- 1124 David I becomes King of Scots
- 1509 Pope Julius II excommunicates the Republic of Venice, and endorses his allies to attack
- 1518 Treaty of St Truiden: anti-French Trapdoors and Bourgondisch covenant
- 1522 Battle of Bicocca: a combined French and Venetian force is decisively defeated by a Spanish-Imperial and Papal army
- 1539 Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar.
- 1565 First Spanish settlement in the Philippines founded at Cebu City
- 1576 Peace of Beaulieu and Paix de Monsieur
Event of Interest
1578 Duel of the Mignons claims the lives of two favorites of Henry III of France and two favorites of Henry I, Duke of Guise.
- 1643 Tirso de Molina's "Bellaco Sois, Gomez" premieres in Madrid
Milton Sells Paradise Lost
1667 Blind and impoverished, English poet John Milton sells the copyright of "Paradise Lost" for £10 [1]
- 1694 Frederik August I "the Strong" becomes monarch of Saksen
Music For The Royal Fireworks
1749 First performance of George Frideric Handel's "Music For The Royal Fireworks" in Green Park, London
Beethoven's Für Elise
1810 Ludwig van Beethoven composes his famous piano piece "Für Elise"
Palace of Westminster
1840 Foundation stone for new Palace of Westminster, London, laid by Sarah Barry wife of its architect Charles Barry
Stonewall Jackson Takes Command
1861 Confederate General Robert E. Lee orders Colonel Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson to take command of Harpers Ferry, Virginia [1]
Lincoln Suspends Habeas Corpus
1861 US President Abraham Lincoln suspends writ of habeas corpus (US Civil War)
- 1861 West Virginia secedes from Virginia after Virginia secedes from Union (US Civil War)
- 1863 Battle of Streight's raid: Tuscumbia to Cedar Bluff, AL
- 1865 Cornell University (Ithaca NY) is chartered
- 1865 Steamboat "SS Sultana" explodes in the Mississippi River, killing up to 1,800 of the 2,427 passengers in the greatest maritime disaster in United States history. Most were paroled Union POWs on their way home.
Romeo et Juliette
1867 Charles Gounod's opera "Romeo et Juliette" is premieres at the Théâtre Lyrique, Paris, France
Le Roi de Lahore
1877 Jules Massenet's opera "Le Roi de Lahore" (The King of Lahore) premieres at the Palais Garnier, Paris, France
End of Reconstruction
1877 Rutherford B. Hayes removes Federal troops from Louisiana, Reconstruction ends
- 1881 Pogroms against Russian Jews start in Elisabethgrad
- 1890 French troops under Capt Archinard occupy Oussebougou, West Sudan
- 1893 Richard "King Dick" Seddon succeeds John Balance as premier of New Zealand and leader of Liberal Party
- 1897 Grant's Tomb (famed of song & legend) dedicated
- 1899 Foundation of the Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Science, the world's first research sound archive (added to UNESCO's Memory of the World 1999) [1]
- 1903 1st Highlander (Yankee) shut-out, Philadelphia A's win 6-0
- 1903 Long Island's Jamaica Race Track opens
First Labour Government
1904 The Australian Labor Party under Prime Minister Chris Watson becomes the first Labor government in the world
South African Party Established
1910 Louis Botha and J. B. M. Hertzog establish the moderately nationalist South African Party promising equality of Britons and Boers
- 1911 Following the resignation and death of William P. Frye, a compromise is reached to rotate the office of President pro tempore (for the time being) of the United States Senate
Passive Resistance Suspended
1911 Indian passive resistance in South Africa is suspended when General Jan Smuts enters into negotiations with Mahatma Gandhi
Turkish Counterattack
1915 Counterattack launched by Turkish forces under the command of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk against allied troops
- 1916 The British renew their assault on the Irish Volunteer position in Mount Street; shelling also sets the buildings on fire
- 1918 Giants' 9-0 winning start & Dodgers' 0-9 losing streak are stopped
- 1920 Pogrom leader Petljoera declares Ukraine Independence
- 1920 Sweden takes the figure skating double at the Antwerp Olympics when Gillis Grafström wins his first of 3 consecutive men's gold medals; Magda Julin earlier wins the women's singles event
- 1921 Hadjememaar, [Corn de Gelder] elected in Amsterdam
- 1922 Fritz Lang's "Dr Mabuse, der Spieler" premieres in Berlin
- 1922 Yakut ASSR formed in Russian SFSR
- 1924 Antwerp soccer tie Belgium-Netherlands 1-1
German Ministry of Aviation Created
1933 Adolf Hitler authorizes creation of Ministry of Aviation, in part to revive the German Luftwaffe, under Reichsmarshall Hermann Goering
- 1933 Jessop & Son department store in Nottingham, England, acquired by John Lewis Partnership. The partnership's first shop outside London.
