On This Day in History - April 27

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!

The single most important event to have taken place on this date (at least, if you believe it) was that the universe began. Here, according to www.history.com, is the story:

On this day in 4977 B.C., the universe is created, according to German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler, considered a founder of modern science. Kepler is best known for his theories explaining the motion of planets.

Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, in Weil der Stadt, Germany. As a university student, he studied the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus' theories of planetary ordering. Copernicus (1473-1543) believed that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system, a theory that contradicted the prevailing view of the era that the sun revolved around the earth.

In 1600, Kepler went to Prague to work for Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, the imperial mathematician to Rudolf II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Kepler's main project was to investigate the orbit of Mars. When Brahe died the following year, Kepler took over his job and inherited Brahe's extensive collection of astronomy data, which had been painstakingly observed by the naked eye. Over the next decade, Kepler learned about the work of Italian physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who had invented a telescope with which he discovered lunar mountains and craters, the largest four satellites of Jupiter and the phases of Venus, among other things. Kepler corresponded with Galileo and eventually obtained a telescope of his own and improved upon the design. In 1609, Kepler published the first two of his three laws of planetary motion, which held that planets move around the sun in ellipses, not circles (as had been widely believed up to that time), and that planets speed up as they approach the sun and slow down as they move away. In 1619, he produced his third law, which used mathematic principles to relate the time a planet takes to orbit the sun to the average distance of the planet from the sun.

Kepler's research was slow to gain widespread traction during his lifetime, but it later served as a key influence on the English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and his law of gravitational force. Additionally, Kepler did important work in the fields of optics, including demonstrating how the human eye works, and math. He died on November 15, 1630, in Regensberg, Germany. As for Kepler's calculation about the universe's birthday, scientists in the 20th century developed the Big Bang theory, which showed that his calculations were off by about 13.7 billion years.

