April 14 is Ex-Spouse Day
International Moment of Laughter Day
Look up at the Sky Day; also Reach as High as You Can Day
National Pecan Day
On April 14, 1775 – The first abolition society in North America was established. The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage was organized in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.
In April 1846, the Donner Party of pioneers departed from Springfield, Illinois, for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship, cannibalism, and survival.
The first Pony Express rider reached Sacramento, California on April 13, 1860.
April 14, 1865 – US President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died the next day.
On the same day, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family were attacked in his home by Lewis Powell.
1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 23:40 (sank morning of April 15th). Titanic had an estimated 2,224 people on board; more than 1500 of them died. In accordance with existing practice, Titanic’s lifeboat system was designed to ferry passengers to nearby rescue vessels, not to hold everyone on board simultaneously.
The Grapes of Wrath, by American author John Steinbeck was first published by the Viking Press on April 14, 1939. The title is from the lyrics of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Julia Ward Howe.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
Steinbeck was attempting to shame those who caused the Great Depression and those who oppressed the working class.
April 14, 2010 – The eruption of Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland shut down air traffic around Europe for a week, due to its ash cloud.