April ONE

Did some searching in Google for April 1 events.

To start with, Veneralia was celebrated to honor Venus in ancient Rome (we're talking about the whole empire, not the city). It is said that the festivities to herald the start of the year in the old Julian calendar extended to April 1 or near the date, and when Europe shifted to the Gregorian calendar, the celebration morphed into what many countries observe today as April Fool's Day.

Other events that happened on this day:
1803: France sells the Louisiana Territory to the United States
1826: The internal combustion engine is patented by Samuel Morey (USA)
1866: The US Congress rejects veto of Pres. A. Johnson on Civil Rights Act (passed April 9)
1875: The first newspaper weather map is published by Sir Francis Galton in England
1889: First dishwashing machine introduced in Chicago Illinois, USA
1933: Organization of the Anti-Jewish Boycott by the NAZI Germany
1938: Seigel and Shuster's Superman debuts in Action Comics #1 (June 1938 issue, USA)
1939: General Francisco Franco officially ends the Spanish Civil War, Franco Gov't recognized
1947: First Jewish immigrants disembark at Port of Eilat, Israel
1952: Big Bang Theory proposed in Physical Review by US scientists Alpher, Bethe and Gamow
1960: USA's NASA launches TIROS1, the first weather observation satellite
1976: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in California, USA
1979: Iran becomes an Islamic Republic.
1979: Nickelodeon Network (originally Pinwheel) debuts on American Cable TV
1982: US formally transfers Canal Zone to Panama
2001: First legal same-sex marriage in Netherlands and Quebec Canada is celebrated

Real people born on this day:
1578: William Harvey, d. 1657
............English Physician known for Discovery of (Blood) Circulation
1776: Sophie Germain, d. 1831
............French Mathematician who worked on the Theory of Elasticity (Metals)
1815: Otto von Bismarck, d. 1898
............Prussian prime minister, founder and chancellor of the German Empire
1873: Sergei Rachmaninoff, d. 1943
............Russian/American composer, pianist and conductor
................."Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" is one of his known works
1908: Abraham Maslow, d. 1970
............American philosopher and psychologist, best remembered for his "Hierarchy of Needs"
1926: Anne McCaffrey
............American science fiction author, most associated with the Pern series of books
1932: Debbie Reynolds
............American actress/dancer
.................Best Actress Academy Award nominee for "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (1964)
1938: Ali MacGraw
............American actress, shot to fame in the movie "Love Story" (1970)

Fictional characters supposedly born this day:
1978: Fred and George Weasley - "The Weasley Twins"
............Characters from the 7-book British Harry Potter series (1997- ) by J.K. Rowling
1980: Bartholomew J. Simpson - "Bart"
............Character from the US Cartoon show, The Simpsons.(1989- ) by Matt Groening
.................Note: Birthday could also be Dec. 17, 1979 or June 25, 1982