1124 - David I becomes King of Scots.
1296 - The Scots were defeated by Edward I of England at the Battle of Dunbar.
1509 - Pope Julius II excommunicated the Italian state of Venice
1518 - Treaty of St Truiden: anti-French Trapdoors/Bourgondisch covenant
1521 - Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.
1522 - France is defeated by Charles I and Pope Adrianus VI at the Battle of Bicacca
1526 - Mogol King Babur beats sultan of Delhi
1539 - Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (presently known as Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar.
1565 - First Spanish settlement in Philippines was formed at Cebu City
1576 - Peace of Beaulieu & Paix de Monsieur
1578 - Duel of the Mignons claims the lives of two favorites of Henry III of France and two favorites of Henry I, Duke of Guise.
1643 - Tirso de Molina's "Bellaco Sois, Gomez," premieres in Madrid
1646 - King Charles I flees Oxford
1650 - The Battle of Carbisdale: Royalist army under Marquess of Montrose invades mainland Scotland from Orkney; defeated by a Covenanter army.
1662 - Netherlands & France sign military covenant
1667 - The blind and impoverished, John Milton sells the copyright of Paradise Lost for £10.
1694 - Frederik August I "the Strong" becomes monarch of Saksen
1749 - First performance of Handel's Fireworks Music in Green Park, London.
1773 - British Parliament passes Tea Act (Boston won't like this)
1805 - American forces led by the US Marines captured the city of Derna, on the shores of Tripoli
1810 - Beethoven composes his famous piano piece, Für Elise.
1813 - Americans under General Pike capture Toronto (then known as York); Pike is killed
1828 - Zoological Gardens at Regent's Park London, opens
1838 - Fire destroys half of Charleston
1840 - Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, laid by wife of Sir Charles Barry.
1841 - Imakita Kosen, 1st Zen teacher of D.T. Suzuki, found the awakening
1857 - Establishment of Jewish congregations in Lower Austria prohibited
1859 - "Pomona" sinks in North Atlantic drowning all 400 aboard
1860 - Thomas Jackson is assigned to command Harpers Ferry
1861 - President Abraham Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus
1861 - West Virginia secedes from Virginia after Virginia secedes from US
1863 - Battle of Streight's raid: Tuscumbia to Cedar Bluff, Alabama
1863 - The Army of the Potomac began their march on Chancellorsville
1865 - Cornell University (Ithaca NY) is chartered
1865 - Steamboat "Sultana" explodes in Mississippi River, killed up to 1,547. 1450 of 2000 paroled Union POWs on their way home are killed when river steamer "Sultana" blown up
1867 - Opera "Romeo et Juliette" was produced (Paris)
1870 - Heinrich Schliemann discovered Troy
1874 - White League, Paramilitary white supremacist organization, formed
1877 - Opera "Le Roi de Lahore" was produced (Paris)
1877 - President Hayes removes Federal troops from LA, Reconstruction ends
1880 - Francis Clarke and M.G. Foster patented the electrical hearing aid.
1881 - Pogroms against Russian Jews start in Elisabethgrad
1890 - French troops under Capt Archinard occupy Oussebougou West Sudan
1897 - Grant's Tomb (famed of song & legend) dedicated
1899 - The Western Golf Association was founded in Chicago, Illinois
1903 - First Highlander (Yankee) shut-out, Philadelphia A's win 6-0
1903 - Long Island's Jamaica Race Track opens
1904 - The Australian Labor Party becomes the first such party to gain national government, under Chris Watson.
1905 - World Exposition opens in Luik
1908 - Fourth modern Olympic games opens in London
1909 - Sultan of Turkey Abdul Hamid II is overthrown
1910 - Belgian parliament rejects socialist motion for general voting rights
1911 - Following the resignation and death of William P. Frye, a compromise is reached to rotate the office of President pro tempore of the United States Senate.
1912 - Relief laws replaces those of 1854, in Netherlands
1914 - Honduras becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
1918 - Giants' 9-0 winning start & Dodgers' 0-9 losing streak are stopped
1920 - Pogrom leader Petljoera declares Ukraine Independence
1921 - Hadjememaar, [Corn de Gelder] elected in Amsterdam
1922 - Fritz Langs "Dr Mabuse, der Spieler" premieres in Berlin
1922 - Yakut ASSR formed in Russian SFSR
1923 - Benito Mussolini government italian place in South Tirol/Alto Adige
1924 - Antwerp soccer tie Belgium-Netherlands 1-1
1926 - In the Giants' 9-8 win over Phillies, Mel Ott, 17, 1st appearance
1927 - Carabineros de Chile (Chilean national police force and gendarmery) are created.
1931 - 100°F (38°C), Pahala, Hawaii (state record)
1933 - Karl Jansky reports reception of cosmic radio signal in Wash DC
1933 - Jessop & Son department store in Nottingham, England, acquired by John Lewis Partnership. The partnership's first shop outside London.
1935 - Brussel's World Expo opens
1935 - Yanks pull a 1st inning triple-play & beat Phila A's 9-8
1937 - 1st US social security payment made
1937 - German bombers devastated Guernica, Spain.
1938 - Geraldine Apponyi married King Zog of Albania. She was the first American woman to become a queen.
1940 - Himmler orders establishment of Auschwitz Concentration Camp
1941 - German troops occupy Athens Greece
1942 - Belgium Jews are forced to wear stars
1942 - Tornado destroys Pryor Oklahoma killing 100, injuring 300
1943 - Lou Jansen & Jan Dieters arrested, lead illegal CPN party in Holland
1943 - Soviet Union breaks contact with Polish government exiled in London
1944 - Boston Brave Jim Tobin no-hits Bkln Dodgers, 2-0
1945 - Second Republic of Austria formed
1945 - Italian partisans capture Benito Mussolini prisoner
1945 - US 5th army enters Genua
1945 - World War II: The Völkischer Beobachter, the newspaper of the Nazi Party, ceases publication.
1946 - The SS African Star was placed in service. It was the first commercial ship to be equipped with radar.
1947 - Babe Ruth Day celebrated at Yankee Stadium & through out US
1948 - Arab legion attacks Gesher bridge on Jordan River
1950 - "Tickets, Please" opens at Coronet Theater NYC for 245 performances
1950 - South Africa passes Group Areas Act, formally segregating the races
1951 - Mohammed Mossadeq chosen premier of Persia
1952 - "4 Saints in 3 Acts" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 15 performances
1953 - The U.S. offered $50,000 and political asylum to any Communist pilot that delivered a MIG jet.
1953 - First general elections in British Guyana, won by Jagans PPP
1953 - Wrestler Freddie Blassie coins term "Pencil neck geek"
1956 - Burma Premier U Nu's Volksliga voor Vrijheid loses election
1956 - Heavyweight champ, Rocky Marciano, retires undefeated from boxing
1959 - "Today" show goes abroard 1st time (Paris France)
1959 - Liu Sjau-chi elected president of China PR
1959 - The last Canadian missionary leaves the People's Republic of China.
1960 - 1st atomic powered electric-drive submarine launched (Tullibee)
1960 - South Korean pres Syngman Rhee resigns
1960 - Togo (formerly French Togo) declares independence from French adm
1961 - NASA launches Explorer 11 into Earth orbit to study gamma rays
1961 - NFL officially recognizes Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio
1961 - Sierra Leone declares independence from the United Kingdom
1962 - Arnold Wesker's "Chips with Everything," premieres in London
1962 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
1963 - "Jopie" Pengel forms government in Suriname
1963 - Cuban premier Fidel Castro arrives in Moscow
1964 - John Lennon's "In His Own Write" is published in US
1965 - "I'm Solomon" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 7 perfs
1965 - RC Duncan patents "Pampers" disposable diaper
1966 - Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 2nd cello concert
1967 - In Montreal, Prime Minister Lester Pearson lighted a flame to open Expo 67.
1967 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1968 - "Education of Hyman Kaplan" closes at Alvin NYC after 28 perf
1968 - Balt Oriole Tom Phoebus no-hits Boston, 6-0
1968 - Congress of Political Party Radicals (PPR) forms in Netherlands
1969 - Carol Mann wins LPGA Raleigh Ladies Golf Invitational
1971 - Curt Flood resigns Senators after 13 games & departs for Denmark
1972 - Apollo 16 returns to Earth
1972 - NYC Mayor John Lindsey appeals that John Lennon not be deported
1973 - KC Royal Steve Busby no-hits Detroit Tigers, 3-0
1974 - Pan Am 707 crashes into mountains of Bali, killing 107
1975 - Saigon was encircled by North Vietnamese troops.
1975 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Charity Golf Classic
1975 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1976 - "So Long 174th St" opens at Harkness Theater NYC for 16 performances
1976 - Arabic Monetary Fund established in Abu Dhabi
1977 - Bloody riots in Soweto South Africa
1977 - HCC, Hobby Computer Club, forms in Netherlands
1977 - 28 people are killed in the Guatemala City air disaster.
1978 - 14th Mayor's Trophy Game, Yanks beat Mets 4-3 in 11
1978 - Accident at nuclear reactor Willow Island, W Virginia, kills 51
1978 - Afghanistan revolution (National Day), pro-Russian military coup
1979 - George Harrison releases "Love Comes to Everyone"
1980 - Barbara Barrow wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic
1981 - 1st female soccer official is hired by NASL
1981 - Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse.
1982 - Nordiques 1-Isles 4-Semifinals-Isles hold 1-0 lead
1982 - Trial of John W Hinckley Jr attempted assassin of Reagan, begins - he was later acquitted for reasons of insanity
1983 - Nolan Ryan becomes strikeout king (3,509), passing Walter Johnson
1984 - Cleve Indians beat Detroit Tigers, 8-4, in 19 innings
1984 - Over 70 inches of snow falls on Red Lake, Montana
1986 - "Sweet Charity" opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 368 performances
1986 - Captain Midnight (John R MacDougall) interrupts HBO
1986 - Pat Bradley wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic
1987 - The U.S. Justice Department barred Austrian President Kurt Waldheim from entering the U.S. He claimed that he had aided in the deportation and execution of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II.
1989 - "Starmites" opens at Criter Ctr SR Theater NYC for 60 performances
1989 - Beijing students take over Tiananmen Square in China
1989 - Hurricane in Bangladesh, kills 500
1989 - Mandatory seatbelt law goes into effect in Italy
1990 - 50th annual barbershop quartet singing convention held (Mich)
1990 - Dodger Orel Hershiser undergoes career-threatening shoulder surgery
1990 - Villanova's women set a 6,000 m relay world record of 17:18:10
1991 - "Lucifer's Child" closes at Music Box Theater NYC after 28 perfs
1991 - Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by David Ozio
1992 - "Small Family Business" opens at Music Box Theater NYC for 48 perfs
1992 - NY Mets trade David Cone to Toronto Blue Jays for Jeff Kent
1992 - The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed.
1992 - Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history.
1992 - Russia and 12 other former Soviet republics won entry into the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
1993 - Afghan Antonov AN-32 crashes at Tashqurgan, kills 76
1994 - "Inspector Calls" opens at Royale Theater NYC for 454 performances
1994 - 29.0°C in Genevad, Sweden (Swedish April high temperature record)
1994 - The seventh longest NHL game: New Jersey Devils beat Buffalo Sabres (125 min 43 sec)
1994 - Graeme Obree bicycles world record time (52,713 km)
1994 - President Nixon buried in Nixon Library in Calif
1994 - Twins righty Scott Erickson no-hits Brewers 6-0
1995 - "Indiscretions" opens at Ethel Barrymore Theater NYC for 221 perfs
1995 - Coors Field in Colo opens - Denver Rockies beats Mets 11-9 in 14
1996 - Brunswick World Tournament of Champions won by Dave D'Entremont
1997 - "Little Foxes," opens at Vivian Beaumont NYC for 56 performances
1997 - "Stanley," closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC
1997 - Frank Nobilo wins Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic at Forest Oaks
1997 - Las Vegas Senior Golf Classic by TruGreen-ChemLawn
1997 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Chick-fil-A Charity Championship
2002 - The last successful telemetry from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10.
2005 - The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France.
2005 - Russian President Vladimir Putin became the first Kremlin leader to visit Israel.
2006 - Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City.
2007 - Estonian authorities remove the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet Red Army war memorial in Tallinn, amid political controversy with Russia.
2011 - The deadliest day of the 2011 Super outbreak of tornadoes, the largest tornado outbreak, in United States history.
2012 - Four explosions in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, kill 27 people


I got most of the information used for this blog from the following pages:

http://www.historyorb.com/events/april/27
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr27.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/April-27
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On This Day in History - April 26

Okay, I was feeling lousy yesterday, with a lack of sleep and a nagging headache that just did not seem to want to go away. So, apologies about missing the 25th, but I want to get back on track today with the 26th. So, here goes:

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!



