http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Apr 22, 1970: The first Earth Day
Earth Day, an event to increase public awareness of the world's environmental problems, is celebrated in the United States for the first time. Millions of Americans, including students from thousands of colleges and universities, participated in rallies, marches, and educational programs.
Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, a staunch environmentalist who hoped to provide unity to the grassroots environmental movement and increase ecological awareness. "The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy," Senator Nelson said, "and, finally, force this issue permanently onto the national political agenda." Earth Day indeed increased environmental awareness in America, and in July of that year the Environmental Protection Agency was established by special executive order to regulate and enforce national pollution legislation.
On April 22, 1990, the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, more than 200 million people in 141 countries participated in Earth Day celebrations.
Earth Day has been celebrated on different days by different groups internationally. The United Nations officially celebrates it on the vernal equinox, which usually occurs about March 21.
Apr 22, 1945: Hitler admits defeat
On this day in 1945, Adolf Hitler, learning from one of his generals that no German defense was offered to the Russian assault at Eberswalde, admits to all in his underground bunker that the war is lost and that suicide is his only recourse. Almost as confirmation of Hitler's assessment, a Soviet mechanized corps reaches Treuenbrietzen, 40 miles southwest of Berlin, liberates a POW camp and releases, among others, Norwegian Commander in Chief Otto Ruge.
Apr 22, 1915: Germans introduce poison gas
On April 22, 1915, German forces shock Allied soldiers along the western front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. This was the first major gas attack by the Germans, and it devastated the Allied line.
Toxic smoke has been used occasionally in warfare since ancient times, and in 1912 the French used small amounts of tear gas in police operations. At the outbreak of World War I, the Germans began actively to develop chemical weapons. In October 1914, the Germans placed some small tear-gas canisters in shells that were fired at Neuve Chapelle, France, but Allied troops were not exposed. In January 1915, the Germans fired shells loaded with xylyl bromide, a more lethal gas, at Russian troops at Bolimov on the eastern front. Because of the wintry cold, most of the gas froze, but the Russians nonetheless reported more than 1,000 killed as a result of the new weapon.
On April 22, 1915, the Germans launched their first and only offensive of the year. Known as the Second Battle of Ypres, the offensive began with the usual artillery bombardment of the enemy's line. When the shelling died down, the Allied defenders waited for the first wave of German attack troops but instead were thrown into panic when chlorine gas wafted across no-man's land and down into their trenches. The Germans targeted four miles of the front with the wind-blown poison gas and decimated two divisions of French and Algerian colonial troops. The Allied line was breached, but the Germans, perhaps as shocked as the Allies by the devastating effects of the poison gas, failed to take full advantage, and the Allies held most of their positions.
A second gas attack, against a Canadian division, on April 24, pushed the Allies further back, and by May they had retreated to the town of Ypres. The Second Battle of Ypres ended on May 25, with insignificant gains for the Germans. The introduction of poison gas, however, would have great significance in World War I.
Immediately after the German gas attack at Ypres, France and Britain began developing their own chemical weapons and gas masks. With the Germans taking the lead, an extensive number of projectiles filled with deadly substances polluted the trenches of World War I. Mustard gas, introduced by the Germans in 1917, blistered the skin, eyes, and lungs, and killed thousands. Military strategists defended the use of poison gas by saying it reduced the enemy's ability to respond and thus saved lives in offensives. In reality, defenses against poison gas usually kept pace with offensive developments, and both sides employed sophisticated gas masks and protective clothing that essentially negated the strategic importance of chemical weapons.
The United States, which entered World War I in 1917, also developed and used chemical weapons. Future president Harry S. Truman was the captain of a U.S. field artillery unit that fired poison gas against the Germans in 1918. In all, more than 100,000 tons of chemical weapons agents were used in World War I, some 500,000 troops were injured, and almost 30,000 died, including 2,000 Americans.
In the years following World War I, Britain, France, and Spain used chemical weapons in various colonial struggles, despite mounting international criticism of chemical warfare. In 1925, the Geneva Protocol of 1925 banned the use of chemical weapons in war but did not outlaw their development or stockpiling. Most major powers built up substantial chemical weapons reserves. In the 1930s, Italy employed chemical weapons against Ethiopia, and Japan used them against China. In World War II, chemical warfare did not occur, primarily because all the major belligerents possessed both chemical weapons and the defenses--such as gas masks, protective clothing, and detectors--that rendered them ineffectual. In addition, in a war characterized by lightning-fast military movement, strategists opposed the use of anything that would delay operations. Germany, however, did use poison gas to murder millions in its extermination camps.
