527 Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephewJustinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne

1515 Portuguese fleet underAfonso de Albuquerque capture the Persian fortress of Hormuz, renaming it the Fort of Our Lady of the Conception

1724Henry Pelham becomes English minister of War

1724Jonathan Swift publishes "Drapier's Letters" a series of seven pamphlets against a privately minted copper coinage Swift saw as inferior and corrupt

1748 The ruins of Pompeii are rediscovered by Spaniard Roque Joaquín de Alcubierre

1826Samuel Morey is issued the first U.S. patent for an internal-combustion engine, which he calls a “Gas or Vapour Engine"

1854 "Hard Times" begins serialisation inCharles Dickens magazine, "Household Words"

1857Herman Melville publishes the novel "The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade" on April Fool's Day in New York

1891 French painterPaul Gauguin leaves Marseille for Tahiti

1924Adolf Hitler sentenced to 5 years labor for "Beer Hall Putsch" but General Ludendorff acquitted

1930 "The Blue Angel" starringMarlene Dietrich in her breakthrough role premieres in Germany

1930 American golferBobby Jones starts his Grand Slam season by winning the Southeastern Open by 13 strokes over Horton Smith at the Forest Hills-Ricker Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia

1933Heinrich Himmler becomes Police Commander of Germany

1934Clyde Barrow kills two young highway patrolmen, H. D. Murphy and Edward Bryant Wheeler, at the intersection of Route 114 near Grapevine, Texas.Bonnie Parker's role in the murders helps turn public perception against the gang for good

1936Charles "Lucky" Luciano" is arrested in Arkansas on a criminal warrant from New York

1938 World heavyweight boxing championJoe Louis KOs Harry Thomas in 5th round of their title bout in Chicago; 3rd defense by Louis

1939 US recognizesFrancisco Franco's government in Spain at end of Spanish civil war. PopePius XII congratulates Generalissimo Franco's victory in Spain

1940 Filipino PresidentQuezon officially authorizes the printing and publication of the grammar and dictionary prepared by the Institute of the National Language.

1941Lillian Hellman's play "Watch on the Rhine" premieres in NYC

1945 Battle of Okinawa: US ground forces invade Okinawa during World War II in the largest amphibious assault of the Pacific theatre

1947 "Shin Takarajima" (New Treasure Island) byOsamu Tezuka published, first manga cartoon in tankōbon form

1954 Detroit Red Wings right wingGordie Howe scores 2 goals and an assist, and sets a Stanley Cup playoff record for fastest goal from the start of a game (:09) in a 4-3 2OT win over Toronto in Game 5 of the Semi-Finals

1960U Nu elected premier of Burma for the third time

1963 NY Mets purchase future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielderDuke Snider from the LA Dodgers for $40,000; Snider had starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers 1947-57

1964John Lennon is reunited with his father Freddie 17 years after being abandoned at age 5

1966 Loyalist led byIan Paisley, a Protestant fundamentalist preacher, founded the Ulster Constitution Defence Committee to challenge the civil rights movement; it set up a paramilitary-style wing called the Ulster Protestant Volunteers

1970 US PresidentRichard Nixon signs bill limiting cigarette advertisements from 1st Jan 1971

1973 Boston Celtics captainJohn Havlicek scores career high 54 points in 134-109 rout of Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of 1st round Eastern Conference playoffs; hits NBA playoff record 24-of-36 field-goal attempts

1973 Despite a final round, 5-3 loss to Montreal, Boston Bruins centerPhil Esposito wins his third consecutive NHL scoring title with 130 points from 55 goals and 75 assists in the 78-game season

1974Ayatollah Khomeini calls for an Islamic Republic in Iran

1976 "Helter Skelter", detailingCharles Manson's cult "family", their capture, trial, conviction and aftermath, premieres on CBS

1976Steve Wozniak andSteve Jobs found Apple Computer in the garage of Jobs' parents house in Cupertino, California

1978 Last episode of "TheBob Newhart Show" sitcom (the Chicago one) airs on CBS-TV

1978 New York Islanders right wingMike Bossy becomes first NHL rookie to score 50 goals in a season after scoring #50 and #51 in the closing moments in a 3-2 win over Washington

1981 CBS-TV special "Country Comes Home" includes final television appearance of songwriterHoagy Carmichael, in a duet segment with country starCrystal Gayle

1981 CNN airs a videotape that shows that Tamara Rand predicted thatReagan is in danger from someone named Jack Humley (a hoax)

1981 Edmonton centerWayne Gretzky has an assist (his 103rd) in the Oilers 4-4 tie with Colorado Rockies to break Bobby Orr's 10-year mark for most assists in a single NHL season

1982 Quebec centerPeter Šťastný scores 4th career hat trick and 4 assists, and his brother Marián adds 5 assists to lead the Nordiques to an 8-5 win at Boston

1989A. Bartlett Giamatti replacesPeter Ueberroth as 7th commissioner of Major League Baseball; dies suddenly of a heart attack 5 months later