- 930 World's oldest parliament, the Icelandic Parliament is established, the Alþingi (anglicised as Althing or Althingi)
- 1295 Pope Boniface VIII enters Rome and secures control of the city after a contested papal election, strengthening his authority amid rival noble factions
- 1298 Adolf of Nassau deposed as King of Germany
- 1305 French-Flemish peace treaty signed at Athis-sur-Orge
Treaty of Closer Amity With France
1532 Treaty of Closer Amity with France, also known as the Pommeraye Treaty, is signed between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France in opposition to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
1547 Champion of the Protestant Reformation, Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse is captured and taken to south Germany
- 1565 Turgut Reis [Dragut], commander of the Ottoman Navy, dies during the Siege of Malta
- 1585 Spanish army under Tassis beats Amerongen Staatse troops
- 1645 Cretan War begins with attack by Ottoman navy on Venetian-held coast of Crete (war lasts till 1669)
- 1658 Dutch troops occupy last Portuguese Fort at Jafnapatnam in Ceylon
Anglo-Portuguese Marriage Treaty
1661 Marriage contract for King Charles II of England and Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza agreed, giving Tangier and Bombay to England
Treaty of Shackamaxon
1683 William Penn signs land deeds and friendship treaty with Lenape Indian leader Tamanend “Tammany” in Pennsylvania; (possible basis for Treaty of Shackamaxon) [1]
- 1713 The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada
- 1724 Russia and Turkey sign Treaty of Constantinople
Battle of Plassey
1757 Battle of Plassey: British East India Company led by Robert Clive defeats the army of the Nawab of Bengal, wining control of Bengal
- 1758 Seven Years' War: Battle of Krefeld - British forces defeat French troops at Krefeld in Germany
- 1760 Battle of Landeshut: Austrian forces under Ernst Gideon von Laudon defeat a Prussian army near Landeshut in Silesia, capturing thousands of prisoners and strengthening Austria’s position in the Seven Years’ War
- 1775 First rowing regatta is held on the River Thames in London
- 1780 American Revolution: Battle of Springfield fought in and around Springfield, New Jersey (including Short Hills, formerly of Springfield, now of Millburn Township
- 1784 Edward Warren makes the first US balloon flight at just 13 years old
Demands of the Third Estate
1789 French King Louis XVI rejects the demands of the Third Estate, calling itself the National Assembly, during the opening stages of the French Revolution
Rip Van Winkle
1819 First editions of "The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent." by Washington Irving are released, featuring the story "Rip Van Winkle"
- 1821 Dutch troops conquer Palembang
Miguel I Seizes Throne
1828 Miguel I declares himself King of Portugal after leading an absolutist uprising against Maria II
- 1848 Bloody insurrection of workers in Paris
- 1854 Antwerp-Roosendaal railway goes into use
- 1860 US Congress establishes Government Printing Office
- 1863 Tullahoma campaign, Tennessee
- 1865 At Fort Towson, General Stand Watie surrenders last sizeable confederate army
Douglass Nominated
1888 Frederick Douglass is the first African American to receive a vote for US president in a major party's roll call vote at the Republican National Convention
Second Volksraad
1890 In an effort to solve the "Uitlander" (British and foreign) grievances regarding voting rights, President of Transvaal Paul Kruger institutes a Second Volksraad voting chamber, responsible for controlling local matters
- 1892 Chicago's 'The Inter Ocean' launches 1st US newspaper color supplement
- 1894 The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne, Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, selecting Athens to host the first modern games in 1896 [1]
President Emilio Aguinaldo
1898 Emilio Aguinaldo issues a decree replacing his dictatorial government with a revolutionary government, with himself as President
- 1900 British Governor Frederick Hodgson and some of his British supporters flee Fort Coomassie, Gold Coast, Africa, where they have been under siege since 6 April
- 1900 The Young Turks present a manifesto to the major foreign embassies in Constantinople demanding that these foreign powers end the Ottoman Sultan's rule
Order of Merit
1902 King Edward VII institutes the British Order of Merit to honor distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, and the promotion of culture [1]
- 1902 Monument to composer Gioachino Rossini unveiled in Santa Croce, Florence, Italy
- 1908 Shah Mohammed Ali leads a successful counter-revolution in Persia, aided by the Russian legation and a Cossack brigade
- 1908 The USA suspends diplomatic relationships with Venezuela after the refusal of Cipriano Castro's government to compensate Americans for injuries suffered in the uprising of 1899
- 1909 Confessional parties win Dutch parliamentary elections
Battle of Zacatecas
1914 Battle of Zacatecas: Pancho Villa's División del Norte attacks and takes the strategic city of Zacatecas, held by President Victoriano Huerta's Constitutionalist forces
- 1915 Italians launch the first of what will become 11 battles to dislodge the Austrians from the Isonzo River, which keeps the Italians from Trieste
- 1915 MLB New York Yankees get record 16 walks and 3 wild pitches beating Philadelphia A's and pitcher Bruno Hass, 15-0
- 1917 Ammunition factory in Boleweg Bohemia explodes, killing 1,000
- 1917 Ernie Shore enters the game after Boston Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth is ejected for punching an umpire; he retires all 26 batters he faces in a 4-0 win over the Washington Senators; it is ruled a combined no-hitter
Universal Negro Improvement Association