Since World War II, chemical weapons have only been used in a handful of conflicts--the Yemeni conflict of 1966-67, the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88--and always against forces that lacked gas masks or other simple defenses. In 1990, the United States and the Soviet Union signed an agreement to cut their chemical weapons arsenals by 80 percent in an effort to discourage smaller nations from stockpiling the weapons. In 1993, an international treaty was signed banning the production, stockpiling (after 2007), and use of chemical weapons. It took effect in 1997 and has been ratified by 128 nations.
Apr 22, 1778: John Paul Jones leads American raid on Whitehaven, England
At 11 p.m. on this day in 1778, Commander John Paul Jones leads a small detachment of two boats from his ship, the USS Ranger, to raid the shallow port at Whitehaven, England, where, by his own account, 400 British merchant ships are anchored. Jones was hoping to reach the port at midnight, when ebb tide would leave the shops at their most vulnerable.
Jones and his 30 volunteers had greater difficulty than anticipated rowing to the port, which was protected by two forts. They did not arrive until dawn. Jones' boat successfully took the southern fort, disabling its cannon, but the other boat returned without attempting an attack on the northern fort, after the sailors claimed to have been frightened away by a noise. To compensate, Jones set fire to the southern fort, which subsequently engulfed the entire town.
Commander Jones, one of the most daring and successful naval commanders of the American Revolution, was born in Scotland on July 6, 1747. He was apprenticed to a merchant at the age of 13 and soon went to sea from Whitehaven, the very port he returned to attack on this day in 1778. In Virginia at the onset of the revolution, Jones sided with the Patriots and received a commission as a first lieutenant in the Continental Navy on December 7, 1775.
After the raid on Whitehaven, Jones continued to his home territory of Kirkcudbright Bay, where he intended to abduct the earl of Selkirk, then exchange him for American sailors held captive by Britain. Although he did not find the earl at home, Jones' crew was able to steal all his silver, including his wife's teapot, still containing her breakfast tea. From Scotland, Jones sailed across the Irish Sea to Carrickfergus, where the Ranger captured the HMS Drake after delivering fatal wounds to the British ship's captain and lieutenant.
In September 1779, Jones fought one of the fiercest battles in naval history when he led the USS Bonhomme Richard frigate, named for Benjamin Franklin, in an engagement with the 50-gun British warship HMS Serapis. The USS Bonhomme Richard was struck; it began taking on water and caught fire. When the British captain of the Serapis ordered Jones to surrender, Jones famously replied, I have not yet begun to fight! A few hours later, the captain and crew of the Serapis admitted defeat and Jones took command of the British ship.
Jones went on to establish himself as one of the great naval commanders in history; he is remembered, along with John Barry, as a Father of the American Navy. He is buried in a crypt in the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel at Annapolis, Maryland, where a Marine honor guard stands at attention in his honor whenever the crypt is open to the public.
Apr 22, 2004: Pat Tillman killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan
Pat Tillman, who gave up his pro football career to enlist in the U.S. Army after the terrorist attacks of September 11, is killed by friendly fire while serving in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. The news that Tillman, age 27, was mistakenly gunned down by his fellow Rangers, rather than enemy forces, was initially covered up by the U.S. military.
Patrick Daniel Tillman was born the oldest of three brothers on November 6, 1976, in San Jose, California. He played linebacker for Arizona State University, where during his senior year he was named Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. In 1998, Tillman was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. He became the team’s starting safety as well as one of its most popular players. In 2000, he broke the team record for tackles with 224. In May 2002, Tillman turned down a three-year, multi-million-dollar deal with the Cardinals and instead, prompted by the events of 9/11, joined the Army along with his brother Kevin, a minor-league baseball player. The Tillman brothers were assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Lewis, Washington, and did tours in Iraq in 2003, followed by Afghanistan the next year.
