Joe's Daily U.S. History Lesson -- April 7

APRIL 7 1776-US Navy captures first British warship.

So class, who can tell me who is the Father of the American Navy? Hint- I’m not talking about John Paul Jones, I’m talking about the other father. He was appointed Captain in the Continenal Navy on December 7, 1775, and along with John Paul Jones, was the first to raise an American flag on a ship.

On April 7, 1776, Barry was commandor of the Lexington when he took command of British warship HMS Edward off the coast of Virginia. He served with distinction throughout the American Revolution. He hd success with the Lexinton at sea, and on land , he raised a volunteer force to assist General Washinton in the surprisingly successful Trenton, NJ campaign of 1776-77. After Barry retired from the Navy, he became the first commissioned naval officer in America, at the rank of commodore, receiving his commission from President George Washington. In 1981 President Reagan declared Commodore John Barry Day to honor a man he called one of the earliest and greatest American patriots, a man of great insight who perceived very early the need to American power on the sea. 1954 – Happy birthday, Domino Theory. President Dwight D. Eisenhower coined that phrase during his speech about the fall of French Indochina to the communists, thus creating a domino effect in southeast asia. Chairman Mao Zedong led a communist backed government in China, and that was a big loss to the United States. Korea had also partially fallen under Soviet domination at the end of WWII and was split up into the North and South parts of Korea in 1953. And then the French lost complete colonial control in early 1954 effect in southeast Asia. Chairman Mao Zedong led a communist backed government in China, and that was a big loss to the United States. Korea had also partially fallen under Soviet domination at the end of WWII and was split up into the North and South parts of Korea in 1953.

And then the French lost complete colonial control in early 1954 when the Japanese took control of the area led by Ho Chi Minh, and then the French had to pull out after the battle of Dien Bien Phu. So President Eisenhauer gave his speech in Geneva, and he said “You have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the falling domino principle. You have a row of dominoes setup, you knowck over the first one,and wat will happen to the last one is a certainty that it will go over very quickly, beginning with the loss of Indochina, Burma, Thailand, the Penninsula, and Indonesia following. Even Japan, which needed Southeast Asia for trade,would be in jeopardized.

1873-Haopy Birthday Little Napolean. John Mcgraw, one of the winningestmanagers in Major League Baseball history was born in Truxton, NY. He was also one helluva player. He might very well be the reason why Baseball has more than one umpire that monitors what happens in the field basepaths. He was notorious for tripping, blocking and impeding a baseruner in any way he could while the umpire was distracted by the flight of the ball. As a manager, his 2,763 wins is the second overall behind only Connie Mack (2,669 wins). So here’s to you, mugsy. The best player to become a great manager in the history of baseball.

1970 – John Wayne gets his first, and only Oscar for True Grit. About damn time. The Academy had failed to even nominate Wayne for any of his most famous movies, including Stagecoach, Red River, The Quiet Man,the Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and especially The Searchers. Long overdue.