The United States Mint established, 1792
On 2nd April 1792, the U.S. Congress passed An act establishing a mint, and regulating the Coins of the United States, more commonly known as The Coinage Act. This legislation established…
The Beatles hold the top five slots on U.S. singles chart, 1964
In April 1963, The Beatles had their first number one hit single in the United Kingdom. “From Me To You” was the first of eleven consecutive singles released by the…
Prohibition ended in Finland, 1932
At 10 am on the 5th April 1932, the shops of Oy Alkoholiliike Ab opened for the first time for the sale of alcohol, ending nearly thirteen years of prohibition.…
First modern Olympiad, 1896
On 6th April 1896, the Greek King, George I, officially opened the first summer Olympic games of the modern period at the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, Greece, with the words:…
First recorded sale of friction matches, 1827
On 7th April 1827, John Walker, of Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, England, sells the first friction matches in his chemist shop to a local solicitor called Hixon. Walker served his…
French Protestants granted freedom of worship, 1802
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIVin October 1685, made Protestant worship in France illegal. This remained the case until they received limited toleration during the French…
Emily Brontë died, 1848
Born on 30th July 1818 at the Parsonage in Thornton, near Bradford, Yorkshire, Emily Jane Brontë was the fifth of six children of Revd. Patrick Brontë and his wife Maria.…
Electricity generated by nuclear power for the first time, 1951
In 1934 the Italian physicist Enrico Fermi produced nuclear fission for the first time for which he received the Nobel Prize for Physics four years later. After receiving his prize,…
Rochdale Pioneers opened their first store, 1844
In 1844 a group of twenty-eight artisans in Rochdale, near Manchester, established the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers. While not the first co-operative in England, the Rochdale Pioneers set out…
Voyager completed record flight, 1986
In 1980, a former United States Air Force pilot called Dick Rutan met fellow pilot Jeana Yeager (no relation of Chuck Yeager) at an airshow in Chino, California. Romance blossomed…