Discover what happened on April 3 in history, along with notable events that shaped communication, transportation, and technology.
What Happened on April 3 in History?
Important events on this day include the first handheld mobile phone call, the launch of the Pony Express, and the release of the first Apple iPad.
APRIL 3 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1776 – George Washington received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard College .
1829 – James Carrington patented the coffee mill.
1848 – A small town in the state of Michigan, that had also been called Michigan, was renamed Lansing, Michigan.
1860 – The first Pony Express riders left St. Joseph, MO and Sacramento, CA. The trip across country took about 10 days. The Pony Express only lasted about a year and a half.
1866 – Rudolph Eickemeyer and G. Osterheld patented a blocking and shaping machine for hats.
1882 – The American outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back and killed by Robert Ford for a $5,000 reward. There was later controversy over whether it was actually Jesse James that had been killed.
1910 – Alaska’s Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America, was climbed.
1933 – First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt informed newspaper reporters that beer would be served at the White House. This followed the March 22 legislation that legalized “3.2” beer.
1933 – Michigan approved the 21st Amendment, repealing prohibition.
1936 – Richard Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the kidnapping and death of the son of pilot Charles and Anne Lindbergh.
1940 – Isle Royale National Park was established.
1942 – The Japanese began their all-out assault on the U.S. and Filipino troops at Bataan.
1953 – “TV Guide” magazine was published for the first time.
1956 – A deadly tornado twisted through Standale and Grand Rapids, MI. It left 307 injured and 19 dead. It caused $11 million in damages. It was only the second F-5 tornado to ever hit Michigan. Read more about it here.
1959 – The BBC banned the Coasters song “Charlie Brown” because of the word “spitball”. Two weeks later the BBC changed its position on the song.
1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “mountaintop” speech just 24 hours before he was assassinated.
1969 – The TV show “Star Trek” was cancelled. It had the best of its three seasons in 1966, but still only reached #62 in the ratings.
1973 – Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs, though it took ten years for the DynaTAC 8000X to become the first such phone to be commercially released.
1974 – The Super Outbreak occurs, the second biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the April 25-28, 2011 tornado outbreak). The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.
1979 – Jane Byrne became the first female mayor in Chicago, IL.
1981 – The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, was unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco, CA.
1982 – John Chancellor stepped down as anchor of the TV’s “The NBC Nightly News”. Roger Mudd and Tom Brokaw became the co-anchors of the show.
1986 – The U.S. national debt hit $2 trillion.
1987 – The movie “Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol” premiered in theaters. There ended up being seven “Police Academy” movies.
1989 – Pepsi dismissed Madonna as a spokesperson after her “Like a Prayer” video was called “blasphemous” by the Vatican.
1992 – The movie “Beethoven”, starring Charles Grodin and Bonnie Hunt in a story about a St. Bernard dog, premiered in theaters.
1996 – Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski was arrested in a cabin in Montana. He pleaded guilty in January 1998 to five Unabomber attacks in exchange for a life sentence without chance for parole.
1998 – The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 9,000 for the first time.
2000 – A U.S. Federal judge ruled that Microsoft had violated U.S. antitrust laws by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors. Microsoft said that they would appeal the ruling.
2000 – The Nasdaq set a one-day record when it lost 349.15 points to close at 4,233.68.
2008 – Apple became the number one music seller in the United States.
2008 – ATA Airlines, once one of the ten largest U.S. passenger airlines and largest charter airline, filed for bankruptcy for the second time in five years and ceased all operations.
2010 – The first Apple iPad was released.
2009 – The movie “Fast & Furious” opened in theaters.
2014 – David Letterman announced that he would be retiring from TV’s “The Late Show”.
2020 – The White House and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) began advising people to wear face coverings in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON APRIL 3:
Bob Dornan – 93 years old (1933) – Politician
Jeff Barry – 88 years old (1938) – Singer-songwriter, and producer
Paul Craig Roberts – 87 years old (1939) – Economist and politician
Marsha Mason – 84 years old (1942) – Actress
Wayne Newton – 84 years old (1942) – Singer
Tony Orlando – 82 years old (1944) – Singer
Doon Arbus – 81 years old (1945) – Author and journalist
Mitch Woods – 75 years old (1951) – Singer-songwriter and pianist
Mike Moore – 74 years old (1952) – Lawyer and politician
Sandra Boynton – 73 years old (1953) – Author and illustrator
James Smith – 73 years old (1953) – Boxer
Alec Baldwin – 68 years old (1958) – Actor, comedian, producer and television host
Adam Gussow – 68 years old (1958) – Scholar, musician, and memoirist
David Hyde Pierce – 67 years old (1959) – Actor and activist
Eddie Murphy – 65 years old (1961) – Actor and comedian
Dave Miley – 64 years old (1962) – Baseball player and manager
Mike Ness – 64 years old (1962) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Cat Cora – 59 years old (1967) – Chef and author
Pervis Ellison – 59 years old (1967) – Basketball player
Rodney Hampton – 57 years old (1969) – Football player
Picabo Street – 55 years old (1971) – Skier
Jennie Garth – 54 years old (1972) – Actress and director
Adam Scott – 53 years old (1973) – Actor
Marcus Brown – 52 years old (1974) – Basketball player
Shawn Bates – 51 years old (1975) – Ice hockey player
Michael Olowokandi – 51 years old (1975) – Nigerian-American basketball player
Aries Spears – 51 years old (1975) – Comedian and actor
Tommy Haas – 48 years old (1978) – German-American tennis player
Megan Rohrer – 46 years old (1980) – Pastor and transgender activist
Aaron Bertram – 45 years old (1981) – Trumpet player
DeShawn Stevenson – 45 years old (1981) – Basketball player
Jared Allen – 44 years old (1982) – Football player
Amanda Bynes – 40 years old (1986) – Actress
Stephanie Cox – 40 years old (1986) – Soccer player
Rachel Bloom – 39 years old (1987) – Actress, writer, and producer
Jay Bruce – 39 years old (1987) – Baseball player
Jason Kipnis – 39 years old (1987) – Baseball player
Julie Sokolow – 39 years old (1987) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist
Kam Chancellor – 38 years old (1988) – Football player
Brandon Graham – 38 years old (1988) – Football player
Madison Brengle – 36 years old (1990) – Tennis player
Hayley Kiyoko – 35 years old (1991) – Actress and singer
Dylann Roof – 32 years old (1994) – Mass murderer
Paris Jackson – 28 years old (1998) – Actress, model and singer
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR APRIL 3:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, and www.daysoftheyear.com.
