Battle of Megiddo
1457 BC Battle of Megiddo: Egyptian forces of Thutmose III defeat a large Canaanite coalition under King of Kadesh. First battle recorded with a reliable account.
- 1178 BC A solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War
- 73 Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt
- 556 Pelagius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1071 Bari falls to Robert Guiscard's Norman forces, ending Byzantine rule in Italy
- 1245 Franciscan envoys Giovanni da Pian del Carpine and Benedict to Pole depart Lyon on first Catholic mission to the Mongols. Carpine returns 1247 as first European with account of a Mongolian court
- 1346 The Serbian Empire is proclaimed in Skopje at an Easter assembly and Stephen Uroš IV Dušan crowned Emperor over much of the Balkans
- 1395 Azzo X d'Este is defeated at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Venetian-Ferrarese troops
Luther at Diet of Worms
1521 Martin Luther arrives at the Diet of Worms assembly
- 1582 Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta in Argentina
Wallenstein Supreme Commander
1632 Albrecht von Wallenstein appointed supreme military commander of the Holy Roman Empire
Isaac Newton Knighted
1705 Queen Anne of England knights scientist Isaac Newton at Trinity College, Cambridge
Battle of Culloden
1746 Jacobite Rising 1745: Battle of Culloden, the last battle on British soil: Royalist troops under the Duke of Cumberland defeat the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart
Washington to Inauguration
1789 George Washington heads for 1st presidential inauguration
- 1797 Spithead Mutiny begins: British Royal Navy sailors protest over living and working conditions and pay near Portsmouth
Battle of Mount Tabor
1799 Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor - Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre
Mazeppa
1854 Franz Liszt's symphonic poem "Mazeppa" premieres at the Court Theatre in Weimar
- 1854 San Salvador destroyed by earthquake
- 1854 Steamer "Long Beach" sinks off Long Beach, NY, 311 die
- 1858 The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up
Business with Confederates Outlawed
1861 US President Abraham Lincoln outlaws business with Confederate States (US Civil War)
- 1862 American Confederate Congress approves conscription act for all white males (18-35 years)
- 1862 Slavery abolished in District of Columbia
- 1865 Battle of Columbus & West Point, Georgia (Ft Tyler), Union forces win one of the last battles of the US Civil War
- 1866 Nitroglycerine explodes at a Wells Fargo & Co office in San Francisco shattering glass for half a mile
- 1868 Louisiana voters approve new constitution
- 1869 Ebenezer Bassett, 1st African American diplomat, begins service as Minister to Haiti
- 1870 Vaudeville Theatre Strand opens in London
Livingston's Body Arrives Home
1874 Dr David Livingstone's body arrives in Southampton
- 1881 In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle
Kruger Transvaal president
1883 Paul Kruger chosen as President of Transvaal
1st Woman Pilot Crosses Channel
1912 Harriet Quimby becomes the 1st female pilot to fly across English Channel
- 1912 Pirates turn a rare 5-3-7 doubleplay (left fielder covers 2nd base)
- 1913 Bulgarians and the Turks agree to an armistice that will be accepted by the other nations involved
April Theses
1917 Vladimir Lenin issues his radical "April Theses" calling for Soviets to take power during the Russian Revolution [OS Apr 4]
- 1917 [OS Apr 3] Lenin arrives back from exile in Russia at Finland Station, Petrograd to join the Russian Revolution
- 1918 The British House of Commons passes a new Military Service Bill, taking men up to 55 years old and extending to Ireland
- 1921 Liberal Freedom League forms in The Hague, Netherlands
Oakley's Shooting Record
1922 Annie Oakley sets women's record by breaking 100 clay targets in a row
- 1922 Treaty of Rapallo between the German Republic and Soviet Union a is signed in Italy, normalizing diplomatic relations with each side renouncing their territorial and financial claims against the other
- 1924 1st radio-transmission of wireless: Mattheus Passion
- 1924 Child labor laws strengthened in Holland
- 1925 During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 wounded
- 1926 Book of the Month Club sends out its 1st selections "Lolly Willowes" & "Loving Huntsman" by Sylvia Townsend Warner
- 1929 Cleveland rookie center fielder Earl Averill, becomes first American League player to hit a HR on 1st at bat; Indians beat Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at League Park
- 1929 New York Yankees become first MLB team to permanently feature numbers on backs of uniforms; numbers correspond to position in batting order
The Music Box
1932 Short film "The Music Box" released in the US, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (1932 Academy Award Best Live Action Short Film)
- 1935 1st radio broadcast of "Fibber McGee & Molly"
Soviets Propose Allinance
1939 The Soviet Union proposes an alliance with Britain and France to counter Nazi Germany; the Soviets would later sign a secret agreement with the Nazis
Only Opening Day No-Hitter
1940 Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller hurls the first and only Opening Day no-hitter in MLB history; beats Chicago WSWhite Sox, 1-0 at Comiskey Park
LSD
