Battle of Megiddo
1457 BC Battle of Megiddo: Egyptian forces of Thutmose III defeat a large Canaanite coalition under King of Kadesh. First battle recorded with a reliable account.
- 1178 BC A solar eclipse may have marked the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War
- 73 Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the Jewish Revolt
- 556 Pelagius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1071 Bari falls to Robert Guiscard's Norman forces, ending Byzantine rule in Italy
- 1245 Franciscan envoys Giovanni da Pian del Carpine and Benedict to Pole depart Lyon on first Catholic mission to the Mongols. Carpine returns 1247 as first European with account of a Mongolian court
- 1346 The Serbian Empire is proclaimed in Skopje at an Easter assembly and Stephen Uroš IV Dušan crowned Emperor over much of the Balkans
- 1395 Azzo X d'Este is defeated at the Battle of Portomaggiore by Venetian-Ferrarese troops
Historic Event
1521 Martin Luther arrives at the Diet of Worms assembly
- 1582 Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta in Argentina
Appointment of Interest
1632 Albrecht von Wallenstein appointed supreme military commander of the Holy Roman Empire
Knighthood
1705 Queen Anne of England knights Isaac Newton at Trinity College, Cambridge
Victory in Battle
1746 Jacobite Rising 1745: Battle of Culloden, the last battle on British soil: Royalist troops under the Duke of Cumberland defeat the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart
Historic Event
1789 George Washington heads for 1st presidential inauguration
- 1797 Spithead Mutiny begins: British Royal Navy sailors protest over living and working conditions and pay near Portsmouth
Music Premiere
1854 Franz Liszt's symphonic poem "Mazeppa" premieres at the Court Theatre in Weimar
Historic Event
1861 US President Abraham Lincoln outlaws business with Confederate States (US Civil War)
- 1862 Slavery abolished in District of Columbia
- 1862 American Confederate Congress approves conscription act for all white males (18-35 years)
- 1865 Battle of Columbus & West Point, Georgia (Ft Tyler), Union forces win one of the last battles of the US Civil War
- 1866 Nitroglycerine explodes at a Wells Fargo & Co office in San Francisco shattering glass for half a mile
- 1868 Louisiana voters approve new constitution
- 1869 Ebenezer Bassett, 1st African American diplomat, begins service as Minister to Haiti
- 1870 Vaudeville Theatre Strand opens in London
Historic Event
1874 Dr David Livingstone's body arrives in Southampton
- 1881 In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle
Historic Event
1883 Paul Kruger chosen as President of Transvaal
- 1888 Drentse & Friese peat cutters go on in the Netherlands
- 1900 US Post Office issues 1st books of postage stamps
- 1900 4th Boston Marathon won by Canadian Jim Caffrey in race record 2:39:44.4
- 1906 10th Boston Marathon won by 18-year old Tim Ford in 2:45:45; youngest race winner
- 1908 Natural Bridges National Monument forms (Lake Powell, Utah)
Historic Event
1912 Harriet Quimby becomes the 1st female pilot to fly across English Channel
- 1917 21st Boston Marathon won by Bill Kennedy in 2:28:37.2
- 1917 Vladimir Lenin issues his radical "April Theses" calling for Soviets to take power during the Russian Revolution [OS Apr 4]
- 1918 The British House of Commons passes a new Military Service Bill, taking men up to 55 years old and extending to Ireland
- 1921 Liberal Freedom League forms in The Hague
Historic Event
1922 Annie Oakley sets women's record by breaking 100 clay targets in a row
- 1922 Treaty of Rapallo between the German Republic and Soviet Union a is signed in Italy, normalizing diplomatic relations with each side renouncing their territorial and financial claims against the other
Boston Marathon
1923 27th Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar in 2:23:37.4 for second straight year; 3rd race victory
- 1924 1st radio-transmission of wireless: Mattheus Passion
- 1924 Child labor laws strengthened in Holland
- 1925 During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 wounded
- 1926 Book of the Month Club sends out its 1st selections "Lolly Willowes" & "Loving Huntsman" by Sylvia Townsend Warner
- 1928 32nd Boston Marathon won by Clarence DeMar in 2:37:07.8; back-to-back wins for his 6th race title
