- 535 John II's reign as Catholic Pope ends, upon his death
- 589 Visigothic King Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo, where he accepts the Catholic faith. Before this he and the Visigoths were Arian Christians
- 615 Saint Boniface IV's reign as Catholic Pope ends
- 685 St Benedict II's reign as Catholic Pope ends after 11 months, upon his death
- 1254 University of Salamanca granted a royal charter by Alfonso IX. Third oldest university still operating and the oldest Hispanic.
1348 Ship from Bordeaux carrying the plague, lands in Melcombe Regis (now Weymouth), Dorset. The beginning of the Terrible Pestilence (Black Death) in England.
- 1360 Treaty of Brétigny signed by English & French, ending the first phase of the Hundred Years' War
Jack Cade's Rebellion
1450 Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt begins against King Henry VI and they march towards London
1541 Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto and his expedition are the first Europeans to discover the Mississippi River
- 1604 Pierre Dugua de Monts reaches Cap La Hève (La Have) on the Nova Scotia coast, on his way to establish Arcadia, the first successful permanent settlement in New France
- 1624 Dutch Nassau fleet reaches port of Callao in Peru intending to ransack the annual Spanish silver ship convoy, misses them by five days [1]
Peace of Nikolsburg Confirmed
1624 Hungarian King Bethlen Gabor and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II sign the Treaty of Vienna, confirming the Peace of Nikolsburg agreed in 1621
- 1639 William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island
- 1643 Lady Blanche Arundell, surrenders Wardour Castle, which she had led the defense of against a siege by Parliamentarian forces [1]
Cromwell Refuses the Crown
1657 English Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell refuses the English crown
Parliament Proclaims Charles II King
1660 English Parliament proclaims Charles II King of England and invites him to return
- 1721 Michelangiolo dei Conti succeeds Pope Clement XI, as Innocent XIII
- 1741 France and Bavaria sign the Covenant of Nymphenburg
- 1777 Richard Brinsley Sheridan's comedy play "School for Scandal" premieres in London
- 1784 Only known deaths by hailstones in the US occur in Winnsboro, South Carolina
- 1787 First US prison reform society formed, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, led by Dr. Benjamin Rush
- 1792 British Captain George Vancouver sights and names Mt Rainier, Washington
- 1792 US establishes the military draft
- 1812 US passes first foreign aid bill, authorizing up to $50,000 to assist victims of the Caracas, Venezuela earthquake on March 26
- 1821 Greek War of Independence: Greeks defeat the Turks in Gravia
- 1823 "Home! Sweet Home!" by John Howard Payne is 1st sung in London
- 1834 Prussia, Austria and Russia sign classified accord about Belgium
Andersen's Fairy Tales
1835 First installment of Hans Christian Andersen's "Fairy Tales" is published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark
- 1840 Alexander Wolcott patents Photographic Process
- 1842 Versailles to Paris train catches fire; 50 die
- 1846 First major battle of the Mexican–American War fought at Palo Alto, Texas
- 1847 Scottish inventor Robert Thompson patents his pneumatic tyre in the US
- 1852 Second London protocol signed reaffirming Danish federation control of independent Duchies of Holstein, Lauenburg and Schleswig
Brown's Antislavery Convention
1858 American abolitionist John Brown holds a secret antislavery convention in Canada
- 1861 Richmond, Virginia, is named the capital of the Confederacy in the US
- 1862 Valley Campaign: Federals repulsed at Battle of McDowell, Virginia
- 1863 Confederación Granadina becomes Estados Unidos de Colombia
- 1864 Actions at Stony Creek/Nottoway bridge, Virginia (Drewry's Bluff)
- 1864 Atlanta Campaign: Severe fighting near Dalton
- 1864 Battle of Spotsylvania Court House begins
- 1871 British-US treaty ends Alabama dispute
