors.

1970 - President Richard Nixon signed legislation officially banning cigarette ads on television and radio.

1976 - Apple Computer Company was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

1977 (Tornado) Madaripur and Shibchar, Bangladesh

1979 - Nickelodeon kid's cable channel was launched

1984 - Singer Marvin Gaye was shot three times and killed by his father during a domestic dispute.

1997 - As part of a crossover April Fools joke, Pat Sajak hosted Jeopardy and Alex Trebek hosted Wheel of Fortune.

April 2
1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed near what is now called St. Augustine, Florida and declared the land
for Spain.

1860 - Pony Express mail, traveling by horse and rider relay teams, simultaneously left St. Joseph, Missouri, and
Sacramento, California. They used horses, not ponies.

1882 - Tombstone reads, "Jesse W. James, Died April 3, 1882, Aged 34 years, 6 months, 28 days, Murdered by a traitor
and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here." Jesse James was shot and killed by frenemy Robert Ford for the
reward money. There was a $5,000 bounty on the bank-robber, but they gave Ford $500, and then arrested him.

1917 - The first woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin, takes her seat as a representative from
Montana.

1953 - TV Guide debuted.

1956 - As the World Turns and The Edge of Night first aired on the CBS network in the United States, as the first half-
hour serial dramas.

1956 - Elvis Presley sang "Heartbreak Hotel" on the Milton Berle Show, with an estimated 25% of the United States
population viewing.

1973 - The first portable cell phone call was placed in New York City.

1978 - Dallas premiered on CBS

1992 - In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in
prison.

1992 - Pope John Paul II died.

1996 - Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski was arrested at his Montana cabin.

April 3
1860 - The Pony Express began service, between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California.

1885 - Gottlieb Daimler was granted a German patent for his engine design.

1953 - TV Guide published it's first issue

1955 - The American Civil Liberties Union announced it would defend Allen Ginsberg's book, Howl, against obscenity
charges.

1956 - Elvis Presley appeared on the Milton Berle Show

1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech.

1978 - At the 50th annual Academy Awards, held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Woody Allen's Annie
Hall won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1977.
1981 - The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, was unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San
Francisco.

1986 - Merv Griffin sold Merv Griffin Enterprises, to The Coca-Cola Company, for $250,000,000.

April 4
1561 - UFOs were reported flying over Nuremberg, German

1841 - US President Harrison died of pneumonia after one month in office

1850 - Los Angeles, California was incorporated as a city.

1933 - Akron, a dirigible, crashed in New Jersey, killing 73 people.

1949 - Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

1964 - The Beatles occupied all of the top five positions on the Billboard singles chart in the United States, with Can't
Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Please Please Me.

1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis Tennessee. 

1969 - CBS abruptly cancelled The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and replaced it with Hee Haw, they announced.
Hee Haw episodes were ready to premiere in mid-June.

1973 - The World Trade Center in New York is officially dedicated.

1975 - Microsoft was founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico

1983 - Space Shuttle Challenger made its maiden voyage into space (STS-6).

2013 - Famed movie critic Roger Ebert died

April 5
1614 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas married English colonist John Rolfe.

1922 - The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.

1936 (Tornado) Tupelo, Mississippi

1949 - Fireside Theater debuted on NBC.

1987 - FOX debuted two shows, Married... with Children and The Tracey Ullman Show

1991 - Katie Couric was designated a co-host of the Today Show. 

1994 - Lead Singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain committed suicide, and was found three days later.

1997 - The Crocodile Hunter premiered on Animal Planet

2006 - The first case of H5N1 avian flu was confirmed in the UK after tests on a dead swan found in Cellardyke, Fife. 

2012 - Scandal premiered on ABC

April 6
648 BC - Earliest solar eclipse recorded by the Ancient Greeks.

1830 - The Mormon Church was founded in Fayette Township, New York, by Joseph Smith

1895 - Oscar Wilde was arrested, and later found guilty of being a homosexual, and sentenced to two years of hard labor.

1896 - In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games 1,500 years after being banned by Roman Emperor
Theodosius I.

