April 22 historic events
1864 The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 which mandates that the inscription “In God We Trust” be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.
The 1864 two-cent piece was the first coin to carry this motto. After it was omitted from the $10 and $20 gold coins of 1907, congress passed a law requiring that it appear on all coins minted thereafter (except for the penny and nickel, upon which it’s stamped, anyway).
1884 U.S. recognizes King Leopold II’s Congo Free State.
Belgium’s colonization of the Congo was particularly vicious and brutal. “Though he (Leopold) extracted a personal fortune from the Congo, his harsh regime was directly or indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people.” – wikipedia
1897 New York City Jewish newspaper “Forward” begins publishing (still active).
1912 Pravda, the “voice” of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publication in Saint Petersburg.
1915 The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
1954 Red Scare: The Army-McCarthy Hearings begin.
“Tailgunner Joe” McCarthy led the witch-hunt in a shameful period in U.S. history. He had zero ethics, zero honesty, and was eager to burnish his own credentials by smearing an ruining innocent people. Even WWII hero and Presidential candidate Eisenhower was intimidated by McCarthy to the extent that he backed off from his planned defense of General George Marshall.
1962 New York Mets tie a NL record by losing 9 straight to start season.
Amazin’
1964 The 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its first season.
The Unisphere in Queens, NY is among the remnants of that event.
1972 Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts anti-war protests in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco.
1979 The Albert Einstein Memorial is unveiled at The National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC.
1993 The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. is dedicated.
2004 Pro football player Pat Tillman, who’d traded in a multimillion-dollar contract to serve as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, was killed by friendly fire.
2008 The United States Air Force retires the remaining F-117 Nighthawk aircraft in service.
F-117, aka the Stealth fighter. Unlike the fictional Soviet “Firefox”, this radar-evading plane was only capable of subsonic flight.
Irony: Vladimir Lenin (1870) and Alexander Kerensky (1881) share this birthday.