The last few days of March and the first days of April seem to have really made a mark on history. In recent history, it is clearly the technology field which has seen the biggest impact, with two of the largest innovators being created. This week in history also influenced the world of arts, the Catholic world and has seen the start of a major shift in civil rights. 30^th of March Wishing a Very Big Happy 70th Birthday to Eric Clapton! On this day 34 years ago, President Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington D.C., hotel by  John Hinckley Jr. The Irish Press reported the details: http://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/olive/apa/ina/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IPR%2F1981%2F03%2F31&id=Ar00103&sk=C5BB681D   31^st of March On this day in 1889, Gustave Eiffel opened the Eiffel Tower in a ceremony attended by the French Prime Minister, other dignitaries and 200 construction workers. The Irish Examiner praised the “wonderful piece of engineering”: http://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/olive/apa/ina/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IEX%2F1889%2F04%2F03&id=Ar00426&sk=0665C398 Also during this week in history, the mind-blowing science-fiction blockbuster “The Matrix” celebrates 16 years since it was launched. The Matrix earned a staggering $470 million worldwide and won four Academy Awards.   1^st of April  April Fool’s Day 1976 is the date Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs and Stephen Wozniak  in California. Did you know that the Netherlands was the first country to legalise same-sex marriage on this day in 2001? http://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/olive/apa/ina/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IND%2F2001%2F03%2F31&id=Ar03204&sk=57CCBFF3   2^nd of April Happy 38^th Birthday to our favourite Kerry man, Michael Fassbender! Today marks 10 years since Pope John Paul II passed away. He was the first non-Italian to hold this position and his funeral is said to have been the biggest in history: http://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/olive/apa/ina/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IND%2F2005%2F04%2F04&id=Ar01701&sk=3C61AA19   3^rd of April This week in history marked a new beginning for telecommunications. On this day in 1973, Motorola makes possible the first handheld mobile phone call. The mobile phone was commercially released ten years later. 4^th of April  The City of Angels is 165 years old today! Los Angeles was incorporated in 1850. On this day in 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.   5^th of April  Eamon de Valera becomes president of Dail Eireann on this day in 1919. His “Call to the Nation”: http://archive.irishnewsarchive.com/olive/apa/ina/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=SBC%2F1919%2F04%2F05&id=Ar00506&sk=7AF58021 21 years ago, Kurt Cobain one of Rock’s Icons tragically ended his life. Nirvana’s music lives on. For more information about the facts presented in This Week in History, check the archive.