1931 - Little Orphan Annie debuted on the Blue Network of NBC. 

1936 (Tornado) Gainesville, Georgia

1966 - Hundred of children and thier teachers reported seeing a UFO over Melbourne, Australia

1974 - "Waterloo" won the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden. ABBA went on to pop music success for much of the
1970s.

April 7
1906 (Volcano) Mount Vesuvius erupted and devastated Naples.

1933 - Prohibition in the United States was repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight.

1940 - Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.

1945 - Japanese battleship Yamato was sunk by Allied forces off the coast of Okinawa. 

1954 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his famous "domino theory" speech, regarding communism in Southeast
Asia.

1967 - Film critic Roger Ebert published his first film review in the Chicago Sun-Times.

1970 - John Wayne won Best Actor Oscar for his role in 1969's True Grit.

1970 - Midnight Cowboy won in the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars.
April 8
1730 - Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, was dedicated.

1820 - The Venus de Milo statue was discovered on the Aegean island of Melos.

1838 (Tornado) Calcutta, India

1952 - US President Harry Truman announced the seizure of all domestic steel mills to prevent a nationwide strike.

1964 - Gemini 1, an unmanned test flight, was launched.

1990 - Twin Peaks premiered on ABC 

1994 - Lead Singer of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain was found dead, having committed suicide three days earlier.

2005 - Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph agreed to plead guilty. A security guard named Richard Jewell was initially
considered the prime suspect in the case.

April 9
1865 - At Appomattox, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General
Ulysses S. Grant, ending the US Civil War.

1867 - The Alaska Purchase - the United States bought Alaska from the Russian Empire for $7.2 million, in a treaty
ratified by the U.S. Senate.

1945 - 1945 - The United States Atomic Energy Commission was formed.

1947 (Tornado) Higgins, Texas and Woodward, Oklahoma

1962 - Sophia Loren won Best Actress Oscar for Two Women

1967 - The first Boeing 737 made its maiden flight.

1998 - The Price Is Right aired their milestone 5,000th episode. Every prize given away on that episode was a car.

April 10
1815 (Volcano Eruption) Mount Tambora (Year Without A Summer). The eruption lasted 3 months.

1866 - The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was founded in New York City.

1906 - O. Henry's The Gift of the Magi was published.

1953 - The House of Wax, in 3-D and starring Vincent Price, opened at New York's Paramount Theater.

1963 - USS Thresher, an atomic submarine, sank in the Atlantic Ocean, killing the entire crew of 129. 
1970 - Paul McCartney announced the breakup of the Beatles

1971 - In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, the People's Republic of China hosted the US table tennis
team for a week-long visit.

2009 - Parks and Recreation premiered on NBC

2010 - Matt Smith debuted as the eleventh Doctor on Doctor Who on BBC America

2014 - Kathleen Sebelius resigned as Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, after the
faulty rollout of HealthCare.gov.

April 11
1876 - The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City.

1909 - The city of Tel Aviv was founded.

1919 - The International Labor Organization was founded.

1945 - The American Third Army liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp, near Weimar, Germany.

1964 (Tornado) Bhabanipur, Bangladesh

1970 - Apollo 13 was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying astronauts James A. Lovell, John L.
Swigert, and Fred W. Haise. The difficult trip back home was the topic of the film, Apollo 13.

1981 - Van Halen's lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen married One Day at a Time actress Valerie Bertinelli

1988 - Cher (Cherilyn Sarkasian) won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in 1987's Moonstruck.

2006 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had successfully enriched uranium.

April 12
1633 - Galileo was convicted of heresy, for announcing that the Earth revolved around the Sun.

1914 - Mark Strand Theatre opened in New York City. It was the first official "movie theater."

1934 - The strongest surface wind gust ever recorded on Earth, at 231 mph, was measured on the summit of Mount
Washington, New Hampshire.

1955 - The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, was declared safe and effective.

1961 - Aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human being to
travel into space.
1981 - The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia), named the STS-1 mission.