- 1877 First Westminster Dog Show is held
Carbon Microphone
1878 David Edward Hughes' paper on the idea for a microphone is read before the Royal Society of London by Thomas Henry Huxley
- 1879 George Selden files the first patent for a gasoline-powered automobile
- 1882 David Belasco's "La Belle Russe" premieres in NYC
- 1885 Sarah Ann Henley survives 76-m jump from Clifton Bridge in Bristol, England
- 1886 Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta sells the first Coca-Cola (contained cocaine)
- 1895 China cedes Taiwan to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki
- 1898 The first games of the Italian Football League are played
Alpha and Beta Rays
1899 Ernest Rutherford publishes his discovery of two different kinds of radiation (Alpha and Beta Particles)
- 1899 The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens
- 1901 A British appointed commission estimates today that some 1,250,000 Indians have died after a severe drought, lasting since 1899
- 1901 In their long-delayed AL home opener, Boston defeats Philadelphia 12-4
- 1902 Mount Pelée on the French overseas island of Martinique erupts, wiping out the city of Saint-Pierre, killing 30,000 people and leaving only two survivors
- 1905 Union of Unions organizes In Russia under the chairmanship of Paul Miliukov and joins liberal groups demanding parliamentary government and universal suffrage
- 1906 Philadelphia A's pitcher Albert Bender is deployed to left field in 6th inning and responds with 2 HRs in A's 11-4 win over Boston Americans at Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston
- 1907 Boston Doves pitcher "Big Jeff" Pfeffer no-hits Cincinnati Reds, 6-0 at South End Grounds, Boston
- 1909 American Albert Raines runs world record marathon (2:46:04.6) in NYC
- 1909 British runner Henry Barrett runs world record marathon (2:42:31) in the Polytechnic Marathon in London
- 1912 Film and television production and distribution studio Paramount Pictures is founded
- 1916 German munitions bunker in Fort Douaumont explodes killing 679 German soldiers
- 1916 Irishmen Eamon Kent, Michael Mallin, Con Colbert and Sean Houston are executed by British authorities following the Easter Rising at Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin
1919 Edward George Honey first proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate The Armistice of World War I, leads to the creation of Remembrance Day
1919 Three US Navy Curtiss NC flying boats take off from Naval Air Station Rockaway in New York on the first flight across the Atlantic (with stops)
- 1921 Sweden abolishes capital punishment
Pacifica 231
1924 Arthur Honegger's orchestral tribute to steam locomotives "Pacifica 231" premieres
- 1924 Memel territories given to Lithuania
- 1924 Workers at Werkspoor in Amsterdam strike against 3rd wage cut
- 1925 French colonial army beats Rifkabylen in Morocco
- 1926 A. Philip Randolph organizes Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
- 1926 Fire breaks out in Fenway Park, home of Boston Red Sox baseball team
- 1929 Jan Mayen Island, 500 km NNE of Iceland, is incorporated into Norway
- 1929 NY Giants pitcher Carl Hubbell no-hits Pittsburgh Pirates, 11-0 at the Polo Grounds, NYC
Volgograd Tractor Plant
1929 The Soviet government hires the architectural firm Albert Kahn Associates to design the Soviet Union's first major tractor factory
- 1931 Operette "Land of Smiles" premieres in London
Gandhi Begins Fast
1933 Mahatma Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest against British oppression in India
- 1935 MLB Cincinnati Reds catcher Ernie Lombardi doubles in 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th in 15-4 victory over Phillies, in game one of a double header at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl
- 1936 Jockey Ralph Neves unexpectedly revived after being declared dead after a fall. His wife faints when he returns to the track.
- 1938 Stravinsky's "Dumbarton Oaks" premieres in Washington, D.C.
