Today in Oklahoma History
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Monday, April, 1, 1878 – On this day Tulsa's first post office was established. more... & more...
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Saturday, April, 1, 2017 – Acclaimed Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko (b.1932) died in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1961 he gained international acclaim with the poem “Babi Yar," that told of the Nazi slaughter of almost 34,000 Jews and denounced the anti-Semitism that had spread throughout the Soviet Union. more...
Oklahoma shield flag adopted
Thursday, April, 2, 1925 – In 1925 a contest was held for a new design for the flag. Mrs. George Fluke, Jr.'s design was chosen and officially adopted by the State Legislature on April 2, 1925. Her design represented Oklahoma's Native American heritage by showing an Osage warrior's buckskin shield, decorated with pendant eagle feathers on a sky blue field. Crossing the shield are a peace pipe and olive branch representing peace and unity from the cultures of the Native American and European-American settlers. In 1941 "OKLAHOMA" was added in white letters below the shield. more...
Teacher Walk Out
Monday, April, 2, 2018 – Thousands of Oklahoma teachers walked out of classrooms in a campaign for higher pay.
Stopping Meth
Sunday, April, 4, 2004 – In order to stop the production of methamphetamine in Oklahoma, legislation was passed to required businesses other than pharmacies to stop selling pseudoehpedrine tablets. The success of this law made Oklahoma's law a model for others states to follow. More...
U.S. Enters WWI
Friday, April, 6, 1917 – United States declares war on Germany after German submarines attacked several American merchant ships, and a proposed Mexico / Germany alliance was exposed. more...
Bonnie and Clyde
Friday, April, 6, 1934 – On this day Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and Henry Methvin shot and killed police officer Cal Campbell and kidnap Chief Percy Boyd near Commerce, Oklahoma. Chief Boyd was later released. more...
Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum
Thursday, April, 6, 1967 – On this day a groundbreaking ceremony was held at 2716 N.E. 50th St., in Oklahoma City, where the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum is still located today. The building was completed in 1969 and houses the Museum and the offices of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association (OSFA), Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association (OCFA) and the Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association (ORFA). more...
Oklahoma Ends 51 Years of Prohibition
Tuesday, April, 7, 1959 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution ended the prohibition of alcohol in 1933. However Oklahoma wouldn't end its prohibition until this day in 1959.
Tinker Air Force Base
Tuesday, April, 8, 1941 – On this day a War Department order was officially signed awarding a supply and maintenance depot to Oklahoma City. In 1942, the new installation was named Tinker Field in honor of Major General Clarence L. Tinker of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. General Tinker was killed in a crash while leading a flight of B-24 Liberators on a long-range strike against Japanese forces on Wake Island during World War II. more...
Robert E. Lee Surrenders
Saturday, April, 9, 1864 – The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signaled the end of the Confederacy
The Woodward Tornado
Wednesday, April, 9, 1947 – The most deadly tornado to ever strike within the borders of the state of Oklahoma occurred on Wednesday, April 9, 1947 in the city of Woodward. The Woodward tornadic storm began in the Texas Panhandle during the afternoon of April 9, 1947, and produced at least six tornadoes along a 220 mile path that stretched from White Deer, TX (northeast of Amarillo) to St. Leo, KS (west of Wichita). more...
Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake
Wednesday, April, 9, 1952 – On this day a magnitude 5.5 earthquake centered near El Reno affected most of Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Texas. Damage from the 10:30 a.m. CST earthquake was not extensive, but many people in the epicentral area were alarmed, some to near panic. Portions of chimneys fell in El Reno and Ponca City. Bricks loosened from a building wall and tile facing of commercial buildings bulged at Oklahoma City. Also, plate glass windows were shattered in the business district of El Reno. The total damage amounted to several thousand dollars. more...
The Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak
Tuesday, April, 10, 1979 – To the people of the Red River Valley in Texas and Oklahoma, nothing about the weather appeared unusual during the early hours of April 10, 1979: it was business as usual. But before the day's end, three very large, devastating tornadoes swept across the area leaving scores dead and hundreds injured. Most of the deaths were in Wichita Falls and Vernon, Texas, and Lawton, Oklahoma. more...
