April 19

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

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

1775 – The American Revolution began as fighting broke out at Lexington, MA.

1861 – Thaddeus S. C. Lowe sailed 900 miles in nine hours in a hot air balloon from Cincinnati, OH, to Unionville, SC.

1892 – The Duryea gasoline buggy was introduced in the U.S. by Charles and Frank Duryea.

1897 – The first annual Boston Marathon was held. It was the first of its type in the U.S. It was won by New Yorker John J. McDermott in a time of 2:55:10.

1911 – In Grand Rapids, MI, some 4,000 workers waked off their jobs at 35 furniture shops. They stayed out 19 weeks in a strike for better pay and improved working conditions. The Grand Rapids Police Department had a Riot Squad that served to keep the peace.

1917 – Gov. Albert Sleeper created the Michigan State Troops Permanent Force, also known as the Michigan State Constabulary. Public Act 26 reorganized the Constabulary as the permanent, peace-time Michigan State Police on March 26, 1919.

1927 – Ty Tyson provided play by play of the Detroit Tigers game over radio station WWJ in Detroit for the first time. The Tigers scored a 8-5 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

1933 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation that removed the U.S. from the gold standard.

1939 – Connecticut approved the Bill of Rights for the U.S. Constitution after 148 years.

1951 – General Douglas MacArthur gave his “Old Soldiers” speech before Congress after being relieved by President Harry Truman. In the address General MacArthur said that “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.”

1956 – Actress Grace Kelly became Princess Grace of Monaco when she married Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The civil ceremony took place on April 18.

1960 – Baseball uniforms began displaying player’s names on their backs.

1967 – Surveyor 3 landed on the moon and began sending photos back to the U.S.

1971 – Russia launched the Salyut into orbit around Earth. It was the first space station.

1971 – Charles Manson was sentenced to death (later commuted life imprisonment) for conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders.

1977 – Alex Haley received a special Pulitzer Prize for his book “Roots.”

1982 – NASA named Sally Ride to be first woman astronaut. Guion S. Bluford Jr. was named as the first African-American astronaut.

1982 – The U.S. announced a ban on U.S. tourist and business travel to Cuba.

1987 – In Phoenix, AZ, skydiver Gregory Robertson went into a 200-mph free-fall to save an unconscious colleague 3,500 feet from the ground.

1987 – The last California condor known to be in the wild was captured and placed in a breeding program at the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

1987 – “The Simpsons” premiered as a short cartoon called “Good Night” on television’s “The Tracy Ullman Show”.

1988 – Sonny Bono was inaugurated as the Mayor of Palm Springs, CA.

1989 – A giant asteroid passed within 500,000 miles of Earth.

1989 – A gun turret exploded aboard the USS Iowa. 47 sailors were killed.

1990 – The TV show “Wings” debuted.

1991 – Evander Holyfield beat George Foreman in 12 rounds for the heavyweight boxing crown.

1993 – The Branch-Davidian’s compound in Waco, TX, burned to the ground. It was the end of a 51-day standoff between the cult and U.S. federal agents. 86 people were killed including 17 children. Nine of the Branch Davidians escaped the fire.

1994 – A Los Angeles, CA jury awarded Rodney King $3.8 million for the police violation of his civil rights.

1995 – The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, OK, was destroyed by a bomb. It was the worst bombing on U.S. territory. 168 people were killed including 19 children, and 500 were injured. Timothy McVeigh was found guilty of the bombing on June 2, 1997.

2000 – The Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the bombing in Oklahoma that killed 168 people.

2000 – Oprah Winfrey debuted “O” magazine.

2002 – The movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” debuted in theaters.

2002 – The USS Cole was relaunched. In Yemen, 17 sailors were killed when the ship was attacked by terrorists on October 12, 2000. The attack was blamed on Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network.

2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected to the papacy and became Pope Benedict XVI.

2009 – The TV show “Cake Boss” premiered.

2013 – Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a shootout with police. His brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured while hiding in a boat inside a backyard in Watertown, MA.

2021 – NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter achieved the first flight on another planet.

