John Patton Beatty (born 1828)

In 1828, in the year that John Patton Beatty was born, on April 20th, French explorer René Caillié became the first non-Muslim to enter Timbuktu and to later return alive. He gave Europeans a first hand description of the city. He was awarded a prize of 10,000 francs for his trip - offered by the Société de Géographie.

In 1851, on April 28th, Santa Clara College - now Santa Clara University - was chartered. A private Jesuit college, it has remained in the same location for over 165 years. Originally all students were men but women were admitted in 1961.

In 1894, on April 21st, a coal miners' strike closed mines throughout the central United States. The Panic of 1893, and the resulting depression, hit coal miners hard and the miners only struck for 8 weeks - they couldn't afford to live without their wages any longer.

In 1900, the U.S. population exceeded 75 million, rising about 13 million from the 1890 census. 87.9% of the population was white, 11.6% was African-American, 0.7% was Hispanic, and 0.5% was Native American, Asian, and other minorities.

In 1989, on January 20th, George Herbert Walker Bush became the 41st President of the United States. Previously Ronald Regan's Vice President, he ran against Michael Dukakis and won the popular vote by 53.4% to 45.6%.