- 752 Pope-elect Stephen is selected to succeed Zacharias as Catholic Pope only to die of a stroke two days later
- 1066 18th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
Treaty of Constance
1153 Treaty of Constance:Frederick I Barbarossa agrees not to reestablish Byzantium in Italy and to support Pope Eugene III
- 1174 Jocelin, abbot of Melrose, is elected bishop of Glasgow
- 1490 First dated edition of Maimonides' "Mishneh Torah" is published, a code of Jewish religious law
- 1534 Aragonese legal code formally recognised
- 1568 Treaty of Longjumeau: French huguenots go on strike
- 1579 Friesland joins Union of Utrecht
- 1593 English Separatist Puritans John Greenwood and Henry Barrowe tried and sentenced to death on the charge of devising and circulating seditious books
- 1630 French troops occupy Pinerolo Piedmont
- 1648 Treaty of Concorida: Dutch and French agree to divide St Maarten in the Leeward Islands[1]
- 1657 France & England form alliance against Spain; England gets Dunkirk
- 1708 James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales, attempts to land at Firth of Forth, Scotland, but is turned away by the British Royal Navy
Messiah Premieres
1743George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" premieres at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
1775Patrick Henry proclaims "Give me liberty or give me death" in a speech encouraging Virginia troops to join the American Revolutionary War
- 1782 Novel "Les Liaisons dangereuses" (Dangerous Liaisons) by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos is published by Durand Neveu
Haydn's 94th Symphony
1792Joseph Haydn's 94th Symphony in G at the Hanover Square Rooms in London, England
- 1794 American inventor Josiah Pierson patents a "cold-header" (rivet) machine
Kościuszko Uprising
1794 Polish generalTadeusz Kościuszko returns to Kraków, Poland to led the Kościuszko Uprising against Russian and Prussian control
Tsar Goes a Step Too Far
1801 Aleksandr Pavlovich Romanov becomesTsar Alexander I of Russia after his father Tsar Paul I is assassinated
Famous Photo
1840John William Draper takes 1st successful photo in US of the Moon (daguerreotype), in New York City
- 1848 The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
- 1849 Battle of Novara (King Charles Albert vs Italian republic)
- 1856 18-year-old English chemist William Perkin accidentally produces the first synthetic aniline dye ‘mauveine’ (purple) during his Easter holiday[1]
Otis Installs First Elevator
1857Elisha Otis installs his first elevator at 488 Broadway in New York City
Union Troops Reach Goldsboro
1865General Sherman and Cox' troops reach Goldsboro, North Carolina
Second Reconstruction Act Passed
1867 Congress passes 2nd Reconstruction Act over PresidentAndrew Johnson's veto
- 1868 University of California founded in Oakland, California
- 1879 War of the Pacific fought between Chile and the joints forces of Bolivia and Peru. Chile successfully takes over Arica and Tarapacá, leaving Bolivia a landlocked country.
- 1880 Flour rolling mill patented (John Stevens of Wisconsin)
- 1881 Boers & Britain sign peace accord; end 1st Boer war
- 1881 Gas lamp sets fire to Théâtre Municipal” opera house in Nice, France; 70 die, and building completely destroyed
- 1882 The Edmunds Act (Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act) is adopted by the US to suppress polygamy. 1300 men are later imprisoned under the act
Manfred
1886Tchaikovsky's "Manfred" symphony premieres in Moscow, Russia, conducted by Max Erdmannsdörfer
Nellie Melba's Toast
1901 Australian opera star DameNellie Melba reveals secret of her now famous toast
- 1903 The Wright brothers 1st file a patent for a flying machine, which is granted 3 years later
- 1908 American diplomat Durham Stevens is attacked by Korean assassins Jeon Myeong-un and Jang In-hwan, leading to his death in hospital two days later
- 1915 Zion Mule Corp formed by the British Army
- 1917 Tornadoes kills 211 over 4 days in Midwest US
- 1918 Alick Wickham dives 200' into Australia's Yarra River
- 1918 German forces advance 14 miles to the Somme River (WW1)
- 1918 Germany begins using long-range gun, the 'Kaiser Wilhelm Geschütz' ('Emperor William Gun'), aka 'Paris Gun' to shell Paris from Crépy-en-Laonnais, 75 miles away; over several days, 303 rounds kill 256 and wound over 600
- 1918 Lithuania proclaims independence
The Politburo Five
1919 8th Congress of the Russian Communist Party re-establishes a five-member Politburo, which becomes the center of political power in the Soviet Union. Original members areVladimir Lenin,Leon Trotsky,Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev, and Nikolai Krestinsky
- 1919 Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, designated as the first autonomous republic of Soviet Russia
Mussolini Forms Fascist Movement
1919Benito Mussolini forms Fascist group Fasci di Combattimento (Italian Fighting Bands) in Milan, Italy - later reorganized into National Fascist Party
- 1920 Perserikatan Communist of India (PKI) political party forms
- 1921 Germany announces it will be unable to meet its Great War reparation payments
- 1922 1st airplane lands at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.
