"The Charbor Chronicles"

Sunday, April 19, 2026

An Obituary Which Makes You Wish You Had Known the Man

Below is a link to an obituary that makes you want to have known the guy who just passed.

I did not read the entire thing, but saw enough to agree. Indeed, it does make you kind of wish that you had known him when he was alive.

Very well written. You almost get the feeling that you might have been able to picture what he was like when still alive.

Take a look:

This obituary of a ‘very sick man’ and is so funny you’ll wish you knew the guy “Your father is a very sick man.” By Tod Perry By Upworthy Staff Dec 5, 2025:

https://www.upworthy.com/funny-obituary-ex1/

Weekend Humor: Cat Finds Your Lack of Snacks Disturbing

This was something which was on Facebook some time ago. Have been meaning to post it here, but kept forgetting.

Until now.

It felt like this would be an appropriate bit of levity for the weekend. A black cat apparently posing at just the right moment above a television showing Darth Vader. Guessing that this was staged or set up. But it was still pretty funny.

Below is the link:

Funny Cloud City 26 March at 17:32 · I find your lack of treats… disturbing 🐾

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1412216907617363&set=a.557282196444176

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April 19th: This Day in History

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 607, Comet 1P/607 H1 (Halley) approached within 0.0898 AUs of Earth. Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich, London, took place on tis day in 1012. In 1451 on this day, Alam Shah of Delhi resigned his throne. Chartres surrendered to King Henri IV of France on this day in 1591. It was on this day in 1775 at approximately 5 a.m. in Lexington Common, Massachusetts, that the shot "heard round the world" started the American Revolutionary War for Independence. Minutemen Captain John Parker ordered his men not to fire unless fired upon on this day in 1775. John Adams secured the Dutch Republic's recognition of the United States as an independent government on this day in 1782. The house that he had purchased in The Hague, Netherlands, became the first American embassy. On this day in 1809, former American President Thomas Jefferson wrote out a contract to sell an indentured servant to newly sworn-in American President James Madison The servant was named John Freeman, paradoxically. On this day in, 1810, a revolt in Caracas, Venezuela, led to the overthrow of the Spanish Governor of the Captaincy General, Vicente Emparán. This in turn led to the establishment of the Supreme Junta of Caracas. This has been widely recognized as the beginning of Venezuela's struggle for independence from Spain. The Treaty of London, which constituted Belgium an independent kingdom & Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy, was signed on this day in 1839. In 1861 on this day in the early stages of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the blockade of Confederate ports. It was on this day in 1943 the German occupation of Poland during World War II ongoing that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising started. On this day in 1971, Vietnam Veterans Against the War had a massive demonstration protesting the Vietnam conflict in Washington, D.C. It lasted several days. In 1985 on this day, Advance Australia Fair was proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours. In 1993 on this day, the Branch Davidian compound, led by David Koresh, burned in Waco, Texas.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 607, Comet 1P/607 H1 (Halley) approached within 0.0898 AUs of Earth.

• Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich, London, took place on tis day in 1012..

• In 1451 on this day, Alam Shah of Delhi resigned his throne.

1524 - Pope Clemens VII fires Neth inquisitor-general French Van de Holly

1529 - 2nd Parliament of Spiers bans Lutheranism

1539 - Charles, protestant German monarch, signs Treaty of Frankrfurt

1552 - Mauritius of Saksen captures Karel

1587 - Sir Frances Drake sails into Cadiz Spain & sinks Spanish fleet

Royal France

• Chartres surrendered to King Henri IV of France on this day in 1591.

1619 - Theatrum Anatomicum opens in Amsterdam

1713 - Emperor Karel VI ends Pragmatic Sanctions

1770 - Amsterdam buys Van Aerssens family 1/3 part of Suriname

1770 - Captain James Cook 1st sights Australia

1774 - CW Glucks opera "Iphigenia in Aulis" premieres in Paris

Early version of the American flag used during the Revolutionary War for Independence

• It was on this day in 1775 at approximately 5 a.m. in Lexington Common, Massachusetts, that the shot "heard round the world" started the American Revolutionary War for Independence. About 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the town's common green. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment's hesitation the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, the "shot heard around the world" was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead or dying and 10 others were wounded. Only one British soldier was injured, but the American Revolution had begun. By 1775, tensions between the American colonies and the British government approached the breaking point, especially in Massachusetts, where Patriot leaders formed a shadow revolutionary government and trained militias to prepare for armed conflict with the British troops occupying Boston. In the spring of 1775, General Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, received instructions from England to seize all stores of weapons and gunpowder accessible to the American insurgents. On April 18, he ordered British troops to march against the Patriot arsenal at Concord and capture Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, known to be hiding at Lexington. The Boston Patriots had been preparing for such a military action by the British for some time, and upon learning of the British plan, Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes were ordered to set out to rouse the militiamen and warn Adams and Hancock. When the British troops arrived at Lexington, Adams, Hancock, and Revere had already fled to Philadelphia, and a group of militiamen were waiting. The Patriots were routed within minutes, but warfare had begun, leading to calls to arms across the Massachusetts countryside. When the British troops reached Concord at about 7 a.m., they found themselves encircled by hundreds of armed Patriots. They managed to destroy the military supplies the Americans had collected but were soon advanced against by a gang of minutemen, who inflicted numerous casualties. Lieutenant Colonel Frances Smith, the overall commander of the British force, ordered his men to return to Boston without directly engaging the Americans. As the British retraced their 16-mile journey, their lines were constantly beset by Patriot marksmen firing at them Indian-style from behind trees, rocks, and stone walls. At Lexington, Captain Parker's militia had its revenge, killing several British soldiers as the Red Coats hastily marched through his town. By the time the British finally reached the safety of Boston, nearly 300 British soldiers had been killed, wounded, or were missing in action. The Patriots suffered fewer than 100 casualties. The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the American Revolution, a conflict that would escalate from a colonial uprising into a world war that, seven years later, would give birth to the independent United States of America.

• Minutemen Captain John Parker ordered his men not to fire unless fired upon on this day in 1775.

• John Adams secured the Dutch Republic's recognition of the United States as an independent government on this day in 1782. The house that he had purchased in The Hague, Netherlands, became the first American embassy.

A picture I took of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington during a visit with my son back in 2013.

• On this day in 1809, former American President Thomas Jefferson wrote out a contract to sell an indentured servant to newly sworn-in American President James Madison The servant was named John Freeman, paradoxically. Slavery and indentured servitude were major components of the early American economy. Slaves performed most of the manual and domestic labor on the large plantations owned by several presidents and their colonial ancestors, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Andrew Jackson. While slaves were primarily African and Native Americans, indentured servants in the late 1600s to early 1700s were frequently impoverished white men of English descent who resorted to selling themselves into servitude in exchange for room and board, and sometimes wages. Relatively few African Americans in late 18th-century America became indentured servants. By the time of the American Revolution, the practice of indentured servitude had declined in favor of using "cheaper" African slaves. It is believed that Freeman was an African-American craftsman who had sold himself to Jefferson as an indentured servant with an agreement to serve a total of 132 months; he may have been a carpenter or ironworker. After Freeman completed 76.5 months of work, Jefferson "sold" Freeman to Madison who, at the time, was looking for skilled artisans to help build an extension on his plantation house. Madison paid Jefferson an unknown amount, which would have been calculated to equal Freeman's remaining time in service. (Jefferson had originally bought Freeman's services for $400.) The original hand-written contract for John Freeman's sale is now housed at the Library of Congress. In the exhibit, it is noted with irony that America's preeminent revolutionary, Thomas Jefferson, wrote the agreement on the anniversary of the Battle of Lexington, the event that launched the war to end America's servitude to England.

• On this day in, 1810, a revolt in Caracas, Venezuela, led to the overthrow of the Spanish Governor of the Captaincy General, Vicente Emparán. This in turn led to the establishment of the Supreme Junta of Caracas. This has been widely recognized as the beginning of Venezuela's struggle for independence from Spain.

1825 - 33 patriotic exiles return to Uruguay

Captain/Explorer James CookCaptain/Explorer James Cook 1836 - Nikolai Gogol's "Revisor" premieres in St Petersburg

1837 - Cheyney University forms as the Institute for Colored Youth

• The Treaty of London, which constituted Belgium an independent kingdom & Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy, was signed on this day in 1839.

1852 - California Historical Society forms

1853 - Netherlands Van Hall government forms

1861 - Baltimore riots-4 soldiers, 9 civilians killed

Statue of Abraham Lincoln outside of the New York Historical Society

Lincoln Memorial Sculpture by Daniel French in Washington, D.C.

• In 1861 on this day in the early stages of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln ordered the blockade of Confederate ports.

1863 - Union troops/fleet occupy For Huger, Virginia

1874 - Barracks on Alcatraz Island destroyed in fire

1877 - Opera "Les Cloches de Cornerville" is produced (Paris)

1890 - Henry Morton Stanley inaugurated in Brussels

1892 - Charles Duryea takes 1st American-made auto out for a spin (Mass)

1894 - Jules Massenet's opera "Werther" premieres in NYC

1896 - Herzl's "The Jewish State" is published

1897 - 1st American marathon ran, John J McDermott wins in 2:55:10 (Boston)

1897 - 1st performance of Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande"

1898 - 2nd Boston Marathon won by Ron McDonald of Mass in 2:42:00

1899 - 3rd Boston Marathon won by Lawrence Brignolia of Mass in 2:54:38

1900 - 4th Boston Marathon won by Jim Caffrey of Canada in 2:39:44.4

1900 - Highest scoring opening game, Phils beat Braves 19-17 in 10

1901 - 5th Boston Marathon won by Jim Caffrey of Canada in 2:29:23.6

1901 - James J Caffrey wins Boston marathon (2:29:23.6)

1902 - 6th Boston Marathon won by Sam Mellor of NY in 2:43:12

1904 - 8th Boston Marathon won by Michael Spring of NY in 2:38:04.4

1904 - Much of Toronto destroyed by fire

1905 - 9th Boston Marathon won by Fred Lorz of NY in 2:38:25.4

1906 - 10th Boston Marathon won by Tim Ford of Mass in 2:45:45

1906 - Belgian naval education ship Comte The Stain de Naeyer sets sail

1906 - SF Earthquake ends killing 452

1907 - 11th Boston Marathon won by Tom Longboat of Canada in 2:24:24

1909 - 13th Boston Marathon won by Henri Renaud of NH in 2:53:36.8

French Soldier and National Heroine Joan of ArcFrench Soldier and National Heroine Joan of Arc 1909 - Joan of Arc receives beatification

1910 - 14th Boston Marathon won by Fred Cameron of Canada in 2:28:52.4

1910 - Halley's comet seen by naked eye 1st time this trip (Curacao)

1911 - 15th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar of Mass in 2:21:39.6

