-------BIRTHDAYS------- 1452 04/15 Leonardo da Vinci, factotum 1564 04/23 William Shakespeare, bard 1620 04/24 John Graunt, statistician, founded the science of demography 1707 04/15 Leonhard Euler, mathematician 1721 04/13 John Hanson, 1st US President under the Articles of Confederation 1742 04/02 Emperor Charlemagne 1743 04/13 Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President (1801-1809) 1758 04/28 James Monroe, 5th President (1816-1824) 1777 04/12 Henry Clay, 'The Great Compromiser' 1777 04/30 Carl Friedrich Gauss, one of the greatest mathematician of all time. 1785 04/26 John James Audubon, birdwatcher 1791 04/12 Francis P. Blair, helped found the Republican Party. 1791 04/23 James Buchanan, 15th President (1857-1861) 1791 04/27 Samuel F. B. Morse 1792 04/04 Thaddeus Stevens 1802 04/04 Dorothea Dix, social reformer 1810 04/06 Philip Henry Gosse, invented the institutional aquarium 1813 04/23 Stephen Douglas, the "Little Giant", debated Lincoln 1822 04/27 Ulyssses S. Grant, 18th President (1869-1877) 1830 04/09 Eadweard Muybridge, pioneered study of motion in photography. 1830 04/29 Adolph Sutro, SF mayor, built Cliff House, railways, tunnels... 1837 04/17 J.P. Morgan, financed the US. 1838 04/21 John Muir, naturalist. 1852 04/13 F.W. Woolworth, the "five-and-ten" king. 1856 04/05 Booker T. Washington 1857 04/18 Clarence Darrow, lawyer 1860 04/07 W.K. Kellogg, founded the cereal company. 1863 04/29 William Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher (SF Examiner) 1865 04/09 Charles Proteus Steinmetz 1866 04/06 Lincoln Steffens, muckraker. 1867 04/16 Wilbur Wright, of aeroplane fame 1874 04/25 Guglielmo Marconi, made radio possible 1875 04/02 Walter Chrysler, founded a car company. 1877 04/19 Ole Evinrude, invented the outboard marine engine. 1879 04/09 W.C. Fields, Philadelphian 1883 04/01 Lon Chaney, man of a thousand faces 1889 04/08 Sir Adrian Boult, conductor (BBC Symphony Orchestra) 1889 04/14 Arnold Toynbee, historian 1889 04/16 Charlie Chaplin, tramp 1890 04/06 Anthony Herman Gerard Fokker, pioneer aircraft manufacturer 1892 04/06 Lowell Thomas, journalist 1892 04/06 Donald Wills Douglas, founded an aircraft company. 1896 04/27 Wallace Hume Carothers, invented nylon. 1897 04/17 Thornton Wilder, American novelist 1899 04/29 Duke Ellington 1900 04/26 Charles Richter, he tells us how bad the quakes are. 1904 04/22 J. Robert Oppenheimer. 1908 04/05 Bette Davis 1908 04/25 Edward R. Murrow, set the standard for TV correspondents. 1912 04/30 Eve Arden, Our Miss Brooks 1913 04/12 Lionel Hampton, orchestra leader & vibraphone improvisor 1914 04/02 Sir Alec Guiness, thespian 1915 04/07 Billie Holiday, blues singer 1919 04/09 John Presper Eckert, co-inventor of 1st electronic computer (ENIAC) 1920 04/02 Jack Webb, dum-de-dum-dum 1924 04/02 Doris Day, girl next door 1924 04/03 Marlon Brando, godfather 1926 04/21 Queen Elizabeth II 1928 04/23 Shirley Temple, child 1932 04/07 Mark Russell, satirist 1942 04/24 Barbra Streisand, profile 1947 04/16 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, tall person 1954 04/05 Michael W. Butler, creator of mainframe TODAY program. -------SPECIAL EVENTS------- Yrly 04/01 April Fool's Day Yrly 04/01 Saint Stupid's Day (a San Francisco tradition since 1980). Yrly 04/02 International Children's Book Day Yrly 04/08 Kambutsue, celebration of Buddha's birthday, in Japan Yrly 04/11 Barber Shop Quartet Day Yrly 04/15 the day of the AT&T Annual Shareholder meeting. Yrly 04/16 the day of the AT&T Annual Shareholder meeting. Yrly 04/17 the day of the AT&T Annual Shareholder meeting. Yrly 04/18 the day of the AT&T Annual Shareholder meeting. Yrly 04/19 the day of the AT&T Annual Shareholder meeting. Yrly 04/19 Patriot's Day Yrly 04/20 the day of the AT&T Annual Shareholder meeting. Yrly 04/21 the day of the AT&T Annual Shareholder meeting. Yrly 04/22 Earth Day Yrly 04/23 National Secretary Day Yrly 04/25 Arbor Day. Plant a tree. Yrly 04/27 Union Day, celebrated in Tanzania. Yrly 04/29 the Emperor's Birthday, celebrated in Japan. 