[goofywife]

1974: Hank Aaron breaks home run record

Atlanta Braves player Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth's record today when he hit his 715th home run. With a crowd of 53,775 watching, a record attendance at the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Aaron's famous hit was made in the fourth inning of the Braves' 7-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"The great chase is over for Hank Aaron. Aaron's pursuit of Babe Ruth's once seemingly unbeatable career home run record, a pursuit that took 20 years and nearly 3,000 major league baseball games, ended Monday night when 'The Hammer' hit his 715th," reported the Bucks County Courier Times on April 9, 1974. "Hank Aaron hit 40 home runs last season, most ever by a 39-year-old player, and was only one behind Babe Ruth when this season began."

NOTE: The Braves traded Aaron to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1974 season, and Aaron hit his 755th and final home run on July 20, 1976.



1895: Court announces income tax decision

"As forecasted by the newspapers for several days, the supreme court has decided that the income tax law is unconstitutional so far as it affects incomes derived from rents and real estate or from state, county and municipal bonds. The court was divided as to the remainder of the law," reported The Waukesha Freeman on April 11, 1895. "The chief justice proceeded to a consideration of the constitutional requirements with respect to the imposition of taxation, direct and indirect, and said that the framers of the constitution intended to make the consent of those who were expected to pay essential to the validity of the tax." NOTE: The Sixteenth Amendment overruled this supreme court decision, allowing Congress to levy an income tax without regard to the State.

1973: Artist Pablo Picasso dies

Spanish artist Pablo Picasso died in France today. "Art lovers around the world today saluted the genius of Pablo Picasso, dead at 91 after one of the most notable and influential careers in the history of painting," wrote The Lawton Constitution on April 9, 1973. "The Spanish-born revolutionary who changed the course of 20th century art died Sunday at his walled estate overlooking the Mediterranean. Death was attributed to a heart attack brought on by collection of fluid in the lungs."

1943: Roosevelt checks inflation

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared that a wages would be frozen, a price ceiling would be implemented on all food commodities, and workers would not be permitted to change jobs unless the change would aid the war effort, all in an attempt to check out-of-control inflation. “Mr. Roosevelt said he thought everyone should avoid over-playing either scarcity or plenty because that is not good for public morale. We will have trouble, he said, if the public stops buying all at one time or tries all to buy at the same time,” informed The Delta Democrat-Times on April 9, 1943.

1904: New York chooses name 'Times Square'

Long Acre Square in Manhattan, New York, was renamed Times Square today. "By the action of the Board of Aldermen, made effective yesterday by the signature of the Mayor, the open space formed by the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue, and extending from Forty-second to Forty-seventh Street, hitherto popularly known as 'Long Acre Square,' received the name of Times Square," explained The New York Times on April 9, 1904. "The choice of this name grew naturally out of the necessity of having a distinctive title for the subway station in the basement of The Times Building at the corner of Forty-second Street and Broadway."