757 - Paolo Orsini replaces his brother Pope Stephen II, as Paul I
1220 - German king Frederick II grants bishops sovereign rights
1467 - The miraculous image in Our Lady of Good Counsel appear in Genazzano, Italy.
1478 - 1st Easter
1478 - Pazzi conspirators attack Lorenzo de'Medici & kill Giuliano de'Medici
 1514 - Copernicus makes his 1st observations of Saturn
1532 - Sultan Suleiman through Hungary on away to Vienna
1564 - William Shakespeare baptized
1607 - 1st British to establish an American colony land at Cape Henry, Va
1654 - Jews are expelled from Brazil
1655 - Dutch West Indies Co denies Peter Stuyvesant's desire to exclude Jews from New Amsterdam
1677 - Emperor Leopold I forms University of Innsbruck
1721 - Smallpox vaccination 1st administrated
1755 - 1st Russian university opens (Moscow)
1777 - Sybil Ludington, 16, rode from NY to Ct rallying her fathers militia
1803 - Meteorites fall in L'Aigle, France
1814 - King Louis XVIII lands on Calais, from England
1819 - Odd Fellows Lodge forms
1828 - Russia declares war on Turkey to support Greece's independence
1835 - Frederic Chopins "Grand Polonaise Brillante," premieres in Paris
1841 - "Bombay Gazette" begins publishing on silk
1853 - Dutch King William III disbands 2nd Chamber
1855 - Composer Gioacchino Rossini leaves Italy
1859 - Dan Sickles is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity. It marks the first time this defense is successfully used.
1865 - Battle of Durham Station, North Carolina (Greensboro)
1865 - Battle of Ft Tobacco, Virginia
1865 - Confederate Gen J E Johnston surrenders Army of Tennessee, at Durham North Carolina
1887 - Huntsville Electric Co forms to sell electricity
1890 - Henry Morton Stanley inaugurated in London
1893 - 1st Cleveland Board of Park Commissioners forms
1900 - AL opener in Cleve draws 6,500
1904 - Bell Telephone Company of Antwerp Belgium forms
1905 - Cubs Jack McCarthy becomes only major league player to throw out 3 runners at plate in 1 game, all were ends of a double play
1906 - 1st motion pictures shown in Hawaii
1907 - Jamestown, Va Tercentenary Exposition opens
1912 - 1st homerun hit at Fenway Park (Hugh Bradley, Red Sox)
1913 - Panama-Pacific International Exposition opens in SF
1913 - Sun Yet San calls for revolt against pres Yuan Shikai in China
1915 - Italy secretly signes Pact of London with Britain, France & Russia
1920 - H Shapley & H D Curtis hold "great debate" on nature of nebulae
1925 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Edna Ferber for "So big"
1926 - Germany & Russia sign neutrality/peace treaty
1926 - Karachai Autonomous Region forms in RSFSR (until 1943)
1928 - Madame Tussaud's waxwork exhibition opens in London
1929 - 1st non-stop England to India flight lands
1931 - Lou Gehrig hits a HR but is called out for passing a runner, mistake costs him AL home run crown; he & Babe Ruth tie for season
1932 - Jean Anouilh's "L'Ermine," premieres in Paris
1933 - Jewish students are barred from school in Germany
1935 - Frank Boucher is given NHL's Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship permanently for winning it 7 of 11 years
1936 - Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 4th Symphony
1937 - German Luftwaffe destroys Basque town of Guernica in Spain
1938 - Austrian Jews required to register property above 5,000 Reichsmarks
1941 - A tradition begins, 1st organ at a baseball stadium (Chicago Cubs)
1941 - Potatoes rationed in Holland
1942 - Coal mine explosion kills 1,549 at Honkeiko Manchuria
1942 - Luftwaffe bombs Bath
1944 - 1st B-29 attacked by Japanese fighters, one fighter shot down
1944 - Papandreou government in Greece forms
1945 - Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, leader of France's Vichy collaborationist regime during WW II, arrested for treason
1945 - World War II: Battle of Bautzen - last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
1947 - "Bless the Bride" musical opens in London
1950 - Last horse race at Havre de Grace Track in Md, is run
1950 - U of Miami ends William & Mary straight tennis match victories at 82
1951 - Queen Juliana opens Brielsche Mausoleum
1952 - Patty Berg scores 64, best competitive round of golf by a woman
1952 - US minesweeper "Hobson" rams aircraft carrier "Wasp," kills 176
1954 - Far Eastern Affairs conference opens in Geneva
1954 - Nationwide test of Salk anti-polio vaccine begins
1956 - First container ship left Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas
1957 - Jamestown, Va 350th Anniversary Festival opens
1959 - Cuba invades Panama
1959 - Wiffi Smith wins LPGA Betsy Rawls Golf Open
1961 - French paratroopers' revolt suppressed in Algeria
1961 - Roger Maris hits 1st of 61 homers in 1961
1962 - 1st Lockheed A-12 flies
1962 - Ariel 1 Launch (1st UK Satellite)
1962 - Ranger 4 crash lands on (backside of) Moon
1962 - Red Sox Bill Monbouquette no-hits White Sox 1-0
1962 - US/UK launch Ariel; 1st international payload
1964 - 18th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat SF Warriors, 4 games to 1
1964 - Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship
1964 - Tanganyika & Zanzibar form United Republic of Tanganyika & Zanzibar
1965 - Ives' 4th Symphony premieres
1966 - Arnold "Red" Auerbach retires as Boston Celtic's coach
1966 - An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 destroys Tashkent.
1967 - "Hallelujah, Baby!" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC for 293 perfs
1967 - KSPS TV channel 7 in Spokane, WA (PBS) begins broadcasting
1967 - San Marco 2 Launch (1st Equatorial Launch)
1968 - Students seize administration building at Ohio State
1968 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1968 - US underground nuclear test, "Boxcar," 1 megaton device
1969 - "Celebration" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 110 performances
1969 - "George M!" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 435 performances
1969 - Firestone World Bowling Tournament (Mercury Open) won by Jim Godman
1970 - "Company" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 690 performances
1971 - Heaviest rains ever in Bahia district of Brazil, 15" in 24 hrs
1971 - SF lightship replaced by automatic buoy
1971 - Turkey state of siege proclaimed
1973 - "2 Gentlemen of Verona," musical opens in London
1973 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1974 - Landslide in Huancavelica Province Peru creates a natural dam
1974 - Malta adopts constitution
1974 - Yankees trade Peterson, Beene, Kline & Buskey to Indians for Chambliss, Tidrow & Upshaw
1975 - Mario Soares' Socialist Party wins 1st free election in Portugal
1975 - Penguins 0-Isles 1-Quarterfinals-Isles win series 4-3
1975 - Phillies Mike Schmidt's 2 HRs ties NL record of 11 HRs in April
1976 - Pan Am begins non-stop flights NYC-Tokyo
1977 - NY's famed disco Studio 54 opens
1978 - France sends troops to Chad
1978 - NASA launches space vehicle S-201
1980 - Gerard Nijboer runs Dutch record marathon (2:09:01)
1980 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1980 - Iran begins scattering US hostages from US Embassy
1980 - Longest jump by a jet boat is set at 120'
1980 - Phillies' Steve Carlton pitches his 6th 1-hitter (beats Cards)
1981 - "Copperfield" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 13 performances
1981 - Beth Solomon wins LPGA Birmingham Golf Classic
1982 - Argentina surrenders to Britain on S Georgia near Falkland Island
1982 - CBS radio begins youth oriented broadcast Radio Radio
1982 - Gene Michael becomes NY Yankee manager for 2nd time
1982 - Rod Stewart is mugged, gunman steals his $50,000 Porsche
1983 - Bruins 2-Isles 5-Wales Conference Championship-Isles hold 1-0 lead
1983 - Dow Jones Industrial Avg breaks 1,200 for 1st time
1983 - San Antonio spurs beat Denver Nuggets, 152-133 in NBA playoff game
1984 - Liverpool's Cavern Club reopens
1984 - Pres Reagan visits China
1986 - Firestone World Bowling Tournament of Champions won by Marshall Holman
1986 - France performs nuclear test
1986 - Game between Angels & Twins delayed for 9 minutes by strong winds
1986 - Worst nuclear disaster, 4th reactor at Chernobyl USSR explodes, 31 die
1987 - "Barbara Cook: A Concert..." closes at Ambassador NYC after 13 perfs
1988 - 1st TNN Viewers choice awards-Randy Travis wins in 5 categories
1988 - NBA approves addition of 3rd referee in 1988-89 season
1988 - NY Met Davey Johnson becomes 2nd manager to record 400 victory in 1st 4 years (Al Lopez did it 1st)
1989 - AT&T announces NJ's 201 area code will split into 908 & 201
1989 - Mike Tyson is ticketed for driving 71 MPH in 30 mile zone in Albany
1990 - "Accomplice" opens at Richard Rodgers Theater NYC for 52 performances
1990 - 126 die in a (6.9) earthquake in China
1990 - Danny Wood of New Kids, steps on a stuffed animal & twists his ankle
1990 - NY court of appeals ends 2½ year legal battle over 1988 America's Cup by refusing jurisdiction of case
1990 - Nolan Ryan ties Bob Feller's record of pitching 12 1-hitters
1991 - "Dinosaurs" premieres on ABC-TV
1991 - 23 killed in Kansas & Oklahoma by tornadoes
1991 - Soccer star Diego Maradona, suspended for using cocaine, arrested in Argentina for possession & distribution of illegal narcotics
1992 - "Grand Hotel" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 1,018 perfs
1992 - "Growing Pains," final episode on ABC TV
1992 - "Jelly's Last Jam" opens at Virginia Theater NYC for 569 performances
1992 - "Master Builder" closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 45 performances
1992 - "Metro" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 13 performances
1992 - "Who's The Boss," final episode after 8 years on ABC TV
1992 - Alex Haley, (Roots), wins 1992 Ellis Island Award, posthumously
1992 - Maggie Will wins LPGA Sara Lee Golf Classic
1992 - Ozzie Smith steals his 500th base
1993 - "Shakespeare for My Father" opens at Helen Hayes NYC for 266 perfs
1993 - Boeing 737 crashes at Aurangabad, kills 56
1993 - NBC announces Conan O'Brien to replace David Letterman
1993 - STS-55 (Columbia) launches into orbit
1994 - 26.9°C in Prestebakke Norway (Norwegian April high temp record)
1994 - Taiwan Airbus A-300 crashes at Nagoya Japan, 262 killed
1994 - 1st multi-racial election in South Africa begins [3 days] Dr Nomaza Paintin in NZ is 1st black South African to vote
1994 - Physicists announce first evidence of the top quark subatomic particle.
1995 - Baseball season begins after lengthy strike
1995 - Coors Field, opens in Denver, Rockies beat Mets 11-9 in 14 innings
1996 - Shaun Pollock takes 4 wkts in 4 balls for Warwickshire in B&H
1996 - Sotherby ends 4 day auction of Jackie O stuff-take in $34.5 million
Comedian David Letterman
1997 - "Life," opens at Barrymore Theater NYC
2002 - Robert Steinhäuser infiltrates and kills 17 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt,Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.
2005 - Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country.
2007 - Queen's Pier is officially closed by the Hong Kong Government, after a bitter struggle by conservationists, in order to facilitate land reclamation in Hong Kong's Central district
2012 - 70 people are killed by rocket attacks by the Syrian Army on the city of Hama
2012 - Indonesia suspends imports of American beef after a confirmed case of mad cow disease in California





