This Week in History
by Dianne Hermann
“In the summer of 1776 our Founding Fathers sought to
secure our independence and our liberties that remain the
foundation of our nation today.” Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Mar 30-Apr 5, 2026
March 30
1867 – The U.S. Secretary of State William Seward agreed to buy Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, or 2 cents an acre, in what becomes known as Seward’s Folly. Gold was discovered in the Yukon in 1896. Watch a brief history of Alaska’s acquisition.
1939 – The comic book “Detective Comics #27” appeared on newsstands. This comic book introduced Batman.
1964 – Astronaut John Glenn withdrew from the Ohio senate race because of injuries he suffered in a fall. Glenn finally won his senate seat in 1974 after a third run and served until he retired in 1997. In 1998, John Glenn became the oldest astronaut to go into space. Glenn died in 2016 at the age of 95.
1964 – “Jeopardy” debuted on TV and was hosted by Art Fleming. Merv Griffin created the daytime game show. The nighttime game show debuted in 1984 and was hosted by Alex Trebek until his death in 2020 at age 80. The show is now hosted by former contestant Jen Jennings.
1981 – President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr. President Reagan recovered while Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Hinckley, now 70 years old, was released in 2016 from of St. Elizabeth’s Mental Hospital in Washington, DC, after 35 years.
2012 – The U.S. Mega Millions lottery hit a world record lottery amount of $656 million. There were three winning tickets. The current record is $1.6 billion, won by a single ticket holder in Florida.
March 31
1870 – Thomas P. Mundy of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, was the first black person to vote in the U.S. Thomas Mundy died in 1904 at age 79.
1906 – The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was founded to set rules in amateur sports. The organization became the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 1910.
1918 – Daylight Savings Time (DST) went into effect for the first time in the U.S. during WWI. New Zealand entomologist George Hudson proposed the first modern daylight savings time in 1895 as a way to collect insects after work. Arizona and Hawaii do not observe DST.
1930 – The Motion Pictures Production Code (Hays Code) was instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion, and violence in film for the next thirty-eight years. The new film rating system went into effect in 1968 using G (general), M (mature), R (restricted), and X (sexually explicit).
1949 – RCA released the first single 45-rpm record. It was “Texarkana Baby” and “Bouquet of Roses” by Eddy Arnold. Listen to “Texarkana Baby.”
1980 – President Carter deregulated the banking industry by signing the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act.
2008 – Senator and presidential candidate Obama criticized President Bush for “Trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not going through Congress at all.” But as president, Obama said he will not wait for Congress to move forward on important issues. He prepared to take executive action by saying, “I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone.”
April 1
1778 – New Orleans businessman Oliver Pollock created the “$” (dollar) symbol.
1866 – Congress rejected a veto by President Andrew Johnson (D-TN) giving equal rights to all people in the U.S. It was the first major piece of legislation passed over a presidential veto.
1889 – The first dishwashing machine was marketed in Chicago, Illinois. Josephine Cochrane patents her invention in 1886. A wealthy socialite, Cochrane designed the dishwasher because she was tired of her best china being chipped by the hired help. Cochrane’s dishwashing machine company eventually became KitchenAid. Cochrane died in 1913 at age 74.
1891 – The Wrigley Company was founded in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 29 William Wrigley, Jr. left his home in Philadelphia with $32 and started selling his father’s soap in Chicago. In 1893, after giving away chewing gum as a promotion, he introduced a new gum called “Juicy Fruit.” Wrigley died in 1932 at age 70.
1934 – Bonnie and Clyde killed two police officers near Grapevine, Texas. They were believed to have committed 13 murders. On May 23rd, law enforcement officers killed Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow near Sailes, Louisiana. Bonnie was 23 and Clyde was 25.
1938 – The Baseball Hall of Fame opened in Cooperstown, New York. The first inductees were Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Honus Wagner, and Babe Ruth.
1946 – Weight Watchers was formed by overweight housewife Jean Nidetch in her apartment in Queens, New York. Nidetch died in 2015 at age 91. Watch a brief history of Weight Watchers.
1948 – Ralph Alpher (American), Hans Bethe, and George Gamow proposed the Big Bang Theory in Physical Review, a publication organized in 1893 at Cornell University.
1954 – The U.S. Air Force Academy was formed in Colorado.
1992 – The battleship USS Missouri (on which Japan surrendered ending World War II) was decommissioned. It is now a memorial museum at Pearl Harbor. The USS Missouri was used in the 2012 movie “Battleship.” The extras in the movie were actual WWII veterans from the USS Missouri.
