| The Bible only gives a general reference as to the landing place of the Ark. Many enthusiasts of the Ark search, however, mistakenly believe the Bible names Mt. Ararat as the Ark's specific resting place. This is not the case as the Bible says only that the Ark came to rest on "the mountains (plural) of Ararat" (Gen. 8:4). At the time Moses wrote Genesis "Ararat" was a very remote region north of Assyria centered around present-day Lake Van. |
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| Pocahontas was held briefly at Jamestown and then moved to Henrico. Some say she was a willing captive.
Although Powhatan returned the English prisoners and supplied some corn, he did not agree to all of the
demands of the settlers. At any rate Pocahontas remained at Henrico. The governor, Sir Thomas Dale, placed her
in the care of Reverend Alexander Whitaker. She began religious instruction and eventually converted to
Christianity in 1614, taking the name Rebecca.
It was during her captivity that Pocahontas met the colonist John Rolfe. Rolfe was a prominent settler, having introduced Caribbean tobacco into the colony. Tobacco became Virginia's chief export and launched an economic boom for the colony. He fell in love with Pocahontas and proposed marriage (after having first asked permission of the governor). Pocahontas' uncle and two of her brothers came to the wedding performed by Reverend Richard Buck. The marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe was a political alliance that came at a critical time in the colony's history. After the marriage, the colonists enjoyed a peaceful relationship with the Indians that lasted until Powhatan's death in 1618. Pocahontas adapted well to the English language and culture. In 1615 Pocahontas gave birth to a son, named Thomas in honor of the governor. |
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| After weeks of scouting for a suitable settlement area, the Mayflower's passengers finally landed at
Plymouth on Dec. 26, 1620. Although the Mayflower's captain and part-owner, Christopher Jones, had threatened to
leave the Pilgrims unless they quickly found a place to land, the ship remained at Plymouth during the first
terrible winter of 1620-21, when half of the colonists died. Mayflower remained in American waters until April 5, 1621 and then returned to England on May 6. On her return trip to England in the spring of 1621, Mayflower made the voyage in 31 days, which would have been an average speed of about 3 3/4 miles per hour. |
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| On Easter Sunday 1722, Easter Island's 1400 years of isolation ended when three ships under the command of Jacob Roggeveen sighted a low flat island. The next morning they noted smoke rising from various locations on the island but stood out to sea due to bad weather. The following day a naked, bearded islander came out to one of the ships in a canoe. He was enthralled by the construction of the Dutch ship. Finally the Dutch made it ashore for a quick look around. They were amazed by the large statues which they thought were made of clay. The equally amazed Rapa Nui brought them some bananas and chickens, following an unfortunate slaughter of some 9 or 10 islanders who were shot by nervous Dutch sailors. |
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| The British Museum, established in 1753, is the world's greatest collection of antiquities, particularly from Egypt, the Near East, Greece and Rome, and Asia. Among its most famous holdings are the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone and the Portland Vase. But these barely scratch the surface. The enormous collection spans the history and aspirations of the civilizations and cultures of every continent, including Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific. |  |
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| The vetoed bill was entitled: “An Act for an apportionment of Representatives among the several States
according to the first enumeration.”
His primary objection to the proposed amendment was that “there is no one proportion or divisor which, applied to the respective numbers of the States will yield the number and allotment of representatives proposed by the Bill.” The relevance of this today is that the “number and allotment” that results from the current fixed allocation of 435 seats does not pass the test established by President Washington. In other words, there is “no one proportion or divisor” which would yield the current allotment of representatives. |
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| Apples are processed to extract the juice. The fresh juice is known in the U.S. as sweet apple cider. It can be preserved in wooden barrels where it ferments, transforming it into what is then called hard cider, a tangy alcoholic drink. Hard cider was a very popular drink for the first colonists in the U.S. |
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| Strauss' first complete operetta, Indigo und die vierzig RäuberRäuber , premiered in 1871.
The work was successful, as was his next operetta, Carneval in Rom, which debuted in 1873, but it was
Die Fledermaus (1874) that is regarded as his masterpiece and the finest example of Viennese operetta.
