Today is April 19 2015

National Garlic Day: More

• National Hanging Out Day: More
  By Project Laundry List and encourages the use of outdoor clothesline instead of electrical dryers.
• Humorous Day: More
• John Parker Day: More
  From Wikipedia: 'was an American colonial farmer, mechanic and soldier who commanded the Lexington militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775'
• Dutch-American Friendship Day: More
  In 1782, the first American Embassy in the world was at The Hague, Netherlands.
• National Infertility Awareness Week: More
  First day of Apr. 19-25 event. 2015 theme: 'You are not alone'
• Osteopathy Awareness Week: More
  First day of Apr. 19-25 event, in Australia. From the site: 'Osteopathy, statistically the fastest growing health profession in Australia, is a form of drug-free, manual healthcare that focuses on a whole-of-body approach to health by treating and strengthening the musculoskeletal framework. In 2013, there were 1,837 registered osteopaths, 88% of whom were employed in the osteopathy field.'
• PSPA Awareness Week: More
  In Great Britain. First day of Apr. 19-26 event. From the site: 'PSP is caused by the progressive death of nerve cells in the brain, leading to difficulty with balance, movement, vision, speech and swallowing.'
• National Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day: More

• In 1775, American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolutionary War.
  From Wikipedia: 'The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), also known as the American War of Independence and the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the armed conflict between Great Britain and thirteen of its North American colonies, which had declared themselves the independent United States of America. Early fighting took place primarily on the North American continent. France, eager for revenge after its defeat in the Seven Years' War, signed an alliance with the new nation in 1778 that proved decisive in the ultimate victory. The conflict gradually expanded into a world war with Britain combating France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Fighting also broke out in India between the British East India Company and the French allied Kingdom of Mysore.'
  
  'On the night of April 18, 1775, General Gage sent 700 men to seize munitions stored by the colonial militia at Concord, Massachusetts. Riders including Paul Revere alerted the countryside, and when British troops entered Lexington on the morning of April 19, they found 77 Minutemen formed up on the village green. Shots were exchanged, killing several Minutemen. The British moved on to Concord, where a detachment of three companies was engaged and routed at the North Bridge by a force of 500 minutemen. As the British retreated back to Boston, thousands of militiamen attacked them along the roads, inflicting many casualties before timely British reinforcements prevented a total disaster. With the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the war had begun'.
  - At FamousDailY: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1924, The The National Barn Dance debuted on the WLS radio station.
  From Wikipedia: 'National Barn Dance, broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois starting in 1924, was one of the first American country music radio programs and a direct precursor of the Grand Ole Opry.
  
  National Barn Dance was founded by Edgar L. Bill. To him goes the credit for arranging to have a program of "down-home" tunes broadcast from radio station WLS, of which Bill was then director. Having lived on a farm, he knew how people loved the familiar music and informal spirit of old-fashioned barn dance music. The first broadcast was an impromptu sustaining program. An avalanche of telephone calls and letters indicated a definite demand from the public for this type of broadcast, and National Barn Dance was born. It first aired on WLS on April 19, 1924 and originated from the Eighth Street Theater starting in 1931. The show was picked up by NBC Radio in 1933. NBC expanded the program's coverage in 1942, adding it to the schedules of international shortwave stations. In 1946 it switched to the ABC Radio network and aired until 1952 on Saturday nights from6:30 p.m. to midnight'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1939, The state of Connecticut approved the Bill of Rights for the U.S. Constitution after 148 years.
  From Wikipedia: 'Three states did not complete action on the twelve articles of amendment when they were initially put before the states. Connecticut and Georgia found a Bill of Rights unnecessary and so refused to ratify. Both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court ratified a number of the amendments (the Senate adopted 10 of 12 and the House 9 of 12), but failed to reconcile their two lists or to send official notice to the Secretary of State of the ones they did agree upon. All three later ratified the Constitutional amendments originally known as Articles 3-12 as part of the 1939 commemoration of the Bill of Rights' sesquicentennial: Massachusetts on March 2, Georgia on March 18, and Connecticut on April 19. Connecticut and Georgia would also later ratify Article Two, on May 13, 1987 and February 2, 1988 respectively'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1948, Launch of ABC-TV. Radio was Oct. 12 1943.
  From Wikipedia: 'ABC originally launched on October 12, 1943 as a radio network, separated from and serving as the successor to the NBC Blue Network, which had been purchased by Edward J. Noble. It extended its operations to television in 1948, following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks CBS and NBC. In the mid-1950s, ABC merged with United Paramount Theatres, a chain of movie theaters that formerly o-3perated as a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures. Leonard Goldenson, who had been the head of UPT, made the new television network profitable by helping develop and greenlight many successful series. In the 1980s, after purchasing an 80% interest in cable sports channel ESPN, the network's parent merged with Capital Cities Communications, owner of several print publications, and television and radio stations. In 1996, most of Capital Cities/ABC's assets were purchased by The Walt Disney Company'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1971, Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.
  From Wikipedia: 'Salyut 1 (DOS-1) was the first space station of any kind, launched by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. More stations followed in the Salyut program, and heritage of that space station program is still in use on the ISS.
  
