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April in History
1 April
1789
The US House of Representatives held its first full meeting, in New York
City. Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was elected the first House
Speaker
2 April
1792
Congress approved the Coinage Act, authorizing the first US Mint.
Constructed in Philadelphia, the Mint's original coins were made of gold,
silver, and copper.
3 April
1776
George Washington received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Harvard
College.
4 April
1788
The publication of the Federalist Papers, one of the greatest works on US
political theory, was completed. Written mostly by Alexander Hamilton and
James Madison, the essays defended federalism as a means of creating a
strong state while protecting the individual against governmental tyranny.
4 April
1818
Congress adopted a new flag for the United States, with thirteen stripes
and twenty stars. It was also decided that another star would be added to the
flag for every new state admitted to the union, but that the number and
pattern of
stripes would remain the same
(the same as in the original East India Company flag from which it may
have been derived).
5 April
1614
American Indian princess Pocahontas married English colonist John Rolfe in
Virginia.
5 April
1621
The "Mayflower" sailed from Plymouth, Massachusetts, on a return trip to
England.
7 April
1827
The first matches were sold in Stockton, England, by their inventor,
chemist John Walker.
7 April
1853
Chloroform was used as an anesthetic on Queen Victoria during the birth of
her eighth child, Prince Leopold.
8 April
1513
Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León arrived in Florida and claimed it for
Spain.
8 April
1838
Isambard Brunel's steamship Great Western set off on its first voyage,
from Bristol to New York; the journey took 15 days.
9 April
1682
French explorer Robert La Salle reached the Mississippi River.
9 April
1865
The American Civil War came to an end when Confederate General Robert E
Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S Grant, at Appomattox, Virginia.
10 April
1790
The first circumnavigation of the globe by a US vessel was completed.
Captain Robert Gray had departed Boston three years earlier aboard the
"Columbia," and sailed to the Pacific Northwest. From there he sailed to
China with a cargo of sea otter skins. He continued around Asia and
Africa, then returned to Boston.
10 April
1633
Bananas, never seen before in England, went on sale in a London shop.
10 April
1841
The US newspaper New York Tribune was first published.
11 April
1855
Britain's first pillar-boxes (receptacles for mail) were installed on the
streets of London; there were just six of them, and they were painted
green.
12 April
1861
The American Civil War began when Confederate troops fired on the Federal
garrison at Fort Sumter.
13 April
1812
"Marmion," a very successful dramatization of the poem by Sir Walter
Scott, opened in New York City. This was during the War of 1812 and the
anti-English sentiments expressed in the play held great appeal for New
York audiences.
14 April
1775
The first public protest against slavery in America was a resolution
signed in 1688 by four German Quakers in Germantown, near Philadelphia. It
wasn't until nearly a century later that the first anti-slavery
organization was formed. Again the place was Philadelphia, and the
organizers were Quakers.
14 April
1828
The second and most renowned American English dictionary was published.
Improving on an earlier version, Noah Webster published "An American
Dictionary of the English Language."
The new
dictionary included, for the first time, Americanisms such as skunk,
hickory, and chowder. It also contained his orthography (eg humor instead
of humour). Webster's spelling system was not thoroughgoing, resulting in
many anomalies in present-day American. However, British English still
perpetuates an even greater number of difficult spellings. It may be that
any spelling system based on pronunciation can never be wholly successful,
since pronunciations vary geographically, and change from era to era. A
person in the north of England might today take a 'bath', while a friend
in the South of England would take a 'barth', and a Cockney would take a
'barf' or even 'barft'. Americans might also splash down in a 'bee-ath' or
a 'bay-ath'.
14 April
1912
The 'unsinkable' Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, with the loss
of 1,513 lives
15 April
1755
English lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary; he had
taken eight years to compile it.
17 April
1524
Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano was probably the first European to
navigate the New York harbor waters and the Hudson River. He sailed his
ship La Dauphine past New Jersey's Sandy Hook and into the mouth of the
Hudson River.
18 April
1775
At the outbreak of the War of American
Independence, US patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes rode from Boston
to Lexington, warning people as they went that British troops were on
their way.
18 April
1881
The Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, was opened. It is
now part of a complex of museums, along with the Science Museum, The
Geological Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the Victoria &
Albert Museum.
18 April
1906
An earthquake and the fire that followed it destroyed most of the city of
San Francisco, and killed over 450 people.
19 April
1775
The American Revolutionary War started.
21 April
1759
Sir William Johnson convened an Indian council at Canajoharie NY, and
rallied the Iroquois to attack the French at Fort Niagara. The Seneca,
dependent on the British for ammunition and trade goods, agreed to an
alliance with them.
22 April
1793
Washington signed a Proclamation of Neutrality in Philadelphia. By
proclaiming the United States to be "friendly and impartial" toward the
belligerent powers, it cleverly and effectively dissolved the 1778 treaty
with France that had made American independence possible. The Proclamation
warned American citizens against any involvement in the European
hostilities.
The
Proclamation of Neutrality was very unpopular in the US and it soured the
last years of Washington's presidency. Three and a half years later, in
his Farewell Address to the Nation, Washington warned against America's
entanglement in permanent alliances.
22 April
1838
The British steamship "Sirius" became the first to cross the Atlantic from
Great Britain to New York solely on steam power. The journey from Cork to
New York took a record 18 days, 10 hours. Unlike the steamship "Great
Western," which arrived the following day, Sirius did not carry any
passengers.
23 April
1616
Death of William Shakespeare
23 April
1662
Connecticut was declared a British colony.
23 April
1838
The first transatlantic steamship service began with the arrival in New
York of the English steam ship Great Western. The ship had departed 15 days
earlier from Bristol, England transporting 660 tons of coal and seven
passengers.
24 April
1704
The Boston News-Letter, the first continuously-printed newspaper in the
British colonies, was first published. John Campbell, its first editor,
published the weekly newspaper on a single, double-sided page. During its
first years, most of its news focused on European events.
24 April
1800
President John Adams signed a law establishing the Library of Congress in
Washington DC. Initially designed as a library for congressional research,
it has since amassed one of the largest collections of manuscripts and
printed material in the world with more than 100 million items.
25 April
1859
Work began on the Suez Canal, supervised by the French engineer Ferdinand
de Lesseps, who designed it.
26 April
1607
An expedition of English colonists, including Captain John Smith, went
ashore at Cape Henry, Virginia, to establish the first permanent English
settlement in the Western Hemisphere
27 April
1749
The first official performance of Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks
finished early due to the outbreak of fire!
28 April
1789
A rebel crew took over the British exploration ship "HMS Bounty," leaving
the ship's leader, Lieutenant William Bligh, and his supporters adrift in
the South Pacific Ocean. Master's Mate Fletcher Christian led the mutiny.
The "Mutiny on the Bounty" later became popularized through novels and
movies. Bligh survived and became an important captain in the Navy.
29 April
1429
Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a victory over
the English
30 April
1789
George Washington became the first president of the USA.
30 April
1803
The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France.
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