1987 - 21 Jump Street premiered on FOX

1995 - Drew Barrymore appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and because it was his birthday she famously
danced on his desk and flashed him on the air.

April 13
1204 - Constantinople fell to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade.

1570 - Guy Fawkes was born (died in 1606)

1742 - Handel's Messiah premiered in Dublin, Ireland.

1829 - The Roman Catholic Relief Act gave Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in the
UK's Parliament.

1870 - The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded.

1902 - James C. Penney opened his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.

1943 - The Jefferson Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC.

1970 - An Oxygen tank exploded on Apollo13, but everyone survived. It was also the major plot for the 1995 film,
Apollo 13.

1974 - Western Union, with NASA and Hughes Aircraft, launched the US' first commercial geosynchronous
communications satellite, Westar 1.

1976 - The United States Treasury Department reintroduced the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note

April 14
1775 - The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage was organized in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.

1818 - Noah Webster published his American Dictionary of the English Language.

1865 - John Wilkes Booth fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln at a play (Our American Cousin) at Ford's Theater in
Washington, D.C.

1912 - RMS Titanic hit an iceberg, killing 1514 people that evening, and into the next day.

1933 - Jack Mackay and his wife reported seeing the Loch Ness Monster, "Nessie", although the earliest report was in
565 AD, when St. Columba turned away a giant beast that was threatening a man in the Ness River, which flows into the
lake.

1935 - "Black Sunday Storm" - the worst dust storm of the US Dust Bowl, hit from the Oklahoma Panhandle and
Northwestern Oklahoma to the Texas Panhandles.

1953 - The CIA started to give unwitting subjects LSD in a search for a mind-controlling drug.

1969 (Tornado) East Pakistan, Pakistan

1969 - Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter) and Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl) tied for Best Actress Oscar

1984 - My Little Pony premiered, in syndication

1990 - In Living Color premiered on FOX

1994 - The 24-hour movie channel Turner Classic Movies made its debut.

2003 - The Human Genome Project was completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.

April 15
1755 - Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was published in London.

1892 - The General Electric Company as formed. 

1912 - Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, near Newfoundland & Nova Scotia, Canada, after hitting an iceberg the
night before.

1923 - Insulin became available for use by people with diabetes.

1927 - The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 began.

1947 - Jackie Robinson, became the first African-American player in Major League Baseball when he played at Ebbets
Field in Brooklyn, for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

1955 - McDonald's opened its first franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.

1984 - The inaugural World Youth Day was held in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City.

2013 - At approximately 2:50 PM (EDT), in a terrorist attack, two explosions around Copley Square were caught live on
camera during the telecast of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring 260.

April 16
73 AD - Masada, a Jewish fortress, fell to the Romans after several months of siege.

1881 - In Dodge City, Kansas, gunslinger Bat Masterson fought his last gun battle. He paid an $8 fine and retired.
1943 - Albert Hoffmann accidently discovered the psychedelic effects of Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) 

1947 - Texas City Disaster, ammonium nitrate explosion killed 571 people.

1947 - Bernard Baruch, in a speech given during the unveiling of his portrait in the South Carolina House of
Representatives, coined the term "Cold War" to describe relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. 

1962 - Walter Cronkite became the news anchor for the CBS network.

1990 - Doctor Death, Jack Kevorkian, participated in his first assisted suicide. Janet Adkins was the patient, in Detroit,
Michigan.

1995 - Governor George W. Bush named April 16 as Selena Day in Texas, after the singer was killed two weeks earlier.

2007 - Virginia Tech massacre: Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and injured 17 before committing suicide.

April 17
1397 - Geoffrey Chaucer told The Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II.

1815 (Volcano) Tambora volcano in Indonesia killed almost 100,000 people

1897 - A UFO supposedly crashed into a farm owned by J.S. Proctor in Aurora, Texas.

1907 - The Ellis Island immigration center in New York processed 11,747 people, more than on any other day.

1937 - Daffy Duck's first appearance was in Porky's Duck Hunt.

1960 - Singer Eddie Cochran died, and Gene Vincent was injured in a UK car accident.

1961 - The unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion began.

