April 19 in History

• 1774

  April 19, 1774:

  Italian and French opera composer, Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera “Iphigénie en Aulide” premieres in Paris.

• 1919

  April 19, 1919:

  The American parachutist Leslie Irvin performs the world's first-ever free fall parachute jump by using a rip cord instead of a canister.

• 1924

  April 19, 1924:

  "National Barn Dance" shows on a commercial television station in Chicago Illinois called ‘WLS’.

• 1927

  April 19, 1927: Celebrated actress Mae West is charged with “obscenity and corrupting the morals of youth”. She is sentenced to 10 days imprisonment and slapped with a fine of 500 USD.

• 1948

  April 19, 1948: The multinational commercial broadcast television network, known as the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) launches its television network.

• 1971

  April 19, 1971:

  The first orbital station, Salyut 1 is put into orbit by the Soviet Union.

• 1975

  April 19, 1975:

  United States pop rock band The Raspberries, known for the hit songs titled “Go All the Way” and “I Can Remember” officially breaks up.

• 1987

  April 19, 1987:

  The first installment of the animated sitcom titled “The Simpsons” is broadcasted.

• 1994

  April 19, 1994:

  US rapper and entrepreneur Nas drops his debut studio album titled “Illmatic” by Columbia Records at age 20.