- 1939 Archaeologist Basil Brown begins excavating at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, goes on to find a royal 7th century Anglo-Saxon burial ship - the greatest archeological discovery on British soil [1]
- 1941 German Q-ship Pinguin sinks in Indian Ocean
- 1942 Aircraft carrier USS Lexington sunk by Japanese air attack in Coral Sea
- 1942 First twilight MLB game in 24 years, Dodgers defeat Giants 7-6 and raise $60,000 for the Navy Relief Fund
- 1942 German summer offensive opens in Crimea
- 1943 Admiral Cunningham of British fleet: "Sink, burn & destroy; let nothing pass"
- 1944 33 communist resistance fighter sentenced to death
- 1945 Canadian troops move into Amsterdam
- 1945 Chinese counterattack at Tsjangte, supports by 14th air fleet
1945 V-E Day: World War II ends in Europe after Germany's General Wilhelm Keitel formally signs unconditional surrender to the Allies represented by the United States, the UK, France and the Soviet Union in Berlin, Germany signs an unconditional surrender
- 1946 Estonian school girls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial that preceded the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn
- 1946 MLB Boston Red Sox shortstop Johnny Pesky scores 6 runs in 14-10 win over visiting Chicago White Sox
Breadon Talks Down Protest
1947 A movement among Cardinals players to protest their first meeting with Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers is aborted after owner Sam Breadon speaks to them
Witold Pilecki Arrested
1947 Polish resistance fighter Witold Pilecki, who had volunteered to be imprisoned in Auschwitz to gain information about the Holocaust, is arrested by Polish communist police
- 1949 West German constitution approved
Chiang Kai-shek Asks for Weapons
1950 President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek asks the US for weapons
- 1950 Tollund Man, an early Iron Age bog body found hanged as a human sacrifice, discovered by men digging for peat in Jutland, Denmark [1]
- 1951 Dacron men's suits introduced
- 1951 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enewetak Atoll
- 1953 WIPB TV channel 49 in Muncie, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1954 First shot-put throw over 60 feet (18.29 meters) by American Parry O'Brien in Los Angeles, California
- 1956 John Osborne's "Look Back in Anger" premieres in London
Diệm Visits the US
1957 South Vietnamese President, Ngô Đình Diệm, arrives in the United States on a state visit
Dracula Released
1958 Classic Hammer horror film "Dracula" is released, starring Christopher Lee as the eponymous vampire alongside Peter Cushing and directed by Terence Fisher
1958 US President Eisenhower orders National Guard out of Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas
Nixon Stoned in Peru
1958 US Vice President Richard Nixon is shoved, pelted with stones, booed, and spat on by protesters in Peru
Little Caesars Pizza
1959 Little Caesars Pizza is founded by Mike Ilitch and his wife Marian Ilitch in Garden City, Michigan
- 1959 Three-deck Nile River excursion steamer springs a leak, panicking passengers who capsize the ship; 200 drown just yards from shore
- 1960 First performance of Ferde Grofé's "San Francisco Suite," conducted by Grofé, in San Francisco
- 1960 USSR & Cuba resume diplomatic relations
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
1961 Alan Shepard receives NASA Distinguished Service Medal, Washington
- 1961 First practical seawater conversion plant begins operations in Freeport, Texas
- 1962 1st Atlas Centaur Launch
- 1962 London trolley buses (electrically powered buses using overhead supply) go out of service
Schindlers Honored in Jerusalem
1962 Oskar Schindler and his wife Emilie Schindler are honored for saving 1200 Jews during WWII, in a ceremony on the Avenue of the Righteous, Jerusalem
Dr. No
1963 First James Bond film, "Dr. No," starring Sean Connery, premieres in the US
JFK Assists Israel
1963 U.S. President John F. Kennedy offers Israel assistance against aggression from its neighbors
- 1965 Randy Matson throws the first shot put over 70 feet, achieving a distance of 70 feet 7 inches
- 1966 Last game at old Busch stadium, St Louis Card lose 10-5 to San Francisco
1st Hit Out of Memorial Park
1966 Only HR ever hit out of Baltimore's Memorial Park, by Oriole outfielder Frank Robinson
Muhammad Ali Indicted
1967 Muhammad Ali is indicted for refusing induction in US Army
- 1967 The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental
- 1968 Jim (Catfish) Hunter of Oakland pitches perfect game vs Twins (4-0)
- 1968 Pulitzer prize awarded to William Styron (Confessions of Nat Turner)
- 1969 Cambodia recognizes the German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
Sacred Congregation of Rites
1969 Pope Paul VI publishes the Sacra Ritum Congregatio, dividing the Congregation of Rites into two different congregations: one for Divine Worship and another for the Causes of the Saints
- 1970 Construction workers break up an anti-war rally in NYC's Wall Street
- 1970 The Beatles release 12th, and final, studio album, "Let It Be", in conjunction with the film of the same name
- 1970 Thousands of students protest against the Vietnam War following the Kent State University shootings in Ohio
- 1972 Sabena aircraft at Lod International Airport, Tel Aviv, captured by Palestinians
1st African American Manager
1973 Ernie Banks fills in for Cubs managerr Whitey Lockman who is ejected during the game, technically becoming baseball's 1st African American manager
Wounded Knee Occupation Ends
1973 Wounded Knee Occupation ends after 10 weeks as 200 Oglala Lakota of the American Indian Movement surrender the South Dakota hamlet
- 1974 50 MPH speed limit in Britain lifted
- 1976 The rollercoaster Revolution (roller coaster), the first steel coaster with a vertical flip, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain
- 1978 ABC TV airs "Stars Salute Israel at 30"
- 1979 Radio Shack releases TRSDOS 2.3
Three Imaginary Boys
1979 The Cure release their debut album "Three Imaginary Boys" (Boys Don't Cry in US, Australia)
- 1980 1st non-stop trans-North American balloon flight departs Fort Baker, California. Maxie Anderson and son Kristian pilot the Kitty Hawk for five days.