- 1922 KMJ-AM in Fresno CA begins radio transmissions
- 1922 WEW-AM in Saint Louis MO begins radio transmissions
- 1923 Frank Silver and Irving Conn publish their hit song "Yes, We Have No Bananas"
Freedom Fighters Hanged
1931 Indian independence fightersBhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged after conducting an assassination and a bombing. Their request to be shot by a firing squad is refused.
Hitler Made Dictator
1933 German Reichstag hastily passes the Enabling Act and PresidentPaul von Hindenburg signs it the same day, grantingAdolf Hitler dictatorial powers
- 1933 Kroll Opera in Berlin, Germany opens
- 1936 Italy, Austria & Hungary sign Pact of Rome
1st Intravenous Radioisotope Injection
1936 PhysicianJoseph G. Hamilton injects a leukemia patient with a sodium radioisotope, first intravenous injection of a human with a radioisotope
- 1937 LA Railway Co starts using PCC streetcars
Commissioner Frees Cardinals
1938 MLB CommissionerKenesaw Mountain Landis frees 74 St Louis Cardinals minor league players from their contracts
Bartók's Violin Concerto
1939 1st performance ofBéla Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto at the Concertgebow, Amsterdam with Zoltán Székely on violin and Willem Mengelberg conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra
- 1940 First radio broadcast of "Truth or Consequences" on CBS
- 1940 The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Lahore), calling for independent Muslim state(s), is adopted by the All-India Muslim League
- 1942 2,500 Jews of Lublin massacred or deported
- 1942 Japanese forces occupy Andaman Islands in Indian Ocean
- 1943 German counterattack on US lines in Tunisia
- 1944 Italian resistance group bombs occupying German police at Via Rasella, Rome; killing 33 and wounding 110 of the 156 man force; retaliation kills 335 civilians
Battle of Okinawa
1945 Battle of Okinawa: US Navy ships bomb the Japanese island of Okinawa in preparation for the Allied invasion; the largest battle of the Pacific War in World War II
- 1945 British 7th Black Watch crosses the Rhine into Germany
- 1945 British Prime Minister Churchill visits Montgomery's headquarter in Straelen
British Cross the Rhine
1945 Lt. Gen.Miles Dempsey becomes the first British commander to cross the Rhine during the Allied invasion of Germany
S. S. Cars Rebranded Jaguar
1945 The Swallow Sidecar Company headed byWilliam Lyons agrees to change its name to Jaguar
22nd Academy Awards
1950 22nd Academy Awards: "All The King's Men",Broderick Crawford andOlivia De Havilland win
- 1950 Actress Frances Farmer is released from Western State Hospital
- 1950 Sophocles Venizelos forms liberal Greek government
- 1950 UN World Meteorological Org established
- 1951 Wages in France increase 11%
- 1952 NY Rangers blow 6-2 lead, lose 7-6 to Chicago Black Hawks; Bill Mosienko scores fastest hat trick in NHL history, 21 seconds
- 1956 Pakistan proclaimed an Islamic republic in Commonwealth (National Day)
- 1956 Sudan becomes independent
- 1957 US Army sells its last homing pigeons
- 1960 NASA's Explorer (8) fails to reach Earth orbit
- 1962 Nawab of Pataudi captains the Indian cricket team against the West Indies at the age of 21 years and 77 days
- 1962 Wake Forest coach "Bones" McKinney becomes 2nd person to play and coach
- 1962 William DeWitt buys Cincinnati Reds for $4,625,000
- 1963 Rolf Hochhuth's play "Der Stellvertreter" (The Representative) premieres in Berlin
In His Own Write
1964 "In His Own Write", a book of short stories, poems and drawings byJohn Lennon is published
Song To A Seagull
1968 Reprise Records releases "Song To A Seagull", Canadian singer-songwriterJoni Mitchell's debut studio album
- 1968 Rev Walter Fauntroy, is 1st non-voting congressional delegate from DC
- 1969 Rally for Decency in Miami
Hello Darlin'
1970 "Hello Darlin'" single released byConway Twitty (Billboard Song of the Year, 1970)
- 1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1971 Dutch 2nd Chamber accept simplified divorce
- 1971 USSR performs underground nuclear test
- 1972 Geoge Harrison and Friends' "The Concert for Bangladesh" concert film, directed by Saul Swimmer released in the US
- 1972 NY Yankees agree to continue playing ball in the Bronx
- 1973 After a 5½ year run soap "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" ends
- 1973 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Music Concert
1977Elvis Presley begins his final concert tour
- 1978 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Boxing Title Fight
1979Larry Holmes TKOs Osvaldo Ocasio in 7 for heavyweight boxing title
