Today marks the 98th anniversary of the final two kills by German World War I flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as the Red Baron. Here are some things you might not know about the Red Baron: First: Richthofen didn’t start the war as a pilot. He was originally a cavalryman, which was not…

The Simpsons as they appeared on “The Tracey Ullman Show” in 1989. (Photo courtesy of FOX) April 19th marks the 28th anniversary of the first appearance of The Simpsons on the “Tracey Ullman Show.” Here are some things you may not have known about The Simpsons. First: The characters were created by Matt Groening to…

April 18th marks the anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Here are some things you may not have known about the earthquake: First: More than 3,000 people are estimated to have died in the earthquake that struck at 5:12 a.m. The quake predated the Richter Scale, but has been estimated to have been between…

Today marks the 29th anniversary of the end of the 335 Years War; a bloodless war of questionable origin between The Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly off southwestern England. Here are a few facts about this obscure war: One: The conflict had its origins in the Second English Civil War in 1651. Cromwell’s Parliamentarians…

April 16 marks the 126th anniversary of the birth of Charlie Chaplin in 1889. Here are some things you may not have known about Chaplin. First: Chaplin was born in London and his childhood was marked by poverty. His father abandoned the family and Chaplin spent two spells in a workhouse before he turned nine.…

April 15 marks the 68th anniversary of Jackie Robinson making his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Here are some things you might not know about Jackie Robinson. First: Robinson’s older brother Mack earned a silver medal in the 200 meters at the 1936 Olympics in berlin. Second: Jackie Robinson made his professional baseball debut with…

April 14th marks the 150th anniversary of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Here are some things you might not know about it: First: Lincoln wasn’t the only target that night. John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators planned to kill Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State…

  On this date in 1976, the United States Treasury reintroduced the two-dollar bill featuring Thomas Jefferson. Here are some things you might not know about the two-dollar bill: First, the two-dollar bill and the one-dollar bill are the only U.S. currency that do not have enhanced security features, like watermarks and security thread. Second,…

On April 12, 1955, the polio vaccine was declared safe and effective. Here are three things you may not have known about the polio vaccine: One: Dr. Jonas Salk became involved in the development of the vaccine because of the promise of increased research space, staffing and funding. Two: The declaration that the vaccine was…

April 11 marks the 50th anniversary of the second Palm Sunday tornado outbreak in the Midwestern United States. Here are three things you may not have known about the outbreak: One: There were 47 tornadoes reported across the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. Two: 271 people were killed and 1,500 injured.…