Die Fledermaus was based on a play (Le réveillon) written by Offenbach's official poets, Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Steiner handed the French original over to an experienced man of the theatre, Richard Genée, whose work with the material made the story more truly Viennese. According to legend, Strauss wrote steadily for 43 days, neglecting food and sleep until the work was finished. The work was outlined within a six week period, but it actually took six months before the work finally hit the stage. |
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| In other words - a creamer. A vessel spins inside a case that receives the lighter components separated "by the action of centrifugal force," while heavier components drain through an opening in the same tubular shaft by which the vessel is rotated. The separating vessel is swelled at the bottom, such as the frustrum of a cone, and fitted with a horizontal deflecting plate a short distance above the bottom which extends to a short distance from the side. The liquid to be separated is supplied through a central feedtube, enabling continous operation. The patent suggested various uses, including separating milk and cream or clearing muddy water for paper making. |
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| A working cowboy, he did not begin boxing until he was almost thirty years old. In an era when racism was
part of the American vernacular, Willard was dubbed as The Great White Hope.
Despite his late start, Jess Willard proved successful as a boxer, defeating top-ranked opponents to earn a chance to fight for the championship. In front of a huge crowd at the Vedado Racetrack in Havana, Cuba, in the 26th round he knocked out the black champion Jack Johnson to win the World Heavyweight Boxing Championship. Many boxing commentators now regard Willard as one of the weakest champions who defeated one of the strongest. And Johnson spread rumors that he took a dive. But Willard is widely regarded as winning fairly and squarely, when the aging Johnson realised that he could not knock out the less skillful giant, so knew that the younger man would wear him down in the searing heat (105 degrees in the ring) over a 45-round bout. |
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| Bus technology had improved so much by the late 1930s that hills, which were unconquerable by rival electric cars, could be mastered by rubber-tired vehicles. The cable car had lost its monopoly position it had held as the only viable mode of transit for many of San Francisco's hills. This factor combined with the Market Street Railway’s desire to reduce operating cost (buses required a single person, whereas cable cars were a two-man operation) and rid itself of the costly infrastructure of track and cable winding machinery combined with declining revenues and ridership lead to the Market Street Railway’s apparent plan to convert all of its cable car lines to buses. |
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| WGN-TV, whose call letters are derived from the Chicago Tribune's first slogan, "World's Greatest Newspaper,"
hit the airwaves on April 5, 1948 on Channel 9 in Chicago from its studios at Tribune Tower.
WGN began test broadcasts in February, 1948 and instituted regular programming on April 5 with a 2-hour special “WGN-TV Salute to Chicago.” |
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| Ethel Greenglass worked as a clerk for some years after her graduation from high school in 1931.
When she married Julius Rosenberg in 1939, the year he earned a degree in electrical engineering, the two
were already active members of the Communist Party. In the following year Julius obtained a job as a civilian
engineer with the U.S. Army Signal Corps, and he and Ethel began working together to disclose U.S. military
secrets to the Soviet Union. Later, Ethel's brother, Sergeant David Greenglass, who was assigned as a machinist
to the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb, provided the Rosenbergs with data on nuclear weapons.
The Rosenbergs turned over this information to Harry Gold, a Swiss-born courier for the espionage ring,
who then passed it to Anatoly A. Yakovlev, the Soviet Union's vice-consul in New York City.
The Rosenbergs were charged with espionage and brought to trial on March 6, 1951; Greenglass was the chief witness for the prosecution. They were found guilty and sentenced to death. Greenglass, who was tried separately, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. |
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| Kay Starr was born Katherine Starks on an Oklahoma Indian reservation on July 21, 1922. She began her career at the age of 15, joining the Joe Venuti orchestra. Starr sang briefly with Glenn Miller, Charlie Barnet and other bands before launching her solo career in 1945. Her ascendancy into the commercial sphere during the mid ’50s which led her to be among the first pop singers to capitalize on the "rock fad." Her 1955 song "Rock and Roll Waltz." was a solid hit. Her biggest hit, however, came with the era-defining "Wheel of Fortune." |
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| Sir Winston Churchill has resigned as prime minister of Britain due to his failing health.
