Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. To read more, visit timesfreepress.com/150years.
America saw a president murdered and invaded a country. Columbine and Waco became names forever associated with the kind of tragedy that creates permanent fear. Mother Earth sank the most famous ship in the world and devastated San Francisco. A man named Webster published a dictionary.
Seven days in the middle of April are a collective of some of the most notable events in American history, likely the most historic week on the calendar in terms of volume. Consider:
‘ April 14, 1828: Noah Webster publishes the first American Dictionary of the English Language.
‘ April 14, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.