Category Archives: Presidential History

April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 269 days remaining until the end of the year.

National Caramel Popcorn Day

Plan Your Epitaph Day

Sorry Charlie Day – It’s actually a day to reflect upon the rejections you have experienced in life and realize the world kept spinning despite them.

1199 – English King Richard I was killed by an arrow at the siege of the castle of Chaluz in France.

Scotland’s independence was confirmed with the Declaration of Arbroath on April 6, 1320. A letter in Latinwas submitted to Pope John XXII, dated 6 April 1320, intended to confirm Scotland’s status as an independent, sovereign state and defending Scotland’s right to use military action when unjustly attacked.

Birthday of Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino) (April 6, 1483), Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. Also anniversary of his death in 1520, on his 37th birthday. A sample of his work can be seen at Raphael Paintings.org

1606 – The Virginia Company of London was established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.

April 6, 1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporated the American Fur Company.

Anniversary of the founding of the Latter Day Saint movement by Joseph Smith in 1830.

Birthday of Joseph Lincoln Steffens (April 6, 1866), American journalist, foremost figure among the muckrakers who exposed political and business corruption in the U.S. He preferred revolution over reforms and supported the Soviet Union.

On this date in 1893, cornerstone of the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah was laid.

In 1896, President Benjamin Harrison (In office 1889-1893) at age 62 married Mary Scott Lord Dimmick, the widowed 37-year-old niece and former secretary of his deceased wife at St Thomas Protestant Episcopal Church in New York City. Harrison’s two adult children, Russell, 41 years old at the time, and Mary (Mamie) McKee, 38, disapproved of the marriage and did not attend the wedding. Benjamin and Mary had one child together, Elizabeth (February 21, 1897 – December 26, 1955).

Anniversary of the formal opening of the first of the Modern Olympic games at Athens, Greece on April 6, 1896. 14 nations and 241 athletes competed in 43 events.

On April 6, 1909, the North Pole was reached by Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson.

New Beers Eve – In 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act allowed production of beer to resume in the United States, with the caveat beer remain no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight. On April 7, the act became law, and beer production began – thus marking the imminent end of Prohibition. Upon signing the legislation, F. D. Roosevelt made his famous remark, “I think this would be a good time for a beer.”

April 5 is:

Caramel Day As early as the seventeenth century, American women were using caramelized sugar and water to make candies. It was a rather economical candy to produce. Around the year 1850, someone discovered that by adding milk and a fat product to the cooked sugar mixture that a soft, chewy candy would be produced. This candy very quickly became popular.

In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas married English colonist John Rolfe on April 5, 1614.

Pocahontas was the daughter of Powhatan, the leader of an alliance of Algonquian-speaking people living in the Tidewater region of Virginia at the time English settlers landed at Jamestown in 1607. She was captured and held for ransom by the Colonists during hostilities in 1613. During her captivity, she was encouraged to convert to Christianity and was baptized under the name Rebecca. She married tobacco planter John Rolfe in April 1614 at age 17, and she bore their son Thomas Rolfe in January 1615. In 1616, the Rolfes traveled to London where Pocahontas was presented to English society as an example of the “civilized savage” in hopes of stimulating investment in the Jamestown settlement. She became something of a celebrity, was elegantly feted, and attended a masque at Whitehall Palace. In 1617, the Rolfes set sail for Virginia, but Pocahontas died at Gravesend in Kent, England, of unknown causes, aged 20 or 21.

On this day in 1621, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England. The Mayflower made excellent time on her voyage back to England. The westerly winds that had buffeted her coming out pushed her along going home, and she arrived at the home port of Rotherhithe in London on May 6, 1621, less than half the time that it had taken her to sail to America.

April 5, 1722 – Jacob Roggeveen became the first European to land on Easter Island, landing there on Easter Sunday.

In 1792, U.S. President George Washington exercised his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power was used in the United States. The bill introduced a new plan for dividing seats in the House of Representatives that would have increased the amount of seats for northern states. Jefferson convinced Washington that the bill was unconstitutional. Washington exercised his veto power only one other time during his two terms in office. He vetoed an act that would have reduced the number of Cavalry units in the army.

Birthday of Joseph Lister (April 5, 1827), English physician, founder of aseptic surgery.

April 5, 1933 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates” by U.S. citizens.