- 1933 Karl Jansky reports reception of cosmic radio signal in Washington, D.C.
- 1935 Brussels World Exposition opens
- 1935 Yanks pull a 1st inning triple-play & beat Philadelphia A's 9-8
- 1937 1st US social security payment made
Pilecki Escapes
1943 Witold Pilecki escapes from Auschwitz after having voluntarily been imprisoned there to gain information about the Holocaust
Partisans Capture Mussolini
1945 Italian partisans capture Benito Mussolini at Dongo (Lake Como)
- 1945 US 5th army enters Genoa
- 1945 World War II: The Völkischer Beobachter, the newspaper of the Nazi Party, ceases publication
- 1946 1st radar installed aboard a commercial ship
- 1948 Arab legion attacks Gesher bridge on Jordan River
- 1950 South Africa passes Group Areas Act segregating races
- 1953 1st general elections in British Guiana, won by the People's Progressive Party with Cheddi Jagan first person of Indian descent to be elected head of government outside South Asia
- 1953 Wrestler Freddie Blassie coins term "Pencil neck geek"
Rocky Marciano Retires
1956 Undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano, retires from the ring
- 1959 "Today" show goes abroard 1st time (Paris France)
Mao Resigns
1959 Mao Zedong resigns as Chairman of the PRC after the disastrous failure of the Great Leap Forward
- 1959 The last Canadian missionary leaves the People's Republic of China.
- 1960 1st atomic powered electric-drive submarine launched (Tullibee)
Syngman Rhee Resigns
1960 South Korean President Syngman Rhee resigns after 12 years in power
- 1960 Togo (formerly French Togo) declares independence from French administration
- 1961 NASA launches Explorer 11 into Earth orbit to study gamma rays
- 1961 NFL officially recognizes Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio
- 1961 Sierra Leone declares independence from the United Kingdom
- 1962 Arnold Wesker's "Chips with Everything" premieres in London
- 1962 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
- 1963 "Jopie" Pengel forms government in Suriname
Castro Arrives in Moscow
1963 Cuban premier Fidel Castro arrives in Moscow
In His Own Write
1964 John Lennon's book of poetry and sketches "In His Own Write" is published in US
- 1965 RC Duncan patents "Pampers" disposable diaper
Music Concert
1966 Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 2nd Cello Concert
- 1967 Expo 67 opens in Montreal, Canada, featuring a giant Biosphere designed by Buckminster Fuller
- 1967 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1968 Baltimore Orioles pitcher Tom Phoebus no-hits Boston, 6-0
- 1968 Congress of Political Party Radicals (PPR) forms in Netherlands
- 1968 The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) hold a rally to protest the banning of a Republican Easter parade
Sports History
1971 Curt Flood resigns Senators after 13 games & departs for Denmark
- 1972 Apollo 16 returns to Earth after lunar exploration, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean 350 km (189 nmi) southeast of the island of Kiritimati
- 1972 NYC Mayor John Lindsey appeals that John Lennon not be deported
- 1973 KC Royals pitcher Steve Busby no-hits Detroit Tigers, 3-0
- 1974 Pan Am 707 crashes into mountains of Bali, killing 107
- 1975 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
- 1976 Arabic Monetary Fund established in Abu Dhabi
- 1977 Bloody riots in Soweto, South Africa
- 1977 HCC, Hobby Computer Club, forms in Netherlands
- 1978 Afghanistan revolution (National Day), pro-Russian military coup
- 1978 Cooling tower collapses at a coal-fired power plant at Willow Island, West Virginia, kills 51
Love Comes to Everyone
1979 George Harrison releases single "Love Comes to Everyone"
- 1981 1st female soccer official is hired by NASL
Music History
1981 Paul McCartney's rock band Wings breaks-up
- 1981 Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse
- 1982 NFL Draft: University of Texas defensive end Kenneth Sims first pick by New England Patriots
Ronald Reagan is Shot
1982 Trial of John Hinckley begins for the attempted assassination of US President Ronald Reagan
Baseball Record
1983 Nolan Ryan becomes strikeout king (3,509), passing Walter Johnson
Pripyat Evacuated
1986 Soviet authorities order the evacuation of the city of Pripyat (pop. 50,000) 1 day after the Chernobyl nuclear accident
Event of Interest
1987 US Justice Department bars Austrian Chancellor Kurt Waldheim from entering US, due to his aid of Nazi Germany during WW II
Sports History
1990 Dodger Orel Hershiser undergoes career-threatening shoulder surgery
Baseball Trade
1992 NY Mets trade David Cone to Toronto Blue Jays for Jeff Kent
- 1992 The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed
- 1993 Afghan Antonov AN-32 crashes at Tashqurgan, kills 76
- 1994 29.0°C in Genevad, Sweden (Swedish April high temperature record)
- 1994 7th longest NHL game at 125 min 43 sec: Buffalo Sabres beat New Jersey Devils 1-0 on a goal by Dave Hannan
