WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - This Week in Western Civilization: April 27-May 3

Episode Date: May 15, 2026

This week, Olivia Finch discusses the anniversaries of the birth of the Red Baron, the death of Lucille Ball, and the purchase of the Louisiana Territory.

Welcome to this week in Western Civilization on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm your host, Olivia Finch, bringing new snapshots of history in context. Hello, everyone. Today we'll be covering one important birth, one important death, and one notable event that happened between April 26th and May 2nd in Western Civ. On May 2nd, 1892, German fighter pilot Manfred von Richthofen, otherwise known as the Red Baron, was born in Kleinberg, Prussia, then part of the German Empire. The Red Baron is known as the greatest flying ace of World War I, credited with 80 air combat victories before he was shot down, and was brought back into fame as the imaginary rival of Snoopy in

Charles Schultz's Peanuts Comics. 80 men died Now they're buried together on the petrous side. On April 26, 1989, American actress, comedian, and producer Lucille Ball died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm at the age of 77 in Los Angeles, California. Ball is best known for the sitcom I Love Lucy,

in which she co-starred with her then-husband Desir Nause, and helping Jean Roddenberry produce Star Trek when no other production company would do so. On April 30, 1803, United States President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from the Kingdom of France, then led by Napoleon, for $15 million, rounding out to about $0.303 per acre. This purchase doubled the size of the United States stretching from the western bank of the Mississippi River to the edge of the Rocky Mountains. You've been listening to This Week in Western Civilization with Olivia Finch on Radio Free Hillsdale

101.7 FM. I hope you enjoyed this episode and I'll see you next week.