BIRTHDAYS:

Elinor Donahue – 88 a old (1937) – Actress (TV’s “Father Knows Best”, “The Andy Griffith Show”, movie “Pretty Woman”)

Alan Price – 83 a old (1942) – Keyboardist (The Animals)

Tim Curry – 79 a old (1946) – Actor (“Stephen King’s It”, “Amadeus”, “The Hunt for Red October”, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”)

Tony Plana – 73 a old (1952) – Actor (TV’s “Ugly Betty”)

Bob Rock – 71 a old (1954) – Record producer (Metallica, Bryan Adams, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi and many others)

Paul Day – 69 a old (1956) – Lead Vocalist (Iron Maiden)

Al Unser Jr. – 63 a old (1962) – Race car driver

Suge Knight – 60 a old (1965) – Record company executive

Bekka Bramlett – 57 a old (1968) – Singer (Fleetwood Mac)

Ashley Judd – 57 a old (1968) – Actress (“DeLovely”, “Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood”, “High Crimes”, “Eye of the Beholder”, “Double Jeopardy”, “Kiss the Girls”)

James Franco – 47 a old (1978) – Actor (“Milk”, “Spider-Man”)

Kate Hudson – 46 a old (1979) – Actress (“Almost Famous”, “Raising Helen”, “Bride Wars”, “You Me and Dupree”, “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days”, “The Skeleton Key”)

Hayden Christensen – 44 a old (1981) – Actor (“Life as a House,” “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”, “Shattered Glass”)

Catalina Sandino Moreno – 44 a old (1981) – Actress (“Maria Full of Grace”)

Courtland Mead – 38 a old (1987) – Actor (“Dragonworld”, “The Little Rascals”, “Tom and Huck”, “Corrina, Corrina”, TV’s “Kirk”, “Courtland”, “Stephen King’s The Shining”, “The Young and the Restless”)

Maria Sharapova – 38 a old (1987) – Tennis player

TODAY IS:

• National Garlic Day: If you think you have enough garlic, add more. These flavorful bulbs improve just about every dish you could think to put them in, so get cooking!
• National Hanging Out Day: Help the environment and extend the life of your clothes by line drying. Give it a try, and see if that’s a positive change you could end up making long-term.
• Bicycle Day: Despite the name, Bicycle Day is not about pedal bikes or Queen; it’s a day to recognize the scientific and psychiatric impact of the drug known as LSD.
• Newport Wales Marathon:
• National Cat Lady Day:
• World Jackal Day: Stealthy creatures of the wild, navigating their habitats with cunning precision, and embodying nature's resilient and adaptable spirit.
• National Primrose Day: Blossoming in delicate hues, primrose graces gardens, a testament to nature's subtle beauty and resilience.
• Go Fly a Kite Day:
• National Amaretto Day: Mix up a cocktail with Amaretto, or try distilling your own almond-flavored liqueur and toast to the versatile, sweet and bitter, tasty Italian spirit.
• Dutch-American Friendship Day:
• John Parker Day:
• Refresh Your Goals Day:
• National Poker Day:
• Poetry & The Creative Mind Day: The mind needs creative outlets to be happy and healthy, and that’s the point of Poetry And The Creative Mind Day, when you can let your emotions out in word or art.
• National Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day:
• National North Dakota Day:
• Sylvester the Cat’s Birthday:
• Humorous Day:
• National Rice Ball Day: This Japanese staple is delicious, adaptable, nutritious and cheap, so choose your favorite way—or a few ways—to dress your Rice Ball, and enjoy the sticky delicacy.
• Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival:
• Edinburgh Science Festival:
• National Crime Victims’ Rights Week:
• National Pediatric Transplant Week:
• Money Smart Week:
• National Library Week: Silent realms of knowledge, these havens harbor stories and wisdom, inviting exploration beyond the whispers of time.
• Coin Week: Begin or grow your coin collection, learn about how countries’ mints reflect their history, or join a coin club or even local competition during Coin Week.
• FOP Awareness Month: Raising awareness for a rare condition, efforts unite to support those facing the challenges of Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva.
• National Princess Week:
• Cleaning for a Reason Week:
• National Volunteer Week: Contributing time and effort, volunteering fosters positive change, enriching lives, and creating a ripple of goodwill in communities.
• National Park Week:
• Administrative Professionals Week:
• Global Days of Action on Military Spending:
• National Sky Awareness Week:
• National Green Week:
• Cartagena Film Festival:
• International Dark Sky Week:

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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.