- 1980 Sabres take only 15 shots, Islanders 22, in a playoff game
- 1980 World Health Organization announces smallpox has been eradicated
- 1981 Ron Davis pitches 10th consecutive strike out, 1 short of record
- 1984 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa Atoll
- 1984 Minnesota Twins Kirby Puckett debuts with 4 singles
- 1984 Thames Barrier to stop flooding in London officially completed
- 1984 The Soviet Union announces it will not participate in Los Angeles Summer Olympics in retaliation for the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics
- 1985 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa Atoll
- 1987 Gary Hart quits US democratic presidential race due to affair with Donna Rice
- 1987 The Loughgall ambush: The SAS kill 8 IRA members and 1 civilian, in Loughgall, Northern Ireland
- 1988 Amateur referees work NJ Devils-Boston Bruin playoff games, as NHL referees walk-off, due to a restraining order brought by Devils
- 1988 Mike Tyson crashes his $183,000 Bentley on Varick St in New York City
Ferry Cross the Mersey
1989 Paul McCartney releases remake of "Ferry Cross the Mersey" in aid of those affected by the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool football fans
- 1989 US space shuttle STS-30 lands
- 1990 Cuyahoga County voters approve sin tax to build Cleveland Gateway
- 1990 Reindependence Day of Estonia
- 1993 ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Phil Ware
Lewis vs. Tucker
1993 Lennox Lewis defeats Tony Tucker in 12 rounds to win the heavyweight boxing title
- 1993 Sixteen-year-old Keron Thomas disguises himself as a motorman and takes a NYC subway train with 2,000 passengers on a three-hour ride
- 1994 500th commentary by Andy Rooney on 60 Minutes
- 1994 All-female pro baseball team Colorado Silver Bullets play their first game
- 1994 Erling Kagge becomes the first person to complete the Three Poles Challenge by foot, reaching the North Pole, South Pole, and the summit of Mount Everest
- 1994 Ernesto Perez Balladares elected president of Panama
- 1994 Jose Maria Figueres becomes president of Costa Rica
- 1996 NY Yankee Dwight Gooden wins his 1st AL game beating Tigers 10-3
- 1996 South Africa's Constitutional Assembly adopts permanent post-apartheid constitution
- 1999 Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college (South Carolina)
- 2005 The new Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of V-E Day
Paisley and McGuinness Unite
2007 A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed with Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) as First Minister and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) as Deputy First Minister
- 2008 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at Carnegie Hall, NYC; performers include: Sting, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Brian Wilson, Chris Botti, Feist, Roberto Alagna, and Natalie Clein
- 2010 Barrow AFC wins English FA Trophy at Wembley, makes them only team to win it at both Old & New Wembley stadiums
- 2010 Last piece of Yankee Stadium falls in the Bronx, New York, marking the end of the two year demolition process
- 2011 The Tradition Senior Men's Golf, Shoal Creek G&CC: Tom Lehman wins second of 3 Champions Tour majors with par on 2nd playoff hole against Australian Peter Senior
- 2013 33 people are killed after an overloaded bus falls into a river in Himachal Pradesh, India
Alex Ferguson Retires
2013 Alex Ferguson announces his retirement as Manchester United's manager at the end of the season
Berlusconi Sentenced
2013 Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi receives a four year prison sentence for fraud
- 2014 NFL Draft: South Carolina outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney first pick by Houston Texans
World's Oldest Astrolabe
2014 The world's oldest astrolabe (mariner's navigation tool) from circa 1498 is found near Al Hallaniyah Island, Oman, from a Portuguese shipwreck of explorer Vasco da Gama
Khan Elected Mayor of London
2016 Labour candidate Sadiq Khan is elected Mayor of London, becoming the first Muslim mayor of a major Western city
