Did you know that today is the 145th anniversary of the Lincoln assassination? He was shot at Ford theater while watching "our American Cousin" on April 14. He died in the early hours of April 15th.

His son, Robert Todd Lincoln, was at his father's side when he died. He was also present
when James Garfield and William McKinley were
shot, which fueled his life long belief that he was jinxed.

In a strange twist of fate, his own life was spared by Edwin Booth in 1863, at a railroad station.

2008 is the 100th anniversary of Ford's Model-T. There will be all sorts of events this year here in Dearborn and around the U.S, to commemorate the event. Today is opening day at Greenfield Village and they have a number of events scheduled.

Good Morning!

I like this thread. Thanks, Meg!

It is interesting that when I was looking for history tidbits for April 16th I found that "on
April 16, 1862, President Lincoln signed an act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia, an important step in the long road toward full emancipation and enfranchisement for African Americans."

This event, of course, was also a step in the wheel of events which lead to his asassination.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html

When I went to Washington, DC, I visited both the theatre where he was shot and the house across the street where he was carried to die.

There is a historian in me somewhere that wants to remember the past and would like to learn from its mistakes,

Here's one we should all commemorate in the Americas. On this date, in 1492, Christopher Columbus signed a contract with Queen Isabella of Spain authorizing him to find a new route to Asia and the wonderful spices and silks to be found there. Hmmm... we all know how that worked out! LOl

Speaking of the age of exploration, and I find this ironic, one dangerous and exciting voyage was just starting, while on this same date another one ended. On this date, in 1970, the crippled spacecraft, Apollo 13, safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

Today is the 98th anniversary of the 1906 San Fransico earthquake. Here is a link to the article as it appeared in the New York Times describing the fires and devastation.

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0418.html#article

Two events happened today that affect quilters. Open your favorite quilt book and look for the ISBN, the number designated by the Library of Congress. Today the LoC is 207 years old having been created in 1800.

Everyone of you reading this is affected by the second event. On this day, in 1981, IBM introduced its first PC, and the rest, as they say, is history.

April 30, a busy day in history:

1789- Geroge Washington took office as first President of USA

1803- Louisiana Territory purchased from France

1812- Louisiana becomes 18th state

1900- Casey Jones dies in Illinois Central Railroad train wreck. He stayed at the controls instead of jumping from the engine in an effort to save the lives of passengers.

1970- President Richard Nixon sends troops into Cambodia

1975- Saigon falls to Communist forces

1997- the "coming out" episode of Ellen airs on ABC

Jennell-

This one's for you! We have been talking about Sooners and Boomers lately- on this date in 1890, the Oklahoma Territory was organized.

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! Many people think that today is the Mexican Independance Day. In actuality, that is September 16 and is a legal federal holiday in Mexico.

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the initial battle won by rebel Mexican forces over Maxillian, who was a puppet of Napolean III. It is not a national holiday in Mexico, but is celebrated regionally. Regardless of its origin, it is a wonderful opportunity to soak up some Mexican culture, eat burritos and tamales and share a pitcher of Margaritas. Somebody get Jimmy Buffet, quick! LOL

How many of you remember this? On this date in 1961, Alan Shepherd became the first American to orbit the Earth in a spaceship. I remember my entire school was hered in the gymnasium. Teachers had brought in a couple dozen TV sets and set them around the room. Classes sat huddled around the small portable black and white sets to watch this historic event. The thing I remember the most was the silence. It was deafening, as four- to five-hundred grade school kids sat in absolute awe. I was probably the squirmiest of the bunch. My dad had had a direct hand in developing the telemetry on board, and while I didn't fully apppreciate what that meant at six years of age, I could barely contain my pride.

Today is the 33 anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Viewing a display of the recovered wreckage and of the Coast Guard's involvement in the search at a museum in Sault Ste. Marie was what convinced DS1 to join the USCG when he was just 7 years old.

I think this is one of the best videos around. It includes news footage and radio transmissions from what I believe is the Anderson, the freighter that was following the Fitz into Whitefish Bay, to the Coast Guard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iquCHSkmUek&NR=1

Yesterday, they rang the bell in Mariner's Episcopal Church in Detroit 29 times, just as they have every year for the past 33 years. It is quite an inspiring service. I used to take all the little ones in our family down there. We used to also go for the blessing of the fleet in early spring.

Thank you for posting that video, Meg. I'm sending the link to my daughter who was interested in learning about what happenned. My DHs family lost their barn the night that freighter went down. They had a farm in East Jordan, off lake Charlevoix, high on a hill. The winds here in northern Michigan took out quite a few barns. I cant imagine being out on the big lakes in that kind of weather. We've had a closed casement window, sucked open and pull off the frame from some of the lake winds. It's amazing how strong that wind can get.