April 21 in Pop Culture History

753 BC – Romulus and his twin brother Remus founded Rome.

1509 – Henry VIII ascended the throne of England.

1878 – The first U.S. firehouse pole was installed in New York City, by Capt. David B. Kenyon at Engine Company 21.

1895 – Woodville Latham and his sons, Otway and Gray, demonstrated the “Panopticon” – the first movie projector developed in the United States.

1918 – Above the Somme River in France, Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, was killed by Allied fire, either by an air fight or from the ground.

1930 – 320 people were dead and another 130 were seriously injured in a prison fire at the Ohio State Penitentiary.

1951 – #1 Hit April 21, 1951 – June 22, 1951: Les Paul and Mary Ford – How High The Moon

1956 – #1 Hit April 21, 1956 – June 15, 1956: Elvis Presley – Heartbreak Hotel

1962 – Seattle’s Space Needle Restaurant opened at the Seattle World’s Fair.

1962 – #1 Hit April 21, 1962 – May 4, 1962: Elvis Presley – Good Luck Charm

1973 – #1 Hit April 21, 1973 – May 18, 1973: Tony Orlando and Dawn – Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree

1977 – Annie (Broadway Musical) Opened on April 21, 1977 and closed on January 2, 1983

1979 – #1 Hit April 21, 1979 – April 27, 1979: Amii Stewart – Knock on Wood

1981 – “Weird Al” Yankovic made his first national television appearance on The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder

1984 – #1 Hit April 21, 1984 – May 11, 1984: Phil Collins – Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)

1986 – Geraldo Rivera hosted a live, highly promoted two-hour syndicated special The Mystery of Al Capone’s Vault. They found nothing.

1989 – Field of Dreams and Pet Sematary were released in theaters.

1990 – #1 Hit April 21, 1990 – May 18, 1990: Sinead O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U

1990 – Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue aired, a special program that warned children about the dangers of drugs and featured characters from several Saturday morning children’s shows, it was simulcast by ABC, BET, CBS, Fox, NBC, USA Network, and Nickelodeon.

1992 – The first discoveries of planets outside of our solar system (two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12) were announced by astronomers Alexander Wolszczan and Dale Frail.

1995 – While You Were Sleeping debuted in theaters.

2000 – U-571 was released in theaters.

2004 – Man on Fire debuted in theaters

2007 – #1 Hit April 21, 2007 – May 4, 2007: Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake – Give It To Me

#1 Hot April 21, 2018 – May 18, 2018: Drake – Nice for What