APRIL 30 — 1997 Ellen comes out; 1789 Washington gives 1st inauguration; 2003 Holloman breaks speed record in White Sands; 2016 Largest organ transplant gathering at Cal State Fullerton
APRIL 30
1997-Ellen comes out.
…And, it’s about time someone did. Ellen Lee Degeneres, born in Louisiana in 1958, starred on ABC’s These Friends of Mine during the 1990s. But when it was accepted she was clearly the star, the show was renamed to Ellen. Rumors began circulating in 1996 that her character on the show was an openly lesbian, which would make Ellen the first prime0time sitcom to feature a gay leading character. Amanda Bearse, who played the Al Bundy’s neighbor in Married With Children which ran from 1987 to 1997, had publicly announced she was a lesbian, but on Married with Children she wasn’t a main character, although that did help to open the door.
Getting back to Ellen…she finally made the big announcement in real life about her sexuality on Oprah, Time magazine, and Diane Sawyer on 20/20. A week later, her character on the wshow, Ellen Morgan, a bookstore manager, came out in front of 42 million viewers who watched the April 30th special hour-long episode. The episode featured Laura Dem, Oprah, k.d. Lang, Demi Moore, Billy Bob Thornton and Dwight Yoakam.
The sitcom eventually fizzled out but since then, Ellen DeGeneres has hosted the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Primtetime Emmies. She’s authored three books, and started her own record company, Eleveneleven. She’s won 13 Emmys, 14 People’s Choice Awards, and tons of other awards for her work and charitable efforts.
Like a boss!
2003 Holloman High Speed Test Track boasts a new record.
But before I get into the four stage rocket sled system that burned down the 10-mile super railroad at nearly 6500 MPH, let me talk about the track real quick.
Located on the eastern edges of White Sand in New Mexico, There’s a maximum speed limit of Mach 10. The specialty here is to propel test vehicles along the track with rocket motors. Ejection seat testing has been a big area of focus since the 1950s.
The HHSTT has tested vehicles going over 9,000 feet per second, which as one of the crew members pointed out, is three times faster than a rifle bullet. And on April 30,, 2003, the 846th test squadron used a vehicle with a hypersonic upgrade program aka HUP, and delivered a nearly 200 lb. payload to its target going 9,645 feet/second.
1789-George Washington gives America its first inaugural speech.
…This just mighjt make me cry because of its beauty. So Washington seemed nervous, and historians debate whether it’s because he’d rather fight in battle than lead the new country, or because he was so honored or touched. Maybe he just wasn’t good at giving speeches to large crowds.
At any rate, he took the oath on April 30th as the first president of the United States, administered by Robert R. Livingston, the Chancellor of New York, on a second floor balcony of Federal Hall, bove a crowd of 10,000 people. He then retired with the members of Congress to the Senate Chamber, where Washington delivered the first address to a joint session of Congress.
Although he spoke in generalities, he also noted the power of the nation’s call for him to serve as president and the shared responsibility of the president and Congress to preserve “the sacred fire of liberty” and a republican form of government.
2016 largest gathering of organ transplant recipients show up to the Donate a Life Run Walk event at California State Fullerton. The goal of the event is to raise awareness about life-saving importance of organ, eye and tissue donations. I wasn’t there so I don’t know if they were just handing out pancreases and livers and eyeballs or how that worked. This particular event saw 314 recipients!
Even Hannibal Lecture said he was full after the first hour. He thought it was an all-you-can-eat!
1933, Happy birthday Shotgun Willie.
Willie Hugh Nelson, born in Abbott TX during the depression became one of music’s legendary artist, guitarist, author, poert, actor and activist. He wrote his first song at age 7 and joined his first band at age 10.
One of his highlights, and he has many, came in 1990 when the Internal Revenue Service claimed that Willie owed US $32M. Apparently his accountant screwed up. No problem! Willi released a double album called The IRS Tapes: Who’ll Buy My Memories? Lots of people did and his debt was quickly paid off.
These days for his 83rd birthday, Willie Nelson is the co-chair on the advisory board of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. It’s your birthdeay, Willie. You can do whatever the hell you want.