http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr26.htm

1478 - Pazzi conspirators attacked Lorenzo and killed Giuliano de'Medici.

1514 - Copernicus made his first observations of Saturn.

1607 - The British established an American colony at Cape Henry, Virginia. It was the first permanent English establishment in the Western Hemisphere.

1819 - The first Odd Fellows lodge in the U.S. was established in Baltimore, MD.

1865 - Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee to Sherman during the American Civil War.

1865 - John Wilkes Booth was killed by the U.S. Federal Cavalry.

1906 - In Hawaii, motion pictures were shown for the first time.

1921 - Weather broadcasts were heard for the first time on radio in St. Louis, MO.

1929 - First non-stop flight from England to India was completed.

1931 - New York Yankee Lou Gehrig hit a home run but was called out for passing a runner.

1931 - NBC premiered "Lum and Abner." It was on the air for 24 years.

1937 - German planes attacked Guernica, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War.

1937 - "LIFE" magazine was printed without the word "LIFE" on the cover.

1937 - "Lorenzo Jones" premiered on NBC radio.

1941 - An organ was played at a baseball stadium for the first time in Chicago, IL.

1945 - Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, the head of France's Vichy government during World War II, was arrested.

1952 - Patty Berg set a new record for major women’s golf competition when she shot a 64 over 18 holes in a tournament in Richmond, CA.

1954 - Grace Kelly was on the cover of "LIFE" magazine.

1964 - The African nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form Tanzania.

1964 - The Boston Celtics won their sixth consecutive NBA title. They won two more before the streak came to an end.

1968 - Students seized the administration building at Ohio State University.

1982 - The British announced that Argentina had surrendered on South Georgia.

1983 - Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 1,200 for first time.

1985 - In Argentina, a fire at a mental hospital killed 79 people and injured 247.

1986 - The world’s worst nuclear disaster to date occurred at Chernobyl, in Kiev. Thirty-one people died in the incident and thousands more were exposed to radioactive material.

1998 - Auxiliary Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera was bludgeoned to death two days after a report he'd compiled on atrocities during Guatemala's 36-year civil war was made public.

2000 - Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar purchased the NHL's New York Islanders.

2002 - In Erfurt, Germany, an expelled student killed 17 people at his former school. The student then killed himself.

http://www.historyorb.com/today/
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr26.htm

Israeli Police head to Boston

Here was a link to another article that, like yesterday's post, was far more timely when I first meant to publish it.

In effect, Israeli police headed to Boston to help out in the bombing, with the presumption being that they obviously have more experience in this field then American police forces would tend to have.

But I was just wondering if there are other issues that we should perhaps be looking at. I mean, doesn't it seem strange to have a foreign police presence here, even if it is under the guise of assisting in an area where they have more experience with, and that we can benefit from?

Or is it no big deal, something that perhaps we really needed to do to get to the bottom of this case, perhaps a necessary evil?

I hope this opens up a discussion. In any case, here is the article about the Israeli police heading towards Boston to help out with the case of the bombings last week. The article, "Israeli police head to US to aid in Boston Marathon bombing investigation", was published on April 17, 2013, by rt.com, and the link to the article (and their website, which has some pretty interesting articles otherwise) can be found below:
:



The investigation into Monday’s deadly bombing at the Boston Marathon has officially gone international: law enforcement officials from Israel have been sent to the United States to assist in the probe.  

Israel Police Chief Yohanan Danino says he has dispatched officials to Boston, Massachusetts, where they will meet with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and other authorities, the Times of Israel Reports.  

Citing an earlier report published by the newspaper Maariv, Times of Israel writes that Danino has dispatched police officers to participate in discussions that “will center on the Boston Marathon bombings and deepening professional cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of both countries.”  

