If you go back far enough in time, you can find interesting/noteworthy/important events on most dates. But today’s date in history seems to be chock full of interesting events.

It doesn’t seem like it has been three years, but in 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped more than 200 female students in Nigeria. It also doesn’t seem like 28 years since the beginning of the protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Those protests lasted for over six weeks, and I’m sure most people who remember anything about them remember the person called Tank Man for standing in front of a row of military tanks, or at least have seen the photo.

Pick a topic and it likely had a significant occurrence on this date.

For instance, language (how’s that for off the beaten path of topics): In 1755 A Dictionary of the English Language was published in London. It’s author, Samuel Johnson likely didn’t have the foggiest idea what the English language would become. Also in language, the American School for the Deaf was founded in Hartford, Conn., by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc in 1817.

Three of the biggest events in American history took part on this date. The preliminary articles of peace for the Revolutionary War were ratified in 1783. The other two both involved Abraham Lincoln.

On this date in 1861, Lincoln called 75,000 volunteers to put down an insurrection that became the Civil War. Exactly four years later he died after being shot at Ford Theater by John Wilkes Booth.

Today marks 93 years since the first road atlas was published by Rand McNally. When I drive I don’t use any GPS-enabled device, opting for my senses, knowing the rules of road designations (even numbers are east/west and odd numbers are north/south in case you didn’t know) and an atlas. The atlas is more than just roads, it’s a road trip in a book — just look at the potential off-the-beaten-path destinations.

General Electric was formed in 1892; Insulin became available for people with diabetes in 1923.

Leonardo DiCaprio was able to utter he was king of the world because the Titanic sank on this date in 1912. If you can’t get enough movies about the RMS Titanic, there are 18 movies based on it or a fictional Titanic II. And on top of that there have been 29 TV shows or movies as well.

This is the date McDonald’s says was the founding for the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc. For anyone familiar with the McDonald’s story, it’s probably a day more remembered fondly by the Kroc family than the McDonald family.

It’s a huge day in the history of sports.

This date 70 years ago Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball becoming the first African-American to play professional baseball. It was more than nine years before the first black player was on a Detroit Tigers roster — Ozzie Virgil on June 6, 1958. The Tigers were the second to last team to become racially integrated. The last team was the Boston Red Sox when Pumpsie Green played for them on July 21, 1959.

In 1989, 96 Liverpool soccer fans died at Hillsborough Stadium during an England FA Cup semifinal game. Back then the seats at most European soccer stadiums were standing room only behind each goal line. There is an outstanding documentary that was produced by ESPN and the BBC that gets two thumbs up, five star, whatever kind of rating you want, I give it. It not only discusses the tragedy, but the struggles the families went through with the inquests and hearings afterward to get the acknowledgement of blame for those responsible.

Finally, four years ago most of America became Boston Strong when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. There were three people were killed, 264 injured from the explosions. And America was riveted with news as the manhunt took place.

Good or bad, happy or sad, most dates have something about them in the history books. Today just seems to be one with plenty of noteworthy events, and this just touched on some of them. I didn’t even mention the Ford Mustang until now — 1964.

Steve Murch can be reached via email at smurch@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5686. Follow Steve on Twitter @sm_alpenanews.