April 19 » The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
July 20 » The Ford Motor Company ships its first automobile.
July 23 » The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
October 10 » The Women's Social and Political Union is founded in support of the enfranchisement of British women.
October 31 » The Purdue Wreck, a railroad train collision in Indianapolis, kills 17 people, including 14 players of the Purdue University football team.
December 14 » The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Day of death April 21, 1978
The temperature on April 21, 1978 was between 4.8 °C and 14.9 °C and averaged 8.9 °C. There was 5.7 hours of sunshine (40%). The partly or heavily clouded was. The average windspeed was 2 Bft (weak wind) and was prevailing from the west-southwest. Source: KNMI
In The Netherlands , there was from Monday, December 19, 1977 to Friday, September 11, 1981 the cabinet Van Agt I, with Mr. A.A.M. van Agt (CDA/KVP) as prime minister.
January 19 » The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
June 22 » Charon, the first of Pluto's satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James W. Christy.
July 1 » The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government.
August 22 » The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment is passed by the U.S. Congress. The proposed amendment would have provided the District of Columbia with full voting representation in the Congress, the Electoral College, and regarding amending the U.S. Constitution. The proposed amendment failed to be ratified by enough states (ratified by 16, needed 38) and so did not become part of the Constitution.
September 5 » Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace discussions at Camp David, Maryland.
September 19 » The Solomon Islands join the United Nations.
When copying data from this family tree, please include a reference to the origin: Donald Staley, "Staley ancestry", database, Genealogy Online (https://www.genealogieonline.nl/staley-ancestry/P1983.php : accessed January 6, 2026), "George Gilbert van Meter (1903-1978)".
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