On April 22, 2004, Pat Tillman was killed by gunfire while on patrol in a rugged area of eastern Afghanistan. The Army initially maintained that Tillman and his unit were ambushed by enemy forces. Tillman was praised as a national hero, awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals and posthumously promoted to corporal. Weeks later, Tillman’s family learned his death had been accidental. His parents publicly criticized the Army, saying they had been intentionally deceived by military officials who wanted to use their son as a patriotic poster boy. They believed their son’s death was initially covered up by military officials because it could’ve undermined support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A criminal investigation was eventually launched into the case and in 2007 the Army censured retired three-star general Philip Kensinger, who was in charge of special operations at the time of Tillman’s death, for lying to investigators and making other mistakes. “Memorandums of concern” were also sent to several brigadier generals and lower-ranking officers who the Army believed acted improperly in the case.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
296 - St Gaius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
536 - St. Agapetus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1056 - Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye
1073 - Pope Alexander II buried/Ildebrando chosen as Pope
Gregory VII
1145 - 19th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1164 - Raynald of Dassel names Guido di Crema as anti-pope
Paschalis III
1370 - Building begins of Bastille fortress in Paris
1500 - Pedro Alvarez Cabral discovers Brazil & claims it
for Portugal
1521 - French king Francois I declares war on Spain
1526 - 1st slave revolt occurs in SC
1529 - Treaty of Saragosa: Spain & Portugal divide
eastern hemisphere
1648 - English army claims king Charles I responsible for
bloodshed
1659 - Lord protector Cromwell disbands English parliament
1671 - King Charles II sits in on English parliament
1674 - Netherlands & Munster sign peace treaty
1676 - Battle of Etna - Neth/Spain vs France, M de Ruyter fatally
wounded
1677 - Battle at Catania: between French & Dutch fleet
1692 - Edward Bishop is jailed for proposong flogging as
cure for witchcraft
1722 - 19 VOC "komplotteurs" in Batavia executed
King Charles IIKing Charles II 1728 - Pierre de Marivaux'
"Le Triomphe de Plutus" premieres in Paris
1769 - Madame du Barry becomes King Louis XV's
"official" mistress
1793 - Pres Washington attends opening of Rickett's, 1st
circus in US
1804 - Gioacchino Rossini (12) performs in Imola
1809 - Battle at Eckmuhl - Napoleon beats Austria Archduke
Karl
1817 - Curacao prohibits use of white paint due to fierce
sunlight
1823 - Baltic Club (Exchange) forms in London
1823 - R J Tyers patents roller skates
1838 - English steamship "Sirius" docks in NYC
after Atlantic crossing
1864 - US mints 2 cent coin (1st appearance of "In God
We Trust")
1876 - 1st NL game, Boston Braves beat Phila Athletics 6-5
1876 - Tsjaikovsky completes his "Swan Lake"
ballet
1876 - Phila Nationals Wes Fisler scores baseball's 1st run
1884 - Thomas Stevens starts 1st bike trip around world (2
yrs 9 mos)
1884 - US recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
1889 - Oklahoma land rush officially started; some were
"sooner"
1893 - Francis Dhanis army occupies Kasongo
1893 - Paul Kruger elected president of Transvaal for 3rd
time
1897 - NYC Jewish newspaper "Forward" begins
publishing (still active)
1898 - 1st Spanish-American War action: USS Nashville, takes
enemy ship
1898 - Baltimore James Hughes no-hits Boston Braves 8-0
1898 - Cincinnati Red Theodore Breitenstein no-hits Pirates
11-0
1898 - Congress passes Volunteer Army Act calling for a
Volunteer Cavalry
1898 - US President McKinley orders blockade of Cuban
harbors
1903 - American Power Boat Association forms
1903 - NY Highlanders (Yankees) 1st game, Senators win 3-1
before 11,950
1905 - Operations begin uniting conservatory of Nature
monument Amsterdam
1906 - 10th anniversary Olympic games open at Athens, Greece
1906 - New rule puts umpire in sole charge of all game balls
1908 - Queensland beat NSW by 171 runs for their 1st cricket
win at Gabba
1913 - Montenegro troops march into Skoetari, North-Albania
Baseball Great Babe RuthBaseball Great Babe Ruth 1914 - Babe
Ruth's 1st professional game (as a pitcher) is a 6-hit 6-0 win
1914 - Mexico ends diplomatic relations with US
1915 - 1st military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany)
in WW I
1915 - 2nd Battle of Ypres begins
1915 - NY Yankees don pinstripes & hat-in-the-ring logo
for 1st time
1916 - France battles at Fort Douaumont
1922 - South Ossetian Autonomous Region forms in Georgian
SSR
1924 - Hague Chambers of Commerce forms
1926 - Persia, Turkey & Afghanistan sign treaties of
security
1927 - 1st performance of Roger Sessions' Symphony in E
1930 - US, Britain & Japan sign London Naval Treaty
1930 - British troops battle pro-independence
revolutionaries in the Jalalabad hills near Chittagong in Bengal province,
British India leaving 80 troops and 12 revolutionaries dead.