The statement from Buckingham Palace this afternoon stated: "The Right Honorable Sir Winston Churchill had an audience with the Queen this evening and tendered his resignation as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury, which Her Majesty was graciously pleased to accept." Sir Winston Churchill's resignation follows a dinner party held at 10 Downing Street last night attended by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and a number of the prime minister's past and present government colleagues. Anthony Eden succeeds him. |
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| The Champs were West Coast sessionmen whose first single, the instrumental "Tequila" stayed on the charts nineteen weeks, reached number one, sold more than six million records worldwide, and won a Grammy for best R&B record of 1958 |  |
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| In the 1960s, NASA's highly successful X-15 program involved a rocket-powered airplane that flew above the atmosphere and then glided back to Earth unpowered. The X-15 pilots helped researchers gain much useful information about supersonic aeronautics and the program also provided data for development of the Space Shuttle. |  |
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| The north-south Alpine axis between Switzerland and Italy is open to traffic all the year round, around the clock, through the Great St. Bernard Road Tunnel a distance of just 5,85 kilometres. The tunnel complex includes two road stations which comprise the installations for remote monitoring, safety and automatic ventilation, the toll booths, the police stations and the Italian and Swiss customs posts. |
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| "Please Please Me" is the Beatles's first album. What's really special about this album is that they recorded it all in one day. It's also been reported that the Beatles were sick at this time, and the recording studio was filled with cough drop boxes at the end of the day. You can really see the Beatles' rock-'n'-roll roots in this album. Their work in Hamburg really shows through. As a first album, this really came out and made an impression on the public. The title track of this album was the Beatles' first #1 hit, and it started a road to rock stardom that they would continue for the next 6 years. |
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| In 1913 the main London post office opened a section of underground railway to run in a huge circle,
connecting London’s main rail stations and post office. Today, driverless trains carrying 30,000 bags of mail
still run daily through these tunnels. Driverless trains first ran on the London Underground. Now, on the Victoria Line, once the Train Operator has closed the train doors and pressed the start buttons, the trains run automatically to the next station, responding to coded impulses transmitted through the track. |
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| The first motion lamp was designed in 1963 by an engineer, Edward Craven Walker, who sold it under the
name Astro Lamp. That lucky guy found that by mixing a little of this and a little of that, you get a uniquely
hypnotic light, which has made LAVA® brand motion lamps a worldwide phenomenon. In 1965, two American entrepreneurs saw the lamp displayed at a German trade show and were in awe at its beauty. They bought the rights to manufacture the lamp in North America. The Astro Lamp was brought to the USA, renamed the LAVA® brand motion lamp and production took off in Chicago. |
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| Few athletes have ever reached the level of domination that Wilt Chamberlain achieved throughout his
basketball career. An offensive force second to none, "Wilt the Stilt" is one of only two players who have
scored more than 30,000 points in an NBA career. The multi-talented Chamberlain led the NBA in scoring seven consecutive years (1959-65), rebounding 11 times and in 1968 led the league in assists. In 1961-62, Wilt enjoyed a Hall of Fame season. He established remarkable records for points (4,029, 50.4 ppg), and against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962, he scored 100 points, a mark that has withstood the test of time. |
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| Tommy Roe is sometimes described as "The father of Bubble Gum Music." Roe continued to have success with 'Everybody', which became a US number 3 in 1963. A stint in the army kept him off the charts until 1966 when he recorded 'Sweet Pea', which garnered considerable airplay. The song reached the US Top 10, as did its follow-up, 'Hooray For Hazel', but Roe's biggest hit came in 1969 when 'Dizzy' topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The singer enjoyed further success that year with 'Heather Honey' and 'Jam Up and Jelly Tight', but for much of the 70s he opted to pursue a low-key career in his home state. |
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| To the ancient Greeks, Mount Etna was the realm of Vulcan, god of fire, and the home of the
one-eyed monster known as the Cyclops. At approximately 10,050 ft it is Europe's highest active volcano. Mount Etna is Europe's largest volcano (its volume is at least 350 km3), and one of the most active (in the sense of "productive" and eruption frequency) volcanoes on Earth, with frequent periods of intermittent to persistent activity in the summit area and major eruptions from new vents on its flanks every 1 - 20 years. The main feature of Etnean activity is voluminous lava emission, but strong explosive activity occurs occasionally, mostly from its presently four summit craters. |
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| Eighty-six games were cancelled due to the first general players' strike, which was eventually resolved on April 13th. Concessions came after both the owners and players agreed on a $500,000 increase in pension fund payments. In an effort to prevent paying the players for the work stoppage, the league decided not to make up the missed contests. As a result, some teams only played one-hundred fifty-three total games. |
