April 17, 2020

~Happy Quarantine~

Well, aren't we in a fine kettle of fish (not sure if this is an actual saying, but it sounds like it should be) with this whole "self-isolation" thing going on. Thrift stores are closing, libraries aren't open, and stores are not letting more than a certain amount of people in. The worst thing of all, all reenactments and living history events are cancelled or rescheduled until much later in the year. I had quite a few events planned to go to, but I have yet to see any end. I might be going a little crazy and bored of the 21st century, if I don't see a petticoat or hear a cannon boom within the next two months I think I will lose my cool, retreat into the wood, live off of wild honey and squirrel,  and start talking about how the government is using birds to spy on us and the only way to evade their watch is to wear tin-foil hats.

To keep myself from doing that, I have decided to hop on here and live in the past for a few moments. To do that, I have looked on the World Wide Web for what has happened in this month of April during the American (and sometimes UK)

history.

April 1st, 1865 -- During the American Civil War, Confederate troops of General George Pickett were defeated and cut off at Five Forks, Virginia. This sealed the fate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's armies at Petersburg and Richmond and hastened the end of the war.  source

April 2nd, 1513 -- Spanish explorer Ponce De Leon sighted Florida and claimed it for the Spanish Crown after landing at the site of present day St. Augustine, now the oldest city in the continental U.S.  source   

April 2nd -- Fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was born in Odense, Denmark. He created 168 fairy tales for children including the classics The Princess and the PeaThe Snow Queen and The Nightingale.  source  

April 5th -- African American educator Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) was born a slave in Franklin County, Virginia. Freed by the Civil War, he taught himself the alphabet and eventually graduated from an agricultural institute. In June of 1881, he was asked to become the principal of a new training school for blacks at Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute began in single building with 30 students but through his efforts grew into a modern university.  source


April 11, 1970 - Apollo 13 was launched from Cape Kennedy at 2:13 p.m. Fifty-six hours into the flight an oxygen tank exploded in the service module. Astronaut John L. Swigert saw a warning light that accompanied the bang and said, "Houston, we've had a problem here." Swigert, James A. Lovell and Fred W. Haise then transferred into the lunar module, using it as a "lifeboat" and began a perilous return trip to Earth, splashing down safely on April 17th. source  

April 12, 1945 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt died suddenly at Warm Springs, Georgia, after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He had been President since March 4, 1933, elected to four consecutive terms and had guided America out of the Great Depression and through World War II. source  


April 18, 1775 - The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and William Dawes occurred as the two men rode out of Boston about 10 p.m. to warn patriots at Lexington and Concord of the approaching British. source 


April 18, 1982 - Queen Elizabeth II of England signed the Canada Constitution Act of 1982 replacing the British North America Act of 1867, providing Canada with a new set of fundamental laws and civil rights. source  

April 23rd  - William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born at Stratford-on-Avon, England. Renowned as the most influential writer in the English language, he created 36 plays and 154 sonnets, including Romeo and JulietHamlet and The Merchant of Venice. source  

April 10th, 1912 -- The "unsinkable" RMS Titanic departs on it's maiden voyage from Southampton, England. source 

 April 15th, 1755 -- English lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary; he had taken nine years to compile it. source 




Well, this should suffice for a few more weeks (hopefully I'm not already insane in the membrane!).
How are you doing during this tough time? 
























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