1964 - The Ford Mustang as introduced to the North American market.

1966 - Policemen Dale Spaur and Wilbur Neff reported chasing a UFO at 5:00 AM in Portage County, Ohio

1973 (Tornado) Balurchar, Bangladesh

2011 - Game of Thrones premiered on HBO

2014 - NASA's Kepler confirmed the discovery of the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of another star.

April 18
1506 - The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica was laid.
1902 - Quetzaltenango, the second largest city of Guatemala, is destroyed by an earthquake.

1906 (Earthquake) At 5:13 AM, an earthquake estimated at close to 8.0 on the Richter scale strikes San Francisco,
California.

1923 - Yankee Stadium, "The House that Ruth Built", opened.

1924 - Simon & Schuster published the first crossword puzzle book.

1930 - BBC reported there was no news, and then played out with piano music.

1983 - The Disney Channel began as a cable channel

1983 - A suicide bomber destroyed the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 63 people.

1989 - In the People's Republic of China (PRC), student protests grew until the Chinese government eventually
suppressed them in June, during what came to be known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

1995 - Rox became the first television show distributed via the internet

2012 - Dick Clark, host of "American Bandstand" and "New Year's Rockin' Eve" died.

2014 - 16 people were killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest.

April 19
1775 - The American Revolution began in Lexington, Massachusetts.

1897 - The first Boston Marathon was held.

1919 - Leslie Irvin made the first successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump using a self-contained parachute.

1956 - American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco.

1963 (Tornado) Cooch Behar, India

1977 - The Amazing Spider-Man debuted on CBS

1987 - The Tracey Ullman Show featured a short with "The Simpsons"

1993 - At Mount Carmel in Waco, Texas, the FBI launched a tear-gas assault on the Branch Davidian compound, ending
with a fire that killed 80 members, including 22 children.

1995 - A massive truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,
killing 168 people.
2009 - Cake Boss premiered on TLC

April 20
1657 - Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (New York City).

1841 - The Murders in the Rue Morgue, by Edgar Allen Poe, was published in Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's
Magazine. It is considered the first detective story.

1871 - The Third Force Act, popularly known as the Ku Klux Act, Congress authorized President Ulysses S. Grant to
declare martial law in stopping the Ku Klux Klan.

1912 - Opening day for baseball's Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan, and Fenway Park in Boston.

1926 - Western Electric and the Warner Brothers film studio officially introduced Vitaphone, a new process that would
enable the addition of sound to film.

1999 - At Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, students Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 13 people and
wounded 23 more before killing themselves.

2008 - Danica Patrick became the first woman to win an Indy Car race

2010 - The Deepwater Horizon, run by British Petroleum (BP) drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven
workers.

April 21
753 BC - Romulus and his twin brother Remus founded Rome.

1895 - Woodville Latham and his sons, Otway and Gray, demonstrate the "Panopticon" - the first movie projector
developed in the United States.

1918 - Above the Somme River in France, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, was killed by Allied fire,
either by an air fight or from the ground.

1930 - 320 people were dead and another 130 were seriously injured in a prison fire at the Ohio State Penitentiary. 

1981 - "Weird Al" Yankovic made his first national television appearance on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder

1986 - Geraldo Rivera hosted a live, highly promoted two-hour syndicated special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault.
They found nothing

1990 - Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue aired, a special program that warned children about the dangers of drugs and
featured characters from several Saturday morning children's shows, was simulcast by ABC, BET, CBS, Fox, NBC, USA
Network, and Nickelodeon.

1992 - The first discoveries of planets outside of our solar system (two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12) were
announced by astronomers Alexander Wolszczan and Dale Frail.

April 22
1519 - Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés established a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.

1864 - The U.S. Congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864 that mandated that the inscription 'In God We Trust' would be
placed on all coins minted as United States currency.

1876 - The first ever National League baseball game is played in Philadelphia. Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red
Stockings. Boston won the game 6-5.

1912 - Pravda, the "voice" of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publication in Saint Petersburg.

1970 - Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, and this year initiated the annual event.

1978 - The Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) made their first appearance on Saturday Night Live.

