Out of boredom and a need for positivity/education. I’m gonna start a thread of “Today in History”

March 21, 1965 - MLK Jr began his march from Selma to Montgomery. The fight for equal voting rights for people of color was still happening. That’s within our parents and grandparents lifetime. This ultimately led to passage of legislation banning polling taxes and tests.

March 22, 1894 - The first Stanley Cup championship was played in Montreal. It’s named after Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley who was eventually Governor General of Canada in 1888. He watched one game in 1889 and fell in love. Now one of the biggest sports awards is named after him.

March 23, 1775 - Patrick Henry made his famous “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech at the 2nd Virginia Convention. His speech was a major factor in the American Revolution. After the US declared independence a year later, Henry was named the governor of Virginia.

March 24, 1603 - Queen Elizabeth I died. She ruled for 44 years (that’s a LONG time). After a long term fight with her Catholic step-sister and predecessor, Mary, Elizabeth establish a permanent Protestant Church of England after taking reign following Mary’s death in 1559.

March 25, 1911- The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory catches on fire in NYC. 146 people were killed. This tragedy led to laws and regulations about workers safety. There’s an awesome book about this called Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I highly recommend you check it out.

March 26, 1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk announces the polio vaccine has been created over a radio show. This followed an epidemic year in 1952. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was afflicted with polio as he was diagnosed in 1921 and left partially paralyzed for the rest of his life.

March 27, 1998 - Viagra is approved by the FDA. Originally created to help high blood pressure and heart disease, the pill instead helped treated ED. In the first year, Viagra had about a billion dollars in sales. A former presidential candidate, Bob Dole, advertised for it even.

March 28, 1969 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower passed away. He won the presidency in 1952 on the Republican ticket and is considered a highly regarded general of WWII. During his time in office, the US had economic growth as he led the nation through international tensions.

March 29, 1995 - A fairly unaccomplished (yet funny) person was born: me, myself, and I. 25 years old and still a spring chicken.

Okay but a serious history fact. March 29, 1973 - The supposed end of the Vietnam War occurs. The war was heavily protested in the United States (see Kent State Shootings). 58,000 citizens were killed and the war didn’t technically end until 1975 after further fighting happened.

March 30, 1870 - The 15th amendment was formally added to the Constitution. This amendment gave African American men the right to vote. Though given this right, most POC faced racism through poll taxes, preventing them from voting, that weren’t prohibited until 1964.

March 31, 1889 - The Eiffel Tower officially opens in Paris. The monument was built in order to honor the French Revolution. The designer of the tower, Gustavo Eiffel, also helped design the framework of the Statue of Liberty that was placed in NY right before the tower opened.

April 1, 1970 - President Nixon signed a bill banning cigarette ads on TV & radio. Although Nixon was an avid pipe smoker, he felt pressure to sign this legislation because of health advocates who wouldn’t drop the issue. The last ad ran during Johnny Carson on January 1, 1971.

April 2, 1917 - The first woman elected into Congress takes office. Jeannette Rankin, a 37 year old from Montana, ran on a platform of woman’s suffrage, protection of kids, and US neutrality in WWI. Even after her victory, the House debated on whether a woman should be in or not.

April 3, 1936 - Bruno Hauptmann, the man charged with the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s son in 1932, was executed. Lingbergh was one of the most famous people at the time of the incident and a massive media event followed. Many question Hauptmann’s innocence today.

April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr. was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. He was the face of the civil rights movement and was in TN to support a strike at the time of his death. He was only 39 years old when he was killed. He’ll forever be honored as a hero to all.

April 5, 1994 - Kurt Cobain commits suicide in Seattle. Many people question Cobain’s death stating his wife, Courtney Love, possibly killed him. However, Cobain was known to struggle with drug addiction and mental health issues.

April 6, 1917 - The US enters into World War I. Originally when the war broke out, the US pledged to remain neutral. However after Germany sank a few US merchant ships, President Wilson asked Congress for approval to declare war. Four days later, his request was granted.

April 7, 1970 - John Wayne wins Best Actor at the Oscars for his performance in Western True Grit. It was the actor’s only Oscar although he appeared in 150+ movies in his career.

April 8, 1974 - I know y’all miss sports so on this day in history, Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s home run record. Aaron was playing for the Braves at the time and passed the record by hitting his 715th home run. He retired in ‘76 with 755 total career home runs.

April 9, 1959 - NASA introduces the US’s first astronauts. 7 men (not that we should be shocked) were chosen. All 7 were military test pilots beforehand. The push to find the right people was driven by the Space Race against the Soviet Union.

April 10, 1970 - Paul McCartney ruins the world by announcing that the Beatles are breaking up. While this announcement was technically unofficial, the media was in a frenzy when Paul said he was making a solo album. Thus the Beatles broke up.

April 11, 2004 - Phil Mickelson wins his first major at the Masters. He had been a professional golfer for 12 years at this point.

April 12, 1945 - President FDR passes away. He had just been elected to his fourth term (you read that correctly) a few months before. He is believed to have had an aneurysm causing Harry Truman to take over the presidential office. The two had only met a handful of times before.

April 13, 1997 - Tiger Woods wins the Masters for the first time at 21 years old. As we all know, Tiger faced adversity and scandal in his career. He’s known to have one of the greatest comebacks by winning again in 2019 for the first time in 11 years.

April 14, 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth in DC. Despite popular belief, Lincoln didn’t die right away as he passed the following morning. As Booth shot the president, he yelled, “THE SOUTH IS AVENGED.” So yeah, he sucked all around.