1911 - George Bernard Shaw's "Fanny's First Play" premieres in London

1912 - 16th Boston Marathon won by Mike Ryan of NY in 2:21:18.2

1913 - 17th Boston Marathon won by Fritz Carlson of Minn in 2:25:14.8

1915 - 19th Boston Marathon won by Edouard Fabre of Canada in 2:31:41.2

1916 - "Bing Boys are Here" opens in London

1916 - 20th Boston Marathon won by Arthur Roth of Mass in 2:27:16.4

1916 - Italians troops conquer Col di Lana at Merano

1917 - 21st Boston Marathon won by Bill Kennedy of NY in 2:28:37.2

1919 - 23rd Boston Marathon won by Carl Linder of Mass in 2:29:13.4

1919 - French assembly decides on 8 hour work day

1919 - Leslie Irvin of US makes 1st parachute jump & free fall

Playwright George Bernard ShawPlaywright George Bernard Shaw 1919 - Opera "Monsieur Beaucaire" is produced (London)

1920 - 24th Boston Marathon won by Peter Trivoulidas of Greece in 2:29:31

1921 - 25th Boston Marathon won by Frank Zuna of NJ in 2:18:57.6

1921 - Funeral of last German Emperoress, Augusta Victoria

1922 - 26th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar of Mass in 2:18:10

1923 - 27th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar of Mass in 2:23:37.4

1923 - New Egyptian law allows suffrage for men, except soldiers

1924 - "National Barn Dance" premieres on WLS Chicago

1924 - 28th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar of Mass in 2:29:40.2

1926 - 30th Boston Marathon won by Johnny Miles of Canada in 2:25:40.4

1927 - "Vagabond King" opens in London

1927 - 31st Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar of Mass in 2:40:22.2

1928 - 32nd Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar of Mass in 2:37:07.8

1928 - Japanese troops occupies Sjantung-schiereiland

1928 - Yanks are out of 1st place for 1st time since May 1926

1928 - The 125th and final fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.

1929 - 33rd Boston Marathon won by Johnny Miles of Canada in 2:33:08.6

1930 - 34th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar of Mass in 2:34:48.2

1932 - 36th Boston Marathon won by Paul de Bruyn of Germany in 2:33:36.4

31st US President Herbert Hoover31st US President Herbert Hoover

1932 - President Herbert Hoover suggests 5 day work week

1933 - 37th Boston Marathon won by Leslie Pawson of RI in 2:31:01.6

1933 - FDR announces US will leave gold standard

1934 - 38th Boston Marathon won by Dave Komonen of Canada in 2:32:53.8

1934 - Shirley Temple appears in her 1st movie, "Stand Up & Cheer"

1935 - 39th Boston Marathon won by John A Kelley of Mass in 2:32:07.4

1936 - Anti-Jewish riots break out in Palestine

1936 - First day of the Great Uprising in Palestine.

1937 - 41st Boston Marathon won by Walter Young of Canada in 2:33:20

1938 - 42nd Boston Marathon won by Leslie Pawson of RI in 2:35:34.8

1938 - Phil Emmett Mueller & Dodger Ernie Koy both homer in their 1st at bat

1939 - 43rd Boston Marathon won by Ellison Brown of RI in 2:28:51.8

1939 - Connecticut finally approves Bill of Rights (148 years late)1939 - Connecticut approved the Bill of Rights for the U.S. Constitution after 148 years.

1940 - "Lake Shore Ltd" derails speed killing 34 near Little Falls NY

1940 - 44th Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:28:28.6

32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1940 - Dutch prime minister De Geer declares state of siege

1941 - 45th Boston Marathon won by Leslie Pawson of RI in 2:30:38

1941 - B Brecht's "Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder" premieres in Zurich

1941 - Bulgarian troops invade Macedonia

1941 - Milk rationed in Holland

1942 - 46th Boston Marathon won by Joe Smith of Mass in 2:26:51.2

1943 - 47th Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:28:25.8

1943 - SS-lt-gen Jurgen Stoop leads destruction of ghetto of Warsaw

• It was on this day in 1943 the German occupation of Poland during World War II ongoing that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising started. In Warsaw, Poland, Nazi forces attempting to clear out the city's Jewish ghetto are met by gunfire from Jewish resistance fighters, and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins. Shortly after the German occupation of Poland began, the Nazis forced the city's Jewish citizens into a "ghetto" surrounded by barbwire and armed SS guards. The Warsaw ghetto occupied an area of less than two square miles but soon held almost 500,000 Jews in deplorable conditions. Disease and starvation killed thousands every month, and beginning in July 1942, 6,000 Jews per day were transferred to the Treblinka concentration camp. Although the Nazis assured the remaining Jews that their relatives and friends were being sent to work camps, word soon reached the ghetto that deportation to the camp meant extermination. An underground resistance group was established in the ghetto--the Jewish Combat Organization (ZOB)--and limited arms were acquired at great cost. On January 18, 1943, when the Nazis entered the ghetto to prepare a group for transfer, a ZOB unit ambushed them. Fighting lasted for several days, and a number of Germans soldiers were killed before they withdrew. On April 19, Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler announced that the ghetto was to be emptied of its residents in honor of Hitler's birthday the following day, and more than 1,000 S.S. soldiers entered the confines with tanks and heavy artillery. Although many of the ghetto's remaining 60,000 Jewish dwellers attempted to hide themselves in secret bunkers, more than 1,000 ZOB members met the Germans with gunfire and homemade bombs. Suffering moderate casualties, the Germans initially withdrew but soon returned, and on April 24 launched an all-out attack against the Warsaw Jews. Thousands were slaughtered as the Germans systematically progressed down the ghettos, blowing up the buildings one by one. The ZOB took to the sewers to continue the fight, but on May 8 their command bunker fell to the Germans and their resistant leaders committed suicide. By May 16, the ghetto was firmly under Nazi control, and mass deportation of the last Warsaw Jews to Treblinka began. During the uprising, some 300 German soldiers were killed, and thousands of Warsaw Jews were massacred. Virtually all those who survived the Uprising to reach Treblinka were dead by the end of the war.

1943 - Bicycle Day - Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hofmann deliberately takes LSD for the first time.

1944 - Allied fleet attack Sabang Sumatra

1945 - 49th Boston Marathon won by John A Kelley of Mass in 2:30:40.2

1945 - Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "Carousel" opens on Broadway

1945 - US aircraft carrier Franklin heavy damaged in Japanese air raid

1945 - US offensive against Shuri-barrier on Okinawa

1945 - The diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Guatemala are established.

1946 - Yankees switch from 3rd base to 1st base dug out

1947 - 51st Boston Marathon won by Yun Bok Soh of Korea in 2:25:39

1947 - AAU record for a 25-foot rope climb is set in 4.7 seconds

1947 - French ship explodes in Texas City harbor, kills about 522

1947 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Montreal Canadiens, 4 games to 2

1947 - Suh Yun Buck wins world record marathon (2:25:39)

1948 - 52nd Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:31:02

1948 - ABC-TV network begins

1948 - Chiang Kai-shek elected president of Nationalist China

1949 - 53rd Boston Marathon won by Gosta Leandersson of Sweden in 2:31:50.8

Baseball Great Babe RuthBaseball Great Babe Ruth 1949 - Yankees dedicate a plaque for Babe Ruth

1950 - 54th Boston Marathon won by Kee Yong Ham of Korea in 2:32:39

1951 - "Tree Grows in Brooklyn" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 267 perfs

1951 - 55th Boston Marathon won by Shigeki Tanaka of Japan in 2:27:45

1951 - Gen Douglas MacArthur ends his military career

1952 - 56th Boston Marathon won by Doroteo Flores of Guatemala in 2:31:53

1953 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA San Diego Golf Open

1953 - WAFB TV channel 9 in Baton Rouge, LA (CBS) begins broadcasting

1954 - 58th Boston Marathon won by Veikko Karvonen of Finland in 2:20:39

1954 - 7-time winner of Boston Marathon, 65-year-old Clarence Demar, runs his last race at Boston finishing 78th

1955 - 59th Boston Marathon won by Hideo Hamamura of Japan in 2:18:22

1955 - The German automaker Volkswagen, after six years of selling cars in the United States, founds Volkswagen of America in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey to standardize its dealer and service network.

1956 - 1st ML baseball game in NJ, Dodgers beat Phils in Roosevelt Stadium

1956 - 60th Boston Marathon won by Antti Viskari of Finland in 2:14:14

1958 - 62nd Boston Marathon won by Franjo Mihalic of Yugoslavia in 2:25:54

WW2 General Douglas MacArthurWW2 General Douglas MacArthur 1959 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Open

1959 - Uprising in La Paz Bolivia, fails

1960 - 64th Boston Marathon won by Paavo Kotila of Finland in 2:20:54

1960 - Baseball uniforms begin displaying players' names on their backs

1960 - Comiskey Park's famed "exploding" scoreboard begins operating

1961 - 65th Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:23:39

1962 - 66th Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:23:48

1962 - NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 46,900m

1963 - "Hot Spot" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 43 performances

1963 - 67th Boston Marathon won by Aurele Vandendriessche of Belgium in 2:18:58

1964 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Peach Blossom Golf Invitational

1964 - Rightist coup in Laos, Suvanna Phuma remains premier

1964 - Roger Sessions' opera "Montezuma" premieres in West Berlin

1965 - 1st all news radio station (WINS 1010 AM in NYC) begins operating

1965 - 69th Boston Marathon won by Morio Shigematsu of Japan in 2:16:33

1965 - T.A.M.I. Show premieres in London

1965 - At a cost of $20,000, the outer Astrodome ceiling is painted because of sun's glare, this causes the grass to die

1966 - In 1st regular season game at Anaheim Stadium, Angels lose 3-1 to Chic

1966 - 70th Boston Marathon won by Kenji Kimihara of Japan in 2:17:11

1966 - Roberta Bignay becomes 1st woman to run in the Boston Marathon

1967 - "Casino Royale" premieres

1967 - 71st Boston Marathon won by Dave McKenzie of New Zealand in 2:15:45

1967 - Beatles sign a contract to stay together for 10 years (they don't)

1967 - Yugoslav author Mihaljo Mihaljov sentenced 4½ years

1968 - 72nd Boston Marathon won by Amby Burfoot of Conn in 2:22:17

1968 - Belgian construction workers strike

• On this day in 1971, Vietnam Veterans Against the War had a massive demonstration protesting the Vietnam conflict in Washington, D.C. It lasted several days. As a prelude to a massive antiwar protest, Vietnam Veterans Against the War begin a five-day demonstration in Washington, D.C. The generally peaceful protest, called Dewey Canyon III in honor of the operation of the same name conducted in Laos, ended on April 23 with about 1,000 veterans throwing their combat ribbons, helmets, and uniforms on the Capitol steps, along with toy weapons. Earlier, they had lobbied with their congressmen, laid wreaths in Arlington National Cemetery, and staged mock "search and destroy" missions. On April 24, a massive rally of about 200,000 took place on the Mall in Washington, D.C. A simultaneous protest was held by 156,000 demonstrators in San Francisco, but that rally, described as the largest such protest to date on the West Coast, ended prematurely when militants took over the stage and protest coordinators were forced to cancel the last few speeches. The comparatively orderly demonstrations in Washington, D.C., ended on April 26 when the demonstrators changed their tactics to aggressive "people lobbying," with the avowed purpose of "shutting down the government." Five thousand police officers, backed by 12,000 troops, out-maneuvered the demonstrators and prevented them from blocking access to government buildings.

