On This Day in History - April 1st - Almanac

Today is Wednesday, April 1, the 92nd day of 2020 with 274 to follow.

This is known as April Fools' Day.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Neptune and Saturn. Evening stars are Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include German military theorist Prince Otto von Bismarck in 1815; Italian pianist/composer Ferruccio Busoni in 1866; Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1873; actor Lon Chaney Sr. in 1883; scientist Jean Macnamara in 1899; actor Toshiro Mifune in 1920; author Anne McCaffrey in 1926; actor/singer Jane Powell in 1929 (age 91); author Milan Kundera in 1929 (age 91); actor/singer Debbie Reynolds in 1932; actor Ali MacGraw in 1939 (age 81); Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai in 1940; musician Jimmy Cliff in 1948 (age 72); Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr. in 1950 (age 70); actor Annette O'Toole in 1952 (age 68); singer Susan Boyle in 1961 (age 59); political commentator Rachel Maddow in 1973 (age 47); reality television personality Jon Gosselin in 1977 (age 43); country singer Hillary Scott in 1986 (age 34); actor Mackenzie Davis in 1987 (age 33); actor Asa Butterfield in 1997 (age 23).

On this date in history:

In 1826, Samuel Morey was granted a patent on the internal combustion engine.

In 1891, the Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Ill., by William Wrigley, Jr., originally selling goods such as soap and baking powder. A year later Wrigley would start packaging packets of gum with each tin of baking powder. The rest is history.

In 1918, toward the end of World War I, the British founded the Royal Air Force. Two months later it began bombing industrial targets in Germany from bases in France.

In 1924, Adolf Hitler was sent to prison for five years after failing to take over Germany by force in the unsuccessful "Beer Hall Putsch."

In 1945, U.S. forces swarmed ashore on the Japanese island of Okinawa to begin what would be one of the longest battles of World War II.

In 1946, a massive earthquake near Alaska's Aleutian Islands created a tsunami that raced south across the Pacific Ocean, slamming into the Hawaiian Islands causing widespread destruction. The two events resulted in more than 165 casualties across three states.

In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed legislation calling for mandatory health warnings on tobacco product packaging and banning cigarette ads on TV and radio, effective January 1, 1971.

In 1976, Apple Inc. was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.

In 1979, the overthrow of the shah becomes official as Iran votes to become an Islamic republic.

In 1984, Marvin Gaye, whose rhythm and blues hits over nearly 25 years included "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" and "Sexual Healing," was shot and killed by his preacher father.

In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush announced a $24 billion aid package for the former Soviet republics.

In 1996, an outbreak of "mad cow" disease forced Britain to plan the mass slaughter of cows.

In 1999, Canada created a new territory, Nunavut, as a means of providing autonomy for the Inuit people.

In 2003, U.S. Marines rescued Pfc. Jessica Lynch, 19, who had been held prisoner in Iraq since an ambush on March 23.

In 2009, Sweden became the fifth European nation to legalize same-sex marriages, joining Norway, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.

In 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel peace laureate and voice of the political opposition in Myanmar, won a seat in Parliament less than two years after being freed from nearly two decades of house arrest.

In 2019, Japan announced the name of its new imperial era would be "Reiwa," when Crown Prince Naruhito becomes emperor, which would happen one month later.

A thought for the day: "We are all of us, men and women both, the creatures of culture: we do and feel what our societies ask us to, and the demands put upon us are not always consistent or precisely correlated with biology." -- American writer Diana Trilling