1998 - Disney's Animal Kingdom opened at Walt Disney World.

2000 - US Federal Agents seized six-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, and sent him back to
Cuba.

April 23
1564 - William Shakespeare was born. He went on to write 38 plays and invent dozens of English words.

1635 - The first public school in the Americas, the Boston Latin School, was founded in Boston.

1940 - Rhythm Club Fire (or The Natchez Dance Hall Holocaust) Natchez, Mississippi killed 198 people.

1961 - Judy Garland performed at Carnegie Hall, the performance is often called "the greatest night in showbiz history."

2005 - First YouTube video was uploaded, titled "Me at the zoo". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw

April 24
1184 BC - The fall of Troy (with the Trojan Horse) took place, according to tradition.

1704 - The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, the News-Letter, was published in Boston,
Massachusetts.

1800 - The Library of Congress was established.

1885 - American sharpshooter Annie Oakley joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.

1895 - Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, set sail from Boston, Massachusetts
aboard the sloop "Spray".
1908 (Tornado) Amite, Louisiana and Purvis Missouri

1982 - Jane Fonda's first Workout video was released.

1990 - STS-31 - The Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.

April 25
1644 - The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming Dynasty China, committed suicide during a peasant rebellion.

1719 - Daniel Defoe's The Life and Strange Adventures of Robinson Crusoe was published. 

1792 - Highwayman (thief) Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.

1859 - Ground was broken for opened the Suez Canal by British and French engineers. The 100 mile canal opened ten
years later.

1901 - New York became the first US state to require automobile license plates.

1944 - The United Negro College Fund was incorporated.

1947 - President Harry Truman opened the two lane White House bowling alley.

1953 - Francis Crick and James D. Watson published "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for
Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA.

1954 - The first practical solar cell was demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.

1982 - Israel completed the withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.

1983 - Pioneer 10 traveled beyond Pluto's orbit.

1992- Growing Pains and Who's The Boss aired their final episodes

April 26
662 (Earthquake) Iran

1278 - Imprisoned for murder, John le F*cker sends a letter asking for bail, the earliest recorded instance of the English
swear word "f*ck".

1564 - Playwright William Shakespeare was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. Traditionally
baptized three days after birth, this is how we know his birthday was April 23.

1721 (Earthquake) Tabriz, Iran

1933 - The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, was established.

1954 - Polio vaccine trials began.

1977 - Studio 54 opened at 254 West 54th Street in New York City.

1986 - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster, Ukraine

1989 (Tornado) Daulatpur-Salturia Tornado, Bangladesh killed 1300 people and injured 12,000.

1978 - Ringo Starr's, Ringo, a musical version of The Prince and the Pauper, airs on NBC, with George Harrison
narrating.

2010 - Boobquake was envisioned by Jennifer McCreight. An estimated 200,000 people participated world wide, and the
epicenter was considered the Purdue Bell Tower in West Lafayette, Indiana.

2011 - The Voice premiered on NBC

April 27
4977 BC - The Universe was created, according to Johannes Kepler.

1667 - Blind writer John Milton sold his copyright to 'Paradise Lost' for 10 pounds. He needed the money because he was
penniless at the time.

1865 - SS Sultana explosion, Mississippi River, near Memphis, Tennessee.

1936 - he United Auto Workers (UAW) gains autonomy from the American Federation of Labor.

1956 - Rocky Marciano retired as world heavyweight boxing champion.

1992 - Betty Boothroyd became the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year
history.

2002 - The last successful telemetry from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10, launched in 1972.

2014 - Popes John XXIII and John Paul II were declared saints.

April 28
1789 - The HMS Bounty was taken over in a mutiny led by Fletcher Christian, the first mate. Captain William Bligh and
18 of his loyal supporters were set adrift in a small boat.

1965 - My Name Is Barbra, Barbra Streisand's first TV special, aired on CBS.

1967 - World boxing champion Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.) refused to be inducted into the US Army
and was immediately stripped of his heavyweight title. 
1975 - Tom Snyder interviewed ex-Beatle John Lennon on The Tomorrow Show

1988 - Over Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing was blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a
Boeing 737, and fell to her death when part of the plane's fuselage ripped open in mid-flight.