American Civil War Begins
Friday, April, 12, 1861 – American Civil War: The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. In the years to come several battles will be fought in the territory to become Oklahoma. more...
Hospital Fire
Saturday, April, 13, 1918 – A fire swept over the Central Oklahoma State Hospital in Norman killing 40 patients. more...
Wildfires
Friday, April, 13, 2018 – Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin declared a state of emergency in 55 of the state's 77 counties following wildfires that have forced the evacuation of some 1,400 people in three towns. Oklahoma officials said wildfires have killed two people and burned over 625 square miles in the western part of the state.
Black Sunday
Sunday, April, 14, 1935 – Black Sunday refers to a particularly severe dust storm that occurred on April 14, 1935, as part of the Dust Bowl. It was one of the worst dust storms in American history and it caused immense economic and agricultural damage. It is estimated to have displaced 300 million tons of topsoil from the prairie area in the US. more...
Sooners
Monday, April, 15, 1889 – A marshal's posse killed and captured a group of Sooners, settlers who stole onto the Public Domain territory in Oklahoma in hopes of claiming it legally, just nine days before the official start of the land rush.
Cheyenne and Arapaho Lands Opened
Tuesday, April, 19, 1892 – The Cheyenne and Arapaho lands in western Oklahoma were opened. more ...
Oklahoma City bombing
Wednesday, April, 19, 1995 – On this day the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, downtown Oklahoma City was bombed. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were the perpetrators of the attack, which killed 168 people, including 19 children. Timothy McVeigh was later sentenced to death by lethal injection, while his partner, Terry Nichols, who was convicted of 161 counts of First Degree Murder received life in prison without the possibility of parole. more...
Spanish-American War
Thursday, April, 21, 1898 – Many Oklahoma's join the fight during The Spanish-American War, a military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place from April to August 1898. more... & more...
Timothy McVeigh Arrested
Friday, April, 21, 1995 – The FBI arrested former soldier Timothy McVeigh at an Oklahoma jail where he had spent two days on minor traffic and weapons charges; he was charged in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing two days earlier in which over 200 people were killed by a truck bomb that exploded in front of a Federal building.
James Garner Statue
Friday, April, 21, 2006 – A 10-foot-tall bronze statue of actor James Garner as Bret Maverick was unveiled in Garner's hometown of Norman, Oklahoma, with Garner present at the ceremony.
Oklahoma City Settled
Monday, April, 22, 1889 – Oklahoma City was first settled on this day, when the area known as the "unassigned lands" was opened for settlement in The Land Run. Some 10,000 homesteaders settled the area now known as Oklahoma City, and within 10 years the population had doubled. By the time Oklahoma was admitted to the Union in 1907, Oklahoma City had supplanted Guthrie, the territorial capital, as the population center and commercial hub of the new state. more...
Reeves Brothers Casino
Tuesday, April, 23, 1889 – One of the most notorious gambling houses of the Southwest, opened in a tent April 23, 1889. Soon a frame building went up later replaced by brick. The owners claimed their doors never closed, day or night for 15 years. When closed by prohibition in 1907, a key could not be found. Inside a sign proclaimed: "We the citizens of Guthrie are law-abiding people. But to anyone coming here looking for trouble, we always keep it in stock with a written guarantee that we will give you a decent burial. We will wash your face, comb your hair, and polish your boots. Place your sombrero on your grave, and erect a memento as a warning to others saying... "he tried and failed." more...
Pryor Tornado
Monday, April, 27, 1942 – Tornado destroyed Pryor, Oklahoma, killing 100 and injuring 300. more...
Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed
Saturday, April, 30, 1803 – On this day the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed by Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Barb Marbois at Paris. President Thomas Jefferson announced the treaty to the American people on July 4. Part of the Louisiana Purchase included lands that would become Oklahoma. more...