- 1929 Cleveland rookie center fielder Earl Averill, becomes first American League player to hit a HR on 1st at bat; Indians beat Detroit Tigers, 5-4 at League Park
- 1929 New York Yankees become first MLB team to permanently feature numbers on backs of uniforms; numbers correspond to position in batting order
Film Release
1932 Short film "The Music Box" released in the US, starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy (1932 Academy Award Best Live Action Short Film)
- 1938 Great Britain recognizes Italian annexation of Abyssinia
Agreement of Interest
1939 The Soviet Union proposes an alliance with Britain and France to counter Nazi Germany; the Soviets would later sign a secret agreement with the Nazis
- 1939 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Boston Bruins beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 for a 4-1 series win; first best-of-7 SC Final series
Sports History
1940 Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller hurls the first and only Opening Day no-hitter in MLB history; beats Chicago WSWhite Sox, 1-0 at Comiskey Park
Scientific Discovery
1943 Swiss scientist Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD
Raising a Flag over the Reichstag
1945 Battle of Berlin: Red Army begins its attack on the capital of Nazi Germany
- 1945 US troops enter Nuremberg, Germany
- 1945 49th Boston Marathon won by John A Kelley in 2:30:40.2; his second event victory
- 1945 Colditz Castle, the high-security prisoner of war camp in Germany, is liberated by American troops
- 1946 Mel Ott playing in right field for NY Giants hits his 511th and final MLB home run in 8-4 Opening Day win over Philadelphia Phillies
- 1946 1st US launch of captured V-2 rocket, White Sands, New Mexicao; reaches altitude of 8 km
- 1946 Dutch Special Court of Justice sentences Frederik Müller, Socialist mayor of Rotterdam, to 10 years in jail for his wartime support of Germany
- 1947 -17] Explosions & fire on French ship Grandcamp
- 1947 Lens to provide zoom effects demonstrated (NYC)
- 1947 Fire aboard French-flagged cargo ship SS Grandchamp, docked at Port of Texas City, Texas and loaded with 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate causes massive explosion and spreads to nearby ships and oil facilities; deadliest industrial accident in US history kills 581, including all but one member of the city's fire departments
- 1948 Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC) forms in Paris
- 1949 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: 3-peat for Toronto Maple Leafs as they beat Detroit Red Wings, 3-1 for a 4 game series sweep
- 1951 British submarine Affray sank in English Channel, killing 75
- 1951 55th Boston Marathon won by Shigeki Tanaka of Japan in 2:27:45
- 1952 "4 Saints in 3 Acts" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 15 performances
Historic Event
1953 British royal yacht Britannia launched by Queen Elizabeth II
- 1953 Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Connie Ryan bats 6 from 6 in a 14-12 defeat against the Pirates at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh
- 1953 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 1-0 for a 4-1 series win
- 1953 WAND TV channel 17 in Decatur, IL (ABC) begins broadcasting
- 1954 KVAL TV channel 13 in Eugene, OR (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1954 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Detroit Red Wings beat Montreal Canadiens, 2-1 in OT for a 4-3 series victory
- 1956 1st solar powered radios go on sale
- 1956 60th Boston Marathon won by Antti Viskari of Finland in race record 2:14:14
- 1957 Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Dickie Moore has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 5-1 for a 4-1 series victory
- 1957 USSR performs atmospheric nuclear test at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
- 1958 French government of Gaillard falls due to Tunisia crisis
- 1958 5th National Film Awards (India): "Do Aankhen Barah Haath" wins the Golden Lotus
- 1959 "Party with Comden & Green" opens at John Golden NYC for 44 performances
- 1959 Datu Abdul Rozak inaugurated as premier of Malaysia federation
- 1959 Phils' Dave Philley gets a major league record 9th straight pinch hit
- 1961 15th Tony Awards: Becket & Bye Bye Birdie win
- 1961 Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Chicago Blackhawks beat Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 for a 4-2 series victory
- 1962 Brazil nationalizes US businesses
Film & TV History
1962 Walter Cronkite begins anchoring CBS Evening News
- 1962 66th Boston Marathon won by Eino Oksanen of Finland in 2:23:48; second straight win and 3rd title overall
- 1964 9 men sentenced 25-30 years for Britain's 1963 "Great Train Robbery"
- 1965 Test flight of heavy Saturn S-1C-rocket
- 1966 Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith breaks diplomatic relations with Britain
- 1967 "Walking Happy" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 161 performances
- 1970 70 die in a snow crush (France)
Historic Event
1970 Protestant Unionist Ian Paisley wins seat formerly held by Terence O'Neill in the Stormont (North Ireland Parliament)
- 1972 "That's Entertainment" closes at Edison Theater NYC after 4 performances
- 1972 Two giant pandas arrive in US from China
- 1972 Apollo 16 launched; 5th manned lunar landing (Decartes Highlands)
- 1972 Chicago Cubs rookie pitcher Burt Hooton hurls a 4-0 no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field, Chicago
- 1972 Two British soldiers are shot dead by the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) in separate incidents in Derry
- 1973 77th Boston Marathon: American double; Jon Anderson men's champion in 2:16:03; Jacqueline Hansen wins women's title in 3:05:59
- 1974 "Words & Music" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 127 performances
- 1974 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- 1975 Cambodian Red Khmer occupy Phnom Penh
Historic Event
1977 Alex Haley finds his Roots in Juffure, Gambia
- 1978 "History of the American Film" closes at ANTA NYC after 21 performances
Sports History
1978 Cardinals' Bob Forsch no-hits Philadelphia Phillies, 5-0, in St. Louis
- 1978 NBC's premiere of miniseries "Holocaust"
Boston Marathon
1979 83rd Boston Marathon: American double; Bill Rodgers wins 2nd straight event and 3rd overall title in 2:09:27; Joan Benoit women's champion in 2:35:15
Sports History
1980 Arthur Ashe retires from professional tennis
Baseball Record
1983 Steve Garvey sets NL record by playing in 1,118 consecutive games
- 1984 88th Boston Marathon: Englishman Geoff Smith wins men's event in 2:10:34; Lorraine Moller of New Zealand women's champion in 2:29:28
- 1984 Oakland A's Dave Kingman hits 3 HRs including a grand slam
- 1984 Pulitzer prize awarded to Mary Oliver for "American Primitive"
- 1985 "Grind" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 79 performances
TV Show Appearance
1986 To dispel rumors he's dead, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi appears on TV
- 1986 West Indies complete 5-0 demolition of England
Historic Event
1987 August Wilson's "Fences" wins 1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama
NBA Record
1987 Michael Jordan becomes the second NBA player in history to score 3,000 points in a season
Sports History
1989 1st The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, GC at Desert Mountain: Don Bies wins his lone career Champions Tour major title by 1 stroke from Gary Player
- 1989 Berendrechtsluis opens in Antwerp, biggest flood lock in world
- 1989 Costa Rica beats US 1-0, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup
- 1989 Zeleka Metaferia wins 3rd World Cup marathon (2:10:28)
- 1990 August Wilson's play "The Piano Lesson", starring Charles S. Dutton, opens at Walter Kerr Theater NYC for 320 performances
- 1990 94th Boston Marathon: Gelindo Bordin is first Italian event winner in race record 2:08:19; Portugal's Rosa Mota wins her 3rd woman's title in 2:25:24
- 1990 Maximum NY State unemployment benefits raised to $260 per week
- 1990 Supreme Court rejects appeal from retarded man, Dalton Prejean, condemned to death for murdering a Louisiana state trooper in 1977
- 1991 Leander & Seago's musical "Matador" premieres in London
- 1991 St Louis Blues becomes 8th NHL team in Play-off to come back from a 3-1 deficit as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in game 7
- 1992 "Metro" opens at Minskoff Theater NYC for 13 performances
- 1992 1st concrete is poured at new ballpark at Gateway (Jacobs Field)
- 1992 Afghan president Najibullah resigns
- 1992 NY Rangers win team record 50th game
- 1992 The Katina P runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique. 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
Rodney King Riots
1993 Jury reaches guilty verdict in federal case against police officers (two convicted, two acquitted) who beat Rodney King, but the verdict is not read until April 17th
Sports History
1993 David Lee Roth arrested in NYC for purchasing marijuana for $10
- 1994 Circus performers Marissa Young (24) & Matt Richardson (21) wed
Golf Tournament
1995 PGA Seniors' Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Raymond Floyd wins by 5 strokes from fellow Americans John Paul Cain, Larry Gilbert and Lee Trevino
- 1997 Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Minneapolis/St Paul on WRQC 100.3 FM
Sports History
2000 PGA Seniors' Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Doug Tewell wins first of 2 Champions Tour major titles with a convincing 7 stroke margin from the foursome of Hale Irwin, Tom Kite, Larry Nelson and Dana Quigley
- 2001 105th Boston Marathon: Lee Bong-Ju of South Korea men's winner in 2:09:43; Catherine Ndereba of Kenya wins back-to-back women's titles in 2:23:53
- 2003 Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union
- 2003 Washington Wizards' Michael Jordan plays his final NBA game, in Philadelphia, where he receives a 3 minute standing ovation.
- 2004 The super liner Queen Mary 2 embarks on her first Transatlantic crossing, linking the golden age of ocean travel to the modern age of ocean travel.
- 2007 Virginia Tech massacre: The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. The gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, kills 32 people and injures 23 others before committing suicide.
CMT Music Awards
2007 41st CMT Music Awards: Carrie Underwood & Kenny Chesney wins
Historic Event
2008 Start of Papal Journey of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States
Laureus Awards
2009 Laureus World Sports Awards, (ceremony cancelled GFC): Sportsman: Usain Bolt; Sportswoman: Yelena Isinbayeva; Team: China Olympic team
- 2012 At least 55 people are killed in the Syrian uprising despite UN presence to oversee ceasefire
- 2012 For the first time since 1977 no Pulitzer Prize is awarded for fiction
- 2012 116th Boston Marathon: Kenyan double; Wesley Korir wins men's section in 2:12:40; Sharon Cherop first woman in 2:31:50
- 2013 37 people are killed by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Khash country, Iran
- 2013 16 people are killed after a gold mine collapses in Kyekyewere, Ghana
- 2014 Real Madrid defeat Barcelona to win its 19th Copa del Rey trophy
- 2014 South Korean ferry MV Sewol sinks on route Incheon to Jeju, 304 drown, mostly students. National controversy erupts over rescue efforts and actions of crew and owner.
Historic Event
2015 Elizabeth Holmes, American entrepreneur, inventor, and founder and CEO of Theranos, is named one of TIME's "100 Most Influential People" of 2015
World Record
2017 World record for gathering of Charlie Chaplin lookalikes - 662 at Manoir de Ban, Chaplin museum in Vevey, Switzerland
Important Vote
2017 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wins referendum on 18-article constitutional reform package
- 2018 122nd Boston Marathon: Yuki Kawauchi of Japan wins men's race in 2:15:58; Desiree Linden (2:39:54) first American to win women's title since 1985
Music History
2018 Kendrick Lamar is the first rapper and non-classical or jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for music with his album "Damn"
- 2019 Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson becomes the highest-paid player in NFL history with a 4-year $140m extension including record $65m signing bonus
- 2020 New study claims a multi-decade megadrought is already under way in the western US, published in journal "Science"
- 2020 Nationwide State of Emergency declared in Japan till 6 May due to the worsening COVID-19 outbreak
- 2020 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment in 4 weeks (5.2 million in the last week), wiping out 9 1/2 years of job gains
Historic Event
2021 Raúl Castro confirms he is resigning as Cuban Communist Party leader, ending his family's six decade leadership of Cuba
