April 8 Buddhists celebrate the commemoration of the birth of Gautama Buddha, 563 B.C. to 483 B.C., the founder of Buddhism. – 563 B.C.. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is approved by the U.S. Congress. President Franklin Roosevelt proposed the WPA during the Great Depression of the 1930s when 25%
In medieval church art, the hare was a popular figure. It was believed by Pliny, Plutarch, and other philosophers and essayists in ancient times the hare was a hermaphrodite. The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary. Hares occurred
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%
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
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.
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 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.
By Woodrow Carroll Super Bowl LV will kick off at 5:30 p.m. Sunday in Tampa, Fla., with the hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers playing last year’s champion, the Kansas City Chiefs. It will be the first time a Super Bowl team will play in its home stadium. Given we have 54
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
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
January 21 Approximately 750,000 steelworkers walk out in 30 states, largest strike in U.S. history to that time. – 1946. U.S. president Jimmy Carter grants an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. – 1977. On the first full day of
Marie-Rosalie Bonheur was born March 16, 1822 in Bordeaux, Gironde. Her mother was a piano teacher and died when Rosa was 11.. Her father was a landscape portrait painter who encouraged his daughter’s artistic talents. Though of Jewish origin, the Bonheur family followed a Christian-socialist sect that promoted the education
January 7 America’s first presidential election is held. Voters cast ballots to choose state electors; only white men who own property were allowed to vote. As expected, George Washington won the election and was sworn into office April 30, 1789. – 1789. Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and struck
December 31 Nearly 60,000 unemployed workers rally at a Pittsburgh stadium. – 1931. The United States, in accordance with the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, officially hands over control of the Panama Canal, to put the strategic waterway into Panamanian hands for the first time. Crowds of Panamanians celebrated the transfer of the
December 24 The Treaty of Peace and Amity between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America is signed by British and American representatives at Ghent, Belgium to end the War of 1812. By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory was to be returned, and commissions were planned
December 17 Near Kitty Hawk, N.C., Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright make the first successful flight in history of a self-propelled, heavier-than-air aircraft. Orville piloted the gasoline-powered, propeller-driven biplane, which stayed aloft for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on its inaugural flight. – 1903. December 18 The British ship
