Today is April 23 2015

National Cherry Cheesecake Day: More

• National Talk Like Shakespeare Day: More
  On the day of Shakespare's death in 1616. A How To: More
• National Picnic Day: More
• National Take a Chance Day: More
• National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day: More
  Fourth Thursday in April
• English Language Day: More
• Fiddler's Frolic: More
  In Hallettsville Texas Apr. 23-26. Music, fiddle contests, food and other events.
• Gathering of the Nations Powwow: More
  From the web site 'From the beginning the concept has always been to produce an event where Native people can come together each year to celebrate and share culture, and a place where singers and dancers can feel confident that competition is fair to all.'
• World Book and Copyright Day: More
  UNESCO day to promote reading, publishing and copyright.
• World Book Night: More
  By the The Reading Agency. Celebrates books and reading. Free books are made available by volunteers.
• National Lost Dogs Awareness Day: More

• In 1635, The United States' first public school, a high school called Boston Latin School founded in Massachusetts, is also the current oldest school in the US.
  From Wikipedia: 'The Boston Latin School is a public "magnet"/"exam school" in Boston, Massachusetts. Established on April 23, 1635, it is considered both the first public school and oldest existing public school in the United States, along with the oldest public high school in America (which it shares with the later The English High School of Boston of 1821, followed by the Central High School in Philadelphia, 1838, and Baltimore City College, 1839 ) The Public Latin School was a bastion for educating the sons of the Boston "Brahmin" elite, resulting in the School claiming many prominent Bostonians, Massachusetts citizens and New Englanders as alumni. Its curriculum follows that of the 18th century Latin-school movement, which holds the "classics" to be the basis of an educated mind. Four years of Latin are mandatory for all pupils who enter the School in the 7th grade, three years for those who enter in the 9th. In 2007, the School was named one of the top twenty high schools in the United States by U.S. News and World Report magazine.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1896, The Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen was demonstrated in New York City.
  From Wikipedia: 'Vitascope was an early film projector first demonstrated in 1895 by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat. They had made modifications to Jenkins patented Phantoscope, which cast images via film and electric light onto a wall or screen. The Vitascope is a large electrically-powered projector that uses light to cast images. The images being cast are originally taken by akinetoscope mechanism onto gelatin film. Using an intermittent mechanism, the film negatives were produced up to fifty frames per second. The shutter opens and closes to reveal new images, this device can produce up to 3,000 negatives per minute. With the original Phantoscope and before he partnered with Armat, Jenkins displayed the earliest documented projection of a filmed motion picture in June 1894 in Richmond, Indiana.
  