The paper reports that Israeli law enforcement planned the trip before the deadly pair of bombings on Monday that has so far claimed three lives, but the discussions will now shift focus in order to see how help from abroad can expand the investigation.  

In an address made Tuesday, Israel President Shimon Peres said that tragedies such as this week’s incident in Boston, sadly, bring people together from across the world.  

“When it comes to events like this, all of us are one family. We feel a part of the people who paid such a high price. God bless them,” Peres said. “Today the real problem is terror, and terror is not an extension of policy: Their policy is terror, their policy is to threaten. Terrorists divide people, they kill innocent people.”  

Around 20 hours after two bombs detonated near the finish line of the annual race, United States President Barack Obama went on record to condemn the tragedy as a terrorist attack.  

“This was a heinous and cowardly act,” said Obama from the White House, “and given what we now know the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism.” 

But even as officials come to assist from as far away as Israel, authorities are still in the dark as far as finding any leads in the case. Pres. Obama has directed the FBI and US Department of Homeland Security to assist in the investigation, but no agencies have identified suspects or motives at this time.  

Pres. Obama has also said that his administration has been directed to implement “appropriate security measures to protect the American people,” but details as to what that could mean remain scarce. Meanwhile, at least one leading lawmaker is asking for the US to respond to the terrorist attack by increasing the scope of the ever-expanding surveillance program already growing across the United States.  

“I do think we need more cameras,” Rep. Peter King (R-New York) told MSNBC after Monday’s attacks. “We have to stay ahead of the terrorists and I do know in New York, the Manhattan Security Initiative, which is based on cameras, the outstanding work that results from that.  So yes, I do favor more cameras.  They're a great law enforcement device.  And again, it keeps us ahead of the terrorists, who are constantly trying to kill us.”  

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also confirmed that he has dispatched law enforcement officers from the Big Apple to assist in the investigation by meeting with agents at a Boston fusion center, one of the DHS-funded data facilities that collects surveillance camera footage and other evidence in order to analyze events like Monday’s attack.  

“We are certainly engaged in the information flow with the FBI through our Joint Terrorism Task Force. We have two New York City police officers, police sergeants, who are in the Boston Regional Intelligence Center,” Bloomberg said on Tuesday. “They’re up there, they’ve been up there since last evening.”  

But in a study conducted last year by the Senate’s bipartisan Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, lawmakers found that those fusion centers have been more or less unhelpful in assisting with terrorism probes.  

The Department of Homeland Security’s work with state and local fusion centers, the subcommittee wrote, “has not produced useful intelligence to support federal counterterrorism efforts.” Instead, they added, so-called “intelligence” shared between facilities consisted of tidbits of shoddy quality that was often outdated and “sometimes endangering [to] citizen‘s civil liberties and Privacy Act protections.”  

“More often than not,” the panel added, information collected and shared at DHS fusion centers was “unrelated to terrorism.”


http://rt.com/usa/police-israel-investigation-boston-009/

Those who voted against the background checks

I originally wrote this before the Boston bombings, which were quickly followed by the massive explosion in West, Texas, and then the surreal, almost movie like chase for the two bombing suspects in Boston. I wanted to publish it before, while it was still in the news. But obviously, got a bit distracted with things.

Anyway, here it is, a list of those who were for, and against, the commonsense background checks. 

We have a long way to go in this country, before we ever make progress on this issue. Americans obviously love their guns. 

Well, the proposal for a bit more gun control that so many have demanded, particularly in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings last December, has been defeated.

Once again, we see the extremists. who tend to possess a level of immaturity in their political vantage point on this particular issue, or perhaps it is stubborn refusal to see common sense, now reinforcing this immaturity by mocking those who were in favor.

It should be noted that 92% of Americans are in favor of background checks for the acquisition of guns, to make sure people that have a history of mentally illness, or some criminal background, or something else that raises red flags, won't be able to obtain guns so damn easily.

But nope. Forget it. Not in this country. Not in these times, evidently. To those opposed, Obama is likened to Hitler, outright. He wants to create a national gun registry. Eventually, he will personally knock on your door and take your guns away, before boarding you onto a train headed for some American Auschwitz. 

This might sound like an exaggeration of what they are claiming, but sadly, it is a slight exaggeration. I have heard people making those comparisons with Obama and the bloodiest of dictators, and I have seen "gun rights advocates" outright making the argument that Hitler and the Nazis first disarmed the populace in Germany, before opening up the concentration camps and, later, the death camps. 

Apparently, something about Obama is literally threatening on that level to these people. 

Massacres against innocent, and random people, including seven and eight year olds? 

Apparently, that's just a price to pay for their liberty to purchase whatever the hell arms they want, with absolutely no inconvenience to them. Not even so much as a background check.

The National Rifle Assoication has Congress so much by the cahonas, that 46 Senators managed to strike down every last strip of the gun regulations proposals that 92% of Americans favored. Then, the "victors" often openly mocked gun control advocates.

And this is democracy? Somehow, I don't think this was what the Founding Fathers had in mind.

Here is a very interesting article by Dana Liebelson, a reporter from Mother Jones, that lists exactly who voted for, and against, the background check legislation. Read it, and find out what the official position for the Senators representing your state were. The link to the article ("Meet the 45 Senators Who Blocked Background Checks") can be found below:

An amendment proposed by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) to require background checks for commercial gun sales (but not for sales between "friends and neighbors") was shot down Wednesday afternoon in a 54-46 vote, failing to capture the 60 votes it needed to advance. The bill would have been a modest victory for gun control advocates, while ceding numerous concessions to the gun lobby (the NRA initially called it a "positive development.") Nevertheless, only four Republicans voted for the proposal, with 41 voting against it. Five Democrats rejected the proposal as well (Reid was a special case; see below). Standing with families of Sandy Hook victims, President Obama said that "there was no coherent argument for why we wouldn't do this. It came down to politics."  

Here's a list so you can see how your Senator voted:  

REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED FOR THE PROPOSAL  

Susan Collins (R-ME) Mark Kirk (R-IL) John McCain (R-AZ) Pat Toomey (R-PA) 

DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED AGAINST THE PROPOSAL  

Max Baucus (D-MT)     Mark Begich (D-AK)     Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)     Mark Pryor (D-AR)     Harry Reid (D-NV)  (Voted "no" as a procedural move to preserve option to reintroduce the bill.) 

REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED AGAINST THE PROPOSAL  

Lamar Alexander (R-TN) Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) John Barrasso (R-WY) Roy Blunt (R-MO) John Boozman (R-AR) Richard Burr (R-NC) Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) Dan Coats (R-IN) Tom Coburn (R-OK) Thad Cochran (R-MS) Bob Corker (R-TN) John Cornyn (R-TX) Mike Crapo (R-ID) Ted Cruz (R-TX) Michael Enzi (R-WY) Deb Fischer (R-NE) Jeff Flake (R-AZ) Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Chuck Grassley (R-IA) Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Dean Heller (R-NV) John Hoeven (R-ND) Jim Inhofe (R-OK) Johnny Isakson (R-GA) Mike Johanns (R-NE) Ron Johnson (R-WI) Mike Lee (R-UT) Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Jerry Moran (R-KS) Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Rand Paul (R-KY) Rob Portman (R-OH) James Risch (R-ID) Pat Roberts (R-KS) Marco Rubio (R-FL) Timothy Scott (R-SC) Jeff Sessions (R-AL) Richard Shelby (R-AL) John Thune (R-SD) David Vitter (R-LA) Roger Wicker (R-MS) 