1994- The Simpsons aired its 100th episode

2001 - Millionaire Dennis Tito become the world's first space tourist.

April 29
1962 - ABC's Wide World of Sports premiered.

1945 - The US Seventh Army's 45th Infantry Division liberated the Dachau concentration camp.

1968 - The musical, Hair, opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, 

1991 (Cyclone) Bangladesh Cyclone, in Bangladesh killed 135,000 people.

1993 - A cartoon version of Barry White appeared on the fourth season finale of The Simpsons.

1992 - Rodney King trial verdict announced. Four police officers who had been charged with using excessive force in
arresting black motorist Rodney King a year earlier were aquitted. Roiting ensued - over the next three days 53 people
were killed and hundreds of buildings were destroyed.

1996 - TV Land network made its debut.

2011 - The Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Kate Middleton.

April 30
1789 - In New York City, George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States.

1803 - The Louisiana Purchase from France, for 15 million dollars, also included much (if not all of) of Arkansas,
Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South
Dakota and Wyoming.

1812 - The Territory of Orleans became the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.

1900 - Casey Jones died in a train wreck in Vaughan, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball
Express.

1927 - Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's
Chinese Theater, in Hollywood.

1939 - The New York World's fair opened at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens.
1948 - The Land Rover, a British-made all-terrain vehicle, debuted at an auto show in Amsterdam.

1966 - The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco.

1989 - CNBC, the first NBC cable channel and the first financial cable channel, began transmitting.

1992 - The finale for The Cosby Show aired on NBC

1992- The Nickelodeon time capsule was buried at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, FL.

1993 - Tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by Gunter Parchein Hamburg, Germany.

1997 - During the "Puppy" episode of "Ellen" it was revealed that the main/title character (Ellen) was gay

Pop Culture News

March 5 in Pop Culture History

March 5 in Pop Culture History 1223 BC – The oldest recorded eclipse

occurred, in modern day Syria. 1558 – The tobacco plant was introduced
into Spain by Francisco Fernandes, as a healing herb. 1917 – (fictional)
see 1959 1933 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a bank holiday’
– closing all US banks and freezing all financial transactions. 1946 –
Winston Churchill coined the phrase ‘Iron Curtain’ in his speech at
Westminster College,…

March 4 in Pop Culture History

March 4 in Pop Culture History 1519 – Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico

in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth. 1789 – The federal
government under the US Constitution began, replacing the Articles of
Confederation. 1826 – The first chartered railroad in the US was
chartered as the Granite Railway in Quincy, Massachusetts. 1837 – The
city of Chicago was incorporated. 1853 – Franklin Pierce was the first
U.S. President to recite…
The Flash – Enter Flashtime Trailer

THE FLASH “Enter Flashtime” — (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET) (Content Ratings

TBD) (HDTV) JESSE QUICK AND JAY GARRICK TEAM UP WITH
THE FLASH — When a nuclear bomb detonates in downtown Central
City, Barry (Grant Gustin), Jesse Quick (guest star Violett Beane) and
Jay Garrick (guest star John Wesley Shipp) slow down time by entering
Flashtime.  As everyone in the city is frozen, the three speedsters push
themselves to the breaking point to save the city and everyone…

World Wildlife Day, March Third

World Wild Life Day is a day that both wild plants and animals are
celebrated and also a day to be aware of what human beings are doing to
endanger the delicate balance of the world eco-system.  The United
Nations proclaimed March 3 as World Wildlife Day on December 20,
2013. Animals and plants are both being hunted and harvested at such a
rate that even the tiger is at near extinction record with…

March 3 in Pop Culture History

March 3 in Pop Culture History 1873 – US Congress passed the

‘Comstock Law’, making it illegal to send any “obscene, lewd, or
lascivious” books through the mail. 1885 – American Telephone and
Telegraph Company was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of
American Bell. 1901 – The office of Standards, Weights and Measures
was created by an act of the US Congress. 1915 – Birth of a Nation made
it’s east coast debut…

Did De Beers Really Have The Most Successful Ad Campaign Of

All Time?