  'The Vitascope's first theatrical exhibition was on April 23, 1896, at Koster and Bial's Music Hall in New York City. Other competitors soon displayed their own projection systems in American theaters, including the re-engineered Eidoloscope, which copied Vitascope innovations; the Lumière Cinématographe, which had already debuted in Europe in 1895; Birt Acres' Kineopticon; and the Biograph which was marketed by the American Mutoscope Company. The premiere of the Vitascope was a quick response to threat of losing an incredible amount of money to the Lumiere Cinematographe which vaudeville managers were about to invest in. Even though the Lumiere Cinematographe existed since 1895, it had not gained popularity in the US yet, as it had already in the UK. People were going crazy for the Lumiere Cinematographe especially in London. Raff and Gammon recognized that they would get more money and positive exposure by releasing their technology ahead of the Lumiere Cinematographe in the United States. After the Vitascope made its infamous debut in Manhattan, the device was distributed across the nation including exhibitions in; Boston, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Portland, Scranton, New Haven, New Orleans, New London , Cleveland, Buffalo, San Francisco, Asbury Park, Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and more'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1900, The first known occurrence of the word 'hillbillie' (NY Journal). The paper define a hillbille as: 'a Hill-Billie is a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him.'
  From Wikipedia: 'Hillbilly is a term (often derogatory) for people who dwell in rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in Appalachia and the Ozarks, Uwharrie Mountains and Caraway Mountains. Due to its strongly stereotypical connotations, the term can be offensive to those Americans of Appalachian or Ozark heritage. "Hillbilly" first appeared in print in a 1900 New York Journal article, with the definition: "a Hill-Billie is a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him." The stereotype is two-fold in that it incorporates both positive and negative traits: “Hillbillies” are often considered independent and self-reliant individuals who resist the modernization of society, but at the same time they are also defined as backward and violent. Scholars argue this duality is reflective of the split ethnic identities in “white America"'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
• In 1908 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signed an act creating the U.S. Army Reserve.
  From Wikipedia: 'On 23 April 1908 Congress created the Medical Reserve Corps, the official predecessor of the Army Reserve. After the First World War, under the National Defense Act on 4 June 1920, Congress reorganized the U.S. land forces by authorizing a Regular Army, a National Guard, and an Organized Reserve (Officers Reserve Corps and Enlisted Reserve Corps) of unrestricted size, which later became the Army Reserve. This organization provided a peacetime pool of trained Reserve officers and enlisted men for use in war. The ORC included the Officers’ Reserve Corps, Enlisted Reserve Corps and Reserve Officers' Training Corps. The Organized Reserves were redesignated 25 March 1948 as the Organized Reserve Corps. Recognizing the importance of the Organized Reserve to the World War II effort, Congress authorized retirement and drill pay for the first time in 1948'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1962, Ranger 4, the first US rocket to reach the Moon, was launched from Cape Canaveral.
  From Wikipedia: 'Ranger 4 was a spacecraft of the Ranger program designed to transmit pictures of the lunar surface to Earth stations during a period of 10 minutes of flight prior to crashing upon the Moon, to rough-land a seismometer capsule on the Moon, to collect gamma-ray data in flight, to study radar reflectivity of the lunar surface, and to continue testing of the Ranger program for development of lunar and interplanetary spacecraft. An onboard computer failure caused failure of the deployment of the solar panels and navigation systems as a result the spacecraft crashed on the far side of the Moon without returning any scientific data. It was the first U.S. spacecraft to reach another celestial body'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube (pics of successful crash of a Rager spacecraft): More
• In 1967, Soyuz 1 launched. Vladimir Komarov becomes the first (in-flight) space flight casualty, when his descent module parachute does not open.
  From Wikipedia: 'Soyuz 1, Union 1, was a manned spaceflight of the Soviet space program. Launched into orbit on 23 April 1967 carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov, Soyuz 1 was the first crewed flight of the Soyuz spacecraft. The mission plan was complex, involving a rendezvous with Soyuz 2 and an exchange of crew members before returning to Earth. However, the launch of Soyuz 2 was called off due to thunderstorms.
  
  The flight was plagued with technical issues, and Komarov was killed when the descent module crashed into the ground due to a parachute failure. This was the first in-flight fatality in the history of spaceflight'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1963, Jan and Dean recorded 'Surf City'.
  From Wikipedia: '"Surf City" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Jan Berry about a fictitious surf spot where there are "two girls for every boy." It was first recorded and made popular by the American duo Jan and Dean in 1963, and their single became the first surf song to become a national number-one hit.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1984, Scientists find AIDS virus.
  From Wikipedia: 'Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).'
  
  'April 23, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler announces at a press conference that an American scientist, Robert Gallo, has discovered the probable cause of AIDS: the retrovirus is subsequently named human immunodeficiency virus or HIV in 1986. She also declares that a vaccine will be available within two years'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1985, 'New Coke' is released by Coca-Cola - negative reviews led to the return of the original recipe 3 months later.
  From Wikipedia: 'New Coke was the unofficial popular name for the reformulation of Coca-Cola introduced in the spring of 1985 by The Coca-Cola Company to replace the original formula of its flagship soft drink, Coca-Cola (also called Coke). New Coke originally had no separate name of its own, but was simply known as "the new taste of Coca-Cola" until 1992 when it was renamed Coca-Cola II.
  
  Coca-Cola's market share had been steadily losing ground to diet soft drinks and non-cola beverages for many years; meanwhile the consumers who were purchasing regular colas seemed to prefer the sweeter taste of Pepsi, as Coca-Cola soon learned in conducting blind taste tests. However, the American public's reaction to the change was negative, even hostile, and the new cola was a major marketing failure. The subsequent reintroduction less than three months later of Coke's original formula, re-branded as "Coca-Cola Classic", resulted in a significant gain in sales. This led to speculation that the introduction of the New Coke formula was just a marketing ploy; however, the company has always claimed it was actually an attempt to replace the original product'.
  - At FamousDaily: More
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More
• In 1985, The 'We Are the World' album was released.
  From Wikipedia: 'We Are the World is a 1985 album that contains USA for Africa's "We Are the World", a superstar charity recording for famine relief efforts in Ethiopia. In addition to the title track, the album includes nine previously unreleased songs by donating artists, including Prince, Chicago, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (a rendition of Jimmy Cliff's obscure "Trapped" recorded live at Meadowlands Arena on their Born in the U.S.A. Tour, which achieved considerable album-oriented rock radio airplay and topped the Mainstream Rock chart), Tina Turner and others. In addition, "Grace", by Quincy Jones, is not included in this album but appeared as the B-side of the title track when it was released a month earlier.
  
