April 8 Birthday
On April 8, 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th major league home run, surpassing Babe Ruth's record of 714. The pitch was a fastball from Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Aaron hit it into the Atlanta Braves' bullpen, where it was caught by relief pitcher Tom House. The game was interrupted by two fans who ran onto the field alongside Aaron as he rounded the bases. Aaron had received thousands of death threats and hate mail in the months leading to the record — people who did not want a Black man to hold it. He had a police escort and a private plane. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn was not present — he sent a surrogate. Aaron finished his career with 755 home runs, a record that stood until Barry Bonds broke it in 2007. Aaron said the chase cost him years of his life. Pablo Picasso died on April 8, 1973, at his villa in Mougins, France. He was ninety-one. He produced over 50,000 works of art — paintings, sculptures, ceramics, prints, drawings. He co-founded Cubism with Georges Braque in 1907, and his Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, painted at twenty-six, is considered the most influential painting of the 20th century. Picasso was a difficult man — misogynistic, possessive, and tireless. Two of his lovers committed suicide after his death. His estate was so complex that it took six years to settle, and the French government received so many works in estate taxes that it needed a museum to house them — the Musée Picasso in Paris. The Works Progress Administration was approved by Congress on April 8, 1935, as part of the New Deal. It employed 8.5 million people over eight years, building 650,000 miles of roads, 78,000 bridges, 125,000 buildings, and 8,000 parks. It also employed artists — painters, writers, musicians, actors. The Federal Writers' Project produced state guidebooks that are still valuable references. The Federal Theatre Project staged plays that were seen by 30 million people. The WPA was the largest public works program in American history. It was defunded in 1943 as wartime production eliminated unemployment. Mary Pickford, born this day in 1892, was "America's Sweetheart" — though she was Canadian. She co-founded United Artists with Charlie Chaplin, D.W. Griffith, and her husband Douglas Fairbanks. She was one of the original thirty-six founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She received the Best Actress Oscar in 1929, and her hair — golden ringlets — was the most imitated hairstyle of the 1920s. People born on April 8 fall under the zodiac sign of Aries. The birthstone is Diamond and the birth flower is Daisy. Historical events on April 8 include 1935: Congress approves Works Progress Administration (WPA), 1973: Pablo Picasso dies in Mougins, France at age 91, 1974: Hank Aaron hits 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record. Famous people born on April 8 include Mary Pickford (1892), Betty Ford (1918), Robin Wright (1966).