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| A jersey numbering system was adopted, April 5: 1-19 for quarterbacks and specialists, 20-49 for running backs and defensive backs, 50-59 for centers and linebackers, 60-79 for defensive linemen and interior offensive linemen other than centers, and 80-89 for wide receivers and tight ends. Players who had been in the NFL in 1972 could continue to use old numbers. |
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| She studied classical music as a child and developed a five-octave vocal range and originally intended to
become an opera singer. Minnie was a former singer with the group the Gems whose debut recording 'That's What They
Put Erasers On Pencils For' was released on Chess Records. In 1973, Minnie began working with Wonderlove, Stevie Wonder's backing group. Two years later he returned this compliment, producing her 'Perfect Angel' album, and contributing two original compositions on the set. 'Loving You', a song written by Minnie and her husband Richard Rudolph, brought her international success, reaching the US number 1 spot and the UK number 2 chart position in 1975. |
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| The Wall was responsible for many things, including bringing Floyd back to release singles, a format they abandoned in 1968. The choice fell to Another Brick In The Wall pt. II, soon to become the band’s insignia throughout the whole world, despite an unusual (for Pink Floyd, obviously) disco mood. |  |
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| Nicknamed "Kitty", Katt pitched for the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, Chicago White Sox,
Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals. In 1966, he was named the American League
Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. Kaat was primarily a starting pitcher until 1979, when he became a relief pitcher. Over Kaat's 25 years in the majors, he was an All-Star three times (1962, 1966:,1975 ), and won the Gold Glove Award for defensive skill a record 16 consecutive times (1960-75). With the Cardinals i n 1982 , Kaat earned his only World Series ring working out of the bullpen. |
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| In a game against the Utah Jazz played in Las Vegas, Abdul-Jabbar had perhaps his finest moment. Taking a pass from Magic Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar whirled and launched his trademark sky-hook toward the hoop. The shot drew nothing but net, giving Abdul-Jabbar career point No. 31,420, which vaulted him past Wilt Chamberlain as the NBA's all-time leading scorer |  |
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| In short order, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the song, "We Are The World," and Quincy
Jones produced it. The recording session was scheduled to piggy-back the American Music Awards, and on January 28,
1985 — only weeks after Harry Belafonte's initial call, 45 musical superstars recorded "We Are The World."
At the same time, public interest attorney Marty Rogol was designing an organization to distribute the proceeds of the project to stricken Africa. In a remarkable 20 short days, United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was born. "We Are The World" was a phenomenon unlike any before. The single, released March 8, 1985, became the quickest selling record in music industry history. In addition, an album, filled with songs from many of the recording session superstars, was released to another exceptional response. All royalties millions -- were destined to save lives in Africa. The world opened its heart to those in need in Africa. Two radio disc-jockeys organized the global simulcast of "We Are The World" on Good Friday, 1985 and were joined by 8,000 of their colleagues. |
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| On March 29, 1986 the song 'Rock Me Amadeus' hit #1 on the Billboard 100 and stayed there for three weeks.
The song was written and sung by an Austrian Classical music prodigy turned Rock musician named 'Falco' (real name:
Johann Hölzel). The film “Amadeus” inspired the song.
The music video was sung in German, and begins with vibrantly colored photos of places in Vienna and Falco wearing a vibrantly colored wig to match. |
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| Set in Chicago, their new show was a parody of American television's tendency to create comedies dealing
with relentlessly perfect family. Their program was immediately termed "anti-family." Bundy is a luckless women's shoes salesman who hates fat women, tries to relive his days as a high-school football hero, and does almost anything to avoid having sex with his stay-at-home, bon-bon eating spouse Peggy (Katie Sagal). Peg loves to shop and her ability to buy always exceeds Al's capacity to earn. She refuses to cook and the Bundys must take desperate measures to stay fed, frequently searching beneath the sofa cushions for crumbs of food. The format of the Tracey Ullman Show capitalised on Ullman's acting ability and mastery of dialects and characterisation by placing her in different comedy playlets each week, some only a few minutes long, some lasting for more than half the program. |
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| In April 1989 the government agreed to legalize Solidarity and allow it to participate in free elections to a bicameral Polish parliament. In the elections, held in June of that year, candidates endorsed by Solidarity won 99 of 100 seats in the newly formed Senate (upper house) and all 161 seats (of 460 total) that opposition candidates were entitled to contest in the Sejm (lower house). |
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| Stockton’s assists records included most in a season (1,164), highest average for a season (14.5 apg) and most seasons leading league and most consecutive seasons leading league (nine). He also shared the record for most assists in a playoff game (24), had the second-highest assists average for a career (10.5 apg) and tied for third for most assists in a regular season game (28). |  |
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| The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory was the second of NASA's Great Observatories. Compton, at 17 tons,
was the heaviest astrophysical payload ever flown at the time of its launch on April 5, 1991
aboard the space shuttle Atlantis. Compton was safely deorbited and re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on June 4, 2000.
