1199 KingRichard I (the Lion Heart) of England, is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France, leads to his death on April 6

1306Robert the Bruce crowned Robert I, King of Scots, having killed his rival John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch

1436 Florence Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore), started in 1296, is consecrated by Pope Eugene IV. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi with support fromCosimo de' Medici, it features the largest dome in the world at the time.

1581 Portuguese Cortes (King's Court) callsPhilip II King of Portugal, further legitimatizing his rule

1584 English explorerWalter Raleigh granted seven-year royal charter byElizabeth I to explore and colonize North America, after Humphrey Gilbert's death at sea

1598Cornelis de Houtman's fleet departs Amsterdam for the East Indies (Indonesia) on his second voyage in search of the then exotic spices, cloves, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon and pepper

1609Henry Hudson embarks on an attempt to find northwest passage to Asia for the Dutch East India Company - will explore North America instead

1655 AstronomerChristiaan Huygens discovers Saturn's largest moon, Titan

1740 Construction begins on evangelistGeorge Whitefield's Bethesda Orphanage in Georgia

1753Voltaire leaves the court of Frederik II of Prussia

1776 Continental Congress authorizes a medal forGeorge Washington

1807 British Parliament abolishes the slave trade throughout the British Empire; a penalty of £120 per slave is introduced for ship captains

1807George Canning becomes British Foreign Secretary, serving until 1809

1811Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for his publication of the pamphlet "The Necessity of Atheism"

1846 German explorerLudwig Leichhardt arrives in Sydney to a hero's welcome after completing his exploration of Australia's Northern Territory

1863 1st US Army Medal of Honor awarded to six army soldiers by US Secretary of WarEdwin Stanton in Washington

1876Agostino Depretis becomes Prime Minister of Italy for the first time as head of a left-leaning government

1898 WriterO. Henry sentenced to 5 years in prison for embezzling $854 from a bank reportedly to pay for his sick wife's medical bills. Goes on to write many classics while in jail including "Whistling Dick's Christmas Stocking".

1917 Canadian flying aceBilly Bishop claims his first victory, shooting down and mortally wounding German Leutnant Theiller

1919Woodrow Wilson's dream of a League of Nations becomes a reality after the League Covenant is adopted at the Paris Peace Conference

1934 1st Augusta National Invitation Tournament (Masters) Golf: Horton Smith wins with 20-foot birdie putt at the 17th hole, 1 stroke ahead ofCraig Wood

1937 It is revealed Quaker Oats paysBabe Ruth $25,000 per year for ads

1943Akira Kurosawa's debut film "Sanshiro Sugata" is released

1943Jimmy Durante & Garry Moore premiere on radio

1946 1st performance ofIgor Stravinsky's "Ebony Concerto", by Woody Herman and His Thundering Herd, at Carnegie Hall, New York City

1954 26th Academy Awards: "From Here to Eternity" best film,William Holden &Audrey Hepburn best actor, actress

1954 PopePius XII encyclical "Sacra virginitas" (On consecrated virginity)

1955 United States Customs seizes copies ofAllen Ginsberg's poem "Howl" as obscene.

1958Sugar Ray Robinson is 1st boxing champ to win 5 times

1960Ford Frick voids Indians-Red Sox deal as Sam White retires

1960 US Court of Appeal Judge Frederick van Pelt Bryan, in New York City, rules D.H. Lawrence's "Lady Chatterley's Lover" is not obscene, overturning ban imposed by US postal Service

1961Elvis Presley performs live at Pearl Harbor’s Bloch Arena in a benefit for the USS Arizona Memorial; his return to the concert stage after a stint in the US Army raises $60K and worldwide awareness of the project[1]

1964 Britain sets memorial for the late PresidentJohn F. Kennedy

1965Martin Luther King Jr. leads 25,000 to state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama

1969 American singerJudy Garland’s gives what becomes her very last concert, at Falkoner Centret in Copenhagen, Denmark

1969 BeatleJohn Lennon and new wifeYoko Ono stage their 1st bed-in for peace, at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands

1969Ian Paisley and Ronald Bunting, loyalists in Northern Ireland are jailed for organising an illegal counter demonstration in Armagh on 30 November 1968

1971James Callaghan speaks at a rally of the Northern Ireland labour movement, but rejects calls for the Labour Party to open membership to those living in N. Ireland

1971Tom Jones' cover version ofPaul Anka's "She's a Lady" goes gold

1972 Chicago Black HawksBobby Hull becomes the 2nd NHLer to score 600 goals, with a goal in Boston assisted by his brother Dennis

1974Barbra Streisand records the album "Butterfly"

1975Linda Ronstadt releases cover of the Everly Brothers' 1960 song "When Will I Be Loved" as a single; climbs to No. 2 in the charts

1982Wayne Gretzky becomes 1st NHL to score 200 points in a season

1983 Motown 25, a concert celebrating the anniversary of Motown records is taped for broadcast at the Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California; performers include: The Miracles; The Temptations; The Four Tops;Diana Ross andthe Supremes; TheJackson 5; andMichael Jackson, who unveils his "moonwalk" dance move

1985 57th Academy Awards: "Amadeus",F. Murray Abraham &Sally Field win

1985Edwin Meese III takes office as US Attorney General

1986 CanadianKurt Browning becomes the 1st figure skater to land a quadruple jump

1988 "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, starring Carmen Maura andAntonio Banderas is released

1988Robin Givens demands full access to husbandMike Tyson's money

1991 63rd Academy Awards: "Dances with Wolves",Kathy Bates &Jeremy Irons win

1991Allan Border takes 5-68 v WI at Bourda (!), Georgetown

1991 Country singerReba McEntire performs as scheduled at the Academy Awards ceremony, just 9 days after nearly her entire band dies in a plane crash

1992 ICC Men's Cricket ODI World Cup, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia: Pakistan beats England by 22 runs for their first trophy; Player of the Match:Wasim Akram (PAK) 33 (18) & 3/49

1996 68th Academy Awards: "Braveheart",Nicolas Cage &Susan Sarandon win

1997 "Life After Death" second studio album byThe Notorious B.I.G. is released (Billboard Song of the Year 1997)

1997 MLB Cleveland Indians trade Lofton & Embree to Braves for Marquis Grissom &David Justice

2001 73rd Academy Awards: "Gladiator",Russell Crowe &Julia Roberts win

2003 Capitol/Nashville Records releases "Rules of Travel", the tenth studio album by singer-songwriterRosanne Cash; produced by husband John Leventhal, it includes a duet with her fatherJohnny Cash