1931 - Egypt & Iraq sign peace treaty
1933 - Dutch government forbids leftwing radio address
1937 - NYC college students stage 4th annual peace strike
1940 - Rear Adm Joseph Taussig testifies before US Senate
Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable
1943 - German counter attack in North-Tunisia
1943 - RAF shoots down 14 German transport planes over
Mediterranean Sea
1944 - Allies land near Hollandia, New-Guinea
Italian Dictator Benito MussoliniItalian Dictator Benito
Mussolini 1944 - Hitler & Benito Mussolini meet at Salzburg
1945 - Concentration Camp at Sachsenhausen liberated
1945 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Detroit Red
Wings, 4 games to 3
1946 - SED, Sozialistic Einheitspartei Deutschlands, party
forms
1947 - 1st NBA Championship: Phila Warriors beat Chicago
Stags, 4 games to 2
1948 - WTVR TV channel 6 in Richmond, VA (CBS) begins
broadcasting
1951 - Ticker-tape parade for General MacArthur in NYC
1952 - 1st atomic explosion on network news, Nob, Nevada
1952 - Eugene Ionesco's "Les Chaises" premieres in
NYC
1954 - Achiel van Acker forms Belgian government
1954 - NBA adopts 24-second shot clock & 6 team-foul
rule
1954 - US Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings begin
1954 - USSR joins UNESCO
1955 - Congress orders all US coins bear motto "In God
We Trust"
1955 - KC Athletic's 1st game, beat Tigers 6-2
WW2 General Douglas MacArthurWW2 General Douglas MacArthur
1956 - Patty Berg wins LPGA Dallas Golf Open
1957 - All NL teams intergates, John Irwin Kennedy is 1st
black on Phillies
1959 - Yankee Whitey Ford strikes-out 15, beating Senators,
1-0 in 14 innings
1959 - Chicago White Sox beat KC Athletics 20-6, in 1 inning
Sox score 11 runs on 1 hit, 10 walks, & 3 errors
1961 - Uprising of French parachutist of Gen Salan/Challe in
Algeria
1962 - Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Sunshine Golf Open
1962 - NY Mets tiea NL record by losing 9 straight to start
season
1962 - Pirates tie then record of 10 straight wins to start
season
1962 - Stanley Cup: Toronto Maple Leafs beat Chicago
Blackhawks, 4 games to 2
1964 - World's Fair (Flushing Meadow, Corona Park, NY) opens
1966 - Atlanta Braves win their 1st game, beating NY Mets
8-4
1966 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
1967 - Martial Law goes into effect in Greece
1969 - 1st human eye transplant performed
1969 - Joe Frazier KOs Dave Zyglewick in 1 for heavyweight
boxing title
1969 - Robin Knox-Johnston ends 312 day non-stop sailing
1970 - "Park" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for
5 performances
1970 - 1st Earth Day held internationally to conserve
natural resources
1970 - Flat Earth celebrated
1970 - NY Met Jerry Grote sets record of 20 put outs by a
catcher
1970 - NY Met Tom Seaver strikes out last 10 Padres, for a
total of 19
1970 - Senators beat Yankees 2-1 in 18 innings
1971 - Soyuz 10 launched
1972 - Apollo astronauts John Young & Charles Duke ride
on Moon
1974 - Barbara Walters becomes news co-anchor of Today Show
1975 - Penguins 2-Isles 4-Quarterfinals-Penguins hold 3-2
lead
1976 - Barbara Walters becomes 1st female nightly network
news anchor
Director, Writer Ingmar BergmanDirector, Writer Ingmar
Bergman 1976 - Director Ingmar Bergman leaves Sweden due to taxation
1977 - Simon Peres becomes premier of Israel
1978 - Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won
by Earl Anthony
1979 - Jane Blalock wins LPGA Florida Lady Citrus Golf
Tournament
1979 - Mick Jagger & Keith Richards give a benefit
concert in Canada
1981 - 10,000 copper workers in Chile strike
1981 - Almost 1 million West German metal workers in strike
