1607 – Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
1608 – The Protestant Union is founded in Auhausen.
1610 – Henry IV of France is assassinated bringing Louis XIII to the throne.
1643 – Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
1702 – England & Netherlands declare war on France & Spain
1787 – In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States; George Washington presides.
1796 – Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox vaccination.
1804 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition departs from Camp Dubois and begins its historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River.
1879 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.
1887 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (b. 1808) Dies
1894 – Fire in Boston bleachers spreads to 170 adjoining buildings
1897 – The Stars and Stripes Forever is first performed in public near Willow Grove Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1913 – New York Governor William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
1906 – Carl Schurz, German revolutionary and statesman (b. 1829)Dies
1919 – Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (b. 1844) died.
1925 – Rod Steiger, West Hampton NY, actor (Illustrated Man, Pawnbroker)Born
1931 – Ådalen shootings: five people are killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers open fire on an unarmed trade union demonstration.
1931 – Mahatma Ghandi the leader of the Indian Nationalist movement has agreed to talks with Britain in London to discuss More Independence from Britain in return for stopping the current boycott on foreign goods in India.
1932 – “We Want Beer!” parade in NY
1933 – Buddy Knox, Happy Tx, rock vocalist (Party Doll, Lovey Dovey) Born
1935 – Loretta Lynn, Butcher’s Hollow Ky, singer (Coal Miner’s Daughter)Born
1935 – Griffith Planetarium opens in LA
1936 – Frank Serpico, American policeman / Whistle Blower – Born
1939 – Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
1940 – Emma Goldman, US anarchists/feminist/author (Living My Life), dies
1940 – Nazis bomb Rotterdam (600-900 dead), Netherlands surrenders to Germany
1941 – Julie Christie, Assam India, actress (Dr Zhivago)Born
1941 – Pete Rose, Cincinnati Reds, Charlie hustle (most hits in majors) Born
1944 – George Lucas, American director, producer, and screenwriter, founded Lucasfilm was born.
1945 – Ritchie Blackmore, England, guitarist (Rainbow-Stone Cold, Deep Purple) Born
1948 – Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is “attacked” by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
1952 – Kenny Aaronson (Bass: Hagar, Schon, Aaronson, Shrieve, New York Dolls (Since 2011), Foghat (1983), Stories (1973 – 1974) Born
1953 – Tom Cochrane, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Red Rider) was born.
1955 – Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
1961 – Tim Roth, English actor and director was born.
1961 – American civil rights movement: The Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama, and the civil rights protesters are beaten by an angry mob.
1962 – Ian Astbury, English-Canadian singer-songwriter (The Cult, The Wondergirls, Circus of Power, and Holy Barbarians) was born.
1965 – 2nd Chinese atom bomb explodes
1966 – 1st reported monitoring of pirate radio station WBBH (NJ)
1966 – Mike Inez, American bass player and songwriter (Alice in Chains, Black Label Society, Slash’s Snakepit, and Spys4Darwin) was born.
1968 – Anthony Michael Hall, Boston Mass, comedian (SNL, Breakfast Club)Born
1969 – Abortion & contraception legalized in Canada
1970 – Cops kill 2 students in racial disturbance (Jackson State U, Miss)
1970 – Billie Burke, American actress (The Wizard of Oz), dies at 85
1973 – Skylab, the United States’ first space station, is launched.
1973 – US Supreme court approves equal rights to females in military
1974 – Symbionese Liberation Army destroyed in shoot-out, 6 killed
1976 – Keith Relf, rock vocalist (Yardbirds), electrocuted at 33
1977 – Sarah Michelle Gellar, actress (Kendall-All My Children, Buffy)Born
1980 – Dept of Health & Human Services begins operation
1984 – Mark Zuckerberg, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founder of Facebook was birthed.
1986 – After 17 days with no statement from the Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev today went on Russian TV today to tell the Russian people that the death toll has reached 9 and a further 299 are hospitalized with radiation poisoning from the Chernobyl accident on April 26th. Meanwhile fallout from the nuclear accident has been identified as far away as the USA.
1987 – Colt revolver (Peacemaker) of 1873 sells for $242,000
1987 – Rita Hayworth, actress (Gilda), dies of Alzheimer’s disease at 68
1988 – Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, United States hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire.
1991 – Winnie Mandela sentenced to 6 years for complicity in kidnapping & beating of four youths, one of whom died, She is freed pending appeal
1993 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist (b. 1908) died!
1995 – Dalai Lama proclaims 6-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima 11th reincarnation of Panchen Lama, Tibet’s 2nd most sr spiritual leader
1997 – Harry Blackstone Jr, magician, dies of cancer at 62
1998 – Last episode of Seinfeld on NBC (commercials are $2M for 30 seconds)
1998 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor, dies at 82
2003 – Robert Stack, American actor (b. 1919)
2005 – The former USS America (CV-66), a decommissioned supercarrier of the United States Navy, is deliberately sunk in the Atlantic Ocean after four weeks of live-fire exercises. She is the largest ship ever to be disposed of as a target in a military exercise.
2012 – 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons agree to end mass hunger strike
2012 – Stanford University scientists develop prototype bionic eye
2013 – Brazil becomes the 15th country to legalize same-sex marriage
2013 – Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declares a state of emergency in the northeast states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa due to the terrorist activities of Boko Haram.