34 – Christ, crucified, according to Isaac Newton
215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
1616 – William Shakespeare, English playwright and actor (b. 1564) died.
1616 – Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Spanish writer (Don Quixote), dies at 69
1791 – James Buchanan, American politician, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868) was born.
1815 – The Second Serbian Uprising: a second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire.
1858 – Max K E Ludwig Planck, German physicist (Planck Constant, Nobel 1918) Born
1897 – Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972) was born.
1898 – Spain declares war on the United States on April 23rd, 1898 after rejecting America’s ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba. Following the declaration The American Asiatic Squadron under Commodore George Dewey engaged the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón in Manila Bay, the Philippines and decimated the Spanish squadron
1910 – American President Theodore Roosevelt makes his “The Man in the Arena” speech.
1914 – First baseball game at Wrigley Field, then known as Weeghman Park in Chicago.
1918 – World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.
1922 – A Bootlegging scheme where liquor was smuggled into the US from Bermuda was broken up today when on former submarine chaser ships with officers wearing the uniform of the United States Navy was broken up today when the ships and crew were seized
1928 – Shirley Temple, Santa Monica, California, American actress, famous as a child star in the 1930s (Bright Eyes, Heidi) and diplomat – Born
1938 – Jewish shopkeepers in Vienna were forced to picket their own shops with placards saying don’t buy from Jews in 1938 , they were forced to do this by members of the Hitler Youth Movement , at the same time the librarian of the national library was given a list of non Arian works to be removed from the library
1939 – Lee Majors, [Harvey Lee Yeary], Wyandotte Mich, TV actor ($6,000,000 Man, The Fall Guy) Born
1940 – The Rhythm Night Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
1941 – World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
1942 – World War II: Baedeker Blitz – German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
1943 – Herve Villechaize, France, “Da Plane! Da Plane!” (Fantasy Island) Born
1945 – World War II Adolf Hitler’s designated successor Hermann Göring sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of the Third Reich, which causes Hitler to replace him with Joseph Goebbels and Karl Dönitz.
1949 – Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
1949 – Joyce DeWitt, Wheeling WV, actress (Janet Wood-Three’s Company) Born
1951 – American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.
1954 – Michael Moore, Flint, Michigan, American filmmaker (Fahrenheit 9/11, Bowling for Columbine, Sicko) Born
1955 – Captain Sensible, [Ray Burns], UK, rock bassist (The Damned) Born
1955 – Judy Davis, Perth Australia, actress (Husbands & Wives, Naked Lunch) Born
1960 – Steve Clark, Hillsborough England, rock guitarist (Def Leppard) Born
1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, Del, (1 Day at a Time, Sydney); Ms Eddie Van Halen – Born
1961 – George Lopez, American comedian, actor, and talk show host was born.
1967 – Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1) a manned spaceflight carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov is launched into orbit.]
1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, committed the Oklahoma City Bombing (d. 2001) was born.
1975 – William Hartnell, English actor, first Doctor Who (b. 1908) died.
1977 – John Cena, American wrestler and actor was born.
1977 – John Oliver, English-American comedian and actor was born.
1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than 3 months.
1986 – Otto Preminger, dir (Advise & Consent, Anatomy of Murder), dies at 79
1991 – Johnny Thunders, American musician (New York Dolls) (b. 1952)Dies of overdose
1993 – Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately four weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province.
1998 – James Earl Ray, (Alleged) American assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1928) died.
2003 – US troops rescue Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch from a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, where she had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed nine days earlier.
2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (b. 1931) died.