Events456 -
St. Patrick returns to
Ireland as a missionary bishop.1242 - During a
battle on the ice of
Lake Peipus,
Russian forces, led by
Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the
Teutonic Knights.1566 - 200 Netherlands noblemen, led by
Hendrik van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of
Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Inquisition in the Netherlands and demanding its immediate dismantling. Margaret agrees to suspend the Inquisition while a delegation is sent to Spain to petition
Philip II himself.
1609 - Daimyo (Lord) of the Satsuma clan in Southern
Kyūshū,
Japan, completes his successful invasion of the
Ryūkyū Kingdom in
Okinawa.
1614 - In
Virginia,
Native American Pocahontas marries
English colonist
John Rolfe.
1621 - The
Mayflower sets sail from
Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to
Great Britain. 1654 - The
Treaty of Westminster, ending the
First Anglo-Dutch War, is signed.
1792 -
U.S. President George Washington vetoes a bill designed to apportion representatives among
U.S. states. This was the first time the presidential veto had been used in the
United States.
1804 - The first recorded
meteorite falls in
Possil,
Scotland (
High Possil Meteorite).
1862 -
American Civil War:
Battle of Yorktown. The battle begins when
Union forces under
General George B. McClellan close in on the
Confederate capital Richmond, Virginia.
1874 -
Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park, was opened in
Birkenhead.
1897 - The
Greco-Turkish War, also called "Thirty Days' War", is declared between
Greece and the
Ottoman Empire.
1923 -
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company starts production of balloon-
tires.
1930 - In an act of
civil disobedience,
Mohandas Gandhi breaks
British law after marching to the sea and making
salt.
1932 - Alcohol
prohibition in Finland ended. Alcohol sales started in
Alko liquor stores.1932 -
Dominion of Newfoundland: 10,000 rioters seized the
Colonial Building leading to the end of self government.
1936 -
Tupelo-Gainesville Outbreak: An
F5 tornado slams into the north side of
Tupelo, Mississippi, killing 233. It is the 4th deadliest tornado in
U.S. history.
1942 -
World War II:
Japanese Navy attacks
Colombo in
Ceylon (
Sri Lanka).
Royal Navy Cruisers HMS Cornwall and
HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
1944 -
World War II: 270 inhabitants of the Greek town
Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.
1945 -
Cold War:
Yugoslav leader
Josip "Tito" Broz signs an agreement with the
USSR allowing "temporary entry of
Soviet troops into
Yugoslav territory."
1946 -
Soviet troops leave the island of
Bornholm,
Denmark after occupying it for approximately 11 months.
1949 -
Fireside Theater debuts on
television.1949 - A fire in a hospital in
Effingham, Illinois,
United States, kills 77 people resulting in nationwide fire code improvements.
1951 -
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for performing
espionage for the
Soviet Union.
1955 -
Winston Churchill resigns as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
1956 -
Fidel Castro declares himself at war with the President of Cuba.1956 - In
Sri Lanka, the
Mahajana Eksath Peramuna won the
general elections in a landslide and
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike sworn in as the
Prime Minister.
1957 - In
India,
Communists won the first elections in united
Kerala and
E. M. S. Namboodiripad sworn in as the first
chief minister.
1969 -
Vietnam War: Massive
antiwar demonstrations are held in
New York City,
San Francisco,
Los Angeles,
Washington, D.C., and other cities around the
United States.
1971 - In
Sri Lanka,
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches insurrection against the
United Front government of
Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
1972 -
Vietnam War:
North Vietnamese forces invade Binh Long Province, launching a second front of the Nguyen Hue Offensive.
1973 -
Pierre Messmer becomes
Prime Minister of
France.
1976 - In the
People's Republic of China, the
April Fifth Movement leads to the
Tiananmen incident.
1986 -
Bombing of the
La Belle Discotheque in
West Berlin,
Germany, kills three.
1991 -
ASA Embraer EMB 120 crashes in
Brunswick, Georgia,
United States, killing all 23 aboard.
1992 - Several hundred-thousand
abortion rights demonstrators march in
Washington, D.C.1992 -
Alberto Fujimori peruvian president (1990-2000) dissolved the peruvian congress, the first of many cuestionable acts 1992 -
Siege of Sarajevo begins when
Serb paramilitaries murder peace protesters
Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sucic on the
Vrbanja Bridge.
1993 - The Child Support Act 1991, administered by the
Child Support Agency, comes into effect in the
United Kingdom.
1998 - In
Japan, the
Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge linking
Shikoku with
Honshū and costing about US$3.8 billion, opens to traffic, becoming the largest
suspension bridge in the world.
1999 - Two
Libyans suspected of bringing down
Pan Am flight 103 in
1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the
Netherlands.
2005 -
ABC News anchor
Peter Jennings informs his viewers that he has lung cancer. This was his final broadcast.
2007 -
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone named Camerlengo of Holy Roman Church
2007 -
Mei Xiang the panda was
artificially inseminated
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