- 2018 Ebola outbreak declared in north-west Democratic Republic of Congo with 2 confirmed cases and 17 deaths
- 2018 Largest-ever wave at 23.8m recorded in the South Hemisphere at Campbell Island by New Zealand scientists
- 2018 Paris St-Germain seals the French domestic football treble with a 2-0 win over 3rd Div Les Herbiers in the French Cup Final at the Stade de France
US Exits Iran Nuclear Deal
2018 President Donald Trump withdraws the US from the multilateral Iran nuclear deal negotiated under President Barack Obama
- 2018 Seattle Mariners MLB left-hander James Paxton hurls a no-hitter in a 5-0 win over the Blue Jays in Toronto
- 2019 Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes argues that Facebook should be split up and regulated in "New York Times" Op-Ed essay
- 2019 Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp signs new abortion law, the so-called "heart-beat bill" (comes into effect Jan 2020)
- 2019 Iran announces it will stop complying with parts of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal
- 2019 Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi who spent eight years in prison on death row for blasphemy arrives in Canada
- 2019 Singapore passes sweeping "anti-fake news" laws bill
- 2019 Thailand's general elections official results show opposition Pheu Thai Party won most seats but still unable to form governmen, due to rules favoring the military
- 2019 UK goes a week without using a coal-fired power station for first time in 137 years due to use of more renewable energy
- 2020 11-year-old Brazilian skateboarder Gui Khury creates a world record by performing the first 1080-degree turn on a vertical ramp
- 2020 Two US White House staffers test positive for COVID-19 and three members of the coronavirus task force go into self-isolation after possible exposure to the virus
- 2021 Bombings outside a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, kill at least 50 people, mostly teenage girls, amid growing fears about US military withdrawal
- 2021 Indian Medical Association calls for a national lockdown, criticizing President Modi's government's response as recorded COVID-19 deaths pass 4,000 a day
- 2021 Tesla chief executive Tesla Elon Musk hosts "Saturday Night Live" in the US
- 2022 British actor Ncuti Gatwa is named as the first Black actor to play the Doctor in "Doctor Who" as the 14th Doctor, replacing Jodie Whittaker in the long-running BBC sci-fi drama [1]
- 2022 Dutch driver, Max Verstappen (24) wins the 1st Miami Grand Prix Formula One motor race at the Miami International Autodrome in Miami Gardens, Florida
- 2022 Dutch runner Jo Schoonbroodt (71) breaks Canadian Ed Whitlock's 2004 record for fastest marathon by person over 70 by 29 seconds (2:54:19) at Maasmarathon of Visé in Belboom, Belgium
- 2022 Pro-Beijing loyalist and sole candidate, John Lee elected Chief Executive of Hong Kong by the city's Election Committee [1]
- 2022 Thai government announces it will give away one million cannabis plants to households to mark new rule allowing people to grow it at home [1]
- 2022 US First Lady Jill Biden visits Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska at a school in Uzhhorod, Ukraine [1]
- 2023 Death toll from flash floods and landslides in Kalehe, Congo, passes 400 with President Felix Tshisekedi declaring a national day of mourning for the victims [1]
The Little Mermaid
2023 Disney live-action film musical "The Little Mermaid" starring Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, directed by Robb Marshall, premieres in the US [1]
- 2024 Car manufacturer Toyota posts record profit of 4.94 trillion yen ($31.9 billion) and sales, selling 10.3 million cars including 3.7 million hybrids [1]
- 2024 New York has more millionaires than any other city in the world, one in 24, with 744 centi-millionaires worth more than 100 million and 60 billionaires according to new ranking [1]
Leo XIV Elected Pope
2025 Cardinal Robert Prevost (69) is elected as the 267th pope of the Catholic church, the first American to hold the office takes the name of Pope Leo XIV [1]
