WAY BACK WHEN for Wednesday, April 15, 2026
1770 English chemist Joseph Priestly referring to rubber describes in a footnote: “I have seen a substance excellently adapted to the purpose of wiping from paper the mark of black-lead-pencil”, thus discovering the use of rubber as an eraser. Prior to the rubber eraser, breadcrumbs were generally used as erasers.
1947, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first African American player to appear in a regular season Major League baseball game.
1955, Ray Kroc opened The First McDonald’s restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. Ray Kroc originally sold milkshake machines.
When he saw how much business they made for the McDonald brothers’ restaurant in Southern California, he sold them on the idea of letting him open McDonald’s across the country.
Music History:
1983, “Flashdance” was released. It starred Jennifer Beals and earned Irene Cara an Oscar for the song: “Flashdance, what a Feeling’.”
Notable Birthdays:
Actress Emma Watson 36
Actor Seth Rogan 44
Actress Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility and Men in Black) a67
Credit to:
Thisdayinmusic.com and Thisdaytrivia.com