1981 - Dodgers rookie Fernando Valenzuela tosses his 3rd
shutout in 4 starts
1981 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern
Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1981 - Largest US bank robbery (Tucson Ariz), more than $3.3
million stolen
1982 - Atlanta Braves lose after winning 1st 13 games of
season
1982 - Launch of STS-3-Lousma & Fullerton [03/23]
1983 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test
Site
1983 - Rangers 2-Isles 5-Patrick Div Finals-Isles win series
4-2
1983 - Soyuz T-8 returns to Earth
1983 - Start of 1st Sri Lanka-Australia Test Cricket match
(at Kandy)
1983 - Stern mag announces major historical find-discovery
of 60 volume personal diaries written by Adolf Hitler (turned out to be a hoax)
1984 - Vicki Fergon wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic
1986 - Consumer Price Index drops .04% for 2nd month in a
row
1986 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1987 - Sri Lanka Air Force bomb Tamil, 100s killed
1988 - Women are allowed to compete in Little 500 bicycle
race (Indiana)
1988 - NJ Devil Patrik Sundstrom sets NHL playoff record of
8 pts in a playoff game (hat trick & 5 assists) in 10-4 rout over the
Capitals
1989 - "Welcome to the Club" closes at Music Box
Theater NYC after 12 perfs
1990 - "Truly Blessed" opens at Longacre Theater
NYC for 33 performances
1990 - Lebanon release US hostage Robert Polhill after 39
months
1991 - Earthquake strikes Costa Rica & Panama, kills 95
1991 - Frank Thomas is 1st White Sox to homer at new
Comiskey Park
1991 - Intel releases 486SX chip
1991 - Johnny Carson announces he will retire next year from
Tonight Show
1991 - Shalom America (Jewish cable network) is launched in
Brooklyn & Queens
1992 - "High Rollers Social & Pleasure Club"
closes at H Hayes NYC 14 perfs
1992 - 6.0 earthquake in California
1992 - Gas explodes in sewer, kills 200 in Guadalajara
Mexico
1992 - Plane crash at Perris Valley Airport California,
kills 16 parachutists
1993 - "Who's Tommy" opens at St James Theater NYC
for 899 performances
1993 - Candid Camera creator Allen Funt suffers a stroke at
78
1993 - Holocaust Memorial Museum dedicated in Wash DC
1993 - Seattle Mariner Chris Basio no-hits Boston Red Sox
1993 - The web browser Mosaic version 1.0 is released.
1994 - 7,000 Tutsi's slaughtered in stadium of Kibuye Rwanda
1994 - Borge Ousland reaches North pole
1994 - Ice skater Tonya Harding sues ex-husband Jeff
Gillooly for $42,500
1994 - In Denmark the largest lollipop, weighing 3,011
pounds, made
Champion Boxer Evander HolyfieldChampion Boxer Evander
Holyfield 1994 - Michael Moorer beats Evander Holyfield in 12 for heavyweight
boxing title
1994 - Schelto Patijn appointed mayor of Amsterdam
1995 - General Tire World Bowling Tournament of Champions
won by Mike Aulby
1995 - George Foreman beats Axel Schulz in 12 for
heavyweight boxing title in Las Vegas
1997 - Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria - 93 villagers
killed.
1997 - The Japanese embassy hostage crisis ends in Lima,
Peru.
1998 - Disney's Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World
near Orlando, Florida, United States.
1998 - 33rd Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks,
Trisha Yearwood & George Strait wins
2000 - In a pre-dawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old
Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida.
2000 - The Big Number Change takes place in the United
Kingdom.
2004 - Two fuel trains collide in Ryongchon, North Korea,
killing up to 150 people.
2006 - 243 people are injured in pro-democracy protest in
Nepal after Nepali security forces open fire on protesters against King
Gyanendra.