  'Salyut 1 originated as a modification of the military Almaz space station program then in development. After the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon in July 1969, the Soviets began shifting the primary emphasis of their manned space program to orbiting space stations, with a possible lunar landing later in the 1970s if the N-1 booster became flight-worthy (which it didn't). One other motivation for the space station program was a desire to one-up the US Skylab program then in development. The basic structure of Salyut 1 was adapted from the Almaz with a few modifications and would form the basis of all Soviet space stations through Mir.
  
  Launch was planned for April 12, 1971 to coincide with the 10th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight on Vostok 1, but technical problems delayed it until the 19th. The first crew launched later in the Soyuz 10 mission, but they ran into troubles while docking and were unable to enter the station; the Soyuz 10 mission was aborted and the crew returned safely to Earth. Its second crew launched in Soyuz 11 and remained on board for 23 days. This was the first time in the history of spaceflight that a space station had been manned, and a new record in time spent in space. This success was, however, overshadowed when the crew was killed during re-entry, as a pressure-equalization valve in the Soyuz 11 e-entry capsule had opened prematurely, causing the crew to asphyxiate. After this accident, missions were suspended while the Soyuz spacecraft was redesigned. The station was intentionally destroyed by de-orbiting it after six months in orbit, because it ran out of fuel before a redesigned Soyuz spacecraft could be launched to it'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1984, Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.
  From Wikipedia: 'In 1951 there was a competition for a new national anthem to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Federation of Australia. The entry by the Austrian-born conductor Henry Krips, "This Land of Mine", won the competition but it was decided to make no change to the status quo.
  
  Until 1974 "God Save the Queen" was Australia's national anthem. In 1973 the Whitlam government decided that the country needed an anthem that could represent Australia with "distinction" and started a competition to find one. The Australia Council for the Arts organised the contest, which was dubbed the "Australian National Anthem Quest". The contest was held in two stages, the first seeking lyrics and the second music, each having an A$5,000 prize for the winning entry. On the recommendation of the Council for the Arts, none of the new entries were felt worthy enough, so the contest ended with the suggestions for "Advance Australia Fair", "Waltzing Matilda" and "Song of Australia".'
  
  In 1974 the Whitlam government then performed a nationwide opinion survey to determine the song to be sung on occasions of national significance. Conducted through the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it polled 60,000 people nationally. "Advance Australia Fair" was chosen and was enshrined as the national song, to be used on all occasions excepting those of a specifically regal nature. A spokesman for the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam stated that the Government regarded the tune primarily as the national anthem.
  
  "Advance Australia Fair", with modified lyrics from the original (see development of lyrics), was adopted as the Australian national anthem on 19 April 1984 by a proclamation by the Governor-General, Sir Ninian Stephen, on a recommendation by the Labor government of Bob Hawke. "God Save the Queen", now known as the royal anthem, continues to be played alongside the Australian national anthem at public engagements in Australia that are attended by the Queen or members of the Royal F amily'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1987. 'The Simpsons' premieres as a short on the Tracey Ullman Show.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of a working class lifestyle epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture, society, television, and many aspects of the human condition
  
  The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a solicitation for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox, becoming the network's first series to land in the Top 30 ratings in a season (1989-90).
  
