Edward Trowbridge Collins was born on May 2, 1887, in Millerton, New York. Playing 25 seasons in the major leagues, he played in six World Series, still holds several records, and is considered one of the best second basemen in the sport’s history.
James Pierson Beckwith (later Beckwourth) is believed to have been born on April 26, 1798 (or 1800), in Frederick County, Virginia. He was a figure from the old West, serving as a trapper, scout, trader, rancher, and more.
Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born on April 25, 1917, in Newport News, Virginia. Her pure, ageless voice spanned three octaves, and she was known as the First Lady of Song, the Queen of Jazz, and Lady Ella.
On April 21, 1898, Spain ended diplomatic relations with America and the US Navy established a blockade of Cuba, marking the official start of the Spanish-American War. The war would last less than four months, but saw the downfall of the Spanish Empire and the rise of America as a major world power with several new possessions.
On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere took his historic ride to warn the people of Lexington and Concord that the British were coming. It’s one of the most famous tales from the Revolutionary War, popularized and romanticized in a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
On April 16, 1912, Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. She had a brief, but significant aviation career, becoming a pioneer and inspiration for countless female flyers.
Asa Philip Randolph was born on April 15, 1889, in Crescent City, Florida. Randolph was a respected and outspoken proponent of the rights of minority labor. He was greatly feared by his opponents, not because of his temperament, but because of his power to create change.
Charles Evans Hughes was born on April 11, 1862, in Glens Falls, New York. As governor of New York he fought political corruption. He also served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for 11 years, during the Great Depression and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Publisher and politician József “Joseph” Pulitzer was born on April 10, 1847, in Makó, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire. Pulitzer often used sensationalism to sell papers, leading to wider circulation. The Pulitzer Prize was created as a result of an endowment he left to Columbia University.