MUSICAL OPENED ON THIS DAY IN 1949
On April 7, 1949, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South
Pacific opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway in New
York City. The romantic musical about World War II, which
touches on controversial racial themes, goes on to run for
almost five years, becoming one of the most popular musicals
of the 1950s.
The show won 10 Tony Awards, and six decades later, its
Lincoln Center revival would earn another seven, making
it the most Tony Award-winning show in New York theater
history.
FORD FOUNDER DIED ON THIS DAY IN 1947
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American
industrialist and business magnate. As founder of the Ford
Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making cars
affordable for middle-class Americans through the Fordism
system.
In 1911, he was awarded a patent for the transmission
mechanism that would be used in the Model T and other
automobiles. Ford was 83.
TENTH U.S. PRESIDENT INAUGURATED
On April 6, 1841, John Tyler was sworn in as president. Tyler was
elected as William Harrison’s vice president earlier in 1841 and
was suddenly thrust into the role of president when Harrison
died one month into office.
He was the first vice president to immediately assume the role
of president after a sitting president’s untimely exit and set the
precedent for succession thereafter.
Tyler’s death due to a stroke at 71 in 1862 was the only one in
presidential history not to be officially recognized in Washington,
because of his allegiance to the Confederate States of America.
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841)
HISTORY WAS MADE ON THIS DAY
Merle Haggard received many honors and awards for
his music, including a Kennedy Center Honor (2010);
a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2006); a BMI
Icon Award (2006) and induction into the Nashville
Songwriters Hall of Fame (1977), Country Music Hall
of Fame (1994) and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
(1997). He died on April 6, 2016—his 79th birthday—
at his ranch in Shasta County, California, having
recently suffered from double pneumonia.
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