“Arbor Day is not like other holidays. Each of those reposes on the past, while Arbor Day proposes for the future.” These are the words of J. Sterling Morton, the originator of the Arbor Day idea. He was among the many pioneers moving into the Nebraska Territory in 1854. With the decided lack of trees on the Nebraskan plains, Morton made it his cause to plant trees, not just for beautification but also to preserve the soil. He encouraged civic organizations to join in the effort, proclaiming the first Arbor Day in 1872. By 1885, Arbor Day was officially observed by the entire state and then by other states and schools nationwide. Today the most common date for the state observances is the last Friday in April, although many states celebrate it whenever conditions there are best for planting trees. Several U.S. presidents have proclaimed a national Arbor Day. Read more about Arbor Day.
Daily Calendar for Friday, April 28, 2023
Born
- James Monroe (5th U.S. president) –
- Oskar Schindler (businessman) –
- Ethel Catherwood (1928 Olympic gold-medal winner for high jump) –
- Harper Lee (author) –
- Eugene Shoemaker (American astrogeologist) –
- Ann-Margret (actress) –
- Paul Guilfoyle (actor) –
- Jay Leno (talk show host) –
- Penelope Cruz (actress) –
- Jessica Alba (actress) –
Died
- Benito Mussolini (Italian dictator) –
- Penelope Fitzgerald (writer) –
- Alexander Lebed (general) –
- Dabbs Greer (actor) –
- Will Robinson (first African American basketball coach at a Division I school) –
- Mel Bartholomew (construction engineer and gardener known for his Square Foot Gardening method) –
Events
- Maryland became the seventh state of the Union –
- Coal mine explosion occurred in Eccles, West Virginia–
- Vaccine for yellow fever announced–
- A six-man expedition, led by Thor Heyerdahl, sailed from Peru aboard a balsa-wood raft named Kon-Tiki on a 101 day journey that would take them across the Pacific Ocean to Polynesia–
- At age 98, Walter Sitch of Halifax, NS, became a great-great-great-grandfather–
- Charles de Gaulle, president of France, resigned–
- A Chorus Line closed after 6,137 performances on Broadway in New York City–
- The Soyuz-TM 32 launched, carrying the world’s first space tourist, Dennis Tito, to the International Space Station–
- Ashes of actor James Doohan, who portrayed engineer Scotty on Star Trek, and of Apollo 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper soared into space aboard a rocket–
- Six endangered red wolf pups were born at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, North Carolina–
Weather
- Coastal storm caused tremendous late season snow, 35 inches fell in Bayard, West Virginia–
- Six feet of snow blocked roads in Buffalo–
- Tornadoes swept through central and southeastern Virginia–
- A total of 13 inches of snow fell overnight on New York’s Adirondack Mountains and in northern Vermont–
- Hailstorms hit parts of Texas and Oklahoma, with a 6.4-inch hailstone falling in Hondo, Texas –