2004 – Google introduced Gmail. The launch was met with skepticism because of the launch date.
2009 – President Obama bowed when meeting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Watch the greeting.
April 2
1792 – The Coinage Act was passed establishing the United States Mint.
1870 – Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to be nominated for the U.S. presidency. She ran on the Equal Right Party ticket. Woodhull died in 1927 at age 88.
1917 – President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany. Congress declared war on the German Empire on April 6th.
1932 – Charles Lindbergh turned over $50,000 as ransom for his kidnapped son. In April 1936, Richard Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the kidnapping and death of the Lindbergh’s son. Watch a short report about the “crime of the century.”
1987 – The speed limit on U.S. interstate highways was increased to 65 miles per hour in limited areas. Speed limits mow vary from state to state.
2014 – The Supreme Court ruled (5-4 decision) in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission that limits on the total amount of money individuals can give political candidates and political action committees is unconstitutional.
April 3
1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed at what is now Florida.
1860 – The first Pony Express riders left St. Joseph, Missouri, for Sacramento, California, on a trip across the country that took about a week. The Pony Express, which advertised for “Young, skinny, wiry fellows, not over 18, must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily, orphans preferred,” only lasted about a year and a half. Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok were among the riders. Watch a brief history of the Pony Express.
1882 – The outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back and killed by Robert Ford. Jesse James was 34 years old.
1944 – The Supreme Court ruled in Smith v Allwright that “all white” primaries were unconstitutional. Lonnie Smith, a black voter in Texas, challenged the Democrat party rules that allowed for only whites to vote in primaries.
1953 – “TV Guide” was published for the first time. Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball’s son Desi Arnaz, Jr. is on the cover. Little Desi is now 73 years old.
1973 – The first mobile phone call was made by Motorola employee Martin Cooper from Manhattan to Bell Labs headquarters in New Jersey.
1991 – Football player Bo Jackson signed a 1-year contract with the Chicago White Sox baseball team. Jackson was the first athlete to play in an All-Star game in two different sports. In 2013, ESPN named Jackson the “Greatest Athlete of All Time.” Watch ESPN’s interview with Bo.
1996 – Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski was arrested. He pleaded guilty in January 1998 to five Unabomber attacks in exchange for a life sentence without the chance of parole. Kaczynski died in 2023 at age 81.
2010 – The first Apple iPad was released and priced from $499 to $829.
April 4
1818 – Congress passed a plan that says the U.S. flag will have 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars. It had 15 stripes to represent 15 states, but Congress realized it would be impractical to keep adding stripes. The plan allowed that a new star would be added for the each new state.
1841 – President William Henry Harrison, at the age of 68, became the first president to die in office. He took the oath of office only a month before he died of pneumonia. He delivered a 2-hour inaugural address on a cold, wet day without wearing a coat or hat.
1914 – The first known serialized moving picture opened in New York City. It was “The Perils of Pauline.” Watch the first episode (black and white with dramatic piano music).
1949 – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty was signed in Washington, DC.
1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 39.
1973 – The world’s tallest building, the World Trade Center, opened in New York City at 110 stories. We will always remember 9-11-2001. Watch a CNN slideshow on the building and opening of the World Trade Center.
1975 – Microsoft was founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Gates is 70 years old. Allen died in 2018 at age 65.
2008 – During a raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints owned YFZ Ranch in Texas, 401 children and 133 women were taken into state custody. Several male members of the compound were found guilty or plead no contest to sexual assault.
April 5
1792 – President George Washington cast the first presidential veto. He determined that the apportionment bill passed by Congress violated the constitutional guidelines that determined the number of delegates in the House of
Representatives.
1869 – Daniel Bakeman, the last surviving soldier of the U.S. Revolutionary War, died at the age of 109.
1934 – Baseball superstar Babe Ruth agreed to do three 15-minute broadcasts a week for 13 weeks with NBC for a fee of $39,000. That was $4,000 more than his annual contract with the Yankees.
1951 – Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for committing espionage for the Soviet Union.
1973 – Pioneer 11 launched on its mission to study Jupiter. NASA lost contact with the spacecraft in 1995 after receiving data for 22 years.
2009 – The media was allowed to film the return of slain soldiers for the first time when an 18-year ban is lifted. President George H.W. Bush placed the ban on photos and President Obama lifted the ban.
2016 – PayPal announced it was cancelling a $3.6 million investment in North Carolina after the state passes anti-gay legislation, although PayPal continued to do business in communist China.
Image from: geekwire.com