2006 - Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north
of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the
worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War.
2012 - 30 year old women collapses and dies during London
Marathon
2013 - 6 people are killed in a shooting rampage in
Belgorod, Russia
2013 - Manchester United defeat Aston Villa to claim the
2012/2013 English Premier League
1500 - Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered Brazil. 1509 - Henry VIII ascended to the throne of England upon the death of his father Henry VII. 1529 - Spain and Portugal divided the eastern hemisphere in Treaty of Saragosa. 1745 - The Peace of Fussen was signed, restoring the status quo of Germany. 1792 - U.S. President George Washington proclaimed American neutrality in the war in Europe. 1861 - Robert E. Lee was named commander of Virginia forces. 1864 - The U.S. Congress passed legislation that allowed the inscription "In God We Trust" to be included on one-cent and two-cent coins. 1876 - The first official National League (NL) baseball game took place. Boston beat Philadelphia 6-5. 1889 - At noon, the Oklahoma land rush officially started as thousands of Americans raced for new, unclaimed land. 1898 - The first shot of the Spanish-American war occurred when the USS Nashville captured a Spanish merchant ship. 1914 - Babe Ruth made his pitching debut with the Baltimore Orioles. 1915 - At the Second Battle Ypres the Germans became the first country to use poison gas. 1915 - The New York Yankees wore pinstripes and the hat-in-the-ring logo for the first time. 1918 - British naval forces attempted to sink block-ships in the German U-boat bases at the Battle of Zeeburgge. 1930 - The U.S., Britain and Japan signed the London Naval Treaty, which regulated submarine warfare and limited shipbuilding. 1931 - Egypt signed the treaty of friendship with Iraq. 1931 - James G. Ray landed an autogyro on the lawn of the White House. 1944 - During World War II, the Allies launched a major attack against the Japanese in Hollandia, New Guinea. 1952 - An atomic test conducted in Nevada was the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television. 1954 - The U.S. Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings began. 1967 - Randy Matson set a new world record with a shot put toss of 71 feet, and 5 1/2 inches in College Station, TX. 1970 - The first "Earth Day" was observed by millions of Americans. 1976 - Barbara Walters became first female nightly network news anchor. 1987 - The American Physical Society said that the "Star Wars" missile system was "highly questionable" and would take ten years to research. 1993 - The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington, DC. 1997 - In Lima, Peru government commandos storm and capture the residence of the Japanese ambassador ending a 126-day hostage crisis. In the rescue 71 hostages were saved. Those killed: one hostage (of a heart attack), two soldiers, and all 14 rebels. 1999 - The Watson Family received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 2000 - Elian Gonzalez was reunited with his father. He had to be taken from his Miami relatives by U.S. agents in a predawn raid. 2000 - ABC-TV aired a small portion of the Clinton-DiCaprio interview. 2002 - Filippino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered a state of emergency in the city of General Santos in response to a series of bombing attacks the day before. The attacks were blamed on Muslim extremists.
1500 Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered Brazil and claimed it for Portugal. 1509 Henry VIII became king of England. 1616 The Spanish poet Cervantes died in Madrid. (Some sources say April 23.) 1864 Congress authorized the inscription "In God We Trust" on coins minted as U.S. currency. 1889 The land rush in Oklahoma began when it was opened to settlers. 1970 The first Earth Day was observed. 1994 Richard M. Nixon died of a stroke at the age of 81. 2000 Armed immigration agents took Elian Gonzalez from the Miami home of his relatives to reunite him with his father.
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/apr22.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
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!
For me, the biggest news event to mark this day is that it is Earth Day. It has come to mean a lot to me over the years, and those who know me, or have been following my posts on this blog, by now understand why. So, it seems appropriate to give a bit of history about Earth Day here, although I will delve much further into the history of Earth Day in another post separate from this one. But this brief history is taken from the History Channel's web page, and here's the link: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Earth Day, an event to increase public awareness of the world's environmental problems, is celebrated in the United States for the first time. Millions of Americans, including students from thousands of colleges and universities, participated in rallies, marches, and educational programs.
