April 221500 - Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered Brazil. 1509 - Henry VIII ascended to the throne of England upon the death of his father Henry VII. 1529 - Spain and Portugal divided the eastern hemisphere in the Treaty of Saragosa. 1745 - The Peace of Fussen was signed, restoring the status quo of Germany. 1792 - U.S. President George Washington proclaimed American neutrality in the war in Europe. 1861 - Robert E. Lee was named commander of Virginia forces. 1864 - The U.S. Congress passed legislation that allowed the inscription "In God We Trust" to be included on one-cent and two-cent coins. 1876 - The first official National League (NL) baseball game took place. Boston beat Philadelphia 6-5. 1889 - At noon, the Oklahoma land rush officially started as thousands of Americans raced for new, unclaimed land. 1898 - The first shot of the Spanish-American war occurred when the USS Nashville captured a Spanish merchant ship. 1914 - Babe Ruth made his pitching debut with the Baltimore Orioles. 1915 - At the Second Battle Ypres the Germans became the first country to use poison gas. 1915 - The New York Yankees wore pinstripes and the hat-in-the-ring logo for the first time. 1918 - British naval forces attempted to sink block-ships in the German U-boat bases at the Battle of Zeeburgge. 1930 - The U.S., Britain and Japan signed the London Naval Treaty, which regulated submarine warfare and limited shipbuilding. 1931 - Egypt signed the treaty of friendship with Iraq. 1931 - James G. Ray landed an autogyro on the lawn of the White House. 1944 - During World War II, the Allies launched a major attack against the Japanese in Hollandia, New Guinea. 1952 - An atomic test conducted in Nevada was the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television. 1954 - The U.S. Senate Army-McCarthy televised hearings began. 1967 - Randy Matson set a new world record with a shot put toss of 71 feet, and 5 1/2 inches in College Station, TX. 1970 - The first "Earth Day" was observed by millions of Americans. 1976 - Barbara Walters became first female nightly network news anchor. 1987 - The American Physical Society said that the "Star Wars" missile system was "highly questionable" and would take ten years to research. 1993 - The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington, DC. 1997 - In Lima, Peru government commandos storm and capture the residence of the Japanese ambassador ending a 126-day hostage crisis. In the rescue 71 hostages were saved. Those killed: one hostage (of a heart attack), two soldiers, and all 14 rebels. 1999 - The Watson Family received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 2000 - Elian Gonzalez was reunited with his father. He had to be taken from his Miami relatives by U.S. agents in a predawn raid. 2000 - ABC-TV aired a small portion of the Clinton-DiCaprio interview. 2002 - Filippino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ordered a state of emergency in the city of General Santos in response to a series of bombing attacks the day before. The attacks were blamed on Muslim extremists. 2010 - The Boeing X-37 began its first orbital mission. It successfully returned to Earth on December 3, 2010. |