The First Earth Day
On April 22, 1970, some 20 million people took part in the first Earth Day in America. Today, the event has spread across the world and is celebrated by more than one billion people.
American History
Spanish-American War Begins
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.
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The first battles of the American Revolutionary War were fought on April 19, 1775 at Lexington and Concord. The American colonists’s brave stand showed the British, and the world, how dedicated they were to the cause of independence.
Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride
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.
American Samoa Ceded to the U.S.
On April 17, 1900, chiefs on the island of Tutuila signed the Treaty of Cession of Tutuila, transferring control of American Samoa to the United States. The US Navy governed the island for half a century before it became self-governing, but remains an unincorporated US territory.
First Woman to Fly Across the English Channel
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.
Birth of A. Philip Randolph
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.
First U.S. Mourning Stamp
April 14, 1866 was the earliest known usage of the first US mourning stamp, which honored Abraham Lincoln. It was issued a year after his assassination, during a critical time in US history, when the country was attempting to heal from the bloody Civil War.
Birth of Nella Larsen
Harlem Renaissance novelist Nellallitea “Nella” Walker Larsen was born on April 13, 1891, in Chicago, Illinois. Though her writing career was brief, Larsen produced some of the first groundbreaking works to focus on mixed race identity and the feeling of not belonging.