April 1 English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other. – 1700. Eleven-day strike by 34,000 New York City transit workers begins, and halts bus and subway service in all five boroughs before strikers return to work with a 17%
The New Year 1890 brought a harsh March Winter to New York City. The hoar frost on the tree limbs and branches made it look like a silver brush had painted over it all. The Irish had arrived to its tenements. There was little fresh air, or water. Cinders and
The Little White School Museum, 72 Polk Street, Oswego, is celebrating Women’s History Month with a special, free, online exhibit honoring the accomplishments of some of the Community’s most determined women. The exhibit includes mystery novelist Emily Murdock Van Deventer, who wrote under the pen name of Lawrence L. Lynch
March 25 The Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burns down and kills 145 workers. The tragedy led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of factory workers. – 1911. An explosion at a coal mine in Centralia, Ill. kills
In the large cities in America and even in small towns, the Irish banded together for companionship and for recreation. Saloon-keepers formed social clubs which brought fellowship for the Irish. Soon they became cogs in the wheels of ward politics. The mines and factories had horrid working conditions, so unions
March 18 In New York City, Henry Wells and William G. Fargo join with several other investors to launch their namesake business. The discovery of gold in California in 1849 prompted a huge spike in the demand for cross-country shipping. Wells and Fargo decided to take advantage of these great
March 11 One of the worst blizzards in American history strikes the Northeast, and kills more than 400 persons and dumps as much as 55 inches of snow in some areas. Wind gusts are recorded at 85 miles per hour in New York City which end with drifts that reach
The Spring rain had been gentle and consistent that Saturday afternoon in March. The birds were rather raucous as if knowing that warming weather was on its way. Parisians were out walking, holding hands, and smiling. It had been a very long and frigid winter and all were ready for
March 4 U.S. president William Howard Taft signs legislation to create the Department of Labor. – 1913. UAW workers win sit-down strike in Flint, Mich., to force General Motors to recognize the union. In the 40-day action, the strikers were protected by 5,000 armed workers circling the Fisher Body plant.
“Only from the heart can you touch the sky.” – Rumi She was born Mary Granville in 1700 at her father’s country house in the Wiltshire village of Coulston. Hers was a well-to-do English family. She would hear first-hand the voyage of Captain Cook and be astonished by that voyage
By Woodrow Carroll The Chicago Blackhawks, in the years after World War II, went through a long stretch as the whipping boy of the National Hockey League. The struggle was largely the result of organizational decision-making, not the product of other conditions. After qualifying for the 1946 Stanley Cup playoffs
February 25 The U.S. Congress passes the Legal Tender Act, which authorizes the use of paper notes to pay the government’s bills. It ended the long-standing policy of using only gold or silver in transactions, and it allowed the government to finance the enormously costly Civil War long after its
February is Black History Month, and the Aurora Public Library District (APLD) is joining the celebration with a broad lineup of fun and educational programs for all ages! As we honor the many contributions of black and African American individuals, we emphasize the ways in which literature has been a
February 18 A man ignites a gasoline-filled container inside a subway train in Daegu, South Korea. The blaze engulfes the six-car train, before spreading to another train that had pulled into the station a few minutes later. In all, 198 persons were killed and nearly 150 others were injured. –
February 11 Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, is released from prison after 27 years, February 11. – 1990. February 12 Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic goes on trial at The Hague, Netherlands, on charges of genocide and war crimes in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo.
Maureen FitzSimons was born August 17, 1920 and grew up in Ranelagh, Dublin of an Irish Catholic family. Maureen was the second oldest of the six children of Charles and Marguerite. Her father was in the clothing business and her mother was a former operatic contralto and a successful women’s
In partnership with other libraries, Aurora Public Library District (APLD) will be host to Dr. Eve L. Ewing live on Zoom at 6 p.m. Monday, March 1, to discuss her latest book of poems, “1919,” in celebration of World Social Justice Day. Ewing is an educational sociologist whose research focuses
February 4 George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, is unanimously elected the first president of the United States by all 69 presidential electors who cast their votes. John Adams of Massachusetts, who received 34 votes, was elected vice president. – 1789. In the
Angela Clay Thomas was reelected to a third term on the Board of Trustees of the Aurora Historical Society Thursday, Jan. 21.
January 27 Soviet forces permanently break the Leningrad siege line to end the almost 900-day German-enforced containment of the city, which cost hundreds of thousands of Russian lives. – 1944. January 28 First U.S. unemployment compensation law enacted, in Wisconsin. – 1932. The space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape
