837 - Comet 1P/837 F1 (Halley) approaches within 0.0334 AUs of Earth
847 - St Leo IV begins his reign as Catholic Pope
879 - Louis III becomes King of West Francia.
1407 - the lama Deshin Shekpa visits the Ming Dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded with the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma.
1500 - France captures duke Ludovico Sforza of Milan
1516 - 1st ghetto, Jews are compelled to live in specific area of Venice
1552 - Henri II of France occupies Metz
1589 - Spanish troops conquer Geertruidenberg
1656 - Dutch fleet occupiers Colombo Ceylon
1694 - Duke Victor Amadeus of Savoye attacks Casale
1710 - The first law regulating copyright is issued in Great Britain.
1741 - War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia defeats Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz.
1790 - Robert Gray is 1st American to circumnavigate the Earth
1790 - US Patent system forms
1815 - Austria declares war on realm of Naples
1816 - 2nd Bank of US chartered
1821 - Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Turks from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.
1825 - 1st hotel in Hawaii opens
1825 - Nicaraguan constituent assembly meets at Leon
1826 - The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town Messolonghi start leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.
1835 - Charles Darwin returns to Santiago, Chile
1841 - New York Tribune begins publishing under editor Horace Greeley
1845 - More than 1,000 buildings damaged by fire in Pittsburgh, Pa
1849 - Safety pin patented by Walter Hunt (NYC); sold rights for $400
1856 - The Theta Chi Fraternity is founded at Norwich University.
1858 - "Big Ben", a 13.76 tonne bell, is recast in the Tower of Westminster
1863 - Rebel Gen Earl Van Dorn attacks at Franklin, Tenn
1864 - Austrian Archduke Maximilian becomes emperor of Mexico
1865 - At Appomattox, Gen Lee issues Gen Order #9, his last
1866 - American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) forms
1868 - 1st performance of John Brahms' "A German Requiem"
1868 - British defeat King of Abyssinia at Magdala
1869 - Congress increases number of Supreme Court judges from 7 to 9
1869 - José Martí founds the Cuban Revolutionary Party.
1871 - William Hammond Hall's maps & surveys of Golden Gate Park accepted
1872 - 1st National black convention meets in New Orleans
1872 - 1st Arbor Day celebrated in Nebraska, later changed to Apr 22
1877 - 1st human cannonball act performed in London
1877 - Federal troops withdrawn from Columbia, SC
1878 - California St Cable Car RR Co starts service
1882 - Captain William Matson founds his shipping company (San Francisco & Hawaii)
1884 - US Senate accepts Belgian administration of Congo
1887 - President Abraham Lincoln's re-buried with his wife in Springfield, Ilinois
1887 - Soccer team Be Quick forms in Hairs Groningen
1896 - Spiridon Louis wins 1st Olympic marathon (2:58:50)
1912 - RMS Titanic sets sail for its 1st & last voyage
1913 - President Woodrow Wilson throws out 1st ball, Senators beat Yankees 2-1
1913 - Walter Johnson begins string of 56 consecutive scoreless innings
1916 - 1st professional golf tournament held
1916 - The Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City.
1917 - Munition factory explosion at Eddystone PA, kills 133 workers
1919 - Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.
