#Middlebury
- On April 27, 1773, the British Parliament passes the Tea Act, a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company from bankruptcy. Many colonists viewed the act as yet another example of taxation tyranny, because it left in place an earlier duty on tea entering the colonies, while removing the duty on tea entering England.
- On April 28, 1916, Ferruccio Lamborghini is born in Italy. After experiencing mechanical difficulties with his Ferrari, Lamborghini decided to start his own rival sports car company. The Lamborghini 350 GTV, a two-seater coupe with a V-12 engine, debuted in 1963.
- On May 1, 1960, an American U-2 spy plane piloted by Francis Gary Powers disappears while on a flight over Russia. The CIA reassured the president that the plane was equipped with self-destruct mechanisms, but Russia produced not only the intact wreckage, but also the captured pilot – very much alive.
- On April 26, 1977, Studio 54, which would soon become the most famous nightclub in the world, opens at 254 West 54th Street in New York City. It was known for excluding all but the most chic, famous or beautiful patrons.
- On April 25, 1983, Russian leader Yuri Andropov writes to Samantha Smith, an American fifth-grader from Manchester, Maine, inviting her to visit his country. Smith had sent Andropov a note in December 1982, asking if the Soviets were planning to start a nuclear war.
- On April 30, 1993, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee releases the source code for the world’s first web browser. Originally called Mesh, the browser he dubbed World Wide Web became the means of exploring the emerging information network that developed into the Internet.
- On April 29, 2004, the World War II Memorial opens in Washington, D.C., providing overdue recognition for the 16 million American men and women who served in the war.
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