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
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.
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, American author (b. 1835) died.
1816 – Charlotte Bronte, Tornton England, novelist (Jane Eyre) Born
1838 – John Muir, US, naturalist/discoverer (glaciers in High Seirras) Born
1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
1926 – Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, London UK, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, 1952- ) Birthed
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).
1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist (b. 1883)DEAD
1947 – Iggy Pop,[James Osterberg] American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Stooges and The Trolls) was born.
1956 – Elvis Presley has his first number one hit with “Heartbreak Hotel” which tops of the Billboard charts.
1959 – Robert Smith, Sussex, rock guitarist/vocalist (Cure-Hell’s Kitchen)Born
1959 – Jerry Only (Gerrard Caiafa), American musician (The Misfits)
1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World’s Fair in the United States since World War II.
1962 – The US Continued it’s series of underground nuclear testing in Nevada with it’s 29th test with a low yield nuclear explosion equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT
1965 – The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its second and final season.
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.
1971 – Anwar al-Awlaki, American-Yemeni “terrorist” (d. 2011 via drone strike) was born.
1971 – Francois “Doc” Duvalier, dictator of Haiti, DEAD at 64
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.
1978 – Branden Steineckert, American drummer (Rancid), (The Used) Born
1982 – Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that detonates in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, killing 106 people.
1989 – Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
1996 – Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, oddsmaker/sportscaster (CBS), dies at 76
1999 – Buddy Rogers, American actor and singer (b. 1904) died.
2003 – Nina Simone, American singer and pianist (b. 1933) Passes On….
2004 – Five suicide car bombers target police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160.