April 11
Australian History Saturday, April 11, 1992. : It is reported that a tiny tooth has changed beliefs about the origins of Australian marsupials. The scientific world has long upheld the belief that marsupials are an inferior species, only surviving in Australia due to the absence of placental mammals. For years, it was believed that, when the Australian […]
April 05
Australian History Tuesday, April 5, 1932. : Australia’s best-known racehorse, Phar Lap, dies under suspicious circumstances. Phar Lap, a giant chestnut thoroughbred gelding, standing 17.1 hands high, is regarded by many to be Australia’s and New Zealand’s greatest racehorse. A much-loved Australian national icon, he was actually born and bred in Timaru, in the South Island of […]
April 03
Born on this day Thursday, April 3, 1924. : American singer and actress Doris Day is born. Doris Day was born Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff on 3 April 1924, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She developed an interest in dance during her early years, and by her teens had formed a dance duo that performed locally in Cincinnati. […]
April 22
Born on this day Sunday, April 22, 1917. : Australian artist Sidney Nolan is born. Sidney Nolan, who became one of Australia’s best known painters of the twentieth century, was born in Melbourne on 22 April 1917. He was one of the leading figures of the “Heide Circle” of artists which also included Albert Tucker, Joy Hester […]
April 28
Born on this day Tuesday, April 28, 1908. : Oskar Schindler, the man responsible for saving over a thousand Jews during the Holocaust, is born. Oskar Schindler was born into a wealthy business family on 28 April 1908 in Zwittau, now Svitavy, Bohemia, which was then part of Austria-Hungary, but is now the Czech Republic. As a […]
April 12
Australian History Friday, April 12, 1895. : The Spotswood Sewer Disaster occurs in Melbourne, killing 6. Westgate Memorial Park located in Spotswood, Melbourne, Australia, is a tribute to some of the Australian workers who have lost their lives in work-related accidents. The Memorial Park opened on 15 October 2004, and is particularly dedicated to those who were […]
April 26
Australian History Saturday, April 26, 1890. : Australian poet Banjo Paterson publishes his iconic bush ballad ‘The Man From Snowy River’. ‘The Man From Snowy River’ is a bush ballad by Australian poet and writer A B ‘Banjo’ Paterson. Andrew Barton Paterson was born in 1864, near Orange, New South Wales. He was a proficient student and […]
April 16
Born on this day Tuesday, April 16, 1889. : Actor, writer, director, producer, composer and choreographer, Charlie Chaplin, is born. Charles Spencer Chaplin, Jr, was believed to be born on 16 April 1889 in either London or Fontainebleau, France, but there is some doubt as to both his birthplace and his date of birth. His parents separated […]
April 02
Born on this day Monday, April 2, 1877. : Mordecai Ham, the man who led Billy Graham to Christ, is born. Mordecai Ham was born on 2 April 1877 on a farm near Scottsville, Kentucky. Coming as he did from eight generations of Baptist preachers, he could not pinpoint the exact date of his conversion, as he […]
April 25
Born on this day Saturday, April 25, 1874. : Marconi, inventor of the wireless telegraph, is born. Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy, on 25 April 1874. Marconi is best known for the development of a wireless telegraphy system, which came to be known as “radio”. Marconi demonstrated the transmission and reception of Morse Code based […]