On This Day May 1

When the Empire State Building was constructed in New York between 1930 and 1931, it cost $41 million to build. The building was officially dedicated by President Herbert Hoover on May 1, 1931.At 381 meters (1,250 feet) tall it was the tallest building in the world for the following forty-one years after it was completed. It is named after the popular nickname for New York, The Empire State.

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On This Day April 30

George Washington was elected as America's first President in 1789 as a Federalist. Washington won 69 electoral votes, John Adams 34 votes. No one else received more than nine. He was inaugurated on April 30, 1789. As president, Washington pulled in a salary of $25,000 a year. That's roughly $1 million in today's currency. Apparently excited by his newfound purchasing power, Washington started living it up, reportedly buying leopard-skin robes for all his horses.

Washington's inauguration

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On This Day April 29

Charles Dickens started his first tour giving readings from his works on April 29, 1858. He made 129 appearances in 49 different towns throughout the UK. In his lifetime Dickens made more money from his lectures than he did from his novels. During his 1867 reading tour of USA, the Americans went into a frenzy about Dickens. He gave 76 performances for which he earned $228,000. After expenses of $39,000 Dickens was able to bank nearly £19,000.

Charles Dickens public reading 1867

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On This Day April 28

The first horse-drawn omnibus service was started by a businessman named Stanislas Baudry in the French city of Nantes in 1823 using two spring-suspended carriages, each for 16 passengers. It was a success and Baudry moved to Paris and launched the first omnibus service there on April 28, 1828. The service ran every 15 minutes between La Madeleine and La Bastille. Soon, there were 100 omnibuses in service in Paris, with 18 different itineraries. A journey cost 25 centimes.

Illustration of the car "Entreprise Générale des Omnibus" on an old map of Paris 

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On This Day April 27

John Milton published Paradise Lost, written in 12 books in 1667. Blind and impoverished, he sold his copyright for Paradise Lost on April 27, 1667 to Samuel Simmons, a London Bookseller, for a paltry £5, plus another £5 after three additions of 1500 copies had been sold. Paradise Lost was the first great poem written in blank verse. Milton wrote in the preface: "The troublesome and modern bondage of Rhyming."

Title page of Paradise Lost, London: 1667, by John Milton 

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