Discover what happened on April 15 in history, along with notable events that shaped tragedy, sports, and business.
What Happened on April 15 in History?
From one of the deadliest maritime disasters to a historic breakthrough in baseball and the start of a fast-food empire, April 15 marks events that changed lives and culture.
APRIL 15 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1817 – The first American school for the deaf was opened in Hartford, CT.
1850 – The city of San Francisco, CA was incorporated.
1865 – President Abraham Lincoln died from injuries inflicted by John Wilkes Booth.
1871 – “Wild Bill” Hickok became the marshal of Abilene, KS.
1892 – The General Electric Company was organized.
1899 – Thomas Edison organized the Edison Portland Cement Company.
1911 – The Detroit Tigers played baseball in a blizzard. Players were making base hits because the ball was getting lost in the snow. The game was finally called when players could no longer see the pitcher when they stepped up to the plate.
1912 – The ocean liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic at 2:20 am, two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg the evening before. 1,517 people died and only 710 people survived.
1923 – Insulin became generally available for people suffering with diabetes.
1924 – Rand McNally published their first road atlas.
1927 – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford were the first stars to leave their footprints in cement at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA.
1934 – In the comic strip “Blondie,” Dagwood and Blondie Bumstead welcomed a baby boy, Alexander. The child would be nicknamed, Baby Dumpling.
1947 – Jackie Robinson became the first African American player to appear in a regular season Major League baseball game. Playing first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, he went hitless but scored the winning run in a 5-3 victory over the Boston Braves at Ebbets Field.
1952 – The first B-52 prototype was tested in the air.
1955 – Ray Kroc opened his first franchised McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, IL.
1956 – The worlds’ first, all-color TV station was dedicated. It was WNBQ-TV in Chicago, IL and is now WMAQ-TV.
1956 – General Motors announced that the first free piston automobile had been developed.
1964 – The first Ford Mustang rolled off the showroom floor, two days before it was set to go on sale nationwide.
1967 – Richard Speck was found guilty of murdering eight student nurses.
1974 – Patty Hearst robbed a bank with her kidnappers, members of the Symbionese Liberation Army.
1982 – Billy Joel was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident on Long Island, New York. He went to the hospital and stayed for over a month undergoing therapy on his injured hand.
1983 – The film “Flashdance”, starring Jennifer Beals, opened in a movie theaters throughout the United States.
1983 – In Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, the Tokyo Disneyland theme park opened.
1990 – Fox TV debuted a new sketch comedy show called “In Living Color”. It starred Keenen Ivory Wayans along with his youngest brother Damon.
1994 – The World Trade Organization was established.
1997 – Christopher Reeve received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2007 – Donald Trump topped the Boston Phoenix’s annual list of “The 100 Unsexiest Men in America.”
2010 – In Prospect Harbor, ME, the Stinson Seafood plant stopped sardine processing after 135 years in operation.
2013 – Two pressure cooker bombs were detonated near the finish line of the Boston marathon in Boston, MA, killing three and injuring 264 others. The attack, which led to a lock-down and a massive four day manhunt across the city, turned out to be the work of the Tsarnaev brothers, Chechen immigrants holding radical Muslim views.
2014 – A total lunar eclipse occurred, producing a Blood Moon.
2019 – The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France was seriously damaged by a large fire.
2020 – Armed demonstrators took to the Michigan State Capitol in “Operation Gridlock” to protest Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s COVID-19 “Stay at Home” orders.
2021 – A mass shooting occurred at a the Fedex Ground facility in Indianapolis, IN. Nine people were killed and seven were injured.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON APRIL 15:
Howard Berman – 85 years old (1941) – Lawyer and politician
Robert Lefkowitz – 83 years old (1943) – Physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
Pete Rouse – 80 years old (1946) – Politician, White House Chief of Staff
Linda Bloodworth-Thomason – 79 years old (1947) – Screenwriter and producer
Lois Chiles – 79 years old (1947) – Model and actress
Amy Wright – 76 years old (1950) – Actress
Heloise – 75 years old (1951) – Journalist and author
John L. Phillips – 75 years old (1951) – Captain and astronaut
Marsha Ivins – 75 years old (1951) – Engineer and astronaut
Avital Ronell – 74 years old (1952) – Czech-American philosopher and academic
Michael Cooper – 70 years old (1956) – Basketball player and coach
Evelyn Ashford – 69 years old (1957) – Runner and coach
Carol W. Greider – 65 years old (1961) – Molecular biologist
Dawn Wright – 65 years old (1961) – Geographer and oceanographer
Tom Kane – 64 years old (1962) – Voice actor
Linda Perry – 61 years old (1965) – Singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
Kevin Stevens – 61 years old (1965) – Ice hockey player
Dara Torres – 59 years old (1967) – Swimmer and journalist
Jeromy Burnitz – 57 years old (1969) – Baseball player
Chris Huffins – 56 years old (1970) – Decathlete and coach
Jason Sehorn – 55 years old (1971) – Football player
Lou Romano – 54 years old (1972) – Animator and voice actor
Danny Pino – 52 years old (1974) – Actor and screenwriter
Mike Quinn – 52 years old (1974) – Football player
Douglas Spain – 52 years old (1974) – Actor, director, and producer
Tim Thomas – 52 years old (1974) – Ice hockey player
Sarah Teichmann – 51 years old (1975) – German-American biophysicist and immunologist
Brian Pothier – 49 years old (1977) – Ice hockey player
Milton Bradley – 48 years old (1978) – Baseball player
Tim Corcoran – 48 years old (1978) – Baseball player
Luis Fonsi – 48 years old (1978) – Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and dancer
Chris Stapleton – 48 years old (1978) – Country singer-songwriter and guitarist
Patrick Carney – 46 years old (1980) – Drummer, musician, and producer
Billy Yates – 46 years old (1980) – Football player
Michael Aubrey – 44 years old (1982) – Baseball player
Anthony Green – 44 years old (1982) – Singer-songwriter
Seth Rogen – 44 years old (1982) – Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
Antonio Cromartie – 42 years old (1984) – Football player
Cam Janssen – 42 years old (1984) – Ice hockey player
Chris Tillman – 38 years old (1988) – Baseball pitcher
Sexyy Red – 28 years old (1998) – Rapper
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR APRIL 15:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
1 Comment
That was very inlightning 😁Thank you !