- Birthstone – Diamond
- Flower – Daisy or Sweet Pea
- April – Autism awareness month
- April – National frog month
- April 2, 1982 – Famous fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875) was born in Odense, Denmark.
- April 3 – The first iPad is sold in 2010, sparking interest around the nation as the device featured a music player, a multi-touch screen, virtual keyboard, wireless internet, and the ability to capture both photos and video.
- April 4, 1968 – American social reformer Dorothea Dix (1802 – 1887) was born in Hampden, Maine. As a teenager, she founded a home for girls in Boston and later fought for more humane conditions in jails and insane asylums.
- April 6, 1896 – After a break of 1,500 years, the first Olympics of the modern era were held in Athens, Greece. These games brought together 14 nations with 241 athletes to compete in 43 events.
- April 9, 1865 – After over 500,000 American deaths, the Civil War ended as General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox Court House.
- April 11, 1970 – Apollo 13 was launched from Cape Kennedy, expecting to land on the moon several days later. Fifty-six hours into the flight, an oxygen tank exploded in the service module. Astronaut John L. Swigert said the now famous (although often misquoted) line, “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” Swigert, James A. Lovell and Fred W. Haise then began a dangerous trip back to Earth, returning safely home on April 17th.
- April 15, 1912 – In the waters off Newfoundland, the “unsinkable” luxury liner Titanic sank at 2:27 a.m. during its maiden voyage to New York after colliding with an iceberg shortly before midnight. Only 700 people were rescued by the Carpathia, while 1,500 people lost their lives.
- April 15 2013 – During the Boston Marathon 2013, a two pressure cooker bombs went off near the finish line, killing three people and injuring 264 others.
- April 18, 1906 – The San Francisco Earthquake struck at 5:13 a.m., followed by a massive fire from overturned wood stoves and broken gas pipes, resulting in the deaths of 4,000 individuals and the destruction of 10,000 acres of property.
- April 22 – Jelly bean day
- April 23rd 1564 – William Shakespeare (1564 -1616) was born at Stratford-on-Avon, England. Considered as the most influential writer in the English language, he wrote 36 plays and 154 sonnets, including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and The Merchant of Venice.
- April 23 – Pig in a blanket day
- April 26, 1986 – At the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, a meltdown of the nuclear fuel and spread a radioactive cloud into the atmosphere, covering most of Europe. The plant was encased in a solid concrete tomb to prevent the release of any further radiation.
Categories:
April’s Trip back in Time
March 30, 2015
More to Discover