1513 04/08 Ponce de Leon arrives in Florida. 1524 04/17 New York Harbor discovered by Giovanni Verrazano. 1565 04/27 1st Spanish settlement in Phillipines, Cebu City, founded. 1607 04/26 1st British to establish an American colony land at Cape Henry, Va. 1614 04/05 Pocahontas marries John Rolfe. 1754 04/28 Mutiny on the HMS Bounty occurs. 1775 04/18 'The British are Coming!' Paul Revere rides. 1775 04/19 at Lexington Common, the shot 'heard round the world'. 1778 04/01 Oliver Pollock, a New Orleans Businessman, creates the "$". 1789 04/30 George Washington inaugurated as 1st president of the US 1792 04/02 Congress establishes Coin denominations of United States. 1798 04/30 Department of the Navy established. 1800 04/24 Library of Congress founded. 1803 04/30 US more than doubles its size thru the Louisiana Purchase. 1825 04/10 1st hotel in Hawaii opens. 1828 04/14 1st edition of Noah Webster's dictionary is published. 1848 04/03 Thomas Douglas becomes 1st San Francisco public teacher. 1849 04/10 Safety pin patented. 1850 04/01 San Francisco County Government established. 1850 04/15 City of San Francisco incorporated. 1852 04/19 California Historical Society founded. 1853 04/17 US Marine Hospital at the Presidio established. 1857 04/29 permanently established at the Presidio. 1857 04/29 Headquarters for the US Army, Division of the Pacific, 1857 04/30 founding of what would be San Jose State University. 1859 04/12 Hibernia Savings & Loan Society of San Francisco incorporated. 1860 04/04 Pony Express begins service, from St. Joseph, Missouri. 1860 04/14 1st Pony Express rider arrives in SF from St. Joseph, Missouri. 1861 04/12 Fort Sumter, S. C., shelled by Confederacy, starts Civil War. 1862 04/06 Battle of Shiloh. 1862 04/21 Congress establishes US Mint in Denver, Colorado. 1865 04/09 Lee surrenders at Appomattox. 1865 04/14 Abraham Lincoln assasinated in Ford's Theater. 1865 04/24 Fire Alarm & Police Telegraph system put into operation. 1866 04/16 Nitroglycerine at the Wells Fargo & Co. office explodes. 1868 04/06 Brigham Young marries number 27, his final wife. 1868 04/18 San Francisco Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals formed. 1869 04/18 1st International Cricket Match, held in SF, won by Californian 1869 04/30 the Hawaiian YMCA organized. 1870 04/04 Golden Gate Park established by City Order #800. 1871 04/10 William Hammond Hall's maps & surveys of Golden Gate Park 1871 04/10 officially accepted. 1871 04/23 Blossom Rock in San Francisco Bay blown up. 1872 04/20 Bar Association of San Francisco organized. 1874 04/19 Barracks on Alcatraz Island destroyed in fire. 1876 04/11 Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks organized. 1878 04/10 California Street Cable Car Railroad Company starts service. 1882 04/10 Matson founds his shipping company (San Francisco & Hawaii) 1891 04/25 President Benjamin Harrison visits San Francisco. 1892 04/19 Charles Duryea takes the 1st American-made auto out for a spin. 1892 04/21 1st buffalo born in Golden Gate Park. 1895 04/11 Anaheim completes it's new electric light system. 