  Since its debut on December 17, 1989, the series has broadcast 592 episodes. It is currently airing its 27th season. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it surpassed Gunsmoke as the longest-running American scripted primetime television series. The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 27, 2007, and grossed over $527 million. On May 4, 2015, the series was officially renewed for seasons twenty-seven (2015-16) and twenty-eight (2016-17), consisting of 22 episodes each'.
  - At FamousDailY: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More

Tomorrow's food holiday will be 'National Garlic Day'.
[The Hankster says] Good for you, but maybe not so for anyone near you.

Tomorrow is another day to just feel good. Start tomorrow off with a big laugh. It will be 'Humorous Day'.

Tomorrow is 'John Parker Day' . From Wikipedia: 'was an American colonial farmer, mechanic and soldier who commanded the Lexington militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775'

'Dutch-American Friendship Day'. In 1782, the first American Embassy in the world was at The Hague, Netherlands as they recognized the United States at the end of the American Revolutionary War.

Awareness days:
- 'National Hanging Out Day'. By Project Laundry List and encourages the use of outdoor clothesline instead of electrical dryers.
- 'National Infertility Awareness Week '. First day of Apr. 19-25 event. 2015 theme: 'You are not alone'
- 'Osteopathy Awareness Week'. First day of Apr. 19-25 event, in Australia. From the web site: 'Osteopathy, statistically the fastest growing health profession in Australia, is a form of drug-free, manual healthcare that focuses on a whole-of-body approach to health by treating and strengthening the musculoskeletal framework. In 2013, there were 1,837 registered osteopaths, 88% of whom were employed in the osteopathy field.'
- 'PSPA Awareness Week'. In Great Britain. First day of Apr. 19-26 event. From the site: 'PSP is caused by the progressive death of nerve cells in the brain, leading to difficulty with balance, movement, vision, speech and swallowing.'
- 'National Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day'.

John Henrik Clarke once said 'History is not everything, but it is a starting point. History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. It tells them where they are but, more importantly, what they must be.'
[The Hankster says] Let us use the starting point of April 19 in any year of the past. The political and cultural time of day may vary from year to year, but we can stay on course and perhaps find out who we are and what we must be.

In 1775, American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Lexington and Concord which began the American Revolutionary War.

In 1839. Kingdom of Belgium is established under the Treaty of London.

In 1948, Launch of ABC-TV. Radio was Oct. 12 1943.

In 1984, Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.

In 1987. 'The Simpsons' premieres as a short on the Tracy Ullman Show.

No. 1 song

• I'm Telling You Now - Freddie & The Dreamers: More
  'Can't You Hear My Heartbeat' has been displaced by 'I'm Telling You Now', which will hold the no. 1 spot until Apr 24 1965, when 'Game of Love - Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders', takes over.

Top movie

• In Harm's Way More
  Having displaced 'Girl Happy', it will be there until the weekend box office of April 25 1965 when, 'The Sound of Music (again)', takes over.

• FamousBirthdays.com: April 19 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: April 19 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 19th April More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 19th April More
• On-This-day.com history 19th April More
• On-This-day.com music history 19th April More
• Wikipedia.com: History April 19 More

Food Holiday:
Brussels Sprouts and Cabbage Month
Cranberries and Gooseberries Month
Fresh Florida Tomato Month
National BLT Sandwich Month
National Florida Tomato Month
National Food Month
National Garlic Month
National Grilled Cheese Month
National Pecan Month
National Soft Pretzel Month
National Soy Foods Month

