UH, In Early April, huh? Heh

On this day in history:

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1453 – Mehmed II began his siege of Constantinople
1652 – Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply camp that eventually became Cape Town at the Cape of Good Hope.
1712 – The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 began
1793 – The Committee of Public Safety became the executive organ of the republic during the French Revolution.
1812 – Wellington's forces assaulted the fortress of Badajoz.
1861 – Arthur Sullivan's first success, a suite of incidental music for The Tempest, debuted
1869 – Celluloid was patented.
1895 – Oscar Wilde was arrested in the Cadogan Hotel in London for gross indecency.
1896 – The first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens
1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson became the first people to reach the North Pole, perhaps
1917 – The US declared war on Germany
1929 – Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, was unsuccessfully impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives oil interests
1965 – Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit, was launched.
1974 – ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo".
2008 – The 2008 Egyptian general strike started
2017 – The U.S. attacked Syria with 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles 

Born this day in:

1483 – Raphael, painter and architect
1671 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, poet and playwright
1826 – Gustave Moreau, painter and academic
1892 – Lowell Thomas, journalist and author
1920 – Edmond H. Fischer, biochemist and academic
1926 – Randy Weston, jazz pianist and composer
1927 – Gerry Mulligan, saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
1928 – James Watson, biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, 
1929 – André Previn, pianist, composer, and conductor
1931 – Ram Dass, author and educator
1937 – Merle Haggard, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1937 – Billy Dee Williams, actor, singer, and writer
1941 – Gheorghe Zamfir, flute player and composer
1949 – Horst Ludwig Störmer, physicist and academic,
1953 – Christopher Franke, drummer and songwriter
1960 – Warren Haynes, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1960 – John Pizzarelli, singer, songwriter, and guitarist

Died this day in:

1520 – Raphael, painter and architect
1528 – Albrecht Dürer, painter, engraver, and mathematician
1829 – Niels Henrik Abel, mathematician and theorist
1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, poet and playwright
1961 – Jules Bordet, microbiologist and immunologist, 
1963 – Otto Struve, astronomer and academic
1971 – Igor Stravinsky, pianist, composer, and conductor
1992 – Isaac Asimov, science fiction writer
1998 – Tammy Wynette, singer and songwriter
1999 – Red Norvo, vibraphone player and composer
2003 – Anita Borg, computer scientist and educator; founded Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology 
2003 – Babatunde Olatunji, drummer, educator, and activist, the man who brought Yoruba drums to the west
2010 – Wilma Mankiller, tribal leader
2015 – Ray Charles, singer, songwriter, pianist, and conductor
2016 – Merle Haggard, singer, songwriter, and guitarist

Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
National Student Athlete Day
New Beer's Eve (United States)
Tartan Day (United States & Canada)
Fresh Tomato Day

Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies

Image is Fresh Tomatoes

It's an open thread, so do your thing

Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com