1919 Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) incorporates
- 1919 Nitti government forms in Italy
- 1924 8 month Twenste textile strike ends
- 1925 British warship fires on Hong Kong harbor strikers
- 1925 Landslides create 3-mile long "Slide Lake" (Gros Ventre Wyoming)
- 1926 The College Board administers the first SAT exam in USA
- 1927 New York future Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman Lou Gehrig hits 3 HRs in Yankees' 11-4 victory over Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park
- 1928 Commencement of West Indies cricket's first ever Test match; England go on to win by an innings and 58 runs at Lord's
Circumnavigation Record
1931 American pilot Wiley Post and Australian navigator Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field in New York to circumnavigate the globe, setting a new record of 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes
- 1932 St Louis Browns beat NY Yankees, 14-10; Lou Gehrig's 1,103rd consecutive game in a Yankees uniform, equaling Joe Sewell's record with one team (Cleveland Indians)
- 1933 Don McNeill's Pepper Pot, later called The Breakfast Club, begins 35½ year run on NBC radio
- 1938 Civil Aeronautics Authority (US) established
- 1938 Marineland opens in Florida-1st aquarium
- 1939 France turns over Sanjak of Alexandretta (Hatay) to Turkey
- 1939 US Congress establishes US Coast Guard Reserve (renamed US Coast Guard Auxiliary 1941) as uniformed volunteer units supporting the Coast Guard
- 1940 Marcel Louette seeks opposition group "White Brigade" on Antwerp
- 1940 RAF bombs Schiphol, Netherlands
- 1941 Germany occupies Telz, Lithuania
- 1942 World War II: Germany's latest fighter, a Focke-Wulf FW190 is captured intact when it mistakenly lands at RAF Pembrey in Wales
1943 British ambassador to Portugal Ronald Hugh Campbell invokes the almost 600 year old Anglo-Portuguese alliance between the two countries to request the use of military facilities on the Azores [1]
- 1943 Dutch artsens protest against Nazis
Germen Rocket Base Discovered
1943 RAF discovers Wernher von Braun's German V1/V2 rocket development base in Peenemunde
- 1944 4 tornadoes strike Appalachia, killing 153
- 1944 German writer Thomas Mann becomes a US citizen
- 1944 Soviet offensive in central front sector
- 1945 Last organized Japanese defiance broken (Tarakan)
- 1946 In South Africa, a group of white men attack and assault Indian Passive Resisters
- 1947 Compton and Bill Edrich make 370 stand for 3rd wkt v South Africa
Taft-Hartley Act
1947 US President Truman's veto of Taft-Hartley Act, restricting the power of trade unions is overridden by Congress and becomes law
- 1949 Dutch Constellation aircraft plunges into the sea near Bari, 33 die
- 1949 First twelve women graduate from Harvard Medical School
- 1950 Indians' Luke Easter hits longest ball in Cleveland Stadium history, 477 feet, into upper deck, Section 4
- 1950 New York Yankees (6) & Detroit Tigers (5) hit record 11 HRs at Briggs Stadium; Tigers win, 10-9
- 1950 Swiss parliament refuses voting rights for women
- 1951 Most expensive US hailstorm ($1.5M crop damage & $14M property-Kansas)
- 1951 Treacherous British diplomats Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean flee to USSR
- 1952 US airplanes bomb energy centers at Yalu Korea
- 1954 122°F (50°C), Overton, Nevada (state record until June 29, 1994)
- 1956 "The Jimmy Durante Show" last airs on NBC
- 1958 Dutch Reformed Church accepts women ministers
- 1958 Foundation Praemium Erasmianum (Erasmus Prize) established
- 1958 US Federal judge rules race separation must end in 2½ years in Little Rock, Arkansas
- 1959 A fire in a resort hotel in Stalheim, Norway kills 34 people
Klaus Fuchs Released
1959 Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany, where he resumes a scientific career
- 1960 "The Pat Boone-Chevy Showroom" last airs on ABC-TV
- 1960 Japan signs security treaty with the US
- 1961 Cubs Ernie Banks ends his 717 consecutive games played streak
- 1961 Philadelphia Phillies overcome 9 run deficit; trailing 11-2 after 7 innings, score 4 in 8th and 6 in 9th to beat Pirates, 12-11 at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh
- 1961 The Antarctic Treaty, ensuring that Antarctica is used for peaceful purposes; for international cooperation in scientific research; and does not become the scene or object of international discord, comes into force
- 1961 USAF Major Robert M White takes X-15 to an altitude of 32,830 m
- 1962 Suvanna Phuma forms government in Laos
- 1963 NY Mets Jimmy Piersall hits his 100th HR, he circles bases backwards
- 1963 The Detroit March to Freedom occurs with 125,000 people participating, the largest civil rights demonstration in America up to that point
- 1963 US President John F. Kennedy tours Western Europe
- 1964 General Maxwell Taylor appointed US ambassador in South Vietnam
- 1967 10,000 demonstrate against war in Vietnam outside of the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, California; police disperse the crowd violently
- 1967 American athlete Jim Ryun sets new world record in mile run (3:51.1) in Bakersfield California
Glassboro Summit
1967 US President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin hold the first of two summit meetings in Glassboro, New Jersey, about halfway between New York City and Washington, DC [1]
- 1967 US Senate censures Thomas J Dodd from Connecticut (D). for misusing campaign funds
- 1968 74 are killed and 150 injured in a football stampede towards a closed exit in a Buenos Aires stadium
- 1969 24 Africans from the Graaff-Reinet district, Cape Province, appear in the Grahamstown Supreme Court on charges under the Sabotage Act; alleged they had conspired or incited others to kill White people or police
- 1969 French government of Couve de Murville resigns
- 1969 Joe Frazier