FOX NEWS

President George Washington was inaugurated as the first
president of the United States on this day in history, April 30,
1789.

In his address, which he delivered at New York City’s Federal
Hall, Washington expressed his anxiety over the prospect of
leading a new nation.

At the time, New York City’s Federal Hall served as the U.S.
Capitol, according to the National Archives. 

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)

President John Adams approved legislation to appropriate
$5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for
the use of Congress,” thus establishing the Library of
Congress. The first books, ordered from London, arrived
in 1801 and were stored in the U.S. Capitol, the library’s
first home. The first library catalog, dated April 1802, listed
964 volumes and nine maps. Twelve years later, the British
army invaded the city of Washington and burned the Capitol,
including the then 3,000-volume Library of Congress.

Former president Thomas Jefferson, who advocated the
expansion of the library during his two terms in office,
responded to the loss by selling his personal library, the
largest and finest in the country, to Congress. 

The library. The purchase of Jefferson’s 6,487 volumes was
approved in the next year, and a professional librarian,
George Watterston, was hired to replace the House clerks
in the administration of the library. In 1851, a second major
fire at the library destroyed about two-thirds of its 55,000
volumes, including two-thirds of the Thomas Jefferson
library. Congress responded quickly and generously to
the disaster, and within a few years a majority of the lost
books were replaced.

Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826)

George Watterston
(October 23, 1783 – February 4, 1854)

William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901)

On this day in history, April 20, 1898, President William McKinley
asked Congress to declare war on Spain.

The declaration requested by the 25th U.S. president was in
response to an ongoing conflict between Spain and Cuba, the
latter located less 100 miles off the coast of Florida, as that
island country struggled for independence from Spain.

The U.S. Office of the Historian said on April 20, Congress
passed a joint resolution that acknowledged Cuban
independence.

Congress also authorized McKinley to use whatever military
measures he deemed necessary to guarantee Cuba’s
independence, the U.S. Office of the Historian noted.

  
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 1880 – 5 April 1964)

Gen. Douglas MacArthur delivered his farewell address to
Congress on this day in history, April 19, 1951, uttering the
famous line, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away."

Eight days before the speech, MacArthur had been relieved
of his duties as general of the U.S. Army by President Harry
S. Truman — putting an end to his storied military career. 

President Harry S Truman (left) relieved General
Douglas MacArthur (right) as commander of
United Nations forces in Korea on April 11, 1951.