April 3 is National Chocolate Mousse Day, the decadent dessert that gained popularity in France in the 1800s. Chocolate was introduced to the French around the year 1615.
Birthday of Washington Irving (April 3, 1783), American historian, essayist, and storyteller, famous for the legends of Rip Van Winkle and Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. The book is in the public domain and available from many websites including Nextdoor e-store.com
Birthday of Edward Everett Hale (1822), American clergyman and author of “A Man Without a Country”, the story of American Army lieutenant Philip Nolan, who renounces his country during a trial for treason and is consequently sentenced to spend the rest of his days at sea without so much as a word of news about the United States.
Anniversary of the beginning of the Pony Express in 1860. It was a mail service from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California by horseback. It only operated for 18 months.
Outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back of the head by Robert Ford on April 3, 1882 in Missouri.
1895 – The trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde began, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.
House of Representatives passed a resolution accepting “American Creed” written by William Tyler Page in 1918.
“I believe in the United States of America, as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon these principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
“I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.”
1922 – Joseph Stalin (Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili) became the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He was responsible for the deaths of at least three million people.
1948 – President Harry S. Truman signed the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries. The United States transferred over $12 billion in economic recovery programs to Western European economies after the end of World War II.
The first portable cell phone call was made in New York City in 1973.