On April 17, 1900, chiefs on the island of Tutuila signed the Treaty of Cession of Tutuila, transferring control of American Samoa to the United States. The US Navy governed the island for half a century before it became self-governing, but remains an unincorporated US territory.
Asa Philip Randolph was born on April 15, 1889, in Crescent City, Florida. Randolph was a respected and outspoken proponent of the rights of minority labor. He was greatly feared by his opponents, not because of his temperament, but because of his power to create change.
April 14, 1866 was the earliest known usage of the first US mourning stamp, which honored Abraham Lincoln. It was issued a year after his assassination, during a critical time in US history, when the country was attempting to heal from the bloody Civil War.
Charles Evans Hughes was born on April 11, 1862, in Glens Falls, New York. As governor of New York he fought political corruption. He also served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for 11 years, during the Great Depression and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.
Publisher and politician József “Joseph” Pulitzer was born on April 10, 1847, in Makó, Kingdom of Hungary, Austrian Empire. Pulitzer often used sensationalism to sell papers, leading to wider circulation. The Pulitzer Prize was created as a result of an endowment he left to Columbia University.
Haym Salomon was born on April 7, 1740, in Leszno, Poland. Salomon raised funds and gave his own money to help the American war effort during the Revolutionary War.
On April 4, 1818, President James Monroe signed a flag act that changed the way the US flag was updated when new states joined the Union. This act has affected every US flag issued since…
On April 1, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower created the Air Force Academy to train officers. During its more than 60 year history, the academy has had over 52,000 graduates move on to become US Air Force officers.
On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry addressed the Second Virginia Convention to convince them to raise a militia. During his rousing speech, he delivered one of his most famous statements…