History of All Kinds

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Today is Wednesday, April 15, 2026

The History of Today

1817 - The first American school for the deaf was opened in Hartford, CT.

1850 - The city of San Francisco was incorporated.

1892 - The General Electric Company was organized.

1947 - Jackie Robinson played his first major league baseball game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Previously he had only appeared in exhibition games.

1952 - The first B-52 prototype was flight-tested.
 


Apr 17, 1964

The Ford Mustang debuts, with help from Walt Disney
On this day in 1964, visitors to the New York World's Fair had a unique opportunity to experience the brand-new Ford Mustang: it carried them through the Magic Skyway, designed by Walt Disney. This 12-minute, half-mile ride took passengers from the time of the dinosaurs to a vision of the future. Ford's audacious model launch paid off: about 22,000 cars were sold the first day, and the Mustang became an American icon.

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My first car was a '64-1/2 white Mustang. It had a 200 cid straight six and Pony interior. Biggest rust bucket I've ever seen to date. It was so bad, the previous owner had riveted sheet metal panels to the body to cover the rust along the lower parts of the rear front fenders, doors, and rear quarter panels. Corrugated sheet at that. But it ran, it was paid for, and it was mine.
 
U.S Marine Sgt. Mike Strank. What follows comes largely from James Bradley's book "Flags of our Fathers." I've been thinking about and posting about my own father (also a Marine) quite a lot these last couple of days, so I'm sure this is why Strank has somehow come to me.

I feel blessed for it.

Mke Strank was one of the six Marines who raised the larger--SECOND, not first--American flag atop Mt. Surabachi on Iwo Jima that day in 1945. Immortalized forever in that famous Ira Rosenthal photograph that was a cover on LIFE magazine, later a postage stamp, and also the inspiration for the US Marine Memorial in Washington D.C.

Just a handful of days after the flag-raising, Strank was taking a brief respite in a bomb crater a bit further up the island. There were two other Marines with him. But also a third--dead--Marine lying in the same crater.

Mike Strank looked over at his dead fellow and said: "That's going to be an interesting experience."

Just a few seconds later, the two survivors said, a Japanese mortar round landed inside the crater...and Mike Strank was dead.

I think he earned the right, somehow to know. And be ready for it.
 
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Today is Saturday, April 18, 2026

The History of Today

1775 - American revolutionaries Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott rode though the towns of Massachusetts giving the warning that "the Regulars are coming out." Later, the phrase "the British are coming" was attributed to Revere.

1853 - The first train in Asia began running from Bombay to Tanna.

1934 - The first Laundromat opened. It was in Fort Worth, TX.

1939 - Gene Autry recorded "Back in the Saddle Again."

1949 - The Republic of Ireland was established.

1979 - The TV show "Real People" premiered.
 



Today is Sunday, April 19, 2026

The History of Today

1764 - The English Parliament banned the American colonies from printing paper money.

1852 - The California Historical Society was founded.

1897 - The first annual Boston Marathon was held. It was the first of its type in the U.S.

1933 - The U.S. went off of the gold standard.

1982 - NASA named Sally Ride to be their first woman astronaut.

1986 - Prince became only the 5th songwriter to have two top ten hits at the same time. The songs were "Kiss" (Prince and the Revolution) and "Manic Monday (Bangles)
 
Today is Monday, April 20, 2026

The History of Today

1912 - Fenway Park opened as the home of the Boston Red Sox.

1935 - "Your Hit Parade" was first broadcast on radio. It aired for 24 years.

1961 - In the U.S., FM stereo broadcasting was approved by the FCC.

1964 - The Elvis Presley movie "Viva Las Vegas" premiered.

1972 - The manned lunar module from Apollo 16 landed on the moon.

1985 - Wham's "Make It Big" LP was released in China. It was the first Western album to be released there.
 

Today is Wednesday, April 22, 2026

The History of Today

1500 - Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered Brazil.

1876 - Eight baseball teams began the inaugural season of the National League.

1914 - Babe Ruth made his pitching debut with the Baltimore Orioles.

1944 - During World War II, the Allies launched a major attack against the Japanese in Hollandia, New Guinea.

1956 - Elvis Presley made his Las Vegas debut at the Frontier Hotel.

1978 - John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd made their first appearance as The Blues Brothers on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

Daily Quote
Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat.
- John Lehman
 
Apr 22, 1970

Earth Day was first celebrated in the United States. An estimated 20 million people participated, making it the largest single-day protest in American history, and it quickly became an international event.


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I remember that. I didn't know it was the first though. I was in second or third grade back in the States after two years in Germany going to school.

We used to get a short publication called The Weekly Reader distributed to grade school kids with current events, puzzles, etc. Something to give the teachers a 30 minute break during the day. But I remember the teacher mentioning this and had an article in the magazine about it.

Strange what you can remember after almost 60 years, but I can't remember where I set my reading glasses down 10 minutes ago.
 


I remember that. I didn't know it was the first though. I was in second or third grade back in the States after two years in Germany going to school.

We used to get a short publication called The Weekly Reader distributed to grade school kids with current events, puzzles, etc. Something to give the teachers a 30 minute break during the day. But I remember the teacher mentioning this and had an article in the magazine about it.

Strange what you can remember after almost 60 years, but I can't remember where I set my reading glasses down 10 minutes ago.
I remember the Weekly Reader. One of my few fond memories of grade school. looked forward to it every week as we got to
take a break from actual school work. we had time to read it and then we would discuss some of the topics. Burned close to
an hour total.
 




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