On April 30, 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first
American president and delivered the first inaugural speech at
Federal Hall in New York City. Elements of the ceremony set
tradition; presidential inaugurations have deviated little in the
two centuries since Washington’s inauguration.
Ulysses S. Grant (April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885)
Ulysses S. Grant, Civil War leader and 18th president of the
United States, was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant,
Ohio.
The son of a tanner, Grant showed little enthusiasm for joining
his father’s business, so the elder Grant enrolled his son at
West Point in 1839.
Though Grant later admitted he had no interest in the military
apart from honing his equestrian skills, he graduated in 1843
and went on to serve in the Mexican-American War, though
he opposed it on moral grounds. He then left his beloved wife
and children again to fulfill a tour of duty in California and
Oregon.
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On April 25, 1945, President Harry S. Truman learned the
full details of the Manhattan Project, in which scientists
were attempting to create the first atomic bomb.
The information thrust upon Truman a momentous decision:
whether or not to use the world’s first weapon of mass
destruction.
The first bomb was exploded over Hiroshima on August 6,
1945, and a second was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9.
The Japanese quickly surrendered. Although other nations
have developed atomic weapons and nuclear technology
since 1945, Truman remains the only world leader to have
ever used an atomic bomb against an enemy.
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972)
On April 24, 1980, an ill-fated military operation to rescue
the 52 American hostages held in Tehran ended with eight
U.S. servicemen dead and no hostages rescued.
With the Iran Hostage Crisis stretching into its sixth month
and all diplomatic appeals to the Iranian government ending
in failure, President Jimmy Carter ordered the military mission
as a last ditch attempt to save the hostages.
During the operation, three of eight helicopters failed, crippling
the crucial airborne plans. The mission was then canceled at
the staging area in Iran, but during the withdrawal one of the
retreating helicopters collided with one of six C-130 transport
planes, killing eight service members and injuring five.
The next day, a somber Jimmy Carter gave a press conference
in which he took full responsibility for the tragedy. The hostages
were not released for another 270 days.
President Carter flew to West Germany to greet the Americans
on their way home.
SANDY KOZEL
On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson, at age 28, became the first
African American player in Major League Baseball’s modern
era when he steps onto Ebbets Field in Brooklyn to compete
for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson broke the color barrier
in a sport that had been segregated for more than 50 years.
Exactly 50 years later, on April 15, 1997, Jackie Robinson’s groundbreaking career was honored and his uniform number,
42, was retired from Major League Baseball by Commissioner
Bud Selig in a ceremony attended by over 50,000 fans at New
York City’s Shea Stadium.
Robinson’s was the first-ever number retired by all teams in
the league.
1972