1971 - Charles Manson sentenced to life (Sharon Tate murder)

1971 - Sierra Leone becomes a republic (Natl Day)

1971 - USSR Salyut 1 launched; 1st manned lab in orbit

1972 - "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope" opens at Playhouse NYC for 1,065 perfs

1972 - Bangladesh becomes a member of British Commonwealth

1972 - Hungary revises constitution

1972 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

Singer-songwriter & Actress Barbra StreisandSinger-songwriter & Actress Barbra Streisand 1973 - Barbra Streisand records "Between Yesterday & Tomorrow"

1973 - Steinbrenner replaces Mike Burke with Gabe Paul as Yankee president

1973 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1974 - Oriole Al Bumbry hits an inside-the-park HR against NY Yankees

1975 - India launches 1st satellite with help of USSR

1976 - 5th Boston Women's Marathon won by Kim Merritt of Wis in 2:47:10

1976 - 80th Boston Marathon won by Jack Fultz of Wash, DC in 2:20:19

1978 - Yitzhak Navron elected 5th president of Israel

1979 - FCC raids & shuts down pirate radio station WFAT (Brooklyn New York)

1979 - Following a 6-3 loss to the Orioles, Yanks Goose Gossage & Cliff

1979 - Johnson brawl, Gossage sustains a sprained ligament in his left thumb

1981 - Beth Daniel wins LPGA Florida Lady Citrus Golf

1981 - Oakland A's runs record to 11-0

1981 - William Finn's musical "March of Falsettos" premieres in NYC

1981 - Rochester Red Wings & Pawtucket Red Sox play to 2-2 tie in 32 innings, game suspended at 4:07 AM (Pawtucket later wins in 33rd)

1982 - 11th Boston Women's Marathon won by Charlotte Teske of Ger in 2:29:33

1982 - 86th Boston Marathon won by Alberto Salazar of Oreg in 2:08:51

1982 - Guinon Bluford announced as 1st black astronaut

1982 - Rosie Ruiz, marathon race cheater, arrested for forgery

1982 - Sally Ride announced as 1st woman astronaut

1982 - USSR Salyut 7 space station put into orbit

1983 - France performs nuclear test

1984 - Nemesis, death star of dinosaurs 1st appears in print (Nature magazine)

1985 - 16th Space Shuttle Mission (51-D)-Discovery 4 returns to Earth

1985 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

The flag of Australia

• In 1985 on this day, Advance Australia Fair was proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.

1986 - Michael Spinks beats Larry Holmes in 15 for heavyweight boxing title

1987 - Brendon Kuruppu scores 201* on Test Cricket debut (Sri Lanka v NZ)

1987 - Brewers score 5 runs in 9th to win 6-4 & record 12th straight AL win

1987 - Gregory Robertson does 200-mph free fall to save unconscious skydiver

1987 - Jacqueline Blanc, sets women's downhill ski speed rec (124.902 mph)

1987 - Jan Stephenson wins LPGA Santa Barbara Golf Open

1987 - LA Clippers end season with a terrible 12-70 record

1987 - Last wild condor captured on California wildlife reserve

1987 - USSR performs underground nuclear test

1989 - Gun turret explodes on USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors

1989 - Kevin Elster (NY Mets), sets errorless shortstop mark at 73

1989 - Republic Day in Sierra Leone

1990 - Contra guerrillas, leftist Sandinistas & incoming government agree to truce

1990 - Marla Maples appears on ABC's Prime-Time

1990 - Pistons & 76'ers get into a fight accruing $162,500 fines (NBA record)

1990 - Truce in Nicaragua's civil war

Champion Boxer Evander HolyfieldChampion Boxer Evander Holyfield 1991 - Evander Holyfield beats George Foreman in 12 for heavyweight boxing title

1991 - Greyhound Bus posts $195 million loss for 1990

1993 - Branch Davidians in Waco Texas dies in fire after 51 day siege (accident, suicide, tear gas are disputed causes)

• In 1993 on this day, the Branch Davidian compound, led by David Koresh, burned in Waco, Texas. At Mount Carmel in Waco, Texas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launches a tear-gas assault on the Branch Davidian compound, ending a tense 51-day standoff between the federal government and an armed religious cult. By the end of the day, the compound was burned to the ground, and some 80 Branch Davidians, including 22 children, had perished in the inferno. On February 28, 1993, agents of the U.S. Treasury Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) launched a raid against the Branch Davidian compound as part of an investigation into illegal possession of firearms and explosives by the Christian cult. As the agents attempted to penetrate the complex, gunfire erupted, beginning an extended gun battle that left four ATF agents dead and 15 wounded. Six Branch Davidians were fatally wounded, and several more were injured, including David Koresh, the cult's founder and leader. After 45 minutes of shooting, the ATF agents withdrew, and a cease-fire was negotiated over the telephone. The operation, which involved more than 100 ATF agents, was one of the largest ever mounted by the bureau and resulted in the highest casualties of any ATF operation. David Koresh was born Vernon Wayne Howell in Houston, Texas, in 1959. In 1981, he joined the Branch Davidians, a sect of the Seventh Day Adventist Church founded in 1934 by a Bulgarian immigrant named Victor Houteff. Koresh, who possessed an exhaustive knowledge of the Bible, rapidly rose in the hierarchy of the small religious community, eventually entering into a power struggle with the Davidians' leader, George Roden. For a short time, Koresh retreated with his followers to eastern Texas, but in late 1987 he returned to Mount Carmel with seven armed followers and raided the compound, severely wounding Roden. Koresh went on trial for attempted murder, but the charge was dropped after his case was declared a mistrial. By 1990, he was the leader of the Branch Davidians and legally changed his name to David Koresh, with David representing his status as head of the biblical House of David, and Koresh standing for the Hebrew name for Cyrus, the Persian king who allowed the Jews held captive in Babylon to return to Israel. Koresh took several wives at Mount Carmel and fathered at least 12 children from these women, several of whom were as young as 12 or 13 when they became pregnant. There is also evidence that Koresh may have harshly disciplined some of the 100 or so Branch Davidians living inside the compound, particularly his children. A central aspect of Koresh's religious teachings was his assertion that the apocalyptic events predicted in the Bible's book of Revelation were imminent, making it necessary, he asserted, for the Davidians to stockpile weapons and explosives in preparation. Following the unsuccessful ATF raid, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took over the situation. A standoff with the Branch Davidians stretched into seven weeks, and little progress was made in the telephone negotiations, as the Davidians had stockpiled years of food and other necessities before the raid. On April 18, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno approved a tear-gas assault on the compound, and at approximately 6:00 a.m. on April 19 the Branch Davidians were informed of the imminent attack and asked to surrender, which they refused to do. A few minutes later, two FBI combat vehicles began inserting gas into the building and were joined by Bradley tanks, which fired tear-gas canisters through the compound's windows. The Branch Davidians, many with gas masks on, refused to evacuate, and by 11:40 a.m. the last of some 100 tear-gas canisters was fired into the compound. Just after noon, a fire erupted at one or more locations on the compound, and minutes later nine Davidians fled the rapidly spreading blaze. Gunfire was reported but ceased as the compound was completely engulfed by the flames. Koresh and at least 80 of his followers, including 22 children, died during the federal government's second disastrous assault on Mount Carmel. The FBI and the Justice Department maintained there was conclusive evidence that the Branch Davidian members ignited the fire, citing an eyewitness account and various forensic data. Of the gunfire reported during the fire, the government argued that the Davidians were either killing each other as part of a suicide pact or were killing dissenters who attempted to escape the Koresh-ordered suicide by fire. Most of the surviving Branch Davidians contested this official position, as do some critics in the press and elsewhere, whose charges against the ATF and FBI's handling of the Waco standoff ranged from incompetence to premeditated murder. In 1999, the FBI admitted they used tear-gas grenades in the assault, which have been known to cause fires because of their incendiary properties.

1993 - Fire in psychiatric institute in South Korea, kills 40

1993 - South Dakota governor George Mickelson and seven others are killed when a state-owned aircraft crashed lands in Iowa.

1994 - 15th Emmy Sports Award presentation

1994 - Graeme Obree bicycles world record 10km (11:25.88)

1994 - Inkatha ends boycott of South African multi-racial election

1994 - Rodney King award $3,800,000 in compensation for his police beating

1994 - Supreme Court outlaws excluding people from juries because of gender

Victim of Police Violence Rodney KingVictim of Police Violence Rodney King 1995 - Chopper 4 1st used on WNBC TV (NYC) news

1995 - Truck bomb at Federal Building in Oklahoma City, kills 168 & injures 500

1996 - Rangers scores 16 in 8th vs Orioles

1996 - South Africa defeat Pakistan to win the Pepsi Cup in Sharjah

1997 - Renee Slaughter crowned 14th Miss Hawaiian Tropic Intl

1997 - SD Padres & St Louis Cards play at Aloha Stadium Hawaii

1998 - 59th PGA Seniors Golf Championship:

The Reichstag

1999 - The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.

2005 - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected Pope Benedict XVI on the second day of the Papal conclave.

2011 - Fidel Castro resigns from the Communist Party of Cuba's central committee after 45 years of holding the title.

