753 BC – Romulus and Remus found Rome (traditional date).
43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after.
1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
1699 – Jean Racine, French dramatist (b. 1639) Dies
1782 – The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil’s independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
1836 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1816 – Charlotte Brontë,English novelist (Jane Eyre), born in Thornton, West Yorkshire
1856 – Australian labour movement: Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an Eight-hour day
1862 – John Thayer, American cricketer (d. 1912 on Titanic) was born.
1863 – Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, declares his mission as “He whom God shall make manifest”.
1868 – Henry James O’Farrell, Australian would-be assassin of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, dies
1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag-Jørgensen bolt-action rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
1910 – Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens], American author (Huckleberry Finn), dies at 74
1911 – Leonard Warren, American baritone (Met-1939-60) who died on stage, born in NYC, New York (d. 1960)
1914 - US marines occupy Vera Cruz, a major Mexican port; they will stay for 6 months
1915 – Anthony Quinn, Mexico, actor, Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia) Born
1916 – Irish nationalist activist and poet Roger Casement is discovered at McKenna’s Fort and is arrested by the Royal Irish Constabulary
1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Baron Manfred von Richthofen, known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux sur Somme in France. Canadian pilot Captain Arthur Roy Brown was credited with the kill.
1925 – The Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals is published in Il Mondo, establishing the political and ideological foundations of Italian Fascism.
1926 – Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, 1952- ), birthed in London, England
1934 – The “Surgeon’s Photograph”, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).
1935 – Thomas Kean, American politician, Co Chair of 911 commission – birthed
1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist (b. 1883) Dies
1947 – Iggy Pop, (James Osterberg) American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Stooges and The Trolls) was born.
1947 – John Weider, English bass player (Family, The Animals, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, and Stud) was born.
1948 – Gary Condit, American politician was born
2002 Iraq War Vote: 156 Congress Members Who Voted NO /Voted NO on ‘Fast Track’ authority for trade agreements. (Sep 1998) WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO CHANDRA LEVY
1948 – Paul Davis, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2008) was born.
1951 – Robert Gotobed, English drummer (Wire) Born
1956 – Elvis Presley has his first number one hit with “Heartbreak Hotel” which tops of the Billboard charts.
1959 – Robert Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Glove) was born.
1960 – Brasilia becomes capital of Brazil
1963 – The Universal House of Justice of the Bahá’í Faith is elected for the first time.
1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
1966 – Michael Franti, American musician, born
1967 – Greek military junta of 1967–74: A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d’état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyen Van Thieu flees Saigon, as Xuan Loc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
1976 – Swine Flu vaccine, for non-epidemic, enters testing
1977 – Billy Martin pulls Yankee line-up out of a hat, beats Blue Jays 8-6
1977 – Gummo [Milton] Marx, US comic (Marx Brothers), dies at 84
1978 – Branden Steineckert, American musician (Rancid and The Used) was born.
1981 – US furnish $1 billion in arms to Saudi-Arabia
1982 – Dutch Queen Beatrice addresses US Congress
1984 – Centers for Disease Cont says virus discovered in France causes “AIDS”
1985 – Bomb attacks in NATO/AEG-Telefunken building in Brussels
1986 - Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone’s vault on TV & finds nothing
1989 – Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
1992 – Mobil Oil tug with 12,000 gallons of oil run aground in Arthur Kill (a tidal strait separating Staten Island, New York City from mainland New Jersey, USA)
1994 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomer Alexander Wolszczan.
1995 – Boston Celtics final game at Boston Gardens, NY Knicks win 98-92
1995 – FBI arrested Timothy McVeigh & charge him with Oklahoma City bombing
1996 – Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, oddsmaker/sportscaster (CBS), dies at 76
1997 – Ashes of Timothy Leary & Gene Roddenberry launched into orbit
2003 – Nina Simone, American singer and pianist (b. 1933) dies
2008 – The United States Air Force retires the F-117 Nighthawk.
2010 – The controversial Kharkiv Pact (Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas Treaty) is signed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dimitry Medvedev; it will be unilaterally terminated by Russia on March 31, 2014.
2012 – Charles Colson, Nixon adviser (Alleged “deep throat” at Watergate), dies from a brain hemorrhage at 80
2013 – Horacio Cartes is elected President of Paraguay