plot1.r

# First, read the file Which needs to be named "exdata_data_household_power_consumption" (no quotes)
# and needs to be in the current working folder
# the colClasses information was gained from inspection of the file
myDataFrame <- read.table( "household_power_consumption.txt", 
                           header = T, 
                           sep = ";",
                           na.strings = "?", 
                           stringsAsFactors = F,
                           colClasses = c("character","character","numeric","numeric","numeric","numeric","numeric","numeric","numeric"))

# Just get the Feb 1 and Feb 2 data from 2007
myDataFrame$Date <- as.Date(myDataFrame$Date, format="%d/%m/%Y")
myCleanedData <- subset(myDataFrame, myDataFrame$Date == "2007-02-01" | myDataFrame$Date == "2007-02-02")

# have to set the background to clear
par(bg="transparent") 
#just match the colors from the sample
hist(myCleanedData$Global_active_power, col = "red", main = "Global Active Power", xlab = "Global Active Power (kilowatts)")
#save the PNG
dev.copy(png, "plot1.png", units="px", width = 480, height = 480)
dev.off()