2012 - Levon Helm, American rock musician, dies from throat cancer at 71

1012 - Aelfheah was murdered by Danes who had been ravaging the south of England. Aelfhear became the 29th Archbishop of Canterbury in 1005. 1539 - Emperor Charles V reached a truce with German Protestants at Frankfurt, Germany. 1587 - English admiral Sir Francis Drake entered Cadiz harbor and sank the Spanish fleet. 1689 - Residents of Boston ousted their governor, Edmond Andros. 1713 - Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI issued the Pragmatic Sanction, which gave women the rights of succession to Hapsburg possessions. 1764 - The English Parliament banned the American colonies from printing paper money. 1770 - Captain James Cook discovered New South Wales, Australia. Cook originally named the land Point Hicks. 1775 - The American Revolution began as fighting broke out at Lexington, MA. 1782 - The Netherlands recognized the new United States. 1794 - Tadeusz Kosciuszko forced the Russians out of Warsaw. 1802 - The Spanish reopened the New Orleans port to American merchants. 1839 - The Kingdom of Belgium was recognized by all the states of Europe when the Treaty of London was signed. 1852 - The California Historical Society was founded. 1861 - Thaddeus S. C. Lowe sailed 900 miles in nine hours in a hot air balloon from Cincinnati, OH, to Unionville, SC. 1861 - The Baltimore riots resulted in four Union soldiers and nine civilians killed. 1861 - U.S. President Lincoln ordered a blockade of Confederate ports. 1892 - The Duryea gasoline buggy was introduced in the U.S. by Charles and Frank Duryea. 1897 - The first annual Boston Marathon was held. It was the first of its type in the U.S. 1927 - In China, Hankow communists declared war on Chaing Kai-shek. 1933 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation that removed the U.S. from the gold standard. 1938 - General Francisco Franco declared victory in the Spanish Civil War. 1939 - Connecticut approved the Bill of Rights for the U.S. Constitution after 148 years. 1943 - The Warsaw Ghetto uprising against Nazi rule began. The Jews were able to fight off the Germans for 28 days. 1951 - General Douglas MacArthur gave his "Old Soldiers" speech before the U.S. Congress. In the address General MacArthur said that "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." 1951 - Shigeki Tanaka won the Boston Marathon. Tanaka had survived the atomic blast at Hiroshima, Japan during World War II. 1956 - Actress Grace Kelly became Princess Grace of Monaco when she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The civil ceremony took place on April 18. 1958 - The San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers played the first major league baseball game on the West Coast. 1960 - Baseball uniforms began displaying player's names on their backs. 1967 - Surveyor 3 landed on the moon and began sending photos back to the U.S. 1971 - Russia launched the Salyut into orbit around Earth. It was the first space station. 1975 - India launched its first satellite with aid from the USSR. 1977 - Alex Haley received a special Pulitzer Prize for his book "Roots." 1981 - In Davao, Philippines, thirteen people were killed when members of the New People's Army threw hand grenades into the Roman Catholic cathedral during Easter services. 1982 - NASA named Sally Ride to be first woman astronaut. 1982 - NASA named Guion S. Bluford Jr. as the first African-American astronaut. 1982 - The U.S. announced a ban on U.S. tourist and business traval to Cuba. The U.S. charged the Cuban government with subversion in Central America. 1987 - In Phoenix, AZ, skydiver Gregory Robertson went into a 200-mph free-fall to save an unconscious colleague 3,500 feet from the ground. 1987 - The last California condor known to be in the wild was captured and placed in a breeding program at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. 1989 - A gun turret exploded aboard the USS Iowa. 47 sailors were killed. 1989 - A giant asteroid passed within 500,000 miles of Earth. 1989 - In El Salvador, Attorney General Alvadora was killed by a car bomb. 1993 - The Branch-Davidian’s compound in Waco, TX, burned to the ground. It was the end of a 51-day standoff between the cult and U.S. federal agents. 86 people were killed including 17 children. Nine of the Branch Davidians escaped the fire. 1994 - A Los Angeles jury awarded $3.8 million to Rodney King for violation of his civil rights. 1995 - The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK, was destroyed by a bomb. It was the worst bombing on U.S. territory. 168 people were killed including 19 children, and 500 were injured. Timothy McVeigh was found guilty of the bombing on June 2, 1997. 1998 - Wang Dan, a leader of 1989 Tienanmen Square pro democracy protests, was freed by the Chinese government. 2000 - The Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the bombing in Oklahoma that killed 168 people. 2000 - Letters written by Greta Garbo were put on exhibit. The letters were made public ten years after Garbo's death. 2000 - In the Philippines, Air Philippines GAP 541 crashed while preparing to land. 131 people were killed. 2002 - The USS Cole was relaunched. In Yemen, 17 sailors were killed when the ship was attacked by terrorists on October 12, 2000. The attack was blamed on Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network.

1775 The "shot heard around the world" was fired. Colonial Minute Men took on British Army regulars at Lexington and Concord, Mass., starting the American Revolution. 1824 Lord Byron died of a fever while helping the Greeks fight the Turks. 1882 Naturalist Charles Darwin, developer of the theory of evolution, died. 1897 The first Boston Marathon was run. 1933 The United States went off the gold standard. 1943 The Warsaw ghetto uprising began, one of the first mass rebellions against the Nazis. 1993 The siege at Waco, Texas, ended when FBI moved into the Branch Davidian compound with tear gas and cult members set fire to the compound killing over 80 people. 1995 The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla., was destroyed by a car bomb. 168 people, including 19 children were killed in the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history up to that time. 2005 Germany's Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr19.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Revised (published on 04/19/14):

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

607 - Comet 1P/607 H1 (Halley) approaches within 0.0898 AUs of Earth

1012 - Aelfheah was murdered by Danes who had been ravaging the south of England. Aelfhear became the 29th Archbishop of Canterbury in 1005. Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich, London.

1451 - Alam Shah of Delhi resigns throne 1524 - Pope Clemens VII fires Neth inquisitor-general French Van de Holly

1529 - The second Parliament of Spiers bans Lutheranism

1012 - Aelfheah was murdered by Danes who had been ravaging the south of England. Aelfhear became the 29th Archbishop of Canterbury in 1005.

1539 - Emperor Charles V reached a truce with German Protestants at Frankfurt, Germany.

1587 - English admiral Sir Francis Drake entered Cadiz harbor and sank the Spanish fleet.

1591 - Chartres surrenders to king Henri IV in France

1713 - Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI issued the Pragmatic Sanction, which gave women the rights of succession to Hapsburg possessions.

1764 - The English Parliament banned the American colonies from printing paper money.

1770 - Captain James Cook glimpses the shores of Australi for the first time. Specifically, he sees New South Wales, which he originally named Point Hicks.

1775 - Capt John Parker orders not to fire unless fired upon. Ultimately, however, the famous "shot heard around the world" was fired. Colonial Minute Men took on British Army regulars at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, starting the American Revolution.

1782 - The Netherlands recognized the new United States. John Adams secures official recognition by the Netherlands of the new United States as an independent government, and the house that he purchased in The Hague, Netherlands became first American embassy.

1794 - Tadeusz Kosciuszko forced the Russians out of Warsaw.

1810 - Venezuela achieves home rule: Vicente Emparan, Governor of the Captaincy General is removed by the people of Caracas and a Junta is installed.

1824 - Lord Byron died of a fever while helping the Greeks fight the Turks.

1839 - Treaty of London constitutes Belgium an independent kingdom, and Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy

1861 - Thaddeus S. C. Lowe sailed 900 miles in nine hours in a hot air balloon from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Unionville, South Carolina.

1861 - American. President Abraham Lincoln ordered a blockade of Confederate ports.

1882 - Naturalist Charles Darwin, developer of the theory of evolution, died.

1892 - Charles Duryea drives the first ever American-made automobile in Massachusetts

1927 - In China, Hankow communists declared war on Chaing Kai-shek.

1932 - President Herbert Hoover suggested the idea of a 5 day work week

1933 - Franklin D. Roosevelt announced that the United States would go off the gold standard.

1940 - Dutch prime minister De Geer declares state of siege

1941 - Bulgarian troops invade Macedonia

1943 - The Warsaw Ghetto uprising began, one of the first mass rebellions against the Nazis.

1948 - Chiang Kai-shek elected president of Nationalist China

1959 - Uprising in La Paz Bolivia, fails

1971 - Sierra Leone becomes a republic (Natl Day)

1971 - USSR Salyut 1 launched; 1st manned lab in orbit

1972 - Bangladesh becomes a member of British Commonwealth

1972 - Hungary revises constitution

1986 - Michael Spinks defeats Larry Holmes in 15 round decision for heavyweight boxing title, ending Larry Holmes's hopes for retiring with an undefeated record, which would have made him only the second champion in history to do so. Holmes had been 48-0 going into the fight, but this would be the first of three consecutive losses.

1991 - Evander Holyfield beats George Foreman in 12 for heavyweight boxing title

1993 - The siege at Waco, Texas, ended when FBI moved into the Branch Davidian compound with tear gas and cult members set fire to the compound killing over 80 people.

1994 - Inkatha ends boycott of South African multi-racial election

1994 - Rodney King award $3,800,000 in compensation of police beating

1994 - Supreme Court outlaws excluding people from juries because of gender

1995 - The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla., was destroyed by a car bomb. 168 people, including 19 children were killed in the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history up to that time.

1999 - The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.

2005 - Germany's Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rome-founded

http://www.historyorb.com/day/april/19

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr19.htm

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/April-19

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Saturday, April 18, 2026

MAGA-Themed "Rock the Country Tour" Is Struggling Mightily, Just Like the Administration They Wanted to Celebrate & Support

Earlier today, I posted a blog entry about how the Trump administration seems often too busy turning on each other to fully commit to destroying the country from within.

Well, anytime MAGA morons seem to implode, it is nice to see. These people are so undeserving of the power and high-profile that they have obtained, that it actually becomes a form of entertainment to see them implode right in front of your eyes.

And so it is that the relatively few - and frankly, largely unimpressive - collection of artists and musicians who identify as MAGA also seem to bungle their way to laughable headlines. Witness the awful news headlines that seem to follow the "Rock the Country Tour" of Kid Rock and some other MAGA entertainers. Much like Kid Rock's alternative halftime show, this was supposed to be a big deal, with them hijacking the meaning of patriotism to be exclusively pro-Trump and pro-MAGA,

Only, it's not working out so well. Some big names keep dropping out of the tour. And now, supposedly as a result of high cost of gas, ticket prices are being slashed in half, in hopes that it will revive apparently sluggish ticket sales.

Couldn't happen to a more deserving group. These days, rallying for Trump while everything in the country seems to be going to crap as a result of Trump's actions and idiocy just has limited appeal. His poll numbers are down, and more and more people feel that he is a liability, both to his party and to his country.

So let them have their rallying tour, if they want. But the rest of us can stand on the sidelines and laugh as the news grows progressively worse for this once seemingly promising tour for MAGA nation. The last time that I saw a major concert have this much go wrong before it actually kicked off was Woodstock 50. But this one is just so much more fun to watch, isn't it?

Below is the link to this story as reported by Rolling Stone, which I would recommend taking a look at:

Troubled Rock the Country Tour Is Slashing Prices, Losing Jelly Roll at One Stop by Andy Greene April 15, 2026:

“Fuel costs are up and we want to help,” the festival wrote to fans. “In response to rising transportation costs, you can enjoy up to 50% off general admission passes to any of 7 small town stops”

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/rock-the-country-tour-prices-drop-jelly-roll-drops-out-1235548014/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRRJ9NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEexCSJvwJpa1SCZQ3EkUwrVLDcscLIh6AVCKTYpFUYL5JAgAdFtc1yovQi-ZI_aem_uWiz5TP8pUqCCJ-7zfkQjw

Troubled Rock the Country Tour Is Slashing Prices

Trump's Nest of Vipers in the White House Cannot Stop Turning On One Another

Enduring all of the nonsense, the cringeworthy headlines which seem to assault us collectively on a daily basis is truly exhausting. It is enough to make me actually stay away from the news more and more. As a result, for the first time in my adult life these days, I often find myself being the only one, or one of the few, who has not heard this or that latest news story.

