April in History

April 2, 1513 – Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon sighted Florida and claimed it for the Spanish Crown after landing at what is now St. Augustine.  About 500 Jewish and Italian seniors, traveling with their golf carts, disembarked from de Leon’s ship just in time for a 3 p.m. early senior discount dinner at the St. Augustine Golden Corral.

April 3, 1823 – The birthday of Tammany Hall’s ‘Boss,’ also known as William M. Tweed (1823–1878), who was born in New York City.  The ‘Tweed Ring’ of political corruption looted millions from the city, nearly bringing it to bankruptcy.  His corruption involved padding city bills by 85 percent and issuing checks to nonexistent people and companies.  His crimes were finally exposed through a series of critical editorial cartoons by Thomas Nast published in Harper’s Weekly.  Tweed was arrested and convicted on charges of larceny and forgery.  He died in prison.  Thank you, Mark Twain, for your quote that history doesn’t repeat itself, but “it does rhyme.” Here’s hoping someone comes up with a singy-song rhyme soon.

April 3, 1944 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 that African Americans cannot be barred from voting in the Texas Democratic primaries, and then again in 1952, 1961, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2001, 2008, 2013, 2020, and 2023.

April 9, 1865 – The Civil War ended when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House.  The terms of surrender, written by General Grant, allowed Northerners to say “pee-can” instead of “pee-cahn,” and also permitted Northerners to use words like “sweetie” and “honey” for people they don’t know.  Lastly, it demanded that Northern hospitality be on equal status with Southern hospitality.

April 11, 1970 – Apollo 13 launched the careers of several now-famous actors from Cape Kennedy at 2:13 p.m. Fifty-six hours into the flight, an oxygen tank exploded in the service module. Actor Kevin Bacon, who was observing the situation, saw a warning light that accompanied the bang and told actor Tom Hanks to say the line, “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.” Kevin Bacon, Tom Hanks, and Bill Paxton then pretended to load into the lunar module, using it as a “lifeboat,” and began a dangerous journey back to Earth, ultimately splashing down safely and ending with a happy, relieved audience.

April 18, 1906 – The San Francisco Earthquake struck at 5:13 a.m., followed by a massive fire caused by broken gas pipes. The fire burned uncontrollably for three days, destroying over 10,000 acres and killing 4,000 people. As a result, San Francisco passed a new law making it illegal to carry bread, cakes, or pastries meant for human consumption in open baskets or exposed containers.

April 21, 1836 – The Battle of San Jacinto between Texans led by Sam Houston and Mexican forces led by Santa Anna and Willie Nelson took place.  The Texans decisively defeated the Mexican forces, immediately establishing chains of Texas barbecue restaurants equipped with mechanical bulls, the Alamo Beer Company, and detention centers along the newly defined border.

April 21, 1785 – American artist and naturalist John J. Audubon was born in Haiti. Audubon had a tragic life. He was abandoned and rejected by his birth mother, like a chick after falling from its nest and being discovered and scented by an unknown human. He spent years in multiple foster homes, raised by families of angry blue jays. He taught himself to draw birds and flowers, and despite a hard childhood, he gained some notoriety later in life. Audubon flew the coop in 1851 at the age of 76.