  The album also includes another famine relief fundraising song, "Tears Are Not Enough," which was performed by Canadian supergroup Northern Lights.
  
  Prince and The Revolution recorded "4 the Tears in Your Eyes" for the album. A rare live version of the song was included on Prince's The Hits/The B-Sides'.
  - At Wikipedia: More
  - On YouTube: More

Tomorrow's food holiday will be 'National Cherry Cheesecake Day'.
[The Hankster says] Cherry is my favorite topping, followed by raspberries or blueberries. Well they don't need to follow, side by side on the same cake would be nice.

Why not take your cheesecake with you, on 'National Picnic Day'.

Currently in Texas we are having so much rain that you could easily also celebrate 'National Take a Chance Day'.

Tomorrow is 'National Talk Like Shakespeare Day'. On the day of Shakespare's death in 1616.
[The Hankster says] Now aren't you proud of me. I didn't use any ancient English in the above?

Time to again, stress out the boss. Tomorrow 'National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day'. Fourth Thursday in April
[The Hankster says] Really a great idea.

Tomorrow is 'Fiddler's Frolic'. In Hallettsville Texas Apr. 23-26. Music, fiddle contests, food and other events.
[The Hankster says] Love fiddle music.

Also tomorrow starts the 'Gathering of the Nations Powwow'. From the web site 'From the beginning the concept has always been to produce an event where Native people can come together each year to celebrate and share culture, and a place where singers and dancers can feel confident that competition is fair to all.'

We have several days that seem to fall on Willie S.'s day.
- 'English Language Day'.
- 'World Book and Copyright Day'. UNESCO day to promote reading, publishing and copyright.
- 'World Book Night'. By the The Reading Agency. Celebrates books and reading. Free books are made available by volunteers.

We have a pet awareness day tomorrow. It will be 'National Lost Dogs Awareness Day'.

Sydney J. Harris once said 'Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.'
[The Hankster says] Couldn't have put it better, myself. Better things through no change, sounds like a led-in to a commercial, doesn't it. Throughout history, I bet may people have tried to do just that. I wonder if anyone succeeded on April 23 in the past.

In 1635, The United States' first public school, a high school called Boston Latin School founded in Massachusetts, is also the current oldest school in the US.

In 1896, The Vitascope system for projecting movies onto a screen was demonstrated in New York City.

In 1900, The first known occurrence of the word 'hillbillie' (NY Journal). The paper define a hillbille as: 'a Hill-Billie is a free and untrammeled white citizen of Alabama, who lives in the hills, has no means to speak of, dresses as he can, talks as he pleases, drinks whiskey when he gets it, and fires off his revolver as the fancy takes him.'

In 1908 - U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt signed an act creating the U.S. Army Reserve.

In 1933, The Gestapo (Nazi Germany's secret police during WWII) is established in Germany.

In 1962, Ranger 4, the first US rocket to reach the Moon, was launched from Cape Canaveral.

In 1967, Soyuz 1 launched. Vladimir Komarov becomes the first (in-flight) space flight casualty, when his descent module parachute does not open.

In 1963, Jan and Dean recorded 'Surf City'.

In 1984, Scientists find AIDS virus.

In 1985, 'New Coke' is released by Coca-Cola - negative reviews led to the return of the original recipe 3 months later.

In 1985, The 'We Are the World' album was released.

No. 1 song

• I'm Telling You Now - Freddie and 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 23 Birthdays More
• FamousDaily.com: April 23 History More
• History.com: Historical Events on 23rd April More
• HistoryOrb.com: Famous Deaths on 23rd April More
• On-This-day.com history 23rd April More
• On-This-day.com music history 23rd April More
• Wikipedia.com: History April 23 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