APRIL 4 — 1968 Dr. King assassinated; 1882 New of Jesse James’ ambush hit newspaper headlines; 1933 Bill Francis Birthday; 1841 Pres. Harrison dies in office; 1865 Lincoln has a nightmare
APRIL 4
1968 – Dr. Martin Luther King is shot
…in the neck by James Earl Ray. The passing of America’s most important civil rights leader at that time sparked a wave of riots in black communities everywhere. Ray took off to Canada using different aliases, and was found by authorities at Heathrow Airport in London on his way to Belgium. Ray was a career criminal who had no political motivation for assassination Dr. King, so it is generally believed he was paid off since he had the resources to pull it off. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison and died in 1998.
1882 – Here are the headlines. Kansas City Star: Jesse James: The Great Outlaw Killed at His Home in St. Joseph at Eight O’clock Yesterday Morning. New York Tribune: Jesse James, the Bandit, Killed. The Tribune goes on to read, a great sensation was created in this city this morning by the announcement that Jesse James, the notorious bandit and train robber, had been shot and killed here.
Was the son of a preacher man, yes he was, Jesse was born September 5 1847 in Clay County MO. He and big brother Frank led a gang of guerilla fighters for the Confederate Army during the Civil War, riding out west robbing trains, mail wagons and terrorizing those loyal to the Union.
After the war, Jesse got shot in the chest during a fight with some Union soldiers in Lexington MO, and his cousin and future wife Zepeda (just call her Zee) nursed Jesse back in shape. Later on, he and Zee would have two children together. Jesse and Frank went out on their own once again, this time leading the James-Younger gang featuring some of his Confederate riders from the war. They robbed banks from Missouri to, to Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota and West Virginia.
But in 1876 their luck ran out during a robbery attempt in Minnesota, in which Jesse and Frank lost all their men. The two rode into safety, and Frank decided to hang it up for a while. But Jesses wouldn’t and was back on the run with a new gang he didn’t trust.
1913 – Happy birthday Muddy Waters,
and thank you thank you thank you for your contribution.. Muddy Waters was bornHe made Chicago-Blues…da naaa na na. But he’s from the Mississippi Delta..da naa na na. His real name’s Mckinley Morganfieldda na na na na na na NA! He started out as a cotton—picker who got 50 cents a day. He was discovered by Alan Lomax from the Library of Congress and next thing you know…Got My Mojo Workin! The original Hoochie Koochie Man was playing with hundreds of thousands of other African American musicians and that’s a lot of people.
Which makes it hard to hear in rowdy nightclubs. He got the electric guitar and changed Chicago forever! Do you realize how important Muddy Waters was? If it weren’t for the Rolling Stone, we wouldn’t have the Rolling Stones. Just ask Mick Jagger. We probably wouldn’t have Bob Dylan either. Da naa na na!
Speaking of entertainment…
1933 – Happy Birthday Little Bill!
Bill Frances Jr, founder of NASCAAR. And in his family the apple didn’t fall far. His dad, Big Bill, was a racer and promoter in Daytona. As Little Bill was groing up, he discovered what a corrupt business auto racing was. So he took it on himself, witgh Big Bill’s help and support, he formed a governing body to authorize and promote racing. Bill Sr eventually retired, and Bill Junior kept the business in the family as well.
In 2003, Little Bill passed the torch to the dynasty to his son Brian, and said in USA Today “NASCAR has morphed into a multi-billion dollar industry flush with Fortune 500 backing, long-term network TV contracts, and racers at gleaming superspeedways in metropolitan markets such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Boston.”
1841 – Tippecanoe dies of pneumonia
after being President for 31 days. William Henry Harrison, born in 1776 in Charles County VA, was also future-President Benjamin Harrison’s grandfather. In 1800 he was elected governor of the Indian Territory, led forces against Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and defeated them at Tippecanoe, routed the combined forces of British and Native American Indians from Detroit in the War of 1812 during the famous Battle of Thames. He became a Whig Senator in 1825, and retired to his farm. In Ohio, ran for president, got defeated, retired again.
He ran for president again, got elected as the 9th President of the United States, and a month later decided not to bring his jacket or his hat on a really cold day to delicver a 2 hour speech. He got sick, and then sicker, and then sicker. John Tyler then took over as president. Speaking of Presidential deaths…
1965- Abe Lincoln’s nightmare happened on April 4, 10 days before his actual assassination. In the dream, he heard subdued sobs of mourners and saw a corpse and asked a solder: “Who is dead in the white house?” The soldier replied, “ The President he was killed by an assassin.”
Not sure why that would be a surprise since Lincoln was clearly marked. The death threats were endless.