300 years ago, on April 17, 1704, John Campbell published the first regular American periodical, the Boston News-Letter.
175 years ago, on April 3, 1829, James Carrington of Connecticut patented the coffee mill.
50 years ago, April 1954, gave rise to several modern American institutions:
- On April 1, President Eisenhower signed a bill establishing the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado.
- On April 2, Walt Disney announced plans to build Disneyland in Anaheim.
- On April 7, President Eisenhower coined the "domino theory," likening the Southeast Asian nations to a row of dominoes, ripe to fall, if Indochina fell to the Communists.
- On April 22, the U.S. Senate opened the Army-McCarthy hearings.
- On April 26, the prototype of a new solar battery was announced by AT&T's Bell Labs. That's quite a productive month. That's quite a productive month. Who dais the '50s were boring?
30 years ago, on April 5, the tallest building in the world then, the World Trade Center, opened in New York City.
On April 29, U.S. President Richard Nixon said he would release the Watergate tapes that sealed his fate. The next day, Nixon admitted underpaying his taxes by over $400,000.
25 years ago, on April 9, 1979, Hollywood's left-wing anti-military bias reached its high-water mark at the annual Oscar ceremonies. Voted the Best Picture of 1978, The Deer Hunter portrayed Vietnam veterans as uniformly psychotic, while Jane Fonda and Jon Voigt won Best Actress and Best Actor for their roles demeaning Vietnam veterans in Coming Home.
10 years ago, April 22, 1994, Richard M. Nixon died at age 81. Five days later, he was buried in Loma Linda, Calif. All five Presidents who succeeded him were present at the ceremony: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Sr., and Bill Clinton.