1943 Swiss scientist Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD
Izieu Children's Home Raid
1944 Nazis led by Klaus Barbie raid Izieu Jewish children's home, near Lyon, taking 44 children and seven adults to exterminations camps [1]
Raising a Flag over the Reichstag
1945 Battle of Berlin: Red Army begins its attack on the capital of Nazi Germany
- 1945 Battle of Okinawa: US troops land and seize the Ie Shima Airfield on Ie Shima island near Okinawa [1]
- 1945 US troops enter Nuremberg, Germany
- 1945 World War II: American troops liberate Colditz Castle, the high-security prisoner of war camp in Saxony, Germany [1]
- 1945 World War II: Dutch town of Arnhem, site of failed Operation Market Garden, is freed by British and Canadian forces
- 1945 World War II: German troops in Groningen, Netherlands surrender to Canadian and Dutch allied forces
- 1946 1st US launch of captured V-2 rocket, White Sands, New Mexicao; reaches altitude of 8 km
- 1946 Dutch Special Court of Justice sentences Frederik Müller, Socialist mayor of Rotterdam, to 10 years in jail for his wartime support of Germany
- 1947 -17] Explosions & fire on French ship Grandcamp
- 1947 Fire aboard French-flagged cargo ship SS Grandchamp, docked at Port of Texas City, Texas and loaded with 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate causes massive explosion and spreads to nearby ships and oil facilities; deadliest industrial accident in US history kills 581, including all but one member of the city's fire departments
- 1947 Lens to provide zoom effects demonstrated (NYC)
- 1948 Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris
- 1949 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: 3-peat for Toronto Maple Leafs as they beat Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 for a 4 game series sweep
- 1951 British submarine Affray sank in English Channel, killing 75
Event of Interest
1953 British royal yacht Britannia launched by Queen Elizabeth II
- 1953 Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Connie Ryan bats 6 from 6 in a 14-12 defeat against the Pirates at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh
- 1953 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 1-0 for a 4-1 series win
- 1953 WAND TV channel 17 in Decatur, IL (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1954 KVAL TV channel 13 in Eugene, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1954 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 in OT for a 4-3 series victory
- 1956 1st solar powered radios go on sale
- 1957 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Dickie Moore has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 5-1 for a 4-1 series victory
- 1957 USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
- 1958 French government of Gaillard falls due to Tunisia crisis
- 1959 Datu Abdul Rozak inaugurated as premier of Malaysia federation
- 1959 MLB Philadelphia Phillies' Dave Philley gets a major league record 9th straight pinch hit, having ended the previous season with a streak of 8
- 1961 15th Tony Awards: "Becket" (play) & "Bye Bye Birdie" (musical) win
- 1961 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Chicago Blackhawks beat Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 for a 4-2 series victory
- 1962 Brazil nationalizes US businesses
Film & TV History
1962 Walter Cronkite begins anchoring CBS Evening News
Event of Interest
1970 Protestant Unionist Ian Paisley wins seat formerly held by Terence O'Neill in the Stormont (North Ireland Parliament)
- 1972 Apollo 16 launched; 5th manned lunar landing (Decartes Highlands)
- 1972 Chicago Cubs rookie pitcher Burt Hooton hurls a 4-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field, Chicago
- 1972 Two British soldiers are shot dead by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) in separate incidents in Derry
- 1972 Two giant pandas arrive in US from China
- 1974 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- 1975 Cambodian Red Khmer occupy Phnom Penh
Event of Interest
1977 Alex Haley finds his Roots in Juffure, Gambia
Sports History
1978 Cardinals' Bob Forsch no-hits Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0, in St. Louis
- 1978 NBC's premiere of miniseries "Holocaust"
- 1979 Failed Palestinian attack on Zaventem Airport, Belgium
- 1979 Sam Shepard receives Pulitzer Prize for "Buried Child"
Sports History
1980 Arthur Ashe retires from professional tennis
- 1980 Delhi beat Bombay by 240 runs to win Ranji Trophy final
- 1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1982 Queen Elizabeth proclaims Canada's new constitution
Baseball Record
1983 Steve Garvey sets NL record by playing in 1,118 consecutive games
Baseball Record
1984 Oakland A's Dave Kingman hits 3 HRs including a grand slam
- 1984 Pulitzer prize awarded to Mary Oliver for "American Primitive"
TV Show Appearance
1986 To dispel rumors he's dead, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appears on TV
- 1986 West Indies complete 5-0 demolition of England
Event of Interest
1987 August Wilson's "Fences" wins 1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama
- 1987 British Conservative MP Harvey Proctor appears at Bow Street Magistrates' Court in London charged with gross indecency
- 1987 FCC imposes a broader definition of indecency over airwaves
- 1987 Howard Stern & Infinity Broadcasting are warned by FCC
