April 7 in Pop Culture History
1795 – France adopted the metre as the unit of length and the base of the metric system.
1896 – Patent (#557,994) for “justifying lines of type” was issued to Tolbert Langston.
1906 (Volcano) Mount Vesuvius erupted and devastated Naples.
1927 -The first public display of a long distance television transmission was viewed by a group of newspaper reporters and dignitaries in the auditorium of AT&T Bell Telephone Laboratories, New York, via telephone lines from Washington, DC.
1933 – Prohibition in the United States was repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight.
1940 – Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
1945 – Japanese battleship Yamato was sunk by Allied forces off the coast of Okinawa.
1946 – Syria’s independence from France was officially recognized.
1948 – The World Health Organization was established by the United Nations.
1949 – South Pacific (Broadway Musical) Opened on April 7, 1949 and Closed: January 16, 1954
1954 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his famous “domino theory” speech, regarding communism in Southeast Asia.
1959 – The first distinguishable echo was recorded of a radar signal bounced off the Sun by the Radioscience Laboratory at Stamford University.
1962 – #1 Hit April 7, 1962 – April 20, 1962: Shelley Fabares – Johnny Angel
1964 – IBM introduced its innovative System/360, the company’s first line of compatible mainframe computers that gave customers the option of upgrading from lower-cost models to more powerful, expensive ones.
1967 – Film critic Roger Ebert published his first film review in the Chicago Sun-Times.
1969 – The Internet’s symbolic birth date: Publication of RFC 1 (A Request For Comments).
1970 – John Wayne won Best Actor Oscar for his role in 1969’s True Grit.
1970 – Midnight Cowboy won in the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars.
1973 – #1 Hit April 7, 1973 – April 20, 1973: Vicki Lawrence – The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
1980 – The United States severed relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
1989 – Major League, The Dream Team and Cyborg were released in theaters.
1990 – #1 Hit April 7, 1990 – April 13, 1990: Taylor Dayne – Love Will Lead You Back
1995 – Bad Boys, Rob Roy and A Goofy Movie debuted in theaters.
2009 – Rock of Ages (Broadway Musical) Opened on April 7, 2009 and Closed: January 18, 2015
2000 – Rules of Engagement and Return To Me was released in theaters.
2001 – Mars Odyssey was launched to orbit Mars. The mission was named as a tribute to Arthur C. Clarke, after his book 2001: A Space Odyssey.
2007 – #1 Hit April 7, 2007 – April 20, 2007: Akon – Don’t Matter
