This Day in History – April 22, 2011

0687 -BC- Chinese record a meteor shower in Lyra 1056 Supernova Crab nebula last seen by the naked eye 1370 Bastille begins being built in Paris France 1509 Henry VIII ascends to throne to become King of England 1793 President George Washington attends opening of Rickett’s, 1st circus in US 1817 Curaçao prohibits use of white paint due to fierce sunlight 1823 R J Tyers patents roller skates 1861 Robert E Lee named commander of Virginia Confederate forces 1864 US mints 2¢ coin (1st appearance of “In God We Trust”) 1889 Oklahoma land rush officially starts; as many as nine out of ten of these settlers had jumped the gun, earning themselves the name “Sooners” 1897 NYC Jewish newspaper “Forward” begins publishing (still active) 1898 Congress passes Volunteer Army Act calling for a Volunteer Cavalry 1903 New York Highlanders (Yankees) 1st game, Senators win 3-1 before 11,950 1914 Babe Ruth’s 1st professional game (as a pitcher) is a 6-hit 6-0 win 1914 México ends diplomatic relations with US 1915 1st military use of poison gas (chlorine, by Germany) in WWI 1915 New York Yankees don pinstripes & hat-in-the-ring logo for 1st time 1951 Ticker-tape parade for General MacArthur in NYC 1952 1st atomic explosion on network news, Nob NV 1955 Congress orders all US coins bear motto “In God We Trust” 1964 World’s Fair (Flushing Meadow, Corona Park, New York) opens 1966 Atlanta Braves win their 1st game, beating New York Mets 8-4 1967 Martial Law goes into effect in Greece 1969 1st human eye transplant performed 1969 Robin Knox-Johnston ends 312 day non-stop sailing 1970 1st Earth Day held internationally to conserve natural resources 1970 Flat Earth celebrated 1972 Apollo astronauts John Young & Charles Duke ride on the Moon 1974 Barbara Walters becomes news co-anchor of the Today Show 1978 ‘The Blues Brothers’ (Dan Akroyd and John Belushi) make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live 1979 Keith Richards and The New Barbarians give a concert to benefit the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Ottawa Canada 1983 Stern magazine announces major historical find-discovery of 60 volume personal diaries written by Adolf Hitler (turned out to be a hoax) 1990 Lebanon releases US hostage Robert Polhill after 39 months 1991 Johnny Carson announces he will retire next year from Tonight Show 1991 Frank Thomas is 1st Chicago White Sox to homer at new Comiskey Park 1993 Holocaust Memorial Museum dedicated in Washington DC 1994 In Denmark the largest lollipop, weighing 3,011 pounds is made]]]]> ]]>