307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian.
627 – Battle of the Trench: Muhammad undergoes a 14-day siege at Medina (Saudi Arabia) by Meccan forces under Abu Sufyan.
1492 – Queen Isabella of Castille issues the Alhambra Decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion. / Queen Isabella & King Ferdinand of Aragon issue Alhambra Decree expelling Jews from Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon (In 1492 – Queen Iz banned the Jews?)
1657 – English Parliament makes the Humble Petition to Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell offering him the crown: he declines
1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (Mattheus-Passion), Eisenach Germany, [OS 21 Mar]. (d. 1750) Born
1717 – A sermon on “The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ” by Benjamin Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, provokes the Bangorian Controversy.
1727 – Isaac Newton, English physicist/astronomer, dies in London at 84
1745 – Jews are expelled from Prague
1774 – American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed pursuant to the Boston Port Act.
1796 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Egmont” premieres in Weimar
1808 – French created Kingdom of Westphalia orders Jews to adopt family names
1809 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-born Russian novelist, humorist, and dramatist (Dead Souls, The Inspector-General) Born
1809 – Edward FitzGerald, England, writer (Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam) Born
1814 – Forces allied against Napoleon capture Paris
1822 – The massacre of the population of the Greek island of Chios by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire following a rebellion attempt, depicted by the French artist Eugène Delacroix.
1854 – Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.
1855 – Charlotte Brontë, English novelist (Jane Eyre), dies at 38
1861 – Confederacy takes over mint at New Orleans (US Civil War)
1880 – 1st town completely illuminated by electric lighting (Wabash, IN)
1889 – 300m high Eiffel Tower officially opens in Paris to commemorate the French Revolution
1903 – Richard Pearse allegedly makes a powered flight in an early aircraft.
1909 – Construction of the ill fated RMS Titanic begins.
1909 – Gustav Mahler conducts NY Philharmonic for his 1st time
1913 – The Vienna Concert Society rioted during a performance of modernist music by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Anton von Webern, causing a premature end to the concert due to violence; this concert became known as the Skandalkonzert.
1913 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier, founded J.P. Morgan & Co. (b. 1837) died.
1917 – The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands.
1918 – Massacre of ethnic Azerbaijanis is committed by allied armed groups of Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Bolsheviks. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijani Muslims are killed.
1918 – Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
1927 – Cesar Chavez, Yuma Az, farm labor leader (United Farm Workers) Born
1930 – The Motion Picture Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty-eight years.
1931 – Knute Rockne, football player/coach, dies in a plane crash at 43
1932 – Ford publicly unveils its V-8 engine
1933 – German Republic gives power to Hitler
1934 – Shirley Jones, American actress (Partridge Family) and singer was born.
1935 – Herb Alpert, bandleader/trumpeter (Tijuana Brass)/CEO (A & M) Born
1940 – Barney Frank, American politician was birthed.
1943 – Christopher Walken, Astoria Queens, actor (Deer Hunter, Brainstorm, True Romance) Born
1944 – Mick Ralphs, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Mott the Hoople and Bad Company) was born.
1944 – Hungary orders all Jews to wear yellow stars
1945 – World War II: a defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, the world’s first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.
1945 – Tennessee Williams’ “Glass Menagerie” premieres in NYC
1946 – Gabe Kaplan, Brooklyn New York, American comedian/actor (Welcome Back Kotter) Born
1948 – Al Gore, American politician, 45th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Prize laureate was birthed.
1948 – Rhea Perlman, Brooklyn, actress (Zena-Taxi, Carla-Cheers) Born
1948 – Congress passes Marshall Aid Act to rehabilitate war-torn Europe
1949 – The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada.
1951 – Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.
1953 – US Department of Health, Education & Welfare established
1955 – Angus Young, Scottish-Australian guitarist and songwriter (AC/DC and Marcus Hook Roll Band) was born.
1955 – US Assay Office in Seattle, Washington closes Chase National (3rd largest bank) & Bank of the Manhattan Company (15th largest bank) merge to form Chase Manhattan (Rockefeller)
1959 – The 14th Dalai Lama, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.
1959 – Ali McMordie, Irish bassist (Stiff Little Fingers) Born
1965 – US ordered the 1st combat troops to Vietnam
1966 – 25,000 anti war demonstrators march in NYC
1966 – USSR launches Luna 10, 1st lunar orbiter
1967 – 1st time Jimi Hendrix burns his guitar (London)
1968 – LBJ announces he will not seek re-election
1969 – George Harrison & Patti Boyd are fined £250 each for illegal drugs
1970 – Federal bankruptcy court allows Seattle Pilots (MLB) to be sold to Milwaukee
1970 – Following an Orange Order parade, intense riots erupt on the Springfield Road in Belfast; violence lasts for three days, and the British Army used CS gas for the first time in large quantities
1971 – Ewan McGregor, Scottish-American actor was born.
1971 – William Calley sentenced to life for Mi Lai Massacre
1972 – Official Beatles Fan Club closes down
1972 – Ze Frank, American comedian and blogger was born.
1972 – Evan Williams, American businessman, co-founded Twitter and Pyra Labs was born.
1973 – Ken Norton defeats Muhammad Ali in a 12 round split decision
1975 – John Wooden’s final game, UCLA, wins 10th NCAA championship in 12 yrs
1976 – NJ Court rules Karen Anne Quinlan may be disconnected from respirator
1978 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian medical scientist, co-discovered Insulin (b. 1899) died.
1980 – The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.
1980 – President Jimmy Carter deregulates banking industry
1980 – Jesse Owens, American sprinter and long jumper (b. 1913) died.
1985 – The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (then the WWF), takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York.
1986 – Harry Ritz, comedian/actor (Ritz Brothers), dies at 79
1986 – 167 die when Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 crashes
1990 – Approximately 200,000 protestors take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.
1991 – Georgian independence referendum, 1991: Nearly 99 percent of the voters support the country’s independence from the Soviet Union.
1991 – Danny Bonaduce attacks a transvestite prostitute in Phoenix Az
1996 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, musician, (The Gun Club) dies at 37
2004 – Iraq War in Anbar Province: In Fallujah, Iraq, four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed after being ambushed.
2005 – Frank Perdue, American poultry farmer (b. 1920) Dies and is battered to a golden brown crisp
2005 – Terri Schiavo, American figure in right to die case (b. 1963) Murdered
Terri Schiavo: 10 Years After Her Death ‘End of Life’ Debate Rages On
2006 – Jackie McLean, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1931 or 1932) Dies
2007 – Paul Watzlawick, Communications & Constructivism Theorist (b. 1921) Dies