1936 Tupelo, Mississippi virtually annihilated by a tornado, 216 Tupelo residents died. According to Wikipedia: The 1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak was an outbreak of at least 12 tornadoes that struck the Southeastern United States from April 5–6, 1936. Approximately 454 people were killed by these tornadoes—419 by two tornadoes alone. This outbreak is the second deadliest ever recorded in US history. Notably, among the survivors were one-year-old Elvis Presley and his parents.

1972 The regular MLB season fails to open due to a player strike for the first time in history; 86 games were lost before the labor dispute settled.

National Cordon Bleu Day a dish of meat wrapped around cheese, then breaded and pan-fried or deep-fried.
School Librarian Day

1581 – Francis Drake was knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.

In 1660, English King Charles II sent “Declaration of Breda” granting toleration of religion in areas where it did not disturb the peace of the kingdom.

Robert Walpole became the first Prime Minister of Great Britain on April 4, 1721.

Publication of Federalist Paper #77: The Appointing Power Continued and Other Powers of the Executive Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.
“This paper brings to a close a series of papers defending the powers granted to the executive branch and the limits placed on that power. The key principle here is a balance between the need for a powerful and energetic executive, something lacking in the Articles of Confederation, with the imperative of ensuring that the executive does not have enough power to threaten American liberty.”
From www.gradesaver.com

April 4, 1818 – The United States Congress adopted the Flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (then 20).

April 4, 1841 – William Henry Harrison died. He was the ninth President of the United States for 31 days, the shortest-ever time in office for a US President. He died of pneumonia at age 68. His inaugural address took two hours and the ceremony was on a cold and wet day. He then rode through the streets of Washington in a parade and attended three inaugural balls. Three weeks after the event he developed a cold, pneumonia, and pleurisy. Doctors gave the cause of death as pneumonia, jaundice and septicemia. He was the first U. S. president to die in office. His death sparked a brief constitutional crisis regarding succession to the presidency, because the Constitution was unclear as to whether Vice President John Tyler should assume the office of president or merely execute the duties of the vacant office. Tyler claimed a constitutional mandate to become the new president and took the presidential oath of office, setting an important precedent for an orderly transfer of the presidency and its full powers when the previous president fails to complete the elected term.

Los Angeles, California was incorporated as a city in 1850.

1865 – American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visited the Confederate capital.

1949 – Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It now is comprised of 29 member nations.

April 4, 1968 – Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr in Memphis, Tennessee.

1973 – The World Trade Center in New York was officially dedicated. Stood for 28 years.

Microsoft was founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1975. Microsoft’s Net Worth is approximately $69.96 Billion.

National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day

1638 – Swedish colonists establish the first European settlement in Delaware, naming it New Sweden.

Birthday of John Tyler (March 29, 1790), tenth president of the U.S.

Points of Interest about John Tyler:

• Tyler was the first vice-president to become President due to the death of a president, (William Henry Harrison)
• Tyler was the first president to have impeachment proceedings begun against him.
• Tyler was the first president to have Congress override his veto.
• Tyler was the first president whose wife died while he was in office. (Letitia)
• Tyler was the first president to marry while in office. (Julia)
• Tyler was the only president to hold office in the Confederacy.
• Five years after leaving office, Tyler was so poor he was unable to pay a bill for $1.25 until he had sold his corn crop.
• The tradition of playing “Hail to the Chief” whenever a president appears at state functions was started by Tyler’s second wife, Julia.
• He was nicknamed “His Accidency” due to the way in which he assumed office.
• According to the Census of 1840, the U. S. population was at 17 million people, including 14 million whites and 2.8 million blacks, free and slave
• Tyler fathered 15 children, 8 with Letitia and 7 more with Julia.

1806 – Construction was authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.

Queen Victoria gave Royal Assent to the British North America Act which established the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.

Dr. John Pemberton brewed the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta, Georgia on March 29, 1886.

1936 – In Germany, Adolf Hitler received 99% of the votes in a referendum to ratify Germany’s illegal reoccupation of the Rhineland, receiving 44.5 million votes out of 45.5 million registered voters.

On 7 March 1936, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, German troops marched into the Rhineland and other regions along the Rhine. This was the first of the aggressive military actions of Nazi Germany that contributed to the outbreak of World War II.

1961 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.

