On this day in agriculture history | Monday, April 12, 2021

Here is a handful of notable events that shaped agriculture on April 12 over the years.

A storm rolls in over a farm.
Photo: USDA

1 year ago

A huge storm system produced more than 40 tornadoes from Texas to South Carolina, killing 32 people.

66 years ago

The polio vaccine tested by Jonas Salk was declared 'safe and effective' and given full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

76 years ago

In 1945, then President Franklin D. Roosevelt died while on vacation in Warm Springs, Georgia. Harry S. Truman became president.

A series of tornadoes hammered Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Illinois on this date in 1945. The town of Antlers, Oklahoma, was nearly obliterated by a massive F5 tornado, and 69 people died. A different tornado killed eight people in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

87 years ago

Winds atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire averaged 186 mph for five minutes. A peak wind gust was measured at 231 mph, the highest wind speed ever clocked in the world at the time.

94 years ago

On April 12, 1927, a tornado wiped out the town of Rock Springs, Texas, killing 72 people and causing 1.2 million dollars in damage. The storm was more than a mile wide and destroyed 235 buildings in its path. No trace of lumber or contents was left behind in many cases. Some survivors were bruised by large hail that fell after the tornado passed.

160 years ago

On this day in 1861, the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina and the American Civil War began.

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