April 19 in Pop Culture History

April 19 Facts, Fun Trivia and History

April 19 History Highlights

  • 1770 – Captain James Cook discovered the eastern coast of what is now Australia.
  • 1987 – The Simpsons first appeared as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show,
  • 1993 – The Branch Davidian Fire, caused by federal agents at Waco, killed 86 people.
  • 1995 – The Oklahoma City Bombing
  • If you were born on April 19th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… July 27th (prior year)

John Parker Day

John Parker was an American colonial farmer, smith, soldier, and colonial militia officer who commanded the Lexington, Patriot, colonial militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775, the first battle of America’s Revolutionary War. His order was: “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”

Oklahoma City Bombing

The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on Wednesday, April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols and Michael Fortier, the bombing happened at 9:02 am and killed at least 168 people, injured more than 680 others.

McVeigh chose April 19, 1995, as the date for the bombing to coincide with the second anniversary of the federal government’s assault on the Branch Davidians near Waco.

April 19 is…

Amaretto Day
John Parker Day
National High Five Day
Garlic Day

April 19 Birthday Quotes

“The dreams of youth are the regrets of maturity.”
– Tim Curry

“I used to care about how I looked. Now I don’t care as much. Maybe it’s because I’m so handsome.”
– James Franco

“You don’t wear stuff for other people; you’ve got to wear it for yourself.”
– Kate Hudson

“If you wanna cross somebody, then do that. Don’t act like it wasn’t you.”
– Suge Knight

“If you want the best things in life you have to earn them for yourself.”
– Jayne Mansfield

April 19 Birthdays

1721 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (died in 1793)
1903 – Eliot Ness, American law enforcement agent (died in 1957)
1925 – Hugh O’Brian, American actor (died in 2016)
1933 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (died in 1967)
1935 – Dudley Moore, English comedic actor and pianist (died in 2002)
1946 – Tim Curry, English actor
1958 – Stevie B, American singer-songwriter
1965 – Suge Knight, American record producer, co-founded Death Row Records
1968 – Ashley Judd, American actress
1978 – James Franco, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1979 – Kate Hudson, American actress

April 19 History

1775 – The American Revolution began in Lexington, Massachusetts.

1892 -The first Duryea automobile was operated by pioneer manufacturer Charles E. Duryea in Springfield, Massachusetts.

1897 – The first Boston Marathon was held.

1919 – Leslie Irvin made the first successful voluntary free-fall parachute jump using a self-contained parachute.

1927 – Mae West was sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex in New York. She served eight days with two days off for good behavior.

1956 – American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco.

April 19, 1959 Birthday (fictional) Dale Cooper, Twin Peaks, TV

1963 (Tornado) Cooch Behar, India.

1972 – Broadway Show – Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope (Review) April 19, 1972

1975 – India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, was launched.

1977The Amazing Spider-Man debuted on CBS.

1980 – #1 Hit April 19, 1980 – May 30, 1980: Blondie – Call Me

1982NASA announced that the first black astronaut would be Guion S. Bluford, Jr., and the first woman astronaut would be Sally K. Ride.

1985 – Two hundred ATF and FBI agents laid siege to the compound of the neo-Nazi survivalist group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord in Arkansas.

1986 – #1 Hit April 19, 1986 – May 2, 1986: Prince and the Revolution – Kiss

1987 – The Tracey Ullman Show featured a short with The Simpsons.

1993 – At Mount Carmel in Waco, Texas, the FBI launched a tear-gas assault on the Branch Davidian compound, ending with a fire that killed 81 members, including 22 children.

1995 – A massive truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killing 168 people.

1996Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Substitute, Mrs. Winterbourne, and Celtic Pride were released in theaters.

2001- Broadway Show – The Producers (Musical) April 19, 2001

2009Cake Boss premiered on TLC.

2013 – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is killed in a shootout with police. His brother Dzhokhar is later captured hiding in a boat inside a backyard in the suburb of Watertown.

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

Read more… especially things you disagree with.

When spoken, the words “blend together” blend together.

If the sun exploded 7.5 minutes ago, no one would know for another 30 seconds.

80’s computers typically had 64 KB (yes, Kilobytes) of memory.

Pinocchio is loosely based on the Italian children’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, published in 1883.

Maureen O’Hara – Real Name: Maureen Fitzsimmons

“I guess it’s just my morbid personality.” – Plato #moviequotes

Goofus’ first move should really be to change his name.

Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a river.

“The hell with the rules. If it sounds right, then it is.” – Eddie Van Halen

“Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.” – Margo Channing – (Bette Davis) #moviequotes

Mitch Hedberg would have been the king of Twitter.

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