Earth Day was the brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, a staunch environmentalist who hoped to provide unity to the grassroots environmental movement and increase ecological awareness. "The objective was to get a nationwide demonstration of concern for the environment so large that it would shake the political establishment out of its lethargy," Senator Nelson said, "and, finally, force this issue permanently onto the national political agenda." Earth Day indeed increased environmental awareness in America, and in July of that year the Environmental Protection Agency was established by special executive order to regulate and enforce national pollution legislation.
On April 22, 1990, the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, more than 200 million people in 141 countries participated in Earth Day celebrations.
Earth Day has been celebrated on different days by different groups internationally. The United Nations officially celebrates it on the vernal equinox, which usually occurs about March 21.
296 - St Gaius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
536 - St. Agapetus I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1056 - Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye 1073 - Pope Alexander II buried/Ildebrando chosen as Pope Gregory VII
1145 - 19th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
1164 - Raynald of Dassel names Guido di Crema as anti-pope Paschalis III
1370 - Bastille begins being built in Paris. Of course, more than four hundred years later, it will be stormed by peasants, and this event will become the biggest, and arguably the most positive, symbol of the French Revolution - a revolution that changed the world, and which many people feel was the true beginning of modernity..
1500 - Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral "discovers" Brazil and claims it for Portugal.
1509 - Henry VIII ascended to the throne of England upon the death of his father Henry VII.
1521 - French king Francois I declares war on Spain
1526 - First slave revolt occurs in South Carolina
1529 - Spain and Portugal divided the eastern hemisphere in Treaty of Saragosa.
1616 - Spanish poet Cervantes died in Madrid. (There is some dispute about the date, however, as some believe he died on April 23.)
1648 - English army claims king Charles I responsible for bloodshed
1659 - Lord protector Cromwell disbands English parliament
1671 - King Charles II sits in on English parliament
1745 - The Peace of Fussen was signed, restoring the status quo of Germany. 1792 - U.S. President George Washington proclaimed American neutrality in the war in Europe.
1861 - Robert E. Lee was named commander of Virginia forces.
1864 - The U.S. Congress mandated that all coins minted as U.S. currency bear the inscription "In God We Trust".
1870 - Vladimir Lenin was born.
1876 - The first official National League (NL) baseball game took place. Boston beat Philadelphia 6-5.
1876 - Tsjaikovsky completes his "Swan Lake" ballet
1884 - United States recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
1889 - At noon, the Oklahoma land rush officially started as thousands of Americans raced to stake their claim upon the land.
1893 - Paul Kruger elected president of Transvaal (one of the former Boer states inside of present-day South Africa) for third time
1898 - The first shot of the Spanish-American war occurred when the USS Nashville captured a Spanish merchant ship.
1913 - Montenegro troops march into Skoetari, North-Albania
1914 - Mexico ends diplomatic relations with the United States
1915 - At the Second Battle Ypres the Germans became the first country to use poison gas.
1933 - Dutch government forbids leftwing radio address
1937 - NYC college students stage 4th annual peace strike
1940 - Rear Adm Joseph Taussig testifies before US Senate Naval Affairs Committee that war with Japan is inevitable (He was right)
1943 - German counter attack in North-Tunisia
1943 - RAF shoots down 14 German transport planes over Mediterranean Sea
1944 - Allies land near Hollandia, New-Guinea
1944 - Hitler & Benito Mussolini meet at Salzburg
1945 - Concentration Camp at Sachsenhausen liberated
1947 - 1st NBA Championship: Philadelphia Warriors defeat the Chicago Stags, 4 games to 2
1952 - An atomic test conducted in Nevada was the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television.
1954 - The U.S. Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings began.
1970 - The first "Earth Day" was observed by millions of Americans.
1976 - Barbara Walters became first female nightly network news anchor.
1991 - Johnny Carson announces he will retire next year from Tonight Show
1993 - Holocaust Memorial Museum is dedicated in Washington DC
1994 - Richard M. Nixon died of a stroke at the age of 81.
2000 - Elian Gonzalez was reunited with his father. He had to be taken from his Miami relatives by U.S. agents in a predawn raid.
2002 - Filippino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered a state of emergency in the city of General Santos in response to a series of bombing attacks the day before. The attacks were blamed on Muslim extremists.
Here are the websites that I used much of the information provided to complete this blog entry:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr22.htm
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/on-this-day/
http://www.historyorb.com/today/
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
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