Thursday May 1, 2014

KALW | By Ichabod Cranium

Published May 1, 2014 at 6:35 AM PDT

On This Day In …
1707 --- The Kingdom of Great Britain was created as a treaty merging England and Scotland took effect.

1751 --- America’s first cricket tournament was held in New York City. Cricket is a popular European sport, played by teams of 11 players who use bats, balls and wickets.

1786 --- Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro" premiered in Vienna. Figaro was the first collaboration between Mozart and librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, and for their source material they chose a controversial play by the French writer Beaumarchais:La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro, the second part of a trilogy that began with Le Barbier de Séville (later the basis for the Rossini opera). Figaro the play was censored in Beaumarchais's native

France over concern about its "subversive" plotline, which depicts the efforts of a Spanish nobleman, Count Almaviva, to seduce Suzanne, a beautiful young servant of his wife, only to be thwarted and humiliated by his wife, the Countess Rosina, working in concert with the Count's servant, Figaro, who is also Suzanne's fiancée. To the French nobility of the time, Figaro was seen as condoning class conflict, but Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte managed to allay any concerns on the part of their patron, the Hapsburg Emperor Joseph II, by transforming the story into a light comedy.

1805 --- The state of Virginia passed a law requiring all freed slaves to leave the state, or risk either imprisonment or deportation.

1841 --- The first wagon train left Independence, Missouri for California.
1851 --- The Great Exhibition opens to wide acclaim in the Crystal Palace in London. Inside the Crystal Palace, a giant glass-and-iron hall designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, more than 10,000 exhibitors

set up eight miles of tables. Technological wonders from around the world were on display, but the exposition was clearly dominated by Britain, the premier industrialized nation and workshop of the world. Conceived by Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, the Great Exposition was a rousing success, hosting 6 million visitors before it closed in October. The many goods displayed ranged from kitchen appliances to false teeth, silks to farm machinery.

1883 --- William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) had his first Wild West Show.
1889 --- Asa Candler published a full-page advertisement in The Atlanta Journal, proclaiming his wholesale and retail drug business as "sole proprietors of Coca Cola ... Delicious. Refreshing. Exhilarating. Invigorating." Mr. Candler did not actually achieve sole ownership until 1891 at a cost of $2,300.
1893 --- The World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago World's Fair) opened in Chicago, Illinois. It was held to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus' arrival in the New World in 1492 (the Fair was dedicated on October 21, 1892 but did not open to the public until May 1, 1893).
1926 --- Ford Motor Company becomes one of the first companies in America to adopt a five-day, 40-hour week for workers in its automotive factories. The policy would be extended to Ford's office workers the following August.

1931 --- President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City's Empire State Building, pressing a button from the White House that turns on the building's lights.
1931 --- Singer Kate Smith began her long and illustrious radio career with CBS on this, her birthday. The 24-year-old Smith started out with no sponsors and a paycheck of just $10 a week for the nationally broadcast daily program. However, within 30 days, her salary increased to a more respectable $1,500 a week!

1941 --- General Mills introduced 'Cheerioats.' The name was changed to 'Cheerios' in 1945.
1941 --- Months before its release, Orson Welles’ landmark film Citizen Kane began generating such controversy that Radio City

Music Hall eventually refused to show it. Instead,Citizen Kane, now revered as one of the greatest movies in history, made its debut at the smaller RKO Palace Theater .

1960 --- An American U-2 plane invaded Soviet airspace. The Soviets reacted by shooting down the plane piloted by the C.I.A.’s Francis Gary Powers. He was sentenced to solitary confinement for 10 years in "Matrosskaya Tishina". In 17 months, he was exchanged for Russian spy Rudolf Abel who had been exposed by the CIA.

1969 --- Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash taped a TV special at the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville.

1970 --- Students at Kent State University demonstrate in downtown Kent, Ohio in protest of the American invasion of Cambodia.
1970 --- Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin combined for the first time on Elton’s first American album simply titled, Elton John. The LP contained Elton’s first hit, Your Song, which made it to the top ten on the music charts in December.
1974 --- The Carpenters performed at President Nixon's request at a White House dinner for West German Chancellor Willy Brandt.
1982 --- I Love Rock ’N Roll, by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, appeared at the top ofthe pop music charts for the seventh, and final, week. The rocker stayed on the charts for 16 weeks. Jett from Philadelphia, PA played guitar and formed the all-female rock band, The Runaways in the mid-’70s. The Blackhearts were founded in 1980.
1991 --- Oakland Athletics outfielder Rickey Henderson steals his 939th base to break Lou Brock's record for stolen bases in a career.

Henderson stole a total of 1,406 bases in his major league career, almost 500 more than the next closest player. Henderson was also the premiere lead-off hitter of his generation.

1992 --- On the third day of the Los Angeles riots resulting from the Rodney King beating trial. King appeared in public to appeal for calm, he asked, "Can we all get along?"
1997 --- After 18 years of Conservative rule, British voters give the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair, a landslide victory in British parliamentary elections. In the poorest Conservative Party showing since 1832, Prime Minister John Major was rejected in favor of Scottish-born Blair, who at age 43 became the youngest British prime minister in more than a century.
1999 --- On Mount Everest, a group of U.S. mountain climbers discovered the body of George Mallory. Mallory had died in June of 1924 while trying to become the first person to reach the summit of Everest. At the time of the discovery it was unclear whether or not Mallory had actually reached the summit.

2000 --- The "Barbie for President" doll was released in stores.
2001 --- Hindus in Seattle filled suit against McDonald's restaurant chain for not disclosing the use of beef flavoring in its French Fries.

2005 --- A 9 foot, 640 pound freshwater catfish was caught by fishermen in northern Thailand on the Mekong River. According to many, this is the largest freshwater fish ever caught.
2011 --- President Barack Obama announced that Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 attacks, was killed by United States forces in Pakistan.

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