NEA DATEBOOK

Today is the 112th day of 2021 and the 34th day of spring.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began as thousands of settlers were allowed into the state to claim land at high noon.

In 1954, live television broadcasting of the U.S. Senate’s Army-McCarthy hearings began.

In 1970, an estimated 20 million Americans participated in nationwide demonstrations marking the first Earth Day.

In 2000, federal agents seized 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez from his relatives’ house in Miami to return him to his father in Cuba.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Henry Fielding (1707-1754), author/playwright; Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), philosopher; Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), Soviet leader; J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967), physicist; Bettie Page (1923-2008), model/actress; Aaron Spelling (1923-2006), screenwriter/producer; Glen Campbell (1936-2017), singer-songwriter; Jack Nicholson (1937- ), actor; John Waters (1946- ), filmmaker; Peter Frampton (1950- ), singer-songwriter; Jeffrey Dean Morgan (1966- ), actor; Amber Heard (1986- ), actress; Marshawn Lynch (1986- ), football player; Machine Gun Kelly (1990- ), rapper.

TODAY’S FACT: The Senate’s ArmyMcCarthy hearings were the first nationally televised congressional inquiry.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 2004, former professional football player Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “Seek not the favor of the multitude; it is seldom got by honest and lawful means. But seek the testimony of few; and number not voices, but weigh them.” — Immanuel Kant

TODAY’S NUMBER: 9.4 — percentage of Oklahoma’s population that is Native American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (April 20) and full moon (April 26).