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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On This Day April 26

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Pripyat, Ukraine. The accident occurred when the fourth reactor suffered a huge power increase. This led to the core of the reactor exploding. Due to this explosion, large amounts of radioactive particles were released into the atmosphere. Because there was no containment building to trap the radiation, large areas of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia were badly contaminated.

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On This Day April 25

The first execution by guillotine was performed on highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier at 3.30 in the afternoon on April 25, 1792. He was beheaded in front of what is now the city hall of Paris. Pelletier was instantly decapitated, which did not please the crowd. They felt it was too swift and clinical to provide proper entertainment, as compared to previous execution methods, such as hanging, death-by-sword, or breaking at the wheel.

 A replica of the Halifax Gibbet, an early guillotine, or decapitating machine. By Paul Glazzard, 

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On This Day April 24

On April 24, 1792 Dietrich, Mayor of Strasbourg, remarked that the French soldiers had no spirited marching song. That night, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, a young captain of engineers, picked up his violin and composed the words and music of a stirring song. De Lisle sung his tune for the first time during a patriotic banquet at Dietrich's home. We now know it as the famous France national anthem  "La Marseillaise."

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On This Day April 23

After Charles II returned from exile in Europe he was received in London on his 30th birthday to public acclaim. He marked his Restoration to the English  throne by riding over London Bridge with 300 gentlemen, brandishing swords and wearing ‘cloth-of-silver’ doublets. Charles was crowned at Westminster Abbey on April 23, 1661. He was the last sovereign to make the traditional procession from the Tower of London to Westminster Abbey the day before the coronation.

Coronation portrait by John Michael Wright, c. 1661

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On This Day April 22

On April 22, 1500, Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral and his crew became the first Europeans to land in Brazil when they anchored at Monte Pascoal. On landing there, Cabral built a wooden cross and together with his crew they knelt before it and kissed it. This was to demonstrate to the natives their veneration for the cross. Cabral named this new land, “Vera Cruz,” meaning “True Cross,” though it soon became known as ‘Brazil’ after the brazilwood found on the coast.

Romantic depiction of Cabral's first landing in Brazil

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On This Day April 21

Eighteen-year-old Henry VIII ascended to the English throne after his father, Henry VII died on April 21, 1509. He was the first English king to be addressed as "your majesty". Before then, "Your Highness" or "Your Lord King" was always used. Henry's military and diplomatic successes against France and Scotland set England on the road to becoming a major European power.

Eighteen-year-old Henry VIII after his coronation in 1509

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On This Day April 20

Published on April 20, 1841, Edgar Allan Poe's The Murders in the Rue Morgue was the first ever detective story. The short story established many tropes that would become common elements in mystery fiction: the eccentric but brilliant detective, the bumbling constabulary, the storytelling device where the detective announces his solution and then explains the reasoning leading up to it. Though widely read and admired, Murders in the Rue Morgue did not popularize the genre.

Poe's original manuscript for "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"

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On This Day April 19

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier married on April 19, 1956 in a large formal ceremony at Monaco's Cathedral of St. Nicholas. The three-hour public event was televised and was watched by thirty million people, a huge amount of viewers for the time. Grace Kelly wore an elaborate ivory dress created by Hollywood designer Helen Rose. Four hundred fifty yards of silk and lace were used to make the bride's wedding gown.

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On This Day April 18

An earthquake struck the coast of Northern California including San Francisco at 5:13 a.m. on April 18, 1906 with a moment magnitude of 7.8. Devastating fires broke out in the city that lasted for several days. As a result, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed. The death toll from the earthquake and resulting fire remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history.

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On This Day April 17

13 months after she was imprisoned in the Tower of London, Princess Elizabeth was recalled to court on April 17, 1555 to attend the final stages of her half sister Mary 1st's apparent pregnancy.  Once Elizabeth was recalled to court, her future hinged on if Mary was going to give birth to a healthy child. When it became clear that Mary was not pregnant, no one believed any longer that she could have a child and Elizabeth's succession as Queen Elizabeth I seemed assured.

The Lady Elizabeth in about 1546, by an unknown artist

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On This Day April 16

The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for the exiled House of Stuart. Stuart pressed as far south as Derby, but The English Catholics failed to rise and the Jacobite army retreated into Scotland. At The Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746, the Scots lost within the first hour 1,500 men while the government troops had lost a mere 50. When Stuart realized the battle was lost he gave the order "Every man for himself".

The Battle of Culloden, oil on canvas, David Morier, 1746.

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