MOMENTS IN TIME - April 15, 2010

The History Channel

* On April 30, 1789, George Washington is sworn in as the first American president and delivers the first inaugural speech, at Federal Hall in New York City. Observers noted that Washington fidgeted while he reiterated the mixed emotions of anxiety and honor he felt in assuming the role of president.

* On April 28, 1897, the Chickasaw and Choctaw, two of the Five Civilized Tribes, become the first to agree to abolish tribal government and communal ownership of land. The other tribes soon followed, finally throwing open all of Indian Territory to white settlement.

* On May 1, 1926, Ford Motor Company becomes one of the first companies in America to adopt a five-day, 40-hour week for workers. Manufacturers all over the country soon followed Ford’s lead, and the Monday-to-Friday workweek became standard practice.

* On May 2, 1933, the modern legend of the Loch Ness Monster is born when a sighting makes local news in the Scottish Highlands. The Inverness Courier newspaper related an account of a local couple who claimed to have seen “an enormous animal rolling and plunging on the surface.” Scholars of the Loch Ness Monster find a dozen references to “Nessie” in Scottish history, dating back to around 500 A.D.

* On April 26, 1954, the Salk polio vaccine field trials, involving 1.8 million children, begin in McLean, Va. On Apr. 12, 1955, researchers announced the vaccine was safe and effective, and it quickly became a standard part of childhood immunizations in America.

* On April 27, 1963, Margaret Annemarie Battavio’s very first single, “I Will Follow Him,” reached No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts. The 15-year-old singer, better known as Little Peggy March, became the youngest female performer ever to top the Billboard Hot 100.

* On April 29, 1986, in a game against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park, Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox becomes the first pitcher in Major League Baseball to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game. Ten years later, Clemens repeated the feat, the only player in baseball history to do so.

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