Compton had four instruments that covered an unprecedented six decades of the electromagnetic spectrum, from 30 keV to 30 GeV.The Observatory was named in honor of Dr. Arthur Holly Compton, who won the Nobel prize in physics for work on scattering of high-energy photons by electrons - a process which is central to the gamma-ray detection techniques of all four instruments. |
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| Colorado was shut out by Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in their first-ever regular-season contest on April 5, 1993 at Shea Stadium, but Rockies fans were treated to a win in the first home game four days later. |
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| The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame puts a personal twist on rock history with its head-turning collection of objects, clothing, and memorabilia once belonging to rock celebrities. |  |
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| The Marlins won their first game 6-3 over the Los Angeles Dodgers, in front of a sold out crowd at Joe Robbie Stadium. The game was highlighted by a spectacular catch by Center Fielder Scott Pose, as Charlie Hough started and won the game. |  |
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| Galileo's third flyby of Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter's Galilean satellites, occurred on 05 April 1997
at 07:10 UTC. At that time, Galileo came about 3095 km from the surface of Ganymede (or about 3.1 Ganymede radii
from its center). "Before Galileo, we could only make educated guesses about the structure of the Jovian moons," said Dr. John Anderson, a planetary scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, CA. "Now, with the help of the spacecraft, we can measure the gravitational fields of the satellites and determine their interior structure and density. We can determine how the matter is distributed inside." |
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2348 BC Noah's ark grounded, Mount
Ararat (calculated date) More
...
1614 Indian princess Pocahontas marries English
colonist John Rolfe More
...
1621 Mayflower sails from Plymouth on a return
trip to England More
...
1722 Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island More
...
1753 British Museum forms (opens in 1759) More
...
1768 First US Chamber of Commerce forms (New York
NY)
1792 George Washington casts the first presidential
veto. More
...
1806 Isaac Quintard patents apple cider More
...
1874 Johann Strauss Sr's opera "Die Fledermaus,"
premieres in Vienna More
...
1881 Houston and Thomson were granted a patent
for a centrifugal separator More
...
1915 Heavyweight Jess Willard KOs Jack Johnson
in Havana More
...
1941In San Francisco, Castro & Fillmore streetcars
replaced by buses in Havana More
...
1948 WGN TV channel 9 in Chicago IL (IND) begins
broadcasting More
...
1951 Spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced
to death. More
...
1952 "Wheel of Fortune" by Kay Starr
topped the charts More
...
1955 Winston Churchill resigns as British PM. More
...
1958 "Tequila" by the Champs topped
the charts More
...
1962 NASA civilian pilot Neil A Armstrong takes
X-15 to an altitude of 180,000 feet More
...
1962 St Bernard Tunnel finished-Swiss/Italians
workers shake hands More
...
1963 Beatles receive their 1st silver disc (Please
Please Me) More
...
1964 First driverless trains run on the London
Underground More
...
1965 Lava Lamp Day celebrated More
...
1967 Philadelphia '76er Wilt Chamberlain sets
NBA record of 41 rebounds More
...
1969 "Dizzy" by Tommy Roe topped the
charts More
...
1971 Mount Etna erupts in Sicily More
...
1972 Baseball season is delayed due to a strike More
...
1973 NFL adopts jersey numbering system (ie quarterbacks,
1-19) More
...
1975 "Lovin' You" by Minnie Riperton
topped the charts More
...
1980 "Another Brick In The Wall (Pt.II)"
by Pink Floyd topped the charts More
...
1981 Philadelphia Flyers amass a record 2,621
penalty minutes
1982 St Louis Cardinals' Jim Kaat pitches in record
24th consecutive season More
...
1984 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks Wilt Chamberlain's
all-time career scoring record of 31,419 points More
...
1985 Broadcasters banded together to play the
single, "We Are the World", at 10:50 a.m. E.S.T. More
...
1986 "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco topped
the charts More
...
1986 Record for a throw-and-return boomerang toss
is set 397 feet (121 meters)
1987 Fox TV network premieres showing Married
With Children & Tracey Ullman More
...
1989 David Letterman becomes first network TV
series to use dolby stereo
1989 Solidarity granted legal status in Poland More
...
1990 John Stockton reaches 1000-assist mark for
NBA record 3 years in a row More
...
1991Compton Gamma Ray Observatory orbits Earth More
...
1993 Colorado Rockies first game - lose to New
York Mets 3-0 More
...
1993 Construction begins on Cleveland's Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame More
...
1993 Florida Marlins first game - beat Los Angeles
Dodgers 6-3 More
...
1997 Galileo, 3rd Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 7) More
...
2005 At 3 seconds after 1:02 AM it was 01:02:03 04/05/06. Thought you'd like to know.