This Day in Pop Culture: April 4

April 4th is known by many as one of the saddest days in pop culture history when Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed. Eerily, this day was also a day of celebration with the opening of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center. But this day is also known for the start of Microsoft and The Kennel Club.

1968: Martin Luther King Jr. is Assassinated

One year to the day after delivering his Beyond Vietnam speech, Martin Luther King Jr. was shot while standing outside of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The month before, King visited Memphis in support of African American sanitation workers who had been treated poorly.

On March 28 King led a protest march that ended in violence and the death of one African American teen. A few days later, he gave his last sermon saying, “…I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”

1973: Tallest Building

The world’s tallest buildings (at that time) opened their doors. Standing tall with 110 stories, the World Trade Center Twin Towers were later destroyed on September 9, 2011, during the terrorist attacks.

1873: For the Dogs

The Kennel Club was founded on this day. It is the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world. The first breed registered was an English Setter named Adonis.

1964: Beatles’ Top 5

The Beatles occupied the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart including “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “Twist and Shout,” “She Loves You,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Please Please Me.”

1975: Microsoft is Founded

The Altair 8800 microcomputer. *(Wikimedia Commons)*

Many of us can’t imagine what it would be like living without using Microsoft Word or reading the news on MSN. Bill Gates and Paul Allen have been instrumental in changing our world.

There isn’t much talk about the duo’s first venture. It doesn’t get a lot of pop culture buzz. In 1972, the two marketed their invention known as the Traf-O-Data. It was a computer which was used to analyze road traffic. Bor-ring.

Three years later on this day, Gates formed a partnership with Allen creating Microsoft. Gates assigned himself as CEO and it was Allen who came up with the company’s name. Microsoft is short for “micro-computer software”. Their first project was selling BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. Windows 1.0 didn’t come around until 1985.