Sunday, April 18, 2010 — The designer of the universe apparently intended for the events listed here to occur on this date. Unless otherwise noted, none of them were our idea; complaints should be addressed to the diety of your choice.
These entries are terse because unlike the Interwebs, newsprint is finite. Admiral Fowle’s Piscataqua River Tidal Guide accomodates fourteen of these on a single page. An example is shown at right; the original size is 1.4 inches by 5.9 inches.
This digital medium being what it is, the reader might reasonably expect to find here links to further resources regarding these events. If we ever sell enough subscriptions to allow us to hire enough help to get that acomplished, perhaps we will.
2006—“I’m the decider,” says George W. Bush. “What’s best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense.”
1988—In retaliation for the near-destruction of the U.S.S. Roberts, U.S. Naval forces destroy two of Iran’s oil platforms and sinks two of its frigates in the Persian Gulf.
1977—The federal frame-up of Leonard Peltier succeeds.
1971—Hundreds of anti-war Vietnam veterans gather in Washington, DC as Operation Dewey Canyon III begins.
1971—Howard Hughes, world’s richest man, dies intestate.
1968—The Army admits that releases of nerve gas from the Dugway Proving Grounds are responsible for the deaths of more than 6,400 Idaho sheep.
1967—One day after announcing his opposition, Calif. Gov. Ronald Reagan announces he supports a new Redwood National Park.
1955—RIP Albert Einstein.
1942—Eighty men in 16 bombers take off from the U.S.S. Hornet, bomb Tokyo, and ditch their planes in China. Ninety percent of them survive the mission.
1906—An earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, killing 500 to 700 people.
1844—For a second time, believers in William Miller’s Doomsday prediction are disappointed.
1842—Opponents of the established Rhode Island government, which restricts voting to landowning males, hold another election and select Thomas W. Dorr as Governor. Rhode Island now has two governments.
1775—Paul Revere gets busted as Dr. Sam Prescott warns Concord of the impending arrival of British troops. Isaiah Thomas’s printing press (which he bought from Zechariah Fowle) is spirited off to Worcester.