ON THIS DAY IN RECENT HISTORY ~ APRIL 24

ON THIS DAY IN RECENT HISTORY ~ APRIL 24

1888 - Eastman Kodak forms.
1897 - 1st reporter, William Price (Wash Star), assigned to White House.
1898 - Spanish-American War: Spain delares war after rejecting US ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba.
1907 - Hersheypark, founded by Milton S. Hershey for the exclusive use of his employees, is opened.
1908 - Mr & Mrs Jacob Murdock become 1st to travel across US by car, they leave LA in a Packard & arrive in NYC in 32d-5h-25m.

1913 - The skyscraper Woolworth Building in New York City is opened.
1925 - 88°F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in April.
1928 - Fathometer, which measures underwater depth, patented.
1936 - Benny Goodman and his trio record "China Boy."

1941 - British army begins evacuation of Greece.
1942 - Luftwaffe bombs Exeter.
1944 - RAF bombs Munich.
1944 - United Negro College Fund incorporates.
1945 - Delegates of 46 countries gather in SF (to discuss UN).
1949 - 3rd Tony Awards: Death of a Salesman & Kiss Me Kate win.

1950 - "Peter Pan" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 320 performances.
1953 - Winston Churchill knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
1954 - Australia & USSR break diplomatic relations.
1957 - Ricky Nelson's first record, "Teenager's Romance," is released.

1959 - "Your Hit Parade" airs for the last time. The show had been on since 1935.
1961 - JFK accepts "sole responsibility" following Bay of Pigs.
1967 - Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had "gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily."
1969 - US B-52's drop 3,000 ton bombs at Cambodian boundary.
1980 - Pres. Jimmy Carter's Operation Eagle Claw attempting to save 52 hostages in Iran, fails, 8 die.

1981 - IBM-PC computer introduced.
1981 - US ends grain embargo against USSR.
1983 - "Show Boat" opens at Uris Theater NYC for 73 performances.
1989 - Massachusetts declares today "New Kids on the Block Day."
1990 - Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
1991 - 26th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks.
1992 - "Man of La Mancha" opens at Marquis Theater NYC for 108 performances.

 

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

1934 - Shirley MacLaine, Richmond Va, actress/mystic (Irma la Douce)
1936 - Jill Ireland, London, actress (Breakout, Assassination, Chino)
1942 - Barbra Streisand, Bkln NY, singer/actress/award winner (People)
1943 - Richard Sterban, Camden NJ, country singer (Oak Ridge Boys-Elvira)
1945 - Doug Clifford, rock drummer (Creedence Clearwater Revival-Proud Mary)
1955 - Michael O'Keefe, NJ, actor (Caddyshack, Ironweed, Slugger's Wife)
1982 - Kelly Clarkson, Fort Worth, Texas, American singer and winner of the inaugural season of TV series American Idol.

FAMOUS DEATHS

1968 - Tommy Noonan, actor (Gentlemen Perfer Blondes), dies at 45.
1974 - Bud Abbott, comedian (Abbott & Costello), dies at 78.
1975 - William Hartnell, actor (Jackpot, This Sporting Life), dies at 67.
1996 - Erma Bombeck, columnist (Septic Tank is Always Greener), dies.
1996 - Preston Lockwood, actor (House of Windsor, Black Candle), dies at 83.
1997 - Pat Paulsen, comedian (Smothers Brothers Show), dies at 69.
2004 - Estée Lauder, American cosmetics entrepreneur (b. 1906)