A closer look at key historic events that took place on April 19:
In 1995, the Oklahoma City bombing takes place
Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols detonated a truck loaded with explosives outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on April 19. The attack resulted in the deaths of 168 people, including 19 children, and injured over 600 others in what was the worst act of terrorism in US history until then.
In 1987, The Simpsons airs for the first time
The first installment of The Simpsons, which was title The Simpsons Shorts, debuted on the Tracey Ullman Show in the form of one-minute videos featuring the well-known characters. It aired for three seasons until it spun off into the show we know today.
In 1971, the Soviet Union launches the world’s first manned space station
Salyut 1 was 23 meters long and offered 100 cubic meters of pressurized space. Its mission was soon terminated and it burned upon reentering the Earth’s atmosphere on October 11 of that same year. Six improved Salyuts were launched during the next decade.
In 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising occurs
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, was a revolt by Polish Jews against deportation to the Treblinka extermination camp. The uprising lasted 28 days, until May 16, in which Jews killed hundreds of Nazis and the latter killed or deported 40,000 Poles.
In 1775, the American Revolution begins
The Battles of Lexington and Concord launched the American Revolution where 13 British colonies in North America fought with the help of France, Spain and the Netherlands to gain independence. The war ended with a peace treaty in 1783.
– Don’t miss out on To Vima’s daily “On this Day in History” posts.