Event of Interest
1994 Former US President Richard Nixon buried in Nixon Library in Yorba Linda, California
- 1994 Freedom Day: day 2 of South Africa's 1st multi-racial elections and day most voted - some queuing for 10 hours
- 1994 Graeme Obree bicycles world record time (52,713 km)
- 1994 Twins righty Scott Erickson no-hits Brewers 6-0
- 1996 Brunswick World Tournament of Champions won by Dave D'Entremont
- 1997 "Stanley" closes at Circle in the Square Theater, NYC
- 1997 Frank Nobilo wins Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic at Forest Oaks
Music Concert
1998 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include: Sting, Elton John, James Taylor, Madonna, Billy Joel, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Roberta Flack, Wynonna Judd, and Tsidii Leloka
- 1999 Nevada State Museum discovers the oldest mummy in North America - on the shelves of their own museum, after the Spirit Cave Mummy radiocarbon dates to over 9,400 years old [1]
- 2002 The last successful telemetry from the NASA space probe Pioneer 10
- 2005 The superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France
- 2006 Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City
- 2007 Estonian authorities remove the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet Red Army war memorial in Tallinn, amid political controversy with Russia.
- 2011 Deadliest day of the 2011 super outbreak of tornadoes, the largest tornado outbreak in United States history
- 2011 Mummified remains of American actress Yvette Vickers discovered by a neighbor at her home; she had not been seen since 2010
Event of Interest
2011 U.S. President Barack Obama, coerced by incessant false "birther" accusations, publicly releases a copy of his birth certificate
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
2014 "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" late-night talk and news show fronted by John Oliver premieres on HBO
Problem
2014 Ariana Grande's first single from her album, "Problem" featuring Iggy Azalea, is released
- 2017 NFL Draft: Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett first pick by Cleveland Browns
Event of Interest
2018 German leader Angela Merkel has a 1-day trip to Washington, DC, meeting US President Donald Trump
Summit of Interest
2018 Historic Korean summit, the North's Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in of South Korea agree to officially end Korean war and rid peninsula of nuclear weapons
- 2018 Mass protests across Spain after 5 men convicted of sexual abuse but not rape of teenage girl during Running of the Bulls festival in Pamplona
- 2018 More than 40 Tuareg killed over two days by suspected jihadists in Menaka region, Mali
Event of Interest
2019 Pope Francis donates $500,000 for migrants stranded in Mexico trying to reach the US
- 2019 Shooter opens fire in a synagogue in Poway, California, killing one and injuring three
COVID-19 Pandemic
2020 Global confirmed cases of COVID-19 pass 3 million with the death toll at 205,000. US has 1/3 of all new cases.
- 2020 US Defense Department declassifies and releases videos of unidentified "aerial phenomena" from 2004 and 2015
COVID-19 Pandemic
2021 Brazil's Senate orders an official inquiry into President Jair Bolsonaro' and government official's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021 Pfizer announces it is working on a new antiviral therapy to treat COVID-19 at its onset and prevent hospitalization [1]
- 2022 Italian women footballers finally turn professional after Italian Football Federation changes status of top division (takes effect 1 July) and ends capped amateur salaries [1]
- 2022 US CDC report finds that more than half of people (57.7%) had antibodies for COVID-19 by February 2022, with 75.2% of children and teenagers [1]
- 2023 Findings from the Zoonomia Project published - where genomes of 240 mammals collected and compared. Reveals 10.7% of the human genome identical to almost all species. [1]
Pence Testifies to Grand Jury
2023 Former Vice President Mike Pence appears before the federal grand jury investigating President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss [1]
The Late Late Show
2023 James Corden's final appearance as host of "The Late Late Show" on CBS, after 1,196 episodes
- 2023 NFL Draft: Alabama quarterback Bryce Young first pick by the Carolina Panthers
- 2023 Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari awarded Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal for her humanitarian work providing structures for Pakistanis' marginalized communities [1]
- 2024 Iraq's parliament criminalizes same-sex relationships, passing a law that allows for up to 15 years in prison [1]
- 2024 NASA engineers successfully repair and recode Voyager 1 from 15 billion miles away after five month gap in not receiving data [1]
