This Week in History

April 20

Erika Farrell was born.

Raymond Scott was born.

1912 – The Boston Red Sox played their first game at Fenway Park. They beat the N.Y. Highlanders (who in 1913 would become known as the Yankees) by the score of 7-6.

2008 – Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race.

April 21

Sharon Fein Feldman was born.

JP Stathis was born.

1980 – Rosie Ruiz was the first woman to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. She was later disqualified for cheating.

1997 – The ashes of Timothy Leary, Gene Roddenberry, and 22 others blasted into space for the first space funerals.

April 22

Michael Donohue was born.

Sean McLernon was born.

Richard Tirado was born.

1864 – Congress authorized the inscription “In God We Trust” on coins minted as U.S. currency.

1970 – The first Earth Day was observed.

April 23

Mairead Fitzgerald was born.

Victoria Mahon was born.

Mike O’Neil was born.

1954 – Hank Aaron hit the first of his 755 home runs.

1985 – Coca-Cola announced that it was changing its formula and introduced New Coke.

April 24 

Dee Roberts was born.

Amy Mahon was born.

1898 – Spain declared war on the U.S.

April 25

Eugene Brennan was born.

Ashlee Ferriola was born.

1928 – The first seeing eye dog was presented to Morris S. Frank.

1945 – Delegates met in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.

April 26

1865 – John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s assassin, was surrounded by federal troops in a barn in Virginia. He was shot and killed, either by the soldiers or by his own hand.

1986 – The worst nuclear power plant accident in history occurred at Chernobyl, near Kiev, U.S.S.R.