(PCM) Nearly all of us are familiar with the popular catchphrase “A

diamond is forever”, as it won over the hearts of women (and the wallets
of men) since it was first introduced creating one of the most successful
ad campaigns of all time for jewelry company De Beers. The “A diamond
is forever” slogan originated with a 1948 ad campaign created by De
Beers and suddenly the modern day engagement ring as we…

Super Dark Times Review

    Netflix has always been a place where you can find something to watch.
I was super excited to hear that Super Dark Times was going to be
available on Netflix, and so I made it a point to check it out. I’m glad I
did. Super Dark Times is a 2017 thriller that does an amazing job at
telling a gritty story through the eyes of teenagers in pre-day Columbine.
I had…

March 2 in Pop Culture History

March 2 in Pop Culture History 1657 – The Great Fire of Meireki in Edo
(now Tokyo), Japan, caused more than 100,000 deaths, and lasted three
days 1807 – The US Congress passed an act to “prohibit the importation
of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United
States… from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.” 1863 – The US
Congress authorized a track width of 4-feet, 8-1/2 inches as…

The Peace Corp Established March 1, 1961

The Peace Corp was established by the Executive Order of President

John F. Kennedy on March 1, 1961.  It was authorized by congress on
September 21 of the same year. The mission of The peace Corp is
twofold.  The first is for under developed countries to understand
American culture and the second is for Americans to understand the
cultures of other nations. The Peace Corp consists of volunteers that are
college graduates.  These volunteers…

March 1 in Pop Culture History

March 1 in Pop Culture History 1692 – In Salem Village in the

Massachusetts Bay Colony, Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an
Indian slave from Barbados, were accused of witchcraft, beginning the
Salem Witchcraft Trials. Assuming those convicted were not practicing
the dark arts, 19 innocent women and men were killed as a result of the
trials. 1783 (Earthquake) Calabria, Italy 1790 – The first United States
census was authorized. 1868 – The…
    Pop Culture Madness | Pop Music | More Trivia | PCM World
News | Amazon
PopCultureMadness.com is the center of the Pop Culture Madness
network - your complete trivia and entertainment news resource. 
Our motto: "All The Pop Culture News That Fits, We Print!"

The websites of the PCM Network add more information every day.
Well, semi-regularly. If you don't see a link for what you're looking for,
then it's your responsibility to write something up, and send it in. 
Everything else © copyright 1999-2018 Pop Culture Madness, unless
stated otherwise.
 By the way, PCM does NOT allow frequent Pop up ads, Pop under ads,
or sneaky spyware. Nor do we link to sites that have excessive Pop-ups,
spyware or inappropriate (all ages) material. If you find one, please let
us know and they are toast!

pop, as in 'popular' :(adjective) Pertaining to the common people, or the

people as a whole as distinguished from any particular class. 
Having characteristics attributed to the common people and intended
for or suited to ordinary people.

culture:(noun) That which is excellent in the arts. 

A particular stage of civilization. The behaviors and beliefs
characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. 

madness: (noun) The state of being mad. insanity, senseless folly, intense
excitement or enthusiasm.
Privacy Statement/Contact

TL;DR - Privacy Statement: We will not sell, give or share any personal
information, including e-mail addresses, of any of our visitors to anyone
outside of Pop Culture Madness. com or our affiliated network sites. We do
not accept any stealth or spyware advertisers or third party sponsors of
such programs. Pop Culture Madness. com and affiliated sites do not send
spam, offer get-rich-quick schemes, offer or suggest "enhancement"
devices or medications via e-mail.

For purposes of Review, we often (usually) get samples, press access and
other 'inside information.'
Take that into account when you read a positive (or negative) Review, on
PCM or anywhere on the internet.

PCM does use third-party advertising companies, such as google, to serve

ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not
including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about
your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements
about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more
information about this practice and to know your choices about not having
this information used by these companies, click here.

https://popculturemadness.com/Trivia/April/index.php