Other:
Alcohol Awareness Month
Arab American Heritage Month
Celebrate Diversity Month
Community Spirit Days
Counseling Awareness Month
Defeat Diabetes Month
Emotional Overeating Awareness Month
Fair Housing Month
Genocide and Human Rights Awareness Month
Global Child Nutrition Month
Informed Woman Month
International Amateur Radio Month
International Customer Loyalty Month
International Guitar Month
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Awareness Month
Jazz Appreciation Month
Keep America Beautiful Month
Library Snapshot Month
Listening Awareness Month
Mathematics Education Month
Month of the Military Child
Month of the Young Child
Multicultural Communication Month
National African American Women's Fitness Month
National Anxiety Month
National Autism Awareness Month
National Cancer Control Month
National Card and Letter Writing Month
National Child Abuse Prevention Month
National Decorating Month
National Distracted Driving Awareness Month
National Donate Life Month
National Facial Protection Month
National Frog Month
National Garden Month
National Greyhound Adoption Month
National Heartworm Awareness Month
National Humor Month
National Knuckles Down Month
National Landscape Architecture Month
National Minority Health Month
National Multiple Birth Awareness Month
National Occupational Therapy Month
National Parkinson's Awareness Month
National Pest Management Month
National Pet First Aid Awareness Month
National Poetry Month
National Rebuilding Month
National Safe Digging Month
National Sarcoidosis Awareness Month
National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month
National Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)'s Education and Awareness Month
National Sjogren's Syndrome Awareness Month
National Welding Month
National Youth Sports Safety Month
Occupational Therapy Month
Parliamentary Law Month
Pharmacists War on Diabetes Month
Physical Wellness Month
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month
Prevention of Lyme Disease in Dogs Month
Rosacea Awareness Month
School Library Media Month
Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month
Sexual Assault Awareness Month of Action
Sports Eye Safety Awareness Month
Stress Awareness Month
Testicular Cancer Awareness Month
Tomatillo and Asian Pear Month
Women's Eye Health and Safety Month
Workplace Conflict Awareness Month
World Habitat Awareness Month
Worldwide Bereaved Spouses Awareness Month

April is:

April origin (from Wikipedia):
'The Romans gave this month the Latin name Aprilis but the derivation of this name is uncertain. The traditional etymology is from the verb aperire, 'to open', in allusion to its being the season when trees and flowers begin to 'open', which is supported by comparison with the modern Greek use of (anoixis) (opening) for spring. Since some of the Roman months were named in honor of divinities, and as April was sacred to the goddess Venus, her Veneralia being held on the first day, it has been suggested that April was the second month of the earliest Roman calendar, before Ianuarius and Februarius were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the fourth month of the calendar year (the year when twelve months are displayed in order) during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC, when it also was given 29 days. The 30th day was added during the reform of the calendar undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s BC, which produced the Julian calendar.'

April 'is commonly associated with the season of spring in parts of the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in parts of the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the seasonal equivalent to October in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa.'

April at Wikipedia: More

If you couldn't afford 90 cents for a movie ticket, 50 years ago, or your 45 RPM record player was broke, you might watch one of these shows on TV.
From this Wikipedia article: More

Best selling books of 1965 More

• Astronomy Picture of the Day: More
• NOAA: - National Hurricane Center - Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook: More
• Listen to Old Radio Shows: (streaming mp3 with schedule) More
• NASA TV: (video feed) More
  NASA TV schedule: More
• Public Domain eBook Links

  Sites for downloading or reading free Public Domain eBooks. Available in various formats. More

• Podcast: A Moment of Science. Approximately 1 minute general science facts.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Podcast: The Naked Scientists. Current science, medicine, space and other science
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Podcast: Quirks & Quarks. Current science news.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Articles and videos: Universe Today. Current space and astronomy news.
  Home page: More
  RSS: More
• Old Picture of the Day - "Each day we bring you one stunning little glimpse of history in the form of a historical photograph."
  Home page: More
  RSS: More

Below, are listed several holiday sites that I reference in addition to other holiday researches.

US Government Holidays

• 2015 Postal Holidays More
• 2015 Official Federal Holidays More

Holidays Worldwide

• List of holidays by country More
• Holidays and Observances around the World More