What to remember about April 22nd…
Earth Day Celebrated (United States)
- 1861 Robert E. Lee is named commander of Confederate forces in Virginia
- 1863 Union cavalry led by Colonel Benjamin Grierson begin daring two-week raid through central Mississippi
- 1890 At high noon the Great Land Rush begins in Oklahoma with nearly 50,000 people hoping to grab their own parcel of land
- 1915 German forces launch unprecedented chemical artillery attack near Ypres, France; chlorine gas devastates allied forces
- 1948 Jewish Haganah forces win Battle of Haifa; 30-hour battle gives them control of port city and vital supply line to the West
- 1954 Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating the United States Army and their supposed “soft” stance on communism
- 1970 Earth Day celebrated for 1st time in United States
- 1978 Blues Brothers make their television debut on Saturday Night Live; Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi bring blues back into style
- 1994 Former 37th President of the United States Richard Nixon dies after suffering a stroke (b. 1913)
- 2000 Six-year-old Elián González is seized from his relatives’ home in Miami, Florida by federal agents; boy is sent to Cuba to live with his father
- 2008 U.S. Air Force retires its fleet of F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters; replaced by F-22 Raptor and upcoming F-35 Lightning II
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