April 15, 1947 - Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to play in the MLB. He faced raging racism and discrimination in each new city he played in. He retired in 1957 and became a civil rights activist. He was later honored in 1997 when his number was retired.

April 16, 1943 - the effects of LSD are discovered in Switzerland. Chemist Albert Hofmann consumed LSD-25, a drug that he created in 1938. After taking the drug, he began to hallucinate. He took the drug at work and even had to leave because of how strong the effects were.

April 17, 1790 - The Man, the Myth, the Legend...Benjamin Franklin passes away. He was a statesman, printer, scientist, and more. This man directly impacted my life as he invented bifocals. Amazing.

April 18, 2014 - Mount Everest has its deadliest day with 16 people dying on it. An avalanche took the guides lives. This opened a debate on the safety and commercialization of the summit.

April 19, 1775 - The American Revolution begins as the battle of Lexington takes place. 8 Americans died in battle and only 1 Brit were injured to begin this gruesome war to freedom.

*Brit was injured. It’s been a long day.

April 20, 1999 - Two gunmen, who both later commit suicide, enter a HS in Colorado and open fire on their classmates. 13 people were killed at Columbine High School, the location of one of the first well known mass school shootings in America. It lasted 16 minutes.

April 21, 2016 - picture this. I was sitting in an economics class and get a buzzfeed notification. It reads, “Prince has died.” The music legend, sex symbol, and all around fighter against toxic masculinity passed away. The world truly lost an amazing soul.

I forgot April 22 so here we go. In 1970, the first Earth Day event was celebrated in the US. There were rallies, marches, and other events bringing attention to environmental problems.

April 23, 1564 - William Shakespeare is born. This date is up for debate but he was baptized on April 26 according to records. He died on April 23, 1616 at 52 years old. The famous writer’s identity is controversial and another rabbit hole to go down if you’re bored.

April 24, 1945 - President Truman was finally told about Project Manhattan, the government push for a creation of an atomic bomb. Until FDR passed, Truman had no idea this plan was in action. He eventually used this bomb on Japan.

April 25, 2014 - The water crisis in Flint, Michigan begins as the city’s water supply was switched to come from the Flint River to save money. Government officials faced criminal charges because of this crisis. You can still donate as Flint’s water is still not fully clean.

April 26, 1986 - the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl happens in the Soviet Union. It is still to this day the worst nuclear accident to ever happen. 32 people died and many were affected for years to come.

April 27, 1773 - The British parliament passed the Tea Act. It outraged the colonists that there was yet another tax and it eventually led to the Boston Tea Party where, in today’s standards, $1 million worth of the was dumped into the harbor. Sounds like my kinda party.

April 28, 1967 - Muhammad Ali, the famous boxer, refused to be sworn into the US Army and was, in turn, stripped of his championship title. He cited religious reasons when asked why he wouldn’t join the military.

April 29, 1992 - The cops who beat the unarmed Rodney King are acquitted. This immediately led to riots in LA where the national guard was deployed. There is a documentary on the riots on Netflix called LA92 that is unreal. Give it a watch.

April 30, 1993 - something that effects all of our lives and even allows you to read this tweet occurs. The WorldWideWeb enters into the public domain after Tim Berners-Lee made the proposal in 1989. It developed into the internet that we know and love (and hate) today.

May 1, 1972 - Civil rights activist Cesar Chavez begins a hunger strike to protest Arizona’s law that restricted farm workers from organizing.

May 2, 2011 - US Forces kill Osama Bin Laden, the man who planned the 9/11 attack in New York City. He was killed in Pakistan at his compound hideout.

May 3, 2007 - 3 year old Madeleine McCann goes missing in Portugal while on her family’s vacation. After a worldwide search, she still has never been found. There’s a documentary on Netflix about this incident if it peaks your interest.

May 4, 1970 - 4 students at Kent State University (OH) were killed by National Guardsmen as they protested the Vietnam War. One of the victims wasn’t a part of the protest but was hit walking to class. All charges against the Guardsmen were dropped in 1974 by a federal court.

May 5, 1862 - Mexico’s army defeats the French in the Battle of Puebla which was a part of the French-Mexican War. This represented Mexico being able to defend its sovereignty and is why Cinco De Mayo is celebrated.

May 6, 2013 - 3 women who were held captive on Cleveland are rescued. Their abductor, Ariel Castro, captures the women between ‘02 and ‘04 at the ages of 14, 16, and 21. Also rescued was a 6 year old girl that was born in this house and who’s father was Castro.

There are a lot of errors in the May 6 tweet. Please ignore them.

May 7, 1763 - Pontiac’s Rebellion, led by Ottawa chief Pontiac, occurs at Detroit. Pontiac rounded up Native Americans from every tribe with the goal to expel the Brits from their land. The Rebellion led to a siege that stretched for months despite the initial assault failing.

May 8, 2010 - Betty White becomes the oldest host of Saturday Night Live at 88 years old. This performance led to White winning her 7th Emmy Award. A queen if we ever saw one.

May 9, 1960 - the FDA approves the pill which gave women a new found freedom over their reproductive rights. It took close to a decade to create the pill and revolutionized women’s lives and is considered part of the women’s rights movement.

May 10, 1994 - Nelson Mandela is inaugurated. He was the first African American president of South Africa, a country that dealt with severe racism in the Apartheid. Mandela spent 27 years in prison before being elected in the first multiracial election in the nation.