NBA Record
1987 Michael Jordan becomes the second NBA player in history to score 3,000 points in a season
- 1987 Peter Taylor's "Summons to Memphis" wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction
Sports History
1989 1st The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Don Bies wins his lone career Champions Tour major title by 1 stroke from Gary Player
- 1989 Berendrechtsluis opens in Antwerp, biggest flood lock in world
- 1989 Costa Rica beats US 1-0, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup
- 1989 Zeleka Metaferia wins 3rd World Cup marathon (2:10:28)
- 1990 Maximum NY State unemployment benefits raised to $260 per week
- 1990 Supreme Court rejects appeal from retarded man, Dalton Prejean, condemned to death for murdering a Louisiana state trooper in 1977
- 1991 Leander & Seago's musical "Matador" premieres in London
- 1991 St Louis Blues becomes 8th NHL team in Play-off to come back from a 3-1 deficit as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in game 7
- 1992 1st concrete is poured at new ballpark at Gateway (Jacobs Field)
- 1992 Afghan president Najibullah resigns
- 1992 NY Rangers win team record 50th game
- 1992 The Katina P runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique. 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
Music History
1993 David Lee Roth arrested in NYC for purchasing marijuana for $10
Rodney King Riots
1993 Jury reaches guilty verdict in federal case against police officers (two convicted, two acquitted) who beat Rodney King, but the verdict is not read until April 17th
- 2003 Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens, admitting 10 new member states to the European Union
- 2003 Washington Wizards' Michael Jordan plays his final NBA game, in Philadelphia, where he receives a 3 minute standing ovation.
- 2004 The super liner Queen Mary 2 embarks on her first Transatlantic crossing, linking the golden age of ocean travel to the modern age of ocean travel.
Film & TV History
2006 Colin Farrell reaches a confidential settlement with ex-girlfriend Nicole Narain to keep their 13-minute sex tape private
- 2007 Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, kills 32 people and injures 23 others before committing suicide.
Event of Interest
2008 Start of Papal Journey of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States
Laureus Awards
2009 Laureus World Sports Awards, (ceremony cancelled GFC): Sportsman: Usain Bolt; Sportswoman: Yelena Isinbayeva; Team: China Olympic team
- 2012 At least 55 people are killed in the Syrian uprising despite UN presence to oversee ceasefire
- 2012 For the first time since 1977 no Pulitzer Prize is awarded for fiction
- 2013 16 people are killed after a gold mine collapses in Kyekyewere, Ghana
- 2013 37 people are killed by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Khash country, Iran
- 2014 Real Madrid defeat Barcelona to win its 19th Copa del Rey trophy
- 2014 South Korean ferry MV Sewol sinks on route Incheon to Jeju, 304 drown, mostly students. National controversy erupts over rescue efforts and actions of crew and owner.
Event of Interest
2015 Elizabeth Holmes, American entrepreneur, inventor, and founder and CEO of Theranos, is named one of TIME's "100 Most Influential People" of 2015
Important Vote
2017 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wins referendum on 18-article constitutional reform package
World Record
2017 World record for gathering of Charlie Chaplin lookalikes - 662 at Manoir de Ban, Chaplin museum in Vevey, Switzerland
Music History
2018 Kendrick Lamar is the first rapper and non-classical or jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for music with his album "Damn"
Sports History
2019 Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson becomes the highest-paid player in NFL history with a 4-year $140m extension including record $65m signing bonus
- 2020 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment in 4 weeks (5.2 million in the last week), wiping out 9 1/2 years of job gains
- 2020 Nationwide State of Emergency declared in Japan till 6 May due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak
- 2020 New study claims a multi-decade megadrought is already under way in the western US, published in journal "Science"
Film & TV History
2021 Gary Sinise hosts the inauguration ceremony of the World War I memorial in Washington D.C.
Event of Interest
2021 Raúl Castro confirms he is resigning as Cuban Communist Party leader, ending his family's six decade leadership of Cuba
- 2023 Spanish extreme athlete Beatriz Flamini exits a deep cave in Granada, Spain, after spending 500 days isolated underground in probable world record, as part of social isolation experiment [1]
- 2023 Sudan erupts into violence as street fighting and bombing raids strike Khartoum amid a power struggle between military generals al-Burhan and Hamdan, killing more than 83 people and injuring over 1,126 [1]
- 2024 Denmark's historic stock exchange, the Børsen, dating from 1625 goes up in flames in Copenhagen while being renovated [1]
- 2024 United Arab Emirates records its largest rainfall in 75 years, flooding Dubai airport and killing at least 18 people in Oman [1]
- 2024 Volcano Mount Ruang erupts in Indonesia in North Sulawesi province, its first eruption since 2002 [1]