- 1979 Wings release "Goodnight Tonight"
- 1980 AIAW Women's Basketball Tournament, Old Dominion beat Tennessee 68-53 at Mount Pleasant
Cricket History
1980 Australian cricketerAllan Border becomes the first and only batsman to reach 150 in each innings of a test, in the 3rd test vs Pakistan in Lahore
- 1980 France performs nuclear test
- 1980 Nicaraguan National Literary Crusade begins: crusade teachers swear in plazas across the country to exterminate ignorance in just five months (will successfully reduce illiteracy from 50% to 12%)[1]
- 1981 US Supreme Court rules states could require, with some exceptions, parental notification when teen-age girls sought abortions
- 1981 US Supreme Court upholds law making statutory rape a crime only for men
Coup d'état
1982 Guatemala military coup under GeneralEfraín Ríos Montt, President Romeo Lucas flees
NHL Record
1982 NHL New York IslandersMike Bossy's 20th career hat trick, in his 5th career 4-goal game, an 8-1 win over visiting Washington Capitols
Event of Interest
1983 US PresidentRonald Reagan introduces Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars")
- 1984 Andrea Schone skates ladies world record 3 km (4:20.91)
- 1984 Ice Pairs Championship at Ottawa won by Underhill & Paul Martini (CAN)
Sports History
1984 World Ice Dancing Championship won byJayne Torvill andChristopher Dean (Great Britain) in Ottawa, Canada
Music History
1985David Bowie is special surprise guest atTina Turner concert at NEC arena in Birmingham, England; they perform duets of Bowie's "Tonight" and a medley of Chris Montez' "Let's Dance" and Bowie's song of the same name
- 1985 Julian Lennon's 1st concert (San Antonio Texas)
- 1985 Space Shuttle Discovery moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) for mating of STS 51-D mission
- 1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Event of Interest
1987 Former West German ChancellorWilly Brandt resigns as chairman of the Social Democratic Party
- 1987 Soap opera "The Bold and The Beautiful" premieres on CBS
- 1987 US offers military protection to Kuwaiti ships in the Persian Gulf
- 1988 Geffen Records releases "Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm", Canadian singer-songwriterJoni Mitchell's 13th studio album
- 1989 2 Utah scientists claim they have produced fusion at room temperature
- 1989 Joel Steinberg sentenced to 25 yrs for killing his adopted daughter
- 1990 Former Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood ordered to help clean up Prince William Sound & pay $50,000 in restitution for 1989 oil spill
- 1991 1st World League of American Football games, London beats Frankfurt 24-11, Sacramento beats Raleigh-Dur 9-3 & Mont beats Birmingham 20-5
- 1991 20 Tornadoes kill 5 in Tennessee
- 1991 Sergei Bubka pole vaults world record indoor (6.12m)
- 1992 Florida Marlins begin selling tickets
- 1993 Belgian government of Jean-Luc Dehaene resigns
- 1993 NY Knicks & Phoenix Suns get into a major brawl
Event of Interest
1994Amy Fisher's lover Joey Buttafuoco is released from jail after 4 months & 9 days
- 1994 Graeme Obree bicycles world record 10 km (11:28)
- 1994 Green Ramp disaster: Mid-air collision of USAF F-16 fighter jet and USAF C-130 Hercules transport kills 24 and injures over 100 US Army paratroopers on the ground preparing for training at Pope AFB in Cumberland County, North Carolina
Film & TV History
1994Howard Stern formally announces his Libertarian run for NY governor
- 1994 Richard Jacobs buys naming rights to Indians new ball park at Gateway for $13.8 million (renamed Jacobs Field)
- 1994 Russian Airbus A-310 crashes in Siberia (74-75 killed)
NHL Record
1994Wayne Gretzky sets NHL record with 802 goals scored
Academy Awards
1998 70th Academy Awards: "Titanic",Jack Nicholson &Helen Hunt win
Livin' la Vida Loca
1999 "Livin' la Vida Loca" sung byRicky Martin released - goes on to sell over 8 million copies
- 1999 Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis María Argaña
- 2001 The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji
75th Academy Awards
2003 75th Academy Awards: "Chicago" (Best Picture),Adrien Brody (Best Actor - "The Piano") &Nicole Kidman (Best Actress - "The Hours") win
Cricket World Cup
2003 ICC Men's Cricket ODI World Cup, Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa: Australia retain trophy with 125 run win over India; Player of the Match:Ricky Ponting (AUS) 140 no (121)
Invasion of Iraq
2003 In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 11 soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company as well as 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom
- 2004 Andhra Pradesh Federation of Trade Unions holds its first conference in Hyderabad, India
- 2005 Major explosion and fire at the BP's Texas City Refinery kills 15 workers in Texas City, Texas
- 2005 The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube
- 2006 The Federal Reserve discontinues publishing M3 money supply
Emma Watson Signs For Final Potter Films
2007 After some initial hesitation,Emma Watson signs on to appear as Hermione in the final three Harry Potter films
- 2007 Burnley Tunnel catastrophe occurs in Melbourne, Australia
- 2007 Iranian Navy seize Royal Navy personnel in Iraqi waters
Event of Interest
2010 US PresidentBarack Obama signs the Affordable Care Act (ACA), nicknamed 'Obamacare', expanding the availability and affordability of health care insurance
Sports History
2013Chris Sharma becomes the second person to climb a 9b+ (5.15c) route with his ascent of La Dura Dura in Oliana, Spain
- 2013 The US Senate approves its first budget in four years by a margin of 50–49
- 2013 Walt Disney Company launches premium cable Disney Junior channel, with 24-hour programming for the 2-7 year old audience
The Late Late Show
2015 British entertainerJames Corden becomes the host of "The Late Late Show" on CBS; hosts the program through 2023
Event of Interest
2016 GPR investigation ofShakespeare's tomb at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford concludes the Bard's skull probably has been stolen
- 2018 A Sahara sandstorm turns snow in Sochi, Russia, orange in one of the largest-ever transfers of desert sand
- 2018 Peru's Congress swears in Vice-President Martín Vizcarra as the new President after Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned amid corruption scandal
China's Belt and Road
2019 Italy signs up to China's Belt and Road Initiative with deals signed in Rome between Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and Chinese PresidentXi Jinping
- 2019 More than 1 million march to demand a new EU referendum in London, England
- 2019 More than 130 Fulani people killed in Ogossagou, Mali, in attack by Dogon hunters, prompting government ban on the hunters
- 2019 Syrian Democratic Forces announce that the last Islamic State territory has been retaken, raising flags in Baghuz, Syria, and ending the five-year Islamic State "caliphate"
- 2020 African American Daniel Prude dies after being physically retrained by police in Rochester, New York, including having a hood put over his head
- 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns imposed in South Africa and the United Kingdom while other European nations extend and strengthen their lockdowns
Call for Global Ceasefire
2020 Immediate global ceasefire to fight COVID-19 called for by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres
- 2020 New York confirmed as new center of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US with 20,875 cases (5,707 in the last day) and 157 deaths
- 2020 WHO says the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating, 1st 100,000 cases took 67 days, 2nd 100,000 cases 11 days, 3rd 100,000 cases 4 days
Brazil Battles COVID-19
2021 Brazil's daily COVID-19 death toll passes 3,000 (3,251) for the first time (298,676 total deaths reported) as country's Supreme Court blocks PresidentJair Bolsonaro overturning local restrictions[1]
- 2021 Cargo ship Ever Given gets stuck in the Suez Canal, Egypt, a 400m megaship it completely blocks the shipping canal
Event of Interest
2021 First ever tweet by Twitter founderJack Dorsey "just setting up my twttr" sells for $2.9 million in digitally autographed version
- 2022 Abel Prize, mathematics' Nobel equivalent, awarded to American Dennis Sullivan for his work on topography[1]
- 2022 After 114 consecutive weeks as world #1 female tennis player, 25-year-old Australian Ash Barty makes shock retirement announcement; cites contentment with all she achieved in the sport
- 2022 Brian Houston, Australian founder of megachurch Hillsong, resigns after an internal investigation finds he breached their code of conduct with two women
Event of Interest
2022 US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken formally declares that members of Russia armed forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine[1]
Sports History
2023Harry Kane overtakesWayne Rooney's record to become England's all-time greatest goalscorer in 2-1 victory over Italy with his 54th goal[1]
Sports History
2023Lewis Koumas makes his debut for the Wales U19 national team against Scotland U19