But when you have Donald Trump as the president, it feels that this is almost an expected side effect. You just do not want to bother following the news anymore, because you know it's not going to be good. In fact, it's going to be incredibly depressing, a constant, nagging reminder that the country - and indeed the world - seems to be in freefall at the moment.

Now, while I no longer identify as a Democrat - the Clinton years pretty much took care of that - I have never been a Republican. Hell, I am one of the few people I know who has never voted Republican on any level, and again, I am not even a loyal supporter of the Democrats. In fact, both parties tend to make me sick, and I approach both with extreme skepticism and caution.

However, it seemed to me that in the past, the Republicans, when in power, felt almost like a well-oiled machine. I was not really old enough to follow or fully understand politics back during the Reagan years, but the perception was that the controlled public perception very effectively. Remember, Reagan won the popular vote in the 1984 election with something like 59% of the popular vote, and won 49 of the 50 states. No election night suspense back then, I can tell you. And whether or not you agreed with them - and my family rarely did - it felt like they were a unified force, and always on message. Little to no deviation from the official viewpoint.

It largely remained like that immediately after Reagan, through the Bush years. At least until the very end, when it seemed like they began to lose the narrative just a little bit. Bush (Senior, that is) seemed reluctant to admit that we were in a recession, and the whole "Read my lips" thing killed his credibility. Also, the Republican National Convention in 1992 seemed to veer off topic a bit. In fact, it was a prelude of what was to come with the Republicans, a glimpse of their fixation on the culture wars. That was particularly true regarding Pat Buchanan. Back then, this country had enough sense and limitations that it cost the Republicans the election.

Then a couple of years later, the Republicans were back. Not in the White House, but Newt Gingrich swept into Congressional power with his "Contract With America," although I still remember Erin Brockovich suggesting that it was actually a "Contract On America." That seemed more accurate. Yet, Clinton had turned the Democrats considerably to the right, so that they took the position that Republicans had formerly held, while the Republicans moved farther and farther to the right - a problem that would continue to plague them right to the present day. Ultimately, even though the 1994 election seemed disastrous at the time to Clinton, he was able to reverse that and win the '96 election handily.

When Bush Junior came to power, the Republicans still had some of that old "well-oiled machine" feel, in terms of generally sticking to the message and towing the party line. That said, Bush and company seemed to be such buffoons that they kept making a mockery of themselves consistently, so that it was difficult to view them overly seriously, despite holding all the power. Everything seemed to go wrong, form corporate scandals (Enron, Blackwater, Haliburton, the the scandals that largely both contributed and underscored why we hit some tough economic times during the "Great Recession." There was even some - not much, but some - criticism of the Bush administration towards the end. Nevertheless, the Republicans did not implode or lose their unity.

With Trump, however, all of that changed. Yes, he keeps winning. But it is difficult not to chalk that up to some strange dark charisma that he holds over just enough people to come to and retain power. In fact, Trump is off-putting to even more people, and that is why he still never reached majority support, either in elections or in polls (although he came close, officially, in the 2024 election). But the sheer buffoonery undoes any perceptions of them as a well-oiled machine.

And while it was bad during the first four years - it should have been enough to discredit him permanently and to assure that Trump would never rise again - this second term has been so much worse. If the consequences were not so deadly serious, it might feel like a comedy of errors. Everything that they try seems to fail miserably, from the on again/off again tariffs, to his weak, half-baked explanations for why he could not lower the price of groceries, or how gas is $1.99 in some parts of the country, supposedly, or how he had to abandon his promise to stop the war in Ukraine, or now, how he and his administration have completely mishandled the war in Iran - a war he promised not to get us involved with in the first place. And let's not even get into the ever changing rationales regarding the release of the Epstein Files.

Naturally, since these people are snakes, they are bound to turn on each other. When the going gets bad, the bad bring out the worst in themselves and each other. They are all corrupt, but it seems that they are also in a hurry to deflect blame from themselves, and so show a willingness to point the finger of blame at one another instead. Witness Trump, one moments praising his own hand-picked team and claiming that they are the best, then turning around and claiming that they are failure and losers when, inevitably, they fail.

Again, not exactly a well-oiled machine.

Below is a link to an article showing a wonderful example of this. Kristi Noem fired someone during her time as head of the Department of Homeland Security, and this same guy just got promoted within the same department, which seems like a not so subtle dig at her.

It's almost comforting to see the snakes turn their venom on one another, instead of on the rest of the country, or on the whole world, for that matter.

Take a look by clicking on the link below:

Kristi Noem's fresh humiliation as Trump reverses DHS firing Story by Yelena Mandenberg • 20h •

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/kristi-noem-s-fresh-humiliation-as-trump-reverses-dhs-firing/ar-AA218AS5?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=69e36440f7854fed90dfe18298fe1d99&ei=14

Kristi Noem's fresh humiliation as Trump reverses DHS firing

Weekend Humor - Cognitive Test: Doctor or Jesus?

This was something which I saw floating around on Facebook for the past few days. It also has everything to do with Trump claiming that the picture of him as Jesus is not actually what we are seeing. He thought that it was a picture of him as Jesus, which it clearly seems that is. Apparently, he thought it was a picture of him as a doctor. Because, you know, all doctors wear robes similar to the ones worn by Jesus in many paintings, and all doctors have golden light emanating from their healing hands.

What a joke.

Anyway this gave me a good laugh. Maybe it might do the same for you.

Enjoy.

Bill Beecher Facebook April 14, 2026:

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=27266436106282022&set=a.450396384979358

Facebook

April 18th: This Day in History

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

310 - St Eusebius begins his reign as Catholic Pope

387 - Bishop Ambrosius of Milan baptizes Augustinus

1025 - Bolesław Chrobry is crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland.

1506 - The cornerstone of the present day St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City was laid.

1521 - Cardinal Alexander questions Martin Luther, after Martin Luther confronted the emperor Charles V in the Diet of Worms and refused to retract his views that ultimately would lead to his excommunication.

1663 - Osman declares war on Austria

1676 - Natives attacked Sudbury, Massachusetts.

1775 - Paul Revere rides from Charlestown to Lexington and warns the locals of the arrival of British troops, preparing them for what would be the true opening battle of the American Revolution, with the "shot hear around the world".

1838 - Wilkes and his group began their expedition to the South Pole.

1847 - American troops defeated almost 17,000 Mexican soldiers commanded by Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo during the Mexican-American War.

1853 - The first ever train to run in Asia, from Bombay to Tanna.

1861 - Colonel Robert E. Lee turned down an offer to command the Union armies for the upcoming war between the states, and he would eventually become the most prominent military leader for the Confederate cause.

1861 - The Battle of Harper's Ferry, in what was then Virginia, but would shortly be a part of West Virginia, when it seceded from Virginia, after Virginia seceded from the Union. Whew! Say that three times fast!

1897 - John J. McDermott, of New York, won the first Boston Marathon with a time of 2:55:10.

1902 - Denmark became the first nation to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals

1906 - A huge earthquake registering 8.25 ion the richter scale in San Francisco destroyed over 4 square miles, more than three quarters of the city, and killed more than 500.

1923 - The first game was played in the old Yankee Stadium (“the House that Ruth built”). The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 4–1

1937 - Leon Trotsky called for the overthrow of Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

1942 - France's collaborationist Vichy government capitulated to Adolf Hitler and invited Pierre Laval to form a new government.

1946 - League of Nations was dissolved.

1949 - The Republic of Ireland was established.

1955 - Albert Einstein died.

1956 - Egypt & Israel agree to a cease fire

1968 - London Bridge was sold to an American, and it was eventually relocated and rebuilt in Arizona.

1978 - The U.S. Senate voted to hand over the Panama Canal to Panamanian control, scheduled for December 31, 1999.

1989 - Protests by students in Beijing's Tiananmen Square continue.

1999 - Wayne Gretzky played his final game in the NHL for the New York Rangers. He retired as the NHL's all-time leading scorer and holder of 61 individual records.

Below is the list of the websites used to compile this list:

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/April-18

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.historyorb.com/day/april/18

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr18.htm

Revised

On this day in 310, St Eusebius started his reign as the Catholic Pope. In 387 on this day, Bishop Ambrosius of Milan baptized Augustinus. Bolesław Chrobry was crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland on this day in 1025. In 1521 on this day, Martin Luther became defiant while being interrogated by Cardinal Alexander at the Diet of Worms. Luther, the chief catalyst of Protestantism, defied the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V by refusing to recant his writings. On this day in 1775, Paul Revere & William Dawes rode from Charleston to Lexington to warn locals that the British "regulars are coming!" It came to be known as the legendary "Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." General George Washington issued General Orders to the Continental Army announcing the cessation of hostilities with Great Britain on this day in 1783, ending the American Revolutionary War of Independence. It came eight years to the day after hostilities had begun. Charles Darwin sailed to Rio Santa Cruz up Patagonia on the HMS Beagle on this day in 1834. The Battle of Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) took place on this day in 1861, during the early phase of the American Civil War. Confederate General Johnson surrendered to Union General Sherman in North Carolina on this day in 1865 during the American Civil War. In 1874 on this day, British explorer of African David Livingstone was buried in Westminster Abbey, London. On this day in 1906, there was a major earthquake in San Francisco which hit at 5:13 a.m., and reached 8.0 on the Richter scale. Hundreds of people were killed, and there was considerable structural damage in the city. On this day in 1915 during the Great War (World War I), Germans shot down French pilot Roland Garros. He nevertheless managed to glide the plane down on the German side of the lines. On this day in 1946, the League of Nations dissolved three months after the United Nations officially began operations. On this day in 1961, American President John F. Kennedy sent a letter responding to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's claim that the U.S. was engaging in armed aggression against the communist regime in Cuba. Kennedy denied the allegations, told Kruschev he was under a serious misapprehension and stated that the U.S. intended no military intervention in Cuba. In 1969 on this day, American President Richard Nixon stated during a news conference that he felt that the prospects for peace in Vietnam were improving, claiming that chances to end the conflict in Southeast Asia had "significantly improved" since he took office. On this day in 1980, the Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) was proclaimed at a ceremony in the capital city then known as Salisbury (now known as Harare), during which time Robert Mugabe was sworn in as Prime Minister. On this day in 1983, a suicide car bomb explosion destroyed the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, and killing 63 people, including the suicide bomber and 17 Americans. The terrorist attack was carried out in protest of the U.S. military presence in Lebanon. Thousands of Chinese students continued to take to the streets in Beijing to protest government policies and called for greater democracy in the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) on this day in 1989. The Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Naples began burning works of art after cultural institution budget cuts on this day in 2012. In 2013 on this day, 27 people were killed and 65 injured in a cafe bombing in Baghdad, Iraq. Two earth-like planets were discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62 on this day in 2013.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 310, St Eusebius started his reign as the Catholic Pope.