1895 04/17 Treaty of Shimonoseki signed, ends 1st Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). 1897 04/27 Grant's Tomb (famed of song & legend) is dedicated. 1898 04/12 Army transfers Yerba Buena Island to Navy. 1900 04/14 Veteran's Hospital at Fort Miley established. 1900 04/24 the passing of Andrew Halliday, Cable Car Pioneer. 1901 04/25 New York becomes 1st state requiring license plates for cars 1906 04/06 first animated cartoon is copyrighted. 1906 04/18 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire 1906 04/26 1st motion pictures shown in Hawaii. 1907 04/18 Fairmont Hotel opens. 1912 04/15 Titanic sinks at 2:20 AM. 1913 04/08 17th Amendment, requiring direct election of senators, ratified 1913 04/29 the all-purpose zipper is patented. 1919 04/28 1st successful parachute jump is made. 1922 04/15 the famed Poodle Dog Restaurant closes. 1923 04/15 insulin becomes generally available for diabetics. 1926 04/06 4 planes take off on 1st successful around-the-world flight. 1928 04/14 Los Angeles started, by Maddux Air Lines. 1928 04/14 regular air passenger flights between San Francisco and 1928 04/15 Alioto's on Fisherman's Wharf is founded. 1931 04/07 Seals Stadium opens. 1933 04/07 Prohibition ends. 1933 04/12 Moffatt Field is commissioned. 1934 04/18 1st "Washateria" (laundromat) is opened, in Fort Worth, Texas 1935 04/02 Watson Watt granted a patent for RADAR. 1936 04/18 "Clipper" starts providing regular passenger flights from 1936 04/18 San Francisco to Honolulu. 1937 04/27 US Social Security system makes its first benefit payment. 1939 04/19 Connecticut finally approves the Bill of Rights (only 148 years late) 1939 04/30 NBC makes 1st US demo of TV at opening of NY World's Fair. 1941 04/01 Navy takes over Treasure Island. 1941 04/05 Castro and Fillmore streetcars replaced by buses. 1941 04/17 Office of Price Administration established (handled rationing) 1945 04/25 United Nations Conference starts. 1945 04/27 founding of the Second Republic, in Austria. 1947 04/11 Jackie Robinson becomes 1st black in major league baseball. 1948 04/07 World Health Organization is established. 1949 04/23 Courtesy Mail Boxes for motorists started in San Francisco. 1953 04/09 TV Guide publishes their first issue. 1953 04/10 House of Wax, first 3-D movie, released in New York. 1954 04/26 nationwide test of the Salk anti-polio begins. 1955 04/09 United Nations Charter hearing. 1955 04/15 Ray Kroc starts the McDonald's chain of fast food restaurants. 1957 04/06 New York City ends trolley car service. 1958 04/11 Brooks Hall in Civic Center dedicated. 1958 04/20 Buses replace Key System trains at 3AM. 1960 04/01 to improve weather prediction. 1960 04/01 TIROS I (Television & Infra-Red Observation Satellite) launched 1961 04/12 Yuri A. Gagarin becomes 1st man to orbit Earth. 1961 04/17 Bay of Pigs, invasion. 1961 04/25 Robert Noyce granted a patent for the integrated circuit. 1962 04/12 San Mateo County withdraws from BART district. 1968 04/18 San Francisco's Old Hall of Justice demolished. 1971 04/14 Fort Point dedicated as 1st National Park in Bay Area. 1971 04/26 San Francisco Lightship replaced by automatic buoy. 1974 04/08 Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits 715th home run, beats Babe Ruth's record. 1974 04/28 Last Americans evacuated from Saigon. 1976 04/13 $2 bill re-introduced as United States currency. 1981 04/12 1st launch of the space shuttle, Columbia.