This Month in History: April’s Defining Moments • Page 10

1902 CE, April 14

J. C. Penney opened his first store, on April 14, 1902. The store was named "Golden Rule", reflecting Penney's philosophy of treating his customers fairly and with honesty. Located in Kemmerer, Wyoming, it provided the foundation for the J.C Penney brand which was incorporated in 1913 after he bought out his two partners.

1906 CE, April 18

The devastating San Francisco earthquake strikes, on April 18, 1906 at 5:12 am, killing more than three thousand people and causing widespread destruction and fires; destroying 80% of the city. The death toll remains the greatest loss of life from a natural disaster in California's history and high on the lists of American disasters. More

1909 CE, April 6

American explorer and officer in the United States Navy Robert Edwin Peary is credited for reaching the geographical North Pole, on April 6, 1909, according to his expedition's records, although later analyses have questioned his claim and indicated, he fell short of reaching his goal.

1912 CE, April 15

The British luxury passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks on April 15, 1912, only five days into its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, USA. Approximately, 1,500 people of the 2,240 aboard died when it sank almost three hours after it struck an iceberg.

1913 CE, April 8

The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution establishing the direct election of U.S. Senators in each state was ratified on April 8, 1913. The amendment superseded Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were appointed by state legislatures.

1914 CE, April 20

The Colorado National Guard and guards from the Rockefeller-owned ,Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, attacked a tent colony of striking miners on April 20, 1914, who were demanding better wages, safety, and union recognition at Ludlow, Colorado. After a 14 hour battle killed 20 to 25 people, including 2 women and 11 children.

1915 CE, April 24

The Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire began on April 24, 1915. The systematic campaign of extermination against its Armenian population. It resulted in the deaths of an estimated 664,000 to 1.5 million people by 1923. Orchestrated by the Young Turk government, the campaign included massacres, forced labor, and death marches into the desert.

1916 CE, April 10

The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA) is established on April 10, 1916 in New York City at the Hotel Martinique on 32nd and Broadway. Its first President was Robert White and the inaugural PGA Championship was held in October 1916 at Siwanoy Country Club in Bronxville, New York.

1916 CE, April 24

The "Easter Rising" begins in Ireland against British rule began on Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, as Members of the Irish Citizen Army and Irish Volunteers seized strategic points in Dublin. It was quickly suppressed by the British Army but it eventually paved the way to Ireland's independence in 1922. More

1917 CE, April 6

The United States enters World War I on April 6, 1917, three years after it had started, as the House of Representatives voted to declare war on Germany. The Senate had approved the same resolution two days earlier after President Woodrow Wilson had addressed Congress in favor of the declaration. More

1917 CE, April 16

Vladimir Lenin, leader of the revolutionary Bolshevik Party, arrived in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), on April 16, 1917, after 10 years in exile and one month after the Tsar's forced abdication. He immediate published his "April Thesis", calling for "all power to the soviets"; pushing the Bolshevik party toward a confrontational stance leading to the October Revolution.

1918 CE, April 21

Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, the German flying ace known as the "Red Baron" is killed in action on April 21, 1918, near Vaux-sur-Sommeon at age 25.

1919 CE, April 13

The Jallianwala Bagh massacre also known as the Amritsar massacre, took place on April 13, 1919. in Amritsar, Punjab, British India; where troops of Gurkhas of Nepalese origin and Sikh infantrymen of the British Indian Army, led by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer were ordered to shoot at the crowd, continuing to fire even as the protestors tried to flee. From 379 to 1,500 people were killed with another 1,200 injured. More

1922 CE, April 3

Joseph Stalin became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on April 3, 1922. His administrative role, initially thought to be minor, gave him control over party bureaucracy and government appointments, allowing him to eliminate political rivals like Leon Trotsky and to consolidate authority. Stalin become the sole leader of the USSR by 1929.

1922 CE, April 7

U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall secretly leased the federal oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, to Oil men Harry F. Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny. The no-bid lease, dated, April 7, 1922. was part of the Teapot Dome scandal, which revealed multiple bribes in exchange for access to naval oil reserves. Fall was convicted for bribery in October 1929.

1923 CE, April 18

The original Yankee Stadium, one of the most iconic sports venues, opened on April 18, 1923, in the Bronx, New York City. It was referred to as "The House That Ruth Built"

1924 CE, April 1

Adolf Hitler was sentenced on April 1, 1924, to the minimum allowable sentence of five years at Landsberg Prison after he was found guilty of high treason, following his failed 1923 "Beer Hall Putsch".

1924 CE, April 6

The first successful flight around the world takes off on April 6, 1924 from Seattle's Sand Point Naval Air Station. Eight U.S. Army Air Service pilots and mechanics in four airplanes left to carry out the first circumnavigation of the globe by air. They completed their mission 175 days later, returning on on September 28, 1924. More

1927 CE, April 21

The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, was the most destructive flood in United States history. It extended across Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

1933 CE, April 20

U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's issued a proclamation on April 20, 1933, formally suspending the gold standard and prohibiting the export of gold in order to combat the economic damage caused by the Great Depression. The proclamation also prohibited the Treasury and financial institutions from converting paper currency or deposits into gold coins and ingots.