• In 387 on this day, Bishop Ambrosius of Milan baptized Augustinus.

• Bolesław Chrobry was crowned in Gniezno, becoming the first King of Poland on this day in 1025.

1506 - The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica is laid.

1518 - Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.

German Priest & Theologian Martin Luther

• In 1521 on this day, Martin Luther became defiant while being interrogated by Cardinal Alexander at the Diet of Worms. Luther, the chief catalyst of Protestantism, defied the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V by refusing to recant his writings. He had been called to Worms, Germany, to appear before the Diet (assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire and answer charges of heresy. Martin Luther was a professor of biblical interpretation at the University of Wittenberg in Germany. In 1517, he drew up his 95 theses condemning the Catholic Church for its corrupt practice of selling "indulgences," or forgiveness of sins. Luther followed up the revolutionary work with equally controversial and groundbreaking theological works, and his fiery words set off religious reformers across Europe. In 1521, the pope excommunicated him, and he was called to appear before the emperor at the Diet of Worms to defend his beliefs. Refusing to recant or rescind his positions, Luther was declared an outlaw and a heretic. Powerful German princes protected him, however, and by his death in 1546 his ideas had significantly altered the course of Western thought.

1552 - Mauritius of Saksen occupies Linz

1663 - Osman declares war on Austria

1666 - Peace of Kleef: Netherlands & bishop Von Galen of Munster

1676 - Sudbury, Mass attacked by Indians

1738 - Real Academia de la Historia ("Royal Academy of History") founded in Madrid.

• On this day in 1775, Paul Revere & William Dawes rode from Charleston to Lexington to warn locals that the British "regulars are coming!" It came to be known as the legendary "Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." British troops marched out of Boston on a mission to confiscate the American arsenal at Concord and to capture Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock, known to be hiding at Lexington. As the British departed, Boston Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes set out on horseback from the city to warn Adams and Hancock and rouse the Minutemen. By 1775, tensions between the American colonies and the British government had approached the breaking point, especially in Massachusetts, where Patriot leaders formed a shadow revolutionary government and trained militias to prepare for armed conflict with the British troops occupying Boston. In the spring of 1775, General Thomas Gage, the British governor of Massachusetts, received instructions from Great Britain to seize all stores of weapons and gunpowder accessible to the American insurgents. On April 18, he ordered British troops to march against Concord and Lexington. The Boston Patriots had been preparing for such a British military action for some time, and, upon learning of the British plan, Revere and Dawes set off across the Massachusetts countryside. They took separate routes in case one of them was captured: Dawes left the city via the Boston Neck peninsula and Revere crossed the Charles River to Charlestown by boat. As the two couriers made their way, Patriots in Charlestown waited for a signal from Boston informing them of the British troop movement. As previously agreed, one lantern would be hung in the steeple of Boston's Old North Church, the highest point in the city, if the British were marching out of the city by Boston Neck, and two lanterns would be hung if they were crossing the Charles River to Cambridge. Two lanterns were hung, and the armed Patriots set out for Lexington and Concord accordingly. Along the way, Revere and Dawes roused hundreds of Minutemen, who armed themselves and set out to oppose the British. Revere arrived in Lexington shortly before Dawes, but together they warned Adams and Hancock and then set out for Concord. Along the way, they were joined by Samuel Prescott, a young Patriot who had been riding home after visiting a lady friend. Early on the morning of April 19, a British patrol captured Revere, and Dawes lost his horse, forcing him to walk back to Lexington on foot. However, Prescott escaped and rode on to Concord to warn the Patriots there. After being roughly questioned for an hour or two, Revere was released when the patrol heard Minutemen alarm guns being fired on their approach to Lexington. About 5 a.m. on April 19, 700 British troops under Major John Pitcairn arrived at the town to find a 77-man-strong colonial militia under Captain John Parker waiting for them on Lexington's common green. Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment's hesitation, the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, the "shot heard around the world" was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead and 10 others were wounded; only one British soldier was injured. The American Revolution had begun.

Equestrian statue of George Washington near his headquarters at Morristown, New Jersey.

• General George Washington issued General Orders to the Continental Army announcing the cessation of hostilities with Great Britain on this day in 1783, ending the American Revolutionary War of Independence. It came eight years to the day after hostilities had begun.

1797 - France & Austria signs cease fire

1809 - 1st run of 2,000 guineas horse race at Newmarket England

British Botanist Charles Darwin

• Charles Darwin sailed to Rio Santa Cruz up Patagonia on the HMS Beagle on this day in 1834.

1835 - William Lamb (Lord Melbourne) forms British government

1838 - Wilkes' expedition to South Pole sails

1848 - American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.

1853 - 1st train in Asia (Bombay to Tanna, 36 km)

1856 - Russian Republic Chancellor Earl von Nesselrode resigns

• The Battle of Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) took place on this day in 1861, during the early phase of the American Civil War.

1861 - Col Robert E. Lee turns down offer to command Union armies

1862 - Battle of Ft Jackson, Ft St Philip & New Orlean's, LA

1864 - Battle of Poison Springs, AR (Camden Expedition)

• Confederate General Johnson surrendered to Union General Sherman in North Carolina on this day in 1865 during the American Civil War.

1868 - San Francisco Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals formed

1869 - 1st international cricket match, held in SF, wins by Californian

• In 1874 on this day, British explorer of African David Livingstone was buried in Westminster Abbey, London.

1876 - Daniel O'Leary completes a 500 mile walk in 139 hrs 32 min

1877 - Charles Cros wrote a paper that described the process of recording and reproducing sound. In France, Cros is regarded as the inventor of the phonograph. In the U.S., Thomas Edison gets the credit.

1879 - Trial of Standing Bear-Crook on indians citizen rights begins

1880 - An F4 tornado strikes Marshfield, Missouri, killing 99 people and injuring 100.

1881 - Natural History Museum opens in South Kensington, England

1881 - Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.

Frontier Outlaw Billy the KidFrontier Outlaw Billy the Kid 1890 - NY Commission of Emigration ends, closing Castle Clinton

1899 - John McGraw, at 36, managerial debut as Oriole manager

1899 - The St. Andrew's Ambulance Association is granted a Royal Charter by Queen Victoria.

1902 - Denmark is 1st country to adopt fingerprinting to identify criminals

1904 - L'Humanité, under Jean Jaurès begins publishing

1906 - 8.25 earthquake shakes SF Calif

1906 - Calvinist Reformed Union in Neth Church forms in Utrecht

• On this day in 1906, there was a major earthquake in San Francisco which hit at 5:13 a.m., and reached 8.0 on the Richter scale. Hundreds of people were killed, and there was considerable structural damage in the city. The quake was caused by a slip of the San Andreas Fault over a segment about 275 miles long, and shock waves could be felt from southern Oregon down to Los Angeles. San Francisco's brick buildings and wooden Victorian structures were especially devastated. Fires immediately broke out and--because broken water mains prevented firefighters from stopping them--firestorms soon developed citywide. At 7 a.m., U.S. Army troops from Fort Mason reported to the Hall of Justice, and San Francisco Mayor E.E. Schmitz called for the enforcement of a dusk-to-dawn curfew and authorized soldiers to shoot-to-kill anyone found looting. Meanwhile, in the face of significant aftershocks, firefighters and U.S. troops fought desperately to control the ongoing fire, often dynamiting whole city blocks to create firewalls. On April 20, 20,000 refugees trapped by the massive fire were evacuated from the foot of Van Ness Avenue onto the USS Chicago. By April 23, most fires were extinguished, and authorities commenced the task of rebuilding the devastated metropolis. It was estimated that some 3,000 people died as a result of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and the devastating fires it inflicted upon the city. Almost 30,000 buildings were destroyed, including most of the city's homes and nearly all the central business district.

1906 - The Los Angeles Times story on the Azusa Street Revival launches Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement.

1907 - Augustus Thomas' "Witching Hour" premieres in NYC

1907 - Fairmont Hotel opens

1908 - Tommy Burns KOs Jewy Smith in 5 for heavyweight boxing title

1912 - The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.

• On this day in 1915 during the Great War (World War I), Germans shot down French pilot Roland Garros. He nevertheless managed to glide the plane down on the German side of the lines. On this day in 1915, a member of the German Bahnschutzwache, or Railway Protection Guard, shoots down the well-known French airman Roland Garros in his flight over German positions in Flanders, France, on a bombing raid. Garros, born in 1882, gained renown early in his career as an experienced practitioner of aerial acrobatics, the first French pilot to fly across the Mediterranean Sea and a two-time winner of both the Paris-Madrid and Paris-Rome flying races. In 1914, while working as a test pilot for Morane-Saulnier, an aircraft manufacturer, Garros set the then-world record for the highest flight: 4,250 meters. When war broke out in Europe that same year, he was sent to serve with the French air service, L'Aviation Militaire, on the Western Front. At the end of 1914, Garros took leave from his regiment and returned to the Morane-Saulnier factory to work with Raymond Saulnier to test a recently developed device that enabled a pilot to fire bullets from a machine-gun through the blades of the propeller of his plane. The device, employed successfully by Garros in the early spring of 1915, allowed him to approach his enemies head-on in the air, giving him a vast advantage. Garros shot down his first German victim, an Albatross reconnaissance aircraft, on April 1, 1915; in the next two weeks, he downed four more. Garros' run ended on April 18, however, when he was flying his single-seater plane, a Morane-Saulnier Type L, low in the skies above the German positions in Flanders. A member of the German Bahnschutzwache described the events of that day: At that moment we saw a southbound train approaching on the railway line Ingelmunster-Kortrijk. Suddenly the plane went into a steep diveHe flew over the train in a loop and as he rose up into the sky again with his wings almost vertical, he threw a bomb at the train. Fortunately it missed the target and there was no damage.As the plane had swooped down over the train the Bahnschutzwache troops had fired on it following my order to open fire. We shot at him from a distance of only 100 metres as he flew past. After he had thrown his bomb at the train he tried to escape, switching his engine on again and climbing to about 700 metres through the shots fired by our troops. But suddenly the plane began to sway about in the sky, the engine fell silent, and the pilot began to glide the plane down in the direction of Hulste. A German bullet had apparently hit the gas pipe on Garros' plane, forcing him to land. Although the daring airman attempted to set the plane on fire and escape on foot once he hit the ground, both he and the plane were captured by the Germans. Garros later managed to escape from captivity and rejoin L'Aviation Militaire. Killed in battle at Vouziers on October 5, 1918, he is remembered as one of France's most celebrated war heroes; the famous tennis stadium in Paris bears his name. The propeller of Garros' Morane-Saulnier plane and its innovative machine-gun firing device were sent immediately after his capture in April 1915 to the Fokker aircraft factory in Germany. A few weeks later, the first Fokker EI—a single-seater airplane fitted with machine guns, deflectors and interrupter gear that could synchronize the rate of fire of the gun with the speed of the propeller—was sent to German forces on the Western Front. From mid-1915 until mid-1916, the Fokker E-types of the German Air Force were the menace of the skies, shooting down a total of over 1,000 Allied aircraft.