DEMOCRATS WHO VOTED FOR THE PROPOSAL  Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Michael Bennet (D-CO) Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Maria Cantwell (D-WA) Ben Cardin (D-MD) Thomas Carper (D-DE) Bob Casey (D-PA) Christopher Coons (D-DE) William "Mo" Cowan (D-MA) Joe Donnelly (D-IN) Richard Durbin (D-IL) Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) Al Franken (D-MN) Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Kay Hagan (D-NC) Tom Harkin (D-IA) Martin Heinrich (D-NM) Mazie Hirono (D-HI) Tim Johnson (D-SD) Timothy Kaine (D-VA) Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) Mary Landrieu (D-LA) Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Carl Levin (D-MI) Joe Manchin (D-WV) Claire McCaskill (D-MO) Robert Menendez (D-NJ) Jeff Merkley (D-OR) Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) Christopher Murphy (D-CT) Patty Murray (D-WA) Bill Nelson (D-FL) John Reed (D-RI) Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) Brian Schatz (D-HI) Charles Schumer (D-NY) Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Jon Tester (D-MT) Mark Udall (D-CO) Tom Udall (D-NM) Mark Warner (D-VA) Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) Ron Wyden (D-OR) 

INDEPENDENTS  

Angus King (I-ME): Yea Bernie Sanders (I-VT): Yea Front page image: Jay Mallin/ZUMA Press

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/04/number-senators-voted-against-background-checks-proposal

Sports Update for April 24, 2013

It feels like a long time ago that I last did anything on sports. Now, admittedly, the traditional 82-game format for both the NBA and the NHL tend to be too long for a short-term memory person such as myself to keep enthusiastic about from beginning to end. But that said, when it comes to this time of the year, with fights to qualify for the playoffs like in the NHL right now, or the outright playoff series, like in the NBA, I start paying closer attention.

Plus, a lot seems to be happening in the NFL, with trades and uniforms changes (a little more on that later), the release of the schedules, and the upcoming draft.

So, I figured, it's time to start talking sports again. Let's go:

NBA

The first round of the NBA playoffs continue, and there has been some excitement already. I watched the end of the Clippers game the other night, and marveled at Chris Paul's buzzer beating shot for a Clippers win, which puts them comfortably ahead (for the moment) with a 2-0 series lead.

The Knicks also got their 2-0 series lead, but they didn't need a miracle, last second shot to do it. They routed the Boston Celtics, who look like a reeling team on the ropes. Not surprisingly, the Heat also seem in command in their series against the Milwaukee Bucks, soundly beating them in the first two games.

But not every series has a team on the ropes. The Golden State Warriors ripped the Denver Nuggets last night, tying that series at 1-1. The next two games are at home for the Warriors. Ditto with the Bulls, who managed to upend the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2 a couple of nights ago.

Tonight, the Oklahoma Thunder, Indiana Pacers, and San Antonio Spurs each try to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their series. The Thunder take on the Houston Rockets, the Pacers take on the Atlanta Hawks, and the Spurs take on the Los Angeles Lakers, sans Kobe.

NHL

Despite losing yesterday, the New York Islanders managed to clinch the playoffs in the East, which leaves only the final two spots open. Right now, the Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers hold those spots, with only the Winnipeg Jets pursuing them. But here's the thing: the Jets have 51 points with only one game left in their schedule, while both the Rangers and the Senators have 52 points, each with multiple games. That does not mean that they have automatically qualified, although it does make it very hard to see how the Jets can possibly close the gap. Obviously, it would help tremendously if they won, but they do not control their own destiny, and would need either the Rangers or the Senators to lose out their remaining games.

Not impossible, and stranger things have happened, I guess. But still, most likely, Ottawa and New York are headed to the playoffs.

Things are a bit more complicated  right now in the West, where the ninth seed, rather surprisingly, is the Detroit Red Wings. That's right: the NHL's model franchise since the mid-nineties, with more Stanley Cup Finals appearances and wins than any other team during that period, and a perennial contender, look like they very well just might miss the postseason, for the first time in a long time! However, they have three games left on their schedule, and with 50 points, they are only one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are desperately clinging to that eight and final spot at the moment. Columbus has 51 points, but only two games remaining. Unlike the Jets in the East, it seems that the Detroit Red Wings actually do control their own destiny -at least for now. If they win out, no matter what Columbus theoretically does the rest of the way, it would mean the Red Wings, and not the Blue Jackets, would get the nod.

The seventh seed in the West would be the Minnesota Wild, who had a busy offseason and picked up some considerable talent. With 53 points and two games remaining, the likelihood is that their qualifying is just a technicality. It is hard to imagine them not making the playoffs this season.

As for positioning for top seeds within the divisions, both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks have clinched the number one seed in their respective conferences. Both also have hoisted the Stanley Cup relatively recently, with the Penguins having done so in 2009, and the Blackhawks having done so in 2010.  Anaheim has clinched the second spot in the West, while the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens are fighting for that second spot, and their division titles, in the East. They both presently have 59 points, but the Bruins have three games left to play, while the Canadiens have only two. Washington and Vancouver have clinched the third seeds, respectively.

NFL

The New York Jets finally managed to get rid of Revis. Some feel that they got the short end of the stick, however. Tampa picked up Revis, and gave up a couple of draft picks -their first and third. That gives the Jets the 13th pick overall, and possibly a third rounder. I am not entirely sure that they did the right thing. But then again, Revis had been a perennial headache for a few seasons now. He is not a guarantee at all, including for the Tampa Bay Bucs. So, I guess the Jets just felt it best to willingly give that headache over to Tampa Bay, and let them deal with Revis. New York is in rebuilding mode, and nobody is expecting a Super Bowl season out of them this season - this even includes their swaggering head coach, Rex Ryan! It appears that his perennial predictions of Super Bowl glory for his Jets has been tempered - at least for now. But let's see how the Jets do with the extra draft picks.

Speaking of the draft, it is coming up really soon. I am not usually one of those people that follows it very closely, watching for every single move. In fact, it might be more accurate to say that I have never watched the draft, and only follow the headlines afterwards, when something really stands out. Sorry, no inside tips or predictions from me!

The Jacksonville Jaguars followed their interstate rivals, the Miami Dolphins, by changing their uniforms. Usually, I prefer the old-fashioned uniforms to the new looks. That said, the Jaguars are a new team, established in 1995. I personally remember the days of the NFL when no such team existed. The Jacksonville Jaguars got off to a hot start, not only making the playoffs in their second season, but winning two road games to qualify for the AFC Championship Game, which they lost, 20-6, to the New England Patriots (who themselves lost to the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI). The Jaguars would make the AFC Championship Game again, hosting the Tennessee Titans, but losing 33-14. The Titans played a great game in the Super Bowl, and famously, came up a yard short of the tying touchdown to force overtime, thus giving the offensive juggernauts, the St. Louis Rams, their first ever Super Bowl title. The funny thing about the Jaguars that season was that they seemed truly elite. They were 14-2 in the regular season, and 1-1 in the playoffs. The only team that managed to defeat the Jaguars, however, were those Titans, who swept them during the regular season, and then defeated them in the AFC title game, thus completing the rare, three-game "sweep".

But that is about it for their history. Since those promising early days, the Jaguars have cooled off considerably, with much more modest accomplishments. They are one of only four franchises left never to have qualified for the Super Bowl, and have been perennial losers for a number of years now. Last season, they were among the worst teams in the league.