Section 1. The District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall appoint in such manner as the Congress may direct:

A number of electors of President and Vice President equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives in Congress to which the District would be entitled if it were a State, but in no event more than the least populous State; they shall be in addition to those appointed by the States, but they shall be considered, for the purposes of the election of President and Vice President, to be electors District and perform such other duties as prescribed in the twelfth article of amendment.

Vietnam Veterans’ Day; the anniversary of the withdrawal of American forces from Vietnam in 1973

March 28 is National Black Forest Cake Day

From Wikipedia:
Typically, Black Forest cake (Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte) consists of several layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and cherries between each layer. Then the cake is decorated with additional whipped cream, maraschino cherries, and chocolate shavings. In some European traditions sour cherries are used both between the layers and for decorating the top. Traditionally, kirsch (a clear liquor distilled from tart cherries) is added to the cake, although other liquors are also used (such as rum, which is common in Austrian recipes). In North America, Black Forest cake is generally prepared without alcohol. German statutory interpretation states Kirschwasser as a mandatory ingredient, otherwise the cake is legally not allowed to be marketed as Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. True Black Forest cakes are decorated with black cherries.

193 – Roman Emperor Pertinax was assassinated by Praetorian Guards, who then sold the throne in an auction to Didius Julianus. This lead to the Roman Civil War of 193-197. Didius Julianus was ousted nine weeks later and sentenced to death by his successor, Septimius Severus.

1774 – Britain passed Coercive Acts against Massachusetts. They included The Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, The Quartering Act, and the Quebec Act.

1776 – Juan Bautista de Anza found the site for the Presidio of San Francisco. From National Park Service

For 218 years, the Presidio served as an army post for three nations. World and local events, from military campaigns to the rise of aviation, from World Fairs to earthquakes, left their mark. Come enjoy the history and beauty of the Presidio. Explore centuries of architecture. Reflect in a national cemetery. Walk through an historic airfield, forests, or to beaches, and admire spectacular vistas.

1834 – Senate censure of President Jackson for refusing to turn over classified documents regarding his veto of legislation to renew the charter of the Bank of America. When Jackson refused to release the documents, Henry Clay retaliated by introducing a resolution to censure the president. Jackson was the first president to suffer this formal disapproval from Congress. When Jackson retired from the presidency, the only regret he expressed was not being able to shoot Henry Clay.

Greatest Show On Earth was formed by PT Barnum and James A Bailey on March 28, 1881.

Constantinople changed its name to Istanbul and Angora changes its name to Ankara in 1930.

March 28, 1969: Death of Dwight D Eisenhower , thirty-fourth President of the United States. He died in Walter Reed General Hospital at Washington, D. C. at age 78 of congestive heart failure.

1979 – A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania led to the core overheating and a partial melt down.

March 19 is National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Swallows Day, the date on which the swallows traditionally return of San Juan Capistrano Mission in California.

Birthday of William Bradford (March 19, 1589), American Pilgrim Father, signer of the Mayflower Compact. He served as Plymouth Colony Governor five times.

Birthday of David Livingstone in 1813, Scotch doctor, explorer, and medical missionary.

Birthday of William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860), American lawyer and politician, known as the “Silver-Tongued Orator”.

Publication of Federalist Paper #72: The Duration in Office of the Executive and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.

From www.teaparty911.com

This paper gives five reasons why there are no term limits for the President in the Constitution and gives a brief discussion to counter the arguments of those favoring limits. He begins by describing the importance of the functions of the chief magistrate which include foreign negotiations, plans of finance, application and disbursement of public money, the arrangement of the army and navy, and the direction of the operations of war. These functions require duration and stability in office and when another obtains the office by nature he will undo much of what has been done and will change the personnel filling the subordinate positions of the administration. If a chief magistrate can be re-elected without limit he will act his part well and give the community time to evaluate the merit of his measures and if they approve of his conduct they will continue him in his station to take advantage of his wise system of administration.

The 22nd amendment, enacted in 1951, limited presidents to a maximum of two terms in office.

Birthday of Earl Warren in 1891; 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and head of the Warren Commission which investigated the assassination of President John F Kennedy.

Birthday of Lou Henry Hoover (March 19, 1874), wife of Herbert Hoover; first lady 1929-1933. She was the first woman in America to receive a degree in geology. When Herbert Hoover was offered the position of chief engineer of China’s Bureau of Mines, he and Lou learned to speak Mandarin Chinese and used it for private conversations throughout their lives.

