On this day in 1705 Queen Anne of England knighted Isaac Newton.
In 1851 a lighthouse was swept away in a gale at Minot’s Ledge, MA.
In 1900 the first book of postage stamps was issued. The two-cent stamps were available in books of 12, 24 and 48 stamps.
In 1922 Annie Oakley shot 100 clay targets in a row, to set a women’s record.
In 1940 the first no-hit, no-run game to be thrown on an opening day of the major league baseball season was earned by Bob Feller. The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox 1-0.
And in 1962 Walter Cronkite began anchoring “The CBS Evening News”.
On this day in 1784 the first balloon was flown in Ireland.
In 1817 the first American school for the deaf was opened in Hartford, CT.
In 1861 U.S. President Lincoln mobilized the Federal army.
In 1865 U.S. President Abraham Lincoln died from injuries inflicted by John Wilkes Booth.
In 1912 the ocean liner Titanic sank in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg the evening before. 1,517 people died and more than 700 people survived.
In 1947 Jackie Robinson played his first major league baseball game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Previously he had only appeared in exhibition games.
In 1952 the first B-52 prototype was tested in the air.
And in 1986 U.S. F-111 warplanes attacked Libya in response to the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin on April 5, 1986.
On this day in 1783, after receiving a copy of the provisional treaty on March 13, the U.S. Congress proclaimed a formal end to hostilities with Great Britain.
In 1898 U.S. President William McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war with Spain.
In 1899 the treaty ending the Spanish-American War was declared in effect.
In 1940 Andrew Ponzi set a world’s record in a New York pocket billiards tournament when he ran 127 balls straight. That’s impressive.
In 1945 American soldiers liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald in Germany.
In 1947 Jackie Robinson became the first black player in major-league history. He played in an exhibition game for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
In 1968 U.S. President Johnson signed the 1968 Civil Rights Act.
And in 1981 U.S. President Ronald Reagan returned to the White House from the hospital after recovering from an assassination attempt on March 30.
“The way I figured it, I was even with baseball and baseball with me. The game had done much for me, and I had done much for it.”
Jackie Robinson
And at the end of the year baseball will retire his #42 when Mariano Rivera, the last player still wearing the number retires. That’s fitting in my opinion, since they’re 2 players who made a lasting impact on the game, and both will go to the Hall of Fame wearing it. One changed baseball for the better, and to some extent the nation’s opinions. The other is the standard by which all present and future closers will be compared. It’s a well deserved honor.
On this day in 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of Wilmer McClean’s home. Grant allowed Rebel officers to keep their sidearms and permitted soldiers to keep their horses and mules. Though there were still Confederate armies in the field, the war was officially over.
In 1866 the Civil Rights Bill passed over U.S. President Andrew Johnson’s veto.
In 1867 the U.S. Senate ratified the treaty with Russia that purchased the territory of Alaska.
In 1912 the first exhibition baseball game was held at Fenway Park in Boston between the Red Sox and Harvard.
In 1942 at the Battle of Bataan, American and Filipino forces were overwhelmed by the Japanese Army.
And in 1959 NASA announced the selection of America’s first seven astronauts.
On this day in 1614 American Indian Pocahontas married English colonist John Rolfe in Virginia.
In 1792 U.S. President George Washington cast the first presidential veto. The measure was for apportioning representatives among the states.
In 1955 Winston Churchill resigned as British prime minister.
And in 1984 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) became the all-time NBA regular season scoring leader when he broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 31,419 career points.
Wandering Views 