1918 - Cleveland center fielder Tris Speaker turns an unassisted double play

1921 - Junior Achievement incorporated in Colorado Spring

1921 - Philip James Barry's "Punch for Judy" premieres in NYC

1922 - Netherlands soccer team defeats Denmark 2-0

1923 - 74,000 (62,281 paid) on hand for opening of Yankee Stadium

1923 - Poland annexes Central Lithuania

1924 - 1st crossword puzzle book published (Simon & Schuster)

1925 - World's Fair opens in Chicago

1926 - Rhein Stadium opens in Dusseldorf Germany

1927 - Chiang Kai-Shek forms anti-government in China

1929 - Palace for People's industry in Amsterdam devastated by fire

1934 - 1st "Washateria" (laundromat) opens (Fort Worth, Tx)

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1934 - Hitler names J von Ribbentrop, ambassador for disarmament

1935 - Gen Sarazen's double eagle on 15th, wins him his 2nd Masters

1935 - Netherlands election (Musserts NSB wins 8% of vote)

1936 - Pan-Am Clipper begins regular passenger flights from San Francisco to Honolulu

1938 - Headless Mad Butcher victim found in Cleveland

1938 - Superman, the world's first super hero, appeared in the first issue of Action Comics. The cover date was June 1938.

1939 - Franz von Papen becomes German ambassador in Turkey

1939 - Hubert Pierlot forms Belgian government

1942 - "Stars & Stripes" paper for US armed forces starts

1942 - James H Doolittle bombs Tokyo & other Japanese cities

1942 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 3

1944 - 48th Boston Marathon won by Gerard Cote of Canada in 2:31:50.4

1944 - Leonard Bernstein & Jerome Robbins' ballet premieres in NYC

1945 - 1 armed outfielder, St L Brown Pete Gray, 1st game he goes 1 for 4

1945 - Epe freed (by corporal G van Aken)

1945 - Clandestine Radio 1212, after broadcasting pro-nazi propoganda for months used their influence to trap 350,000 German army group B troops

1945 - Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Bolivia are established.

1946 - "Call Me Mister" opens at National Theater NYC for 734 performances

Baseball Player Jackie RobinsonBaseball Player Jackie Robinson 1946 - Jackie Robinson debuts as 2nd baseman for the Montreal Royals

Flag of the United Nations

• On this day in 1946, the League of Nations dissolved three months after the United Nations officially began operations.

1946 - Rome/Auerbach/Horwitt's musical "Call Me Mister" premieres in NYC

1946 - US recognizes Tito's Yugoslavia government

1948 - International Court of Justice opens at Hague Netherlands

1949 - Republic of Ireland withdraws from British Commonwealth

1950 - 1st opening night-game, Cards beat Pirates, 4-2

1950 - 1st transatlantic jet passenger trip

1950 - Polish Catholic church & government sign accord over relations

1950 - Sam Jethroe is 1st black to play for Boston Braves

1950 - Yankees win 15-10 after trailing Red Sox 9-0 in 6th

1951 - "Make a Wish" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 102 performances

1951 - Dutch Antilles government of Da Costa Gomez forms

1951 - France, West Germany & Benelux form European Steel & Coal Community

1951 - NY Yankee Mickey Mantle goes 1-for-4 in his 1st game

1953 - "Pal Joey" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 542 performances

1954 - Colonel Nasser seizes power & becomes PM of Egypt

1954 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open

1955 - "Ankles Aweigh" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 176 perfs

1955 - 1st "Walk"/"Don't Walk" lighted street signals installed

1955 - 1st Bandoeng Conference - Afro-Asian conference opens

1956 - Egypt & Israel agree to a cease fire

1958 - Government troops reconquer Padang, Middle-Sumatra Indonesia

1958 - NL single-game record of 78,682, Giants lose to Dogers 6-5, in LA

Poet Ezra PoundPoet Ezra Pound 1958 - A United States federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound is to be released from an insane asylum.

1959 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 games to 1

1961 - CONCP is founded in Casablanca as a united front of African movements opposing Portuguese colonial rule.

• On this day in 1961, American President John F. Kennedy sent a letter responding to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's claim that the U.S. was engaging in armed aggression against the communist regime in Cuba. Kennedy denied the allegations, told Kruschev he was under a serious misapprehension and stated that the U.S. intended no military intervention in Cuba. However, Kennedy insisted that he would support Cubans who wish to see a democratic system in an independent Cuba and that the U.S. would take no action to stifle the spirit of liberty. In fact, the night before Kennedy wrote this letter, approximately 1,200 Cuban exiles, supplied and trained by the CIA, landed in Cuba's Bay of Pigs with plans to overthrow Castro. Kennedy was fully aware that the invasion was underway; he had authorized it three days earlier. CIA documents released in 2000 indicated that Kruschev had also learned of the plans for a CIA-led invasion well in advance and had passed the information on to Castro via the KGB, Russia's secret police. Early on April 18, Kruschev sent a letter to Kennedy warning the president to stop the little war against Cuba or risk an incomparable conflagration with the Soviet Union. Privately, Kennedy dismissed as hypocritical a lecture on intervention coming from a Soviet leader who had supported communist-led coups in Europe and Asia. In his official response, Kennedy warned Khrushchev not to use the U.S.'s support for Cuban rebels as an excuse to inflame other areas of the world and told the Soviet Union to stay out of the Western Hemisphere's internal affairs. The Bay of Pigs invasion quickly fell apart when it became apparent that the CIA had gravely miscalculated the willingness of Cuba's military to join the exiles in a coup. Castro's forces quickly put down the rebellion, killing approximately 200 of the exiles and capturing the rest, except for a few who managed to escape and report back to the CIA. On April 24, 1961, Kennedy accepted sole responsibility for the botched invasion. The Bay of Pigs failure did not stop Kennedy from supporting subsequent covert plans to overthrow Castro.

1962 - 16th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3

1963 - "Sophie" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 8 performances

1963 - Dr James Campbell performed the 1st human nerve transplant

1963 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 1

1964 - "Cafe Crown" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 3 performances

1964 - "Foxy" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 72 performances

1964 - Artisans strike in Belgium ends

1964 - Sandy Koufax is 1st to strike out the side on 9 pitches

1964 - Van Joe Orton's "Entertaining Mr Sloane"

1966 - Bill Russell became 1st black coach in NBA history (Boston Celtics)

1968 - 178,000 employees of US Bell Telephone System go on strike

1968 - 1st ABA basketball championship began

Basketball Player Bill RussellBasketball Player Bill Russell 1968 - Dutch Department of Amnesty International forms

1968 - London Bridge is sold to US oil company (to be erected in Arizona)

1968 - Mart Crowley's "Boys in the Band" premieres in NYC

1968 - Peter Luke's "Hadrian VII" premieres in London

1968 - San Francisco's Old Hall of Justice demolished

1968 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1969 - Melina Mercouri establishes Greek Aid Fund

• In 1969 on this day, American President Richard Nixon stated during a news conference that he felt that the prospects for peace in Vietnam were improving, claiming that chances to end the conflict in Southeast Asia had "significantly improved" since he took office. He cited the greater political stability of the Saigon government and the improvement in the South Vietnamese armed forces as proof. With these remarks, Nixon was trying to set the stage for a major announcement he would make at the Midway conference in June. While conferring with South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu, Nixon announced that the United States would be pursuing a three-pronged strategy to end the war. Efforts would be increased to improve the combat capability of the South Vietnamese armed forces so that they could assume responsibility for the war against the North Vietnamese—Nixon described this effort as "Vietnamization." As the South Vietnamese became more capable, U.S. forces would be withdrawn from South Vietnam. At the same time, U.S. negotiators would continue to try to reach a negotiated settlement to the war with the communists at the Paris peace talks. This announcement represented a significant change in the nature of the U.S. commitment to the war, as the United States would be withdrawing troops from the war for the first time. The first U.S. soldiers were withdrawn in the fall of 1969 and the withdrawals continued periodically through 1972. At the same time, the United States increased the advisory effort and provided massive amounts of new equipment and weapons to the South Vietnamese as well. When the North Vietnamese launched a massive invasion in the spring of 1972, the South Vietnamese wavered, but eventually rallied with U.S. support and prevailed over the North Vietnamese. Nixon proclaimed that the South Vietnamese victory validated his strategy. In fact, a peace agreement was finalized in January 1973, but the fighting continued anyway. The U.S. did not deliver the aid it had promised in the case of continued attacks—the South Vietnamese held out for two years but they succumbed to the North Vietnamese in April 1975.

1971 - Gavaskar makes 220 in 2nd inning v WI after 124 in 1st

1971 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Raleigh Golf Classic

1972 - "Lost in the Stars" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 39 performances

1974 - Red Brigade kidnaps Italian attorney general Mario Sossi

1975 - John Lennon releases "Stand by Me"

1976 - 30th Tony Awards: Travesties & Chorus Line win

1976 - Judy Rankin wins LPGA Karsten- Ping Golf Open

1977 - "Side by Side" by Stephen Sondheim opens at Music Box NYC for 390 perfs

Musician and Beatle John LennonMusician and Beatle John Lennon 1977 - 6th Boston Women's Marathon won by Miki Gorman of California in 2:48:33

1977 - 81st Boston Marathon won by Jerome Drayton of Canada in 2:14:46

1977 - Alex Haley, author of "Roots", awarded Pulitzer Prize

1977 - Eddie Murray hits his 1st HR

1977 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Michael Cristofer for "Shadow Box"

1978 - Senate votes to turn Panama Canal over to Panama on Dec 31, 1999

1979 - "Real People" premieres on NBC TV

1979 - Major Haddad declares South-Lebanon independent

Flag of Zimbabwe

• On this day in 1980, the Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia) was proclaimed at a ceremony in the capital city then known as Salisbury (now known as Harare), during which time Robert Mugabe was sworn in as Prime Minister.

