Earth Day First Celebrated (1970)
On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day was celebrated. U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson founded Earth Day in an effort to raise awareness of our environment and inspire appreciation of our world. Nelson originally conceived Earth Day as a teach-in, similar to a seminar, but observed it on a nationwide scale.
Nelson announced his idea for a nationwide teach-in day on the environment in a speech in September 1969. Nelson hoped that a grassroots outcry about environmental issues might prove to Washington, D.C. the importance of the environment, and the willingness of the American people to get involved. Nelson felt that "Earth Day" was an obvious and logical name for the day.
The idea gained publicity when a front-page article appeared in the New York Times in November 1969 championing the cause. Nelson hired a publicist to coordinate the event on a national scale, and by April 22, 1970, the first official Earth Day, approximately 20 million Americans participated in the cause.
In the wake of the first Earth Day, Congress passed many important laws, including the Clean Air Act, and created the Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the celebration of Earth Day and the maintenance of the environment.
Today, Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 in hundreds of countries world-wide, with an estimated one billion people participating each year.