So, they are trying to change their fortunes, and they are beginning with the uniforms, which were admittedly drab and boring. I am not entirely sure that these are much better, but at least they are trying, right? Take a look for yourself, by clicking on this link, an article "NFL's Jaguars unveil new uniforms, 2-tone helmets" by the Associated Press that I found on www.heraldnet.com:


http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130423/SPORTS/130429931

Soccer

Now, here's a headlines you don't see everyday: Barcelona is completely picked apart, and loses horribly, 4-0.

But that is exactly what happened When legendary club Barcelona traveled up to Bavaria to take on Bayern Munich.

Even though Bayern Munich is a legendary club in their own right, you just very rarely hear about a club of Barcelona's stature getting their butts handed to them so thoroughly!

Cycling

The government is now going after Lance Armstrong, arguing, essentially, that Armstrong defrauded the US Postal Service with the money received from endorsements. The money is in the millions.

Already having been stripped of his record seven Tour de France titles (nobody is calling it the Tour de Lance anymore, are they?), they are going after his money, now. Perhaps even in sports, we are reaching an area where crimes doesn't pay?

One thing for sure: Lance's arrogance in the past has rubbed people the wrong way in the present, and people have proven not to be forgiving, now that they hold the upper hand. Lance really seems to be fighting a losing battle on all fronts now.

This Day in History - April 24

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!

Also once again, I thought that the History Channel's website had some information on the thing that they particularly focused on that occurred on this date in history, so it has been added here, with the link also found on the bottom. Enjoy!


On this day in 1916, on Easter Monday in Dublin, the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret organization of Irish nationalists led by Patrick Pearse, launches the so-called Easter Rebellion, an armed uprising against British rule. Assisted by militant Irish socialists under James Connolly, Pearse and his fellow Republicans rioted and attacked British provincial government headquarters across Dublin and seized the Irish capital's General Post Office. Following these successes, they proclaimed the independence of Ireland, which had been under the repressive thumb of the United Kingdom for centuries, and by the next morning were in control of much of the city. Later that day, however, British authorities launched a counteroffensive, and by April 29 the uprising had been crushed. Nevertheless, the Easter Rebellion is considered a significant marker on the road to establishing an independent Irish republic.

Following the uprising, Pearse and 14 other nationalist leaders were executed for their participation and held up as martyrs by many in Ireland. There was little love lost among most Irish people for the British, who had enacted a series of harsh anti-Catholic restrictions, the Penal Laws, in the 18th century, and then let 1.5 million Irish starve during the Potato Famine of 1845-1848. Armed protest continued after the Easter Rebellion and in 1921, 26 of Ireland's 32 counties won independence with the declaration of the Irish Free State. The Free State became an independent republic in 1949. However, six northeastern counties of the Emerald Isle remained part of the United Kingdom, prompting some nationalists to reorganize themselves into the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to continue their struggle for full Irish independence.

In the late 1960s, influenced in part by the U.S. civil rights movement, Catholics in Northern Ireland, long discriminated against by British policies that favored Irish Protestants, advocated for justice. Civil unrest broke out between Catholics and Protestants in the region and the violence escalated as the pro-Catholic IRA battled British troops. An ongoing series of terrorist bombings and attacks ensued in a drawn-out conflict that came to be known as "The Troubles." Peace talks eventually took place throughout the mid- to late 1990s, but a permanent end to the violence remained elusive. Finally, in July 2005, the IRA announced its members would give up all their weapons and pursue the group's objectives solely through peaceful means. By the fall of 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission reported that the IRA's military campaign to end British rule was over

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/easter-rebellion-begins






1479 BC - Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty).

1184 BC - The Greeks enter Troy using the Trojan Horse (traditional date). 858 - Nicolaas I succeeds Benedict III as pope

1066 - Halley's Comet sparks English monk to predict country will be destroyed

1185 - Battle at Danoura: Yoshitsune Minamoto's fleet beats imperial fleet

1288 - Jews of Yroyes France are accused of ritual murder 1311 - Gen Malik Kafur returns to Delhi after campaign in South India

1364 - Pope Urbabus V names John V van Virneburg as bishop of Utrecht 1524 - Duke of Bourbon drives admiral Bonnivet out of Milan

1519 - Envoys of Montezuma II attended the first Easter mass in Central America.

1547 - Battle of Muhlberg: Emperor Karel V's troops defeated the Protestant League of Schmalkalden, led by ruler Johan F the Brave.

1558 - Mary, Queen of Scotland, married the French dauphin, Francis.
1570 - Battles between Spanish troops & followers of sultan Suleiman

1596 - Pacificatie of Ireland drawn

1704 - "Boston News-Letter," 1st successful newspaper in US, forms

1792 - "La Marseillaise" composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle

1800 - Library of Congress was established with $5,000 allocation

1801 - 1st performance of Joseph Haydn's oratorio "Die Jahreszeiten"

1805 - The U.S. Marines attacked and captured the town of Derna in Tripoli.

1823 - Eugene Scribes "Le Menteur Veridique," premieres in Paris

1833 - Jacob Evert and George Dulty were granted a patent for first soda fountain.

1863 - Skirmish at Okolona/Birmingham, Mississippi (Grierson's Raid)

1865 - Fire alarm & police telegraph system put into operation (SF)

1867 - Black demonstrators stage ride-ins on Richmond Va streetcars

1872 - Volcano Vesuvius erupts 1877 - Last federal occupying troops withdraw from south (New Orleans)

1877 - Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire.  

1877 - In the U.S., federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans. This was the end to the North's post-Civil War rule in the South.  

1877 - Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878: Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire.

1880 - Amateur Athletic Association, governing body for men's athletics in England & Wales, is founded in Oxford, England

1883 - 28 Surinamers depart to Amsterdam World's Fair

1884 - Otto von Bismarck cabled Cape Town that South Africa was now a German colony.

1884 - National Medical Association of Black physicians organizes (Atlanta)

1888 - Eastman Kodak forms 1891 - Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Final Problem"

1889 - The Edison General Electric Company was organized.

1894 - French cyclist Henri Desgrange rides 100km in world record 2:39:18

1894 - Phillies Lave Cross hits for cycle vs Bkln Dodgers

1895 - Joshua Slocum completes around-the-world voyage in 11-m boat

1897 - William Price became the first to be named White House news reporter.
1898 - US fleet under commodore Dewey sails from Hong Kong to Philippines

1898 - The Spanish-American War begins when Spain delares war after rejecting a US ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba 
1899 - Transvaal British Uitlanders ask Queen Victoria for aid

1900 - Passing of Andrew Halliday, cable car pioneer

1901 - 1st AL game, Chicago beats the Cleveland Blues 8-2, 3 other games rained out

1905 - 1st-class Cricket debut of Jack Hobbs, Surrey v Gentlemen (18 & 28) 1905 - Senators execute a triple-play & beat Yankees 4-3

1907 - Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey for the exclusive use of his employees, is opened.

1908 - Mr and Mrs Jacob Murdock become first to travel across US by car, they leave Los Angeles in a Packard and arrive in New York City in 32days,5 hours, and 25 minutes.

1913 - The skyscraper Woolworth Building in New York City is opened.

1915 - German army fires chloroform gas in Ieper

1915 - Massacre of Armenians by Turks starts (Armenian Martyrs Day). The Ottoman Turkish Empire began the mass deportation of Armenians, which ultimately led to the massacre of between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians.
1916 - Isish nationalists launch the Easter Rebellion against British occupation forces in Dublin, Ireland. Although unsuccessful (they were overtaken days later), the uprising was an important symbolic event leading to the establishment of the Republic of Ireland.  
1916 - Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for ice-trapped ship Endurance.

