Although April Fools’ Day, also called All Fools’ Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery.

Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when
France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as
called for by the Council of Trent in 1563.

People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start
of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during
the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes.

These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being
referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily
caught fish and a gullible person.

CAMILLE BOHANNON

On this day in 1984, President Ronald Reagan was preparing for his weekly radio broadcast when, during testing of the microphone, the President said of the Soviet Union, "My fellow Americans, I am
pleased to tell you that I just signed legislation that would outlaw
Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."

In Bloomington, MN, the Mall of America opened on this day in 1992. It
was the largest shopping mall in the United States.

Camille Bohannon

It began on this day in 1965.

President Ronald Reagan’s bombing Russia joke during a voice
test for a political advertisement causes a Cold War flap on this
day in 1984.

On this day in 1992, in Bloomington, MN, the Mall of America
opened. It was the largest shopping mall in the United States.

Haley’s photo from his Service Record.

Alexander Murray Palmer "Alex" Haley
(August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992)

Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956)

Jackson Pollock was one of the greatest artists of his generation, well known
for his innovative style of drip painting (shown below). He died at the age of
44 after driving drunk and crashing into a tree in New York.