April 6 in History: First Modern Olympics Begin, Twinkie Invented, and Post-It Notes Introduced

Discover what happened on April 6 in history, along with notable events that shaped sports, innovation, and everyday life.

What Happened on April 6 in History?

Important events on this day include the start of the first modern Olympic Games, the invention of the Twinkie, and the introduction of Post-It Notes.

APRIL 6 – TODAY IN HISTORY:

1789 – The first U.S. Congress began regular sessions at the Federal Hall in New York, NY.

1830 – Joseph Smith and five others organized the Mormon Church in western New York.

1869 – Celluloid was patented.

1875 – Alexander Graham Bell was granted a patent for the multiple telegraph, which sent two signals at the same time.

1896 – The first modern Olympic Games began in Athens, Greece, 1,500 years after the original games were banned by Roman Emperor Theodosiua I.

1900 – World’s first heavyweight title boxing match was held in Detroit, MI.

1909 – Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson claimed to be the first men to reach the North Pole.

1916 – Charlie Chaplin, at age 26, became the highest-paid film star in the world when he signed a contract with Mutual Film Corporation for $675,000 a year. (It would be equivalent to about $15 million today.)

1924 – Four planes left Seattle, WA, on the first successful flight around the world.

1926 – Varney Airlines made their first commercial flight. Varney was the root company of United Airlines.

1927 – William P. MacCracken, Jr. earned license number ‘1’ when the Department of Commerce issued the first aviator’s license.

1930 – A baker in Schiller Park IL, named James Alexander Dewar, invented a snack cake filled with banana cream. He called it the “Twinkie”. Due to banana rationing during World War II, the filling was changed to vanilla cream.

1943 – 4,000 Grand Rapids, MI citizens gathered at the Kent County Airport to dedicate a B-17 bomber which was financed by war bonds bought by students of South High School. They raised $375,000.

1947 – The first Tony Awards were presented for theatrical achievement.

1956 – Capitol Tower, the home of Capitol Records in Hollywood, CA, was dedicated. It was the first circular office tower designed in America. It is 13 stories tall and 92 feet in diameter.

1957 – Trolley cars in New York, NY, completed their final runs.

1965 – The first communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit, Early Bird, was launched.

1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the use of ground troops in combat operations in Vietnam.

1973 – The Pioneer 11 spacecraft was launched.

1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball began using the designated hitter.

1974 – The Swedish band ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 with the song “Waterloo”, which launched their international career.

1974 – “Piano Man” became Billy Joel’s first Top 40 hit.

1980 – Post-It Notes first appeared in stores. 3M produced these small pieces of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on the back. Originally small yellow squares, Post-it Notes and related products are available in various colors, shapes, sizes and adhesive strengths. As of 2019, there are at least 26 documented colors of Post-it Notes.

1983 – The U.S. Veteran’s Administration announced it would give free medical care for conditions traceable to radiation exposure to more than 220,000 veterans who participated in nuclear tests from 1945 to 1962.

1983 – Interior Secretary James Watt banned the Beach Boys from a 4th of July celebration on the Washington Mall. He said rock ‘n’ roll bands attract the “wrong element.”

1985 – William J. Schroeder became the first artificial heart recipient to be discharged from the hospital.

1987 – Dennis Levine began a two-year jail term for insider trading.

1987 – The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,400 for the first time.

1987 – Sugar Ray Leonard took the middleweight title from Marvin Hagler.

1988 – Mathew Henson was awarded honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Henson had discovered the North Pole with Robert Peary.

1997 – Mario Lemieux, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, announced that he would retire from the National Hockey League following the playoffs of the current season.

1998 – Citicorp and Travelers Group announced that they would be merging. The new creation was the largest financial-services conglomerate in the world. The name would become Citigroup on October 8th.

1998 – The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 9,000 points for the first time.

1998 – Federal researchers in the U.S. announced that daily tamoxifen pills could cut breast cancer risk among high-risk women.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON APRIL 6:

Billy Dee Williams – 89 years old (1937) – Actor, singer, and writer

Roy Thinnes – 88 years old (1938) – Television and film actor

John Sculley – 87 years old (1939) – Businessman, co-founded Zeta Interactive

Don Prudhomme – 85 years old (1941) – Race car driver and manager

Barry Levinson – 84 years old (1942) – Actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

John Ratzenberger – 79 years old (1947) – Actor and director

André Weinfeld – 79 years old (1947) – French-American director, producer, and screenwriter

Bert Blyleven – 75 years old (1951) – Dutch-American baseball player and sportscaster

Marilu Henner – 74 years old (1952) – Greek-Polish American actress and author

Christopher Franke – 73 years old (1953) – German-American drummer and songwriter

Rob Epstein – 71 years old (1955) – Director and producer

Michael Rooker – 71 years old (1955) – Actor, director, and producer

Michele Bachmann – 70 years old (1956) – Lawyer and politician

Sebastian Spreng – 70 years old (1956) – Argentinian-American painter and journalist

Warren Haynes – 66 years old (1960) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

John Pizzarelli – 66 years old (1960) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Tim Walz – 62 years old (1964) – Politician, Governor of Minnesota & vice presidential candidate

Black Francis – 61 years old (1965) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Sterling Sharpe – 61 years old (1965) – Football player and sportscaster

Young Man Kang – 60 years old (1966) – South Korean-American director and producer

Archon Fung – 58 years old (1968) – Political scientist, author, and academic

Bret Boone – 57 years old (1969) – Baseball player and manager

Paul Rudd – 57 years old (1969) – Actor

Spencer Wells – 57 years old (1969) – Geneticist and anthropologist

Roy Mayorga – 56 years old (1970) – Drummer, songwriter, and producer

Dickey Simpkins – 54 years old (1972) – Basketball player and sportscaster

Donnie Edwards – 53 years old (1973) – Football player

Randall Godfrey – 53 years old (1973) – Football player

Zach Braff – 51 years old (1975) – Actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

Hal Gill – 51 years old (1975) – Ice hockey player

Candace Cameron Bure – 50 years old (1976) – Actress and talk show panelist

Chris Hoke – 50 years old (1976) – Football player

Andy Phillips – 49 years old (1977) – Baseball player and coach

Imani Coppola – 48 years old (1978) – Singer-songwriter and violinist

Robert Glasper – 48 years old (1978) – Singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer

Tim Hasselbeck – 48 years old (1978) – Football player and sportscaster

Blaine Neal – 48 years old (1978) – Baseball player

Clay Travis – 47 years old (1979) – Sports journalist, blogger, and broadcaster

Jeff Faine – 45 years old (1981) – Football player

Alex Suarez – 45 years old (1981) – Bass player

Max Bemis – 42 years old (1984) – Singer-songwriter

Sinqua Walls – 41 years old (1985) – Basketball player and actor

Aaron Curry – 40 years old (1986) – Football player

Heidi Mount – 39 years old (1987) – Model

Hilary Rhoda – 39 years old (1987) – Model

Carlton Mitchell – 38 years old (1988) – Football player

Charlie McDermott – 36 years old (1990) – Actor

Julie Ertz – 34 years old (1992) – Soccer player

Peyton List – 28 years old (1998) – Actress and model

Spencer List – 28 years old (1998) – Actor

Andrea Botez – 24 years old (2002) – Canadian-American chess player, commentator, Twitch streamer and YouTuber

Shaylee Mansfield – 17 years old (2009) – deaf American actress and YouTuber

DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR APRIL 6:

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.