1920 - British Mandate over Palestine goes into effect (lasts 28 years)

1920 - Polish troops attack Ukraine

1929 - First non-stop England to India flight takes-off

1929 - Thorvald Stauning becomes premier of Denmark

1932 - German national election (NSDAP 36.3% in Prussia)

1941 - British army begins evacuation of Greece

1941 - Dutch Prince Bernhard becomes an RAF pilot

1942 - Luftwaffe bombs Exeter

1944 - First Boeing B-29 arrived in China "over the Hump" of the Himalayas 
1944 - RAF bombs Munich

1944 - United Negro College Fund incorporates

1945 - Delegates of 46 countries gather in San Francisco (to discuss the United Nations)

1948 - The Berlin airlift began to relieve the surrounded city. 
1950 - Independent republic of South Molukkas declared

1950 - President Harry Truman denies there are communists in US government

1953 - Winston Churchill knighted by Queen Elizabeth II

1955 - Gaullists lose elections in France

1955 - KFDM TV channel 6 in Beaumont, TX (CBS) begins broadcasting, and KMAU (now KGMV) TV channel 3 in Wailuku, HI (CBS) begins broadcasting

1959 - WICD TV channel 15 in Champaign, IL (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting

1960 - Heavy earthquake strikes South Persia, 500 killed

1961 - American President Kennedy accepted "sole responsibility" following Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba.

1961 - Vasa, the seventeenth century Swedish ship which sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628, is raised

1962 - MIT sent a TV signal by satellite for the first time.

1963 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1965 - Military coup under Donald Reid Cabral in Dominican Republic

1967 - Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily."

1967 - Soviet astronaut Vladimir Komarov died when his craft crashed with a tangled parachute.

1968 - Leftist students take over Columbia University, NYC

1968 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1968 - Mauritius becomes a member state of the United Nations.

1969 - Gen Lin Piao succeeds Mao, is seriously wounded

1969 - Lebanese army in battle with Palestinians

1969 - Paul McCartney says there is no truth to rumors he is dead

1969 - US B-52's drop 3,000 ton bombs at Cambodian boundary

1970 - China launches its first satellite transmitting song "East is Red"

1970 - Gambia becomes a republic within Commonwealth

1973 - Albert Sabin reported that herpesviruses were factors in nine kinds of cancer.  

1981 - The IBM Personal Computer was introduced.

1989 - Thousands of students began striking in Beijing, China.
1990 - West and East Germany agree to merge currency and economies on July 1st

1990 - The space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral, FL. It was carrying the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope.
1994 - Bomb attack in center of Johannesburg, 9 killed

1997 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention. The global treaty banned the development, production, storage and use of chemical weapons.

2003 - A U.S. official reported the North Korea had claimed to have nuclear weapons.

2004 - The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.

2005 - Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.

2006 - King Gyanendra of Nepal gives into the demands of protesters and restores the parliament that he dissolved in 2002.

2007 - Iceland announces that Norway will shoulder the defense of Iceland during peacetime.



Here are the websites that I used much of the information provided to complete this blog entry:

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr24.htm

http://www.historyorb.com/day/april/24

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/April-24

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/easter-rebellion-begins

Reflecting on the Earth Day Festivities 1995

So, talking about Earth Day yesterday kind of got me reflecting a bit on my own, most memorable Earth Day  memory. This was from back in 1995, while President of the Environmental Club of Bergen Community College. In effect, it was an all-day festival, with poetry readings, tables with information involved, an educational presentation made to children from Early Childhood Development, refreshments, and, the main thing: a concert. For months, there was trepidation on my end that I would not be able to produce any bands, or at least not enough.

As it turned out, the problem proved to be too many bands, something that I never could have foreseen.

The names of the bands take some time to come to the surface of my memory, and even then, there is uncertainty, because a lot of time has passed: Blue Eden, Blue, Rest Assured with lead singer Jay Thought, Marble (who almost made it big, evidently, having had their song played once on Z-100, in the middle of the night -don't laugh, that is often how those kinds of momentum things work), Freak of Nature (they were freaks of nature, alright).

It was not exactly the best laid plans, however. In fact, much of the fiasco nature of some of what happened was directly attributable to poor planning, and much of that poor planning, admittedly, was directly attributable to me.

I mean, we had some ideas, and the ideas were great. But when it came to execution?

Well, let's just say that I felt a bit overwhelmed at the time. I mean, this was an actual concert (of sorts, at least), that I was trying to set up!

I remember the aforementioned Glen (you will see him again for my post on the Pearl Jam Uniondale show 10th anniversary, April 30, 2013) doing some makeshift stand-up that absolutely bombed. He threw jokes - tons of them, actually. But there was no reaction. i mean, zero, zip, zilch. Not even me, and we were pretty good friends! I laughed at the complete lack of reaction of everyone there (it became a running joke between us that night), but his spiel just wasn't funny, truth be told.

The one time that people actually laughed was accidental. There had been a girl who had read poetry, and she was quite short. Glen was the opposite, tall and awkward, if you will. So when he walked up after her poetry, and then clumsily tried to get the microphone back up so he could speak into it more easily, people laughed. But that was pretty much the only time people laughed, it seemed.

Here's one example that I remember, and you'll probably understand why after this descripiion. This was the time of the OJ Simpson trial, and anyone who remembers that time period will tell you that there was no escaping the news headlines that this generated. People were sick and tired of hearing about it.

Anyway, I remember him asking the room if anyone had heard the latest news on the OJ trial. I guess he was trying to get a laugh, I can't be sure. But what he got was total silence, with all eyes fixed upon him. it was hard to tell if it was in anticipation of something (which he never delivered) or indifference. One way or the other, it was embarrassing, and did not get the intended response. If there had been crickets nearby, they would have been heard quite clearly.

But as he walked off the stage, one guy (this guy worked in the library, and always was a bit strange) came  up to Glen very enthusiastically, and began to talk his ear off about all of the latest news tidbits from the OJ trial that day. I remember Glen feigning interest, and trying to suppress a smile as I stood behind the guy who was talking his ear off, and laughing.

One of the bands, Freak of Nature, wanted to personally kick my ass. And being six foot plus, muscle-headed monsters with vacant expressions in their eyes, I'm pretty sure that they could have (and would have) done it, if given the chance. They really lived up to their ban name, "Freaks of Nature".

The reason for that is that they did not get the chance to be on stage to play. We probably had booked too many bands - eight in all. We figured that they could all play for somewhere between half and hour to forty minutes (I forget which). But we almost got all eight on. Unfortunately, there was an incident when one of the lead singers for one of the bands struck the head of either his guitarist or bassist (I forget which), and he then needed medical attention. I thought it might be five minutes, a brief respite, while he got band-aids, or something. It wound up being a hell of a long time, and I should have told them, "Sorry, guys, but we have other bands waiting."

Instead, I waited, and distracted with other things (there were other things going on that day, not just the concert aspect). But if there was one mistake that I clearly made on that day, I think that was it.

I sympathized. At least, that was, until they literally physically threatened me. They started playing outside, and Public Safety came up to me with some urgency, and told me that they needed to stop, before they called the police. I talked to them, and they finished one or two songs. They just wanted to play. Can't fault them for that. But things don't go your way, and you physically try to threaten someone as a result? What happened was a mistake, not intentional. They lost any and all of my sympathy at that point.

Evidently, they even came looking for me, perhaps again trying to intimidate, during the summer, although I was nowhere to be found. That was the last that I ever heard from them. Good riddance!