1981 - Pawtucket & Rochester start a 33-inning baseball game

1982 - Atlanta Braves win record 11th straight opening game (beat Astros)

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1982 - Canada Constitution Act replaces British North America Act

1982 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA CPC Women's Golf International

1982 - Zimbabwe capital Salisbury renamed Harare

1983 - 12th Boston Women's Marathon won by Joan Benoit Samuelson in 2:22:43

Writer Alex HaleyWriter Alex Haley 1983 - 87th Boston Marathon won by Greg Meyer of Mass in 2:09:00

1983 - A lone suicide bomber kills 63, at US Embassy in Lebanon

• On this day in 1983, a suicide car bomb explosion destroyed the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, and killing 63 people, including the suicide bomber and 17 Americans. The terrorist attack was carried out in protest of the U.S. military presence in Lebanon. In 1975, a bloody civil war erupted in Lebanon, with Palestinian and leftist Muslim guerrillas battling militias of the Christian Phalange Party, the Maronite Christian community, and other groups. During the next few years, Syrian, Israeli, and United Nations interventions failed to resolve the factional fighting, and on August 20, 1982, a multinational force featuring U.S. Marines landed in Beirut to oversee the Palestinian withdrawal from Lebanon. The Marines left Lebanese territory on September 10 but returned on September 29, following the massacre of Palestinian refugees by a Christian militia. The next day, the first U.S. Marine to die during the mission was killed while defusing a bomb, and on April 18, 1983, the U.S. embassy in Beirut was bombed. On October 23, Lebanese terrorists evaded security measures and drove a truck packed with explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. military personnel. Fifty-eight French soldiers were killed almost simultaneously in a separate suicide terrorist attack. On February 7, 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan announced the end of U.S. participation in the peacekeeping force, and on February 26 the last U.S. Marines left Beirut.

1983 - KMO-AM in Tacoma Wash changes call letters to KAMT (now KKMO)

1983 - Pulitzer Prize awarded to Alice Walker for "The Color Purple"

1983 - Rangers 3-Isles 1-Patrick Div Finals-Series tied at 2-2

1984 - Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB

1984 - Joan Benoit runs world record female marathon (2:22:43)

1985 - Flyers 3-Isles 0-Patrick Div Finals-Flyers hold 1-0 lead

1986 - Robert M Gates, becomes deputy director of CIA

1986 - Titan rocket explodes seconds after liftoff from Vandenberg AFB

1987 - An unconscious skydiver is rescued by another diver in mid-air

1987 - Bob Land wins his 6th straight Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race

1987 - Mike Schmidt hits 500th home run (vs Robinson-Pirates)

1987 - Pat Knauff, France sets 1-leg downhill ski speed record (115.012 mph)

1988 - 17th Boston Women's Marathon won by Rosa Mota of Portugal in 2:24:30

Novelist Alice WalkerNovelist Alice Walker 1988 - 92nd Boston Marathon won by Ibrahim Hussein of Kenya in 2:08:43

1988 - Barbra Streisand records "Warm All Over"

The flag of the People's Republic of China

• Thousands of Chinese students continued to take to the streets in Beijing to protest government policies and called for greater democracy in the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) on this day in 1989. The protests grew until the Chinese government ruthlessly suppressed them in June during what came to be known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. During the mid-1980s, the communist government of the PRC had been slowly edging toward a liberalization of the nation's strict state-controlled economy, in an attempt to attract more foreign investment and increase the nation's foreign trade. This action sparked a call among many Chinese citizens, including many students, for reform of the country's communist-dominated political system. By early 1989, peaceful protests against the government began in some of China's largest cities. The biggest protest was held on April 18 in the capital city of Beijing. Marching through Tiananmen Square in the center of the city, thousands of students carried banners, chanted slogans, and sang songs calling for a more democratic political atmosphere. The government's response to the demonstrations became progressively harsher. Government officials who showed any sympathy to the protesters were purged. Several of the demonstration leaders were arrested, and a propaganda campaign was directed at the marching students, declaring that they sought to "create chaos under the heavens." On June 3, 1989, with the protests growing larger every day and foreign journalists capturing the dramatic events on film, the Chinese army was directed to crush the movement. An unknown number of Chinese protesters were killed (estimates range into the thousands) during what came to be known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre. In the United States, the protests attracted widespread attention. Many Americans assumed that China, like the Soviet Union and the communist nations of Eastern Europe, had been moving toward a free market and political democracy. The brutal government repression of the protests shocked the American public. The U.S. government temporarily suspended arms sales to China and imposed a few economic sanctions, but the actions were largely symbolic. Growing U.S. trade and investment in China and the fear that a severe U.S. reaction to the massacre might result in a diplomatic rupture limited the official U.S. response.

1990 - Bankruptcy court forces Frank Lorenzo to give up Eastern Airlines

1990 - Birmingham Fire issued an original franchise in WLAF

1990 - Supreme Court rules states could make it a crime to possess or look at child pornography, even in one's home

1991 - Census Bureau said it failed to count up to 63 million in 1990 census

1991 - Congress ends railroad worker 1 day strike

1991 - John Stockton breaks his own NBA season assist record at 1,136

1992 - Start of South Africa's 1st Test Cricket since 1970 (v WI Bridgetown)

1993 - "Ain't Broadway Grand" opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC for 25 perfs

1993 - 54th PGA Seniors Golf Championship: Tom Wargo

1993 - David Lee Roth arrested in NYC for purchasing marijuana for $10

1993 - Trish Johnson wins LPGA Atlanta Women's Golf Championship

1994 - "Beauty & the Beast" opens at Palace Theater NYC

Van Halen Rocker David Lee RothVan Halen Rocker David Lee Roth 1994 - 23rd Boston Women's Marathon won by Uta Pippig of Germany in 2:21:45

1994 - 98th Boston Marathon won by Cosmas Ndeti of Kenya in 2:07:15

1994 - Arsenio Hall announces he will end his show in May 1994

1994 - Brian Lara scores 375 for WI vs England to beat Sobers' record

1994 - Cricketer Brian Lara hits 375 runs on 1 day (world record)

1994 - Former President Nixon suffered a stroke & dies 4 days later

1994 - Lebanon drops relations with Iran

1994 - STS-59 (Endeavour) lands [approx]

1995 - Houston Post folds after 116 years

1995 - Quarterback Joe Montana announces his retirement from football

1996 - "Funny Thing Happened" opens at St James Theater NYC for 715 perfs

1996 - In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces accidentally shell the UN compound at Quana.

2007 - The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in a 5-4 decision.

• The Casoria Contemporary Art Museum in Naples began burning works of art after cultural institution budget cuts on this day in 2012.

• In 2013 on this day, 27 people were killed and 65 injured in a cafe bombing in Baghdad, Iraq.

• Two earth-like planets were discovered orbiting the star Kepler-62 on this day in 2013.

1521 - Martin Luther confronted the emperor Charles V in the Diet of Worms and refused to retract his views that led to his excommunication. 1676 - Sudbury, Massachusetts, was attacked by Indians. 1775 - American revolutionaries Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott rode though the towns of Massachusetts giving the warning that "the Regulars are coming out." Later, the phrase "the British are coming" was attributed to Revere. 1791 - National Guardsmen prevented Louis XVI and his family from leaving Paris. 1818 - A regiment of Indians and blacks were defeated at the Battle of Suwann, in Florida, ending the first Seminole War. 1834 - William Lamb became prime minister of England. 1838 - The Wilkes' expedition to the South Pole set sail. 1846 - The telegraph ticker was patented by R.E. House 1847 - U.S. troops defeated almost 17,000 Mexican soldiers commanded by Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo. (Mexican-American War) 1853 - The first train in Asia began running from Bombay to Tanna. 1861 - Colonel Robert E. Lee turned down an offer to command the Union armies during the U.S. Civil War. 1895 - New York State passed an act that established free public baths. 1906 - San Francisco, CA, was hit with an earthquake. The original death toll was cited at about 700. Later information indicated that the death toll may have been 3 to 4 times the original estimate. 1910 - Walter R. Brookins made the first airplane flight at night. 1923 - Yankee Stadium opened in the Bronx, NY. The Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1. John Phillip Sousa's band played the National Anthem. 1924 - Simon and Schuster, Inc. published the first "Crossword Puzzle Book." 1934 - The first Laundromat opened in Fort Worth, TX. 1937 - Leon Trotsky called for the overthrow of Soviet leader Josef Stalin. 1938 - Superman, the world's first super hero, appeared in the first issue of Action Comics. The cover date was June 1938. 1938 - U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt threw out the first ball preceding the season opener between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics. 1942 - James H. Doolittle and his squadron, from the USS Hornet, raided Tokyo and other Japanese cities. 1942 - The Vichy government capitulated to Adolf Hitler and invited Pierre Laval to form a new government in France. 1943 - Traveling in a bomber, Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, was shot down by American P-38 fighters. 1945 - American war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by Japanese gunfire on the Pacific island of Ie Shima, off Okinawa. He was 44 years old. 1946 - The League of Nations was dissolved. 1949 - The Republic of Ireland was established. 1950 - The first transatlantic jet passenger trip was completed. 1954 - Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser seized power in Egypt. 1955 - Albert Einstein died. 1956 - Actress Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco were married. The religious ceremony took place April 19. 1960 - The Mutual Broadcasting System was sold to the 3M Company of Minnesota for $1.25 million. 1978 - The U.S. Senate approved the transfer of the Panama Canal to Panama on December 31, 1999. 1979 - The TV show "Real People" premiered. 1980 - Rhodesia became in independent nation of Zimbabwe. 1983 - The U.S. Embassy in Beirut was blown up by a suicide car-bomber. 63 people were killed including 17 Americans. 1984 - Daredevils Mike MacCarthy and Amanda Tucker made a sky dive from the Eiffel Tower. The jump ended safely. 1985 - Ted Turner filed for a hostile takeover of CBS. 1985 - Tulane University abolished its 72-year-old basketball program. The reason was charges of fixed games, drug abuse, and payments to players. 1989 - Thousands of Chinese students demanding democracy tried to storm Communist Party headquarters in Beijing. 1999 - Wayne Gretzky (New York Rangers) played his final game in the NHL. He retired as the NHL's all-time leading scorer and holder of 61 individual records. 2000 - The Nasdaq had the biggest one-day point gain in its history. 2000 - Joan Lunden and Jeff Konigsberg were married. 2002 - Actor Robert Blake and his bodyguard were arrested in connection with the shooting death of Blake's wife about a year before. 2002 - The Amtrack Auto Train derailed in a remote area of north Florida. Four people were killed and 133 were injured. 2002 - The city legislature of Berlin decided to make Marlene Dietrich an honorary citizen. Dietrich had gone to the United States in 1930. She refused to return to Germany after Adolf Hitler came to power.

1775 Paul Revere rode from Charlestown to Lexington to warn Massachusetts colonists of the arrival of British troops during the American Revolution. 1906 The Great San Francisco Earthquake destroyed over 4 sq mi. and killed over 500 people. 1923 The first game was played in Yankee Stadium (“the House that Ruth built”). Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox 4–1. 1956 Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco. 1968 London Bridge was sold to an American. It was rebuilt in Arizona. 1978 The U.S. Senate voted to hand over the Panama Canal to Panamanian control on Dec. 31, 1999. 2002 Afghanistan’s former king, Mohammad Zahir Shah, returned after 29 years in exile. 2012 American Bandstand and New Year's Rockin' Eve host Dick Clark died of heart failure.