The U.S. Congress established time zones and approved daylight saving time in 1918.

U.S. Senate voted against membership in League of Nations on March 19, 1920. Also rejected Treaty of Versailles for 2nd time (maintaining isolation policy).

“Amos and Andy” debuted on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago) in 1928.

1931 – Gambling was legalized in Nevada.

On March 19, 1932 Sydney’s Harbour Bridge was opened.

Herman Wouk’s “Caine Mutiny,” was published in 1951.

March 19, 2003, was the start of the Gulf War II, the invasion of Iraq. Dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States, the invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba’athist government of Saddam Hussein. The invasion phase consisted primarily of a conventionally-fought war which concluded with the capture of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad by American forces.

March 18 is National Sloppy Joe Day

In 1541, Hernando de Soto observed first recorded flood in America (Mississippi River).

John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, sold his part of New Jersey to the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, on March 18, 1673.

Birthday of John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782), American statesman from South Carolina, 7th Vice-President of the U.S. in administrations of John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.

Publication of Federalist Paper #71: The Duration in Office of the Executive written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.

From www.teaparty911.com

This paper deals with DURATION the second requisite to the energy of the executive authority. Duration here has two objects, the personal firmness of the Executive Magistrate in carrying out his constitutional powers, and the stability of the administration which he has assembled. The idea here is that a person without duration acting as a chief magistrate aware that he will only occupy the office for a short time will be little interested in it and will not put in the necessary effort to ward off the ill humors that may appear in the society itself or in a predominant faction of the legislature.

Some say the President should be compliant to the prevailing current in the community or in the Legislature. But it is not said that in a republican government the representatives should bend to every whim of the public for at times the interest of the public is at a variance with their desires. At these times it is necessary for the people whom they have appointed to give the public time for cooler heads to prevail.

In 1818, Congress approved first pensions for government service.

Birthday of Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837), twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the U.S. Cleveland is the only president married in the White House and his second daughter, Esther, is the only child of a President born at the White House. The Baby Ruth candy bar was named after Cleveland’s first daughter, Ruth.

In 1850 – American Express was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo.

Birthday of Rudolph Diesel (March 18, 1858), German engineer and developer of the diesel internal-combustion engine.

Congress of Confederate States of American adjourned for last time in 1865.

Hawaii signed a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights in 1874.

Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledged to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best hockey team in Canada in 1892; originally presented to amateur champions, the Stanley Cup has been awarded to the top pro team since 1910, and since 1926, only to National Hockey League teams.

Mussolini joined Hitler in Germany’s war against France and Britain on March 18, 1940.

In 1961, Poppin’ Fresh Pillsbury Dough Boy was introduced. He was created by the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency’s copy writer, Rudy Perz, and originally drawn by Martin Nodell.

March 16 is celebrated by some as National Artichoke Heart Day

1621 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visited the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greeted them, “Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset.” He was the first native American to make contact with the Pilgrims. He had learned English from a group of English sailors who came to fish off Mohegan Island near present-day Portland, Maine.

Birthday of James Madison (March 16, 1751), fourth president of the U.S. Known as the “Father of the Constitution” for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Madison also wrote the “Virginia Plan” and authored some of the Federalist Papers. Physically Madison was short of stature and slight. He never weighed more than 100 pounds and about 5′ 4″ (the shortest of the Presidents).

Anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1802

1861 – Edward Clark becomes Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who has been evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy. Houston was a slave owner and opposed abolition but he also opposed secession. When the Texas legislature upheld the secession of Texas to the Confederate States, Sam Houston resigned. President Lincoln offered Houston 50,000 troops to fight Texas secession which Houston declined. He made the following prediction:

“Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, you may win Southern independence if God be not against you, but I doubt it. I tell you that, while I believe with you in the doctrine of states’ rights, the North is determined to preserve this Union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche; and what I fear is, they will overwhelm the South.”

Birthday of Thelma “Pat” Nixon (1912), wife of Richard Nixon; first lady from 1969-1974. She was a typing teacher when she met Richard Nixon. He proposed the night they met but she refused him for two years.

Adolf Hitler ordered Germany to rearm herself in 1935 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Conscription was reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Germany. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force).

1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ended, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persisted.
(Iwo Jima Day is Feb 23)

1988 – Halabjah poison gas attack: The Kurdish town of Halabjah in Iraq was attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5000 people and injuring about 10,000 people.