1923 - Hitler demands "hatred & more hatred" in Berlin
1924 - Tubular steel golf club shafts approved for championship play
1925 - Czarina re-amed Stalingrad (now Volgograd)
1925 - Scribners publishes "The Great Gatsby" by F Scott Fitzgerald
1930 - George Headley scores 223 v England at Kingston
1930 - Synthetic rubber 1st produced
1932 - Paul von Hindenburg elected 1st German president (Hitler is 2nd)
1934 - Stanley Cup: Chicago Blackhawks beat Detroit Red Wings, 3 games to 1
1935 - Vaughan Williams' 4th Symphony premieres in London
1936 - 200" mirror blank arrives in Pasadena
1938 - 2nd government of Blum replaced by Daladier government in France
1938 - Austria becomes a state of Germany
1938 - NY makes syphilis test mandatory in order to get a marriage license
1939 - Colijn's Dutch government opens camp Westerbork for German Jews
1939 - Grens mobilization due to Italian invasion in Albania
1940 - Vidkun Quisling forms Norwegian "national government"
1941 - German troops conquer Libyan county Cyrenaica
1942 - Cigarettes & candy rationed in Holland
1943 - 12 Jewish patients of Herren Loo-Lozenoord escape nazis
1943 - General Montgomery occupies Sfax Tunisia
1944 - "Patrolling the Ether" is shown on 3 TV stations simultaneously
1944 - Soviet forces liberate Odessa from Nazis
1945 - Allies liberate 1st Nazi concentration camp, Buchenwald (Czech)
1945 - Canadian troops conquer Deventer
1945 - General Blaskowitz becomes nazi leader of "Fort Holland"
1945 - German troops attack Ijsselbrug
1945 - NFL's Boston Yanks & Brooklyn Tigers merge
1945 - US troops land on Tsugen Shima Okinawa
1945 - William Schuman & Antony Tudors ballet premieres in NYC
1946 - 1st election for Japanese Diet
1947 - Jackie Robinson becomes 1st black in major league baseball (Dodgers)
1947 - King Frederik IX of Denmark crowned
1948 - Jewish Hagana repels an Arab attack on Mishmar HaEmek
1949 - 13th Golf Masters Championship: Sam Snead wins, shooting a 282
1953 - "House of Wax", 1st 3-D movie, released (NYC)
1953 - 7th NBA Championship: Minneapolis Lakers beat NY Knicks, 4 games to 1
1954 - KRGV TV channel 5 in Weslaco, TX (ABC) begins broadcasting
1955 - 19th Golf Masters Championship: Cary Middlecoff wins, shooting a 279
1955 - 9th NBA Championship: Syrac Nats beat Ft Wayne Pistons, 4 games to 3
1955 - Dr Jonas Salk successfully tests Polio vaccine
1955 - Ruth Ellis shoots jilting lover David Blakely
1956 - Philips broadcasts 1st Dutch color TV programs
1956 - Stanley Cup: Montreal Canadiens beat Detroit Red Wings, 4 games to 1
1957 - John Osborne's "Entertainer" premieres in London
1957 - Jordanian government of Naboelsi resigns
1957 - Suez canal reopens for all traffic
1957 - USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test
1958 - Northern strip of Spanish Sahara ceded to Morocco
1960 - 24th Golf Masters Championship: Arnold Palmer wins, shooting a 282
1960 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Babe Didrikson-Zaharias Golf Open
1960 - Senate passes landmark Civil Rights Bill
1961 - 25th Golf Masters Championship: Gary Player wins, shooting a 280
1961 - Adolf Eichmann tried as a war criminal in Israel
1961 - Dutch foreign minister Luns talks to JFK about New Guinea
1961 - New Wash Senators loses 1st regular-season game 4-3 to White Sox
1962 - 1st baseball game at LA's Dodger Stadium, they lose 6-3 to Reds
1962 - 1st major league game in Houston, Colt .45s beat Chicago Cubs, 11-2
1962 - NY Yankee Mickey Mantle hits his 375th HR
1963 - USS Thresher, a nuclear powered submarine, sinks 220 miles east of Boston
1963 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1964 - Demolition begins on Polo Grounds to clear way for housing project
1964 - Iranian motor launch catches fire & sinks killing 113 (Persian Gulf)
1967 - 39th Academy Awards - "Man For All Seasons," best picture, Elizabeth Taylor & Paul Scofield best actress/actor
1968 - Ferry Wahine sinks in Wellington harbour, New Zealand on route from Lyttelton (51 killed)
1968 - "George M!" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 435 performances
1968 - 40th Academy Awards - "Heat of the Night", Rod Steiger & Katherine Hepburn win
1968 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 - Paul McCartney officially announces the split of The Beatles
1971 - 1st baseball game at Phila's Veterans Stadium, Phils beat Expos 4-1
1971 - US table tennis team arrives in China PR
1972 - 7.0 earthquake kills 1/5 of population of Iranian province of Fars
1972 - US, USSR & 70 other nations agree to ban biological weapons
1972 - 20 days after he was kidnapped in Buenos Aires, Oberdan Sallustro is executed by communist guerrillas.
1973 - BEA flight to Basel Switz, crashes on landing, killing 104 of 143
1973 - KC opens its new park, Royals Stadium, with 12-1 rout of Rangers
1973 - Pakistan suspends constitution
1974 - American Boccaccio Association forms
1974 - Magicians Penn & Teller 1st meet
1974 - Yitzhak Rabin replaces resigning Israeli PM Golda Meir
1975 - Rangers score 8 goals against Islanders in playoffs
1976 - Brewers' Don Money's grand slammer disallowed-Yanks win 9-7
1976 - Cleveland Cavaliers win their 1st NBA Central Division title
1977 - 41st Golf Masters Championship: Tom Watson wins, shooting a 276
1977 - Beverly Klass wins LPGA Women's International Golf Satellite
1977 - Cleveland Indians set club record for longest, 9 inn game (3:17)
1978 - Formation of Major Indoor Soccer League announced
1979 - J R Richard throws major league record 6 wild pitches in Astrodome
1979 - Soyuz 33 launched with a Russian & a Bulgarian
1979 - Red River Valley Tornado Outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people.
1981 - "Caveman" with Ringo premieres
1981 - Computer glitch keeps Space Shuttle Columbia grounded
1981 - France performs nuclear test
1981 - Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands elected to Brit Parliament
1982 - LA Kings losing 5-0 to Edmonton in 3rd period, win in OT 6-5
1982 - Penguins 2-Isles 1 (OT)-Preliminary- Isles hold 2-1 lead
1983 - Baltimore's Eddie Murray hits his 1,000 career hit
1983 - Caps 3-Isles 6-Patrick Div Semifinals-Isles win series 3-2
1983 - Hennie Kuiper (Neth) wins Paris-Roubaix cycle race
1983 - Jordan king Hussein ceases negotiations with PLO
1983 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA J&B Scotch Pro-Am Golf Tournament
1984 - Damaged Solar Max satellite snared by Challenger shuttle
1984 - John Long (Detroit) ends NBA free throw streak of 51 games
1984 - US Senate condemns CIA mining of Nicaraguan harbors
1985 - At 80 Leo Sites becomes oldest bowler to score a 300 game
1985 - Caps 4-Isles 3 (OT)-Patrick Div Semifinals-Caps hold 1-0 lead
1985 - Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-B mission
1986 - "Big Deal" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 70 performances
1986 - Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan
1986 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1988 - 52nd Golf Masters Championship: Sandy Lyle wins, shooting a 281
1988 - 8th Golden Raspberry Awards: Leonard Part 6 wins
1988 - Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA San Diego Inamori Golf Classic
1988 - Herschel Walker performs Fort Worth Ballet
1988 - Islanders beat Devils 5-4 (OT) 1st round tied at 2-2
1989 - 10th Emmy Sports Award presentation
1989 - 24th Academy of Country Music Awards: Hank Williams Jr, Alabama
1989 - Intel corp announces shipment of 80-486 chip
1989 - H J Heinz, Van Camp Seafood & Bumble Bee Seafood say they would not buy tuna caught in nets that also trap dolphins
1990 - CUNY/Lehman College, Bronx, opens a branch campus in Hiroshma Japan
1990 - Curtly Ambrose takes 8-45 in cricket vs England at Bridgetown
1991 - Boat rams a tanker in Livorno Italy fog, killing about 138
1991 - LA King Wayne Gretzky scores NHL record 93rd playoff goal
1991 - Last automat (coin operated cafeteria) closes (3rd & 42nd St, NYC)
1991 - Martin Zubero swims world record 200m backstroke (1:52.51)
1991 - A rare tropical storm develops in the Southern Hemisphere near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.
1992 - 25 die in a bus bombing in Sri Lanka
1992 - Floriade (Flower Show) opens at Hague Neth
1992 - NHL strike ends after 10 days
1993 - BPAA US Open by Del Ballard Jr
1993 - Ottawa Senators win 1st road game (Islanders) after 38 straight loses
1993 - Pittsburgh Penguins win their NHL record 17 game winning streak
1994 - "Les Miserables" opens at Hiten Theatre, Osaka
1994 - 58th Golf Masters Championship: Jose M Olazabal wins, shooting a 279
1995 - "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" opens at Lyceum Theater NYC for 24 perfs
1995 - NYC bans smoking in all restaurants that seat 35 or more
1998 - The Belfast Agreement is signed.
2005 - 69th Golf Masters Championship: Tiger Woods wins, shooting a 276
2006 - Hundreds of thousands protest H.R. 4437 (aka the "Sensenbrenner Bill") in the United States.
2006 - 40th CMT Music Awards: Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood & Kenny Chesney wins
2010 - Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board including President Lech Kaczyński.
2011 - 75th Golf Masters Championship: Charl Schwartzel wins, shooting a 274
2012 - United Nations deadline for Syrian troop withdrawal passes as violence continues
2012 - Apple Inc claims a value of $600 billion making it the largest company by market capitalization in the world
2012 - Rick Santorum suspends his candidacy for the Republican Presidential nomination making Mitt Romney the overwhelming favourite
2012 - Raymond Aubrac, French Resistance Leader, dies at 97
2013 - Japan and Taiwan sign an agreement on fishing rights around the Senkaku Islands
