On April 7, 1940, a U.S. postage stamp honoring Booker T. Washington was issued.
It was the first time that a U.S postage stamp honored an African American.
Image via LOC, no known restrictions
F. Summers, Presidential cobbler.
April 7, 1921
Image via LOC, no known restrictions
On April 7, 1788, Rufus Putnam and other pioneers established a settlement along the Muskingum River in the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio. It was named “Marietta” in honor of the French Queen, Marie Antoinette.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
John Adams signed the Mississippi Organic Act on April 7, 1798, officially establishing the Mississippi Territory—a pivotal moment in the westward expansion of the United States.
The man pictured is Revolutionary War veteran Winthrop Sargent who was appointed as the first governor of the Mississippi Territory by John Adams a month later.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Loss of the Steamboat Swallow while on her trip from Troy down the Hudson River to New York City, on Monday evening April 7, 1845. When opposite Athens (near Albany) she struck a large rock, caught fire, broke in two and sunk.
Nearly 60 lives were lost in the tragedy.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
“Father of American Football” Walter Camp was born on April 7, 1859 in New Britain, Connecticut.
Player, coach, writer and gridiron rules developer Camp is the person credited for creating the line of scrimmage in football.
Image of Camp when he was Yale’s Captain via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Esther Edwards Burr, the mother of third Vice President of the United States, Aaron Burr, passed away due to a fever on April 7, 1758. She was only 26 and left Aaron an orphan at the age of 2.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On today’s date April 7, 1776: Continental Navy Captain John Barry of the USS Lexington captured an armed tender of the British Navy known as the Edward.
Barry wrote:
“In sight of the Capes of Virginia, April 7, 1776.
Gentlemen :
I have the pleasure to acquaint you that at 1 P.M. this day I fell in with the sloop Edward, belonging to the Liverpool frigate. She engaged us near two glasses.
They killed two of our men and wounded two more. We shattered! her in a terrible manner, as you may see. We killed and wounded several of her crew. I shall give you a particular account of the powder and arms taken out of her, as well as my proceedings in general. I have the happiness to acquaint you that all our people behaved with much courage.
I am, gentlemen, your humble servant,
John Barry.”
Source:
https://archive.org/details/biographicalsket0000tagg/page/180/mode/1up?view=theater
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
April 7, 1967: A Marine Captain, 27, of Shreveport, Louisiana, has a last swallow of coffee before going on a strike mission against Viet Cong fortified positions 30 miles south of Chu Lai.
Image from USMC Archives via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
This black-and-white photograph encapsulates a moment of sacrifice and resilience during World War II. On April 7, 1945, a kamikaze aircraft struck the flight deck of the USS Hancock amid the Battle of Okinawa. The attack destroyed several planes, and its bomb detonated near the port catapult. The tragedy claimed the lives of 62 American sailors, while 71 others sustained injuries. Despite the severe damage and loss, the crew managed to extinguish the fires within 30 minutes and restored the carrier to operational status in under an hour, demonstrating extraordinary determination and bravery.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
American jazz singer Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Image: Billie Holiday and Mister,
New York, N.Y. in 1947
by William P. Gottlieb via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
Born April 7, 1948 John Oates (right) is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, record producer and one half of the popular pop duo Daryl Hall & John Oates (that’s really how the two like to be referred to). In their lengthy careers the pair has released an impressive 18 albums – eight went platinum and six gold.
Image by Gary Harris, CCA-SA 2.0 Generic via Wikimedia Commons.
James Garner was born on April 7, 1928 in Norman, Oklahoma. At the end of WWII the young sixteen-year-old enlisted as a United States Merchant Marine.
He also served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was awarded not one, but two Purple Hearts.
Image: Connie Stevens & James Garner, publicity photo for the TV show Maverick c. 1959 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On April 7, 1963, American golf pro Jack Nicklaus won his first Masters Tournament.
Here is Jack receiving the green jacket from the previous year’s winner, Arnold Palmer.
Image via Alamy
April 7, 1927
Herbert Hoover, then US Secretary of Commerce, takes part in first public demonstration of “inter-city television” broadcasting in 1927. Hoover was in Washington and was seen on screens at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in New York. Others are telephone executives and Judge Stephen Davis, solicitor for the Dept of Commerce
Image via Alamy
Women from all parts of the Union marching through the streets of Washington to the Capitol, on April 7, to present the suffrage petitions to members of Congress
– 1913
via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions
“Shiloh was the severest battle fought at the West during the war, and but few in the East equalled it for hard, determined fighting. I saw an open field, in our possession on the second day, over which the Confederates had made repeated charges the day before, so covered with dead that it would have been possible to walk across the clearing, in any direction, stepping on dead bodies, without a foot touching the ground. On our side National and Confederate troops were mingled together in about equal proportions; but on the remainder of the field nearly all were Confederates. On one part, which had evidently not been ploughed for several years, probably because the land was poor, bushes had grown up, some to the height of eight or ten feet. There was not one of these left standing unpierced by bullets. The smaller ones were all cut down.”
– Ulysses S. Grant from his Personal Memoirs
The two-day Battle of Shiloh ended on April 7, 1862.
