This Day In History

On April 18, 1783, General George Washington issued a proclamation announcing the end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War. After eight years of fighting, the Continental Army was finally told to stand down, though the path to peace had already been set in motion months earlier.

On April 17, 1897, playwright and novelist Thornton Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin. Over the next several decades, he would become one of America’s most respected writers, known for works that explored everyday life with unusual clarity and structure.

On April 16, 2015, National Orchid Day was created to celebrate one of the most diverse and fascinating families of flowering plants. The date honors orchids not only for their beauty, but also for the personal story behind the day’s founding.

On April 15, 1926, Charles Lindbergh made his first airmail flight, launching a new contract route between Chicago and St. Louis. Just over a year later, that same young pilot would become world famous—but on this morning, he was focused on carrying the mail safely and on schedule.

On April 6, 1896, the first Olympic Games in 1,500 years began in Athens, Greece. Revived from ancient tradition, the modern Olympics brought nations together in a new era of international competition and athletic pride.

On February 13, 1988, the Winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They were the first Winter Olympics held in Canada and a record number of nations participated for the time.

US General Omar Nelson Bradley was born on February 12, 1893, in the small town of Clark, Missouri—far from the battlefields where he would one day command millions. Known as the “GI’s General,” Bradley rose from humble beginnings to become one of America’s most trusted military leaders of World War II.

Born on January 16, 1910, in Lucas, Arkansas, Jay Hanna “Dizzy” Dean rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most dominant pitchers in Major League Baseball history. A Hall of Famer and multiple-time All-Star, Dean’s blazing fastball and fearless style helped lead the St. Louis Cardinals to World Series glory and earned him a reputation as one of the greatest pitchers of the 1930s.

On April 19, 1897, the American Osteopathic Association was formed. Osteopathy is an alternative medical practice that focuses on the manipulation of muscle tissue and bones.

On April 19, 1930, three special airmail stamps, the Graf Zeppelins, were made available for sale to be used exclusively on mail carried via the Graf Zeppelin on its European-Pan American flights the following month.

On April 19, 1782, John Adams secured recognition from the Dutch Republic of the United States as an independent government. This marked the start of one of America’s longest unbroken peaceful relationships with another nation.

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.