ON THIS DAY~APR 10

     1866  ASPCA is founded

On April 10, 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by philanthropist and diplomat Henry Bergh, 54.

In 1863, Bergh had been appointed by President Abraham Lincoln to a diplomatic post at the Russian court of Czar Alexander II. It was there that he was horrified to witness work horses beaten by their peasant drivers. En route back to America, a June 1865 visit to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in London awakened his determination to secure a charter not only to incorporate the ASPCA but to exercise the power to arrest and prosecute violators of the law.

 

1849  Walter Hunt of New York City Patented the Safety Pin

 

1906 The Gift of the Magi is Published

O. Henry's second short story collection, The Four Million, is published. The collection includes one of his most beloved stories, The Gift of the Magi, about a poor but devoted couple who each sacrifice their most valuable possession to buy a gift for the other.

1970  Officially resigning from The Beatles, Paul McCartney disbanded the most influential rock group in history at a public news conference

The Beatles hit, Let It Be, was riding high on the pop charts. The last recording for the group, The Long and Winding Road (also from the documentary film Let It Be), would be number one for two weeks beginning on June 13, bringing to a close one of contemporary music’s greatest dynasties.

 

1972  Chaplin Receives Oscar

Chaplin, once America's most successful movie star and director, had left the country under a storm of controversy in 1952.

Born in London, England, in 1889, Chaplin was the son of music-hall performers, and he appeared onstage from a young age. His father later died, and his mother was put in a mental institution, leading to a rough childhood that ended when Chaplin joined his half-brother's vaudeville troupe at the age of 17.

Away from the camera, Chaplin's personal life often drew sensational headlines. He was married four times, three times to his leading ladies, and in 1943 was accused by another woman of fathering her child. That year, in another controversial move, he married Oona O'Neill, the 18-year-old daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Chaplin was 54. Chaplin's political views were also criticized, as was his failure to apply for U.S. citizenship. Pressed for back taxes and accused of supporting subversive causes by McCarthy-era America, Chaplin left the United States in 1952. Informed that he would not necessarily be welcomed back, he retorted, "I wouldn't go back there if Jesus Christ were president," and surrendered his re-entry permit in Switzerland. He lived with his family at Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, and made several more films.

In April 1972, he did return to the United States for a visit and accepted an honorary Oscar. He had previously won an honorary Academy Award, in 1929 for The Circus (1928). In 1975, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him. He died on December 25, 1977.

 

1972  Fiat Executive is Executed

Italian Fiat executive Oberdan Sallustro was executed by Argentine Communist guerrillas 20 days after he was kidnapped in Buenos Aires. During the '60s and '70s, Argentina was a violent ideological battleground. Communist organizers resisted the oppression of the Fascist dictator Juan Peron.

 

1985  Eddie Murphy's Beverly Hills Cop made it to the top ten on the list of Top-Grossing Motion Pictures

The Long and Winding Road

The long and winding road that leads to your door Will never disappear I've seen that road before it always leads me here Leads me to your door The wild and windy night that the rain washed away Has left a pool of tears crying for the day Why leave me standing here, let me know the way Many times I've been alone and many times I've cried Anyway you'll never know the many ways I've tried And still they lead me back to the long and winding road You left me standing here a long, long time ago Don't leave me waiting here, lead me to you door But still they lead me back to the long and winding road You left me standing here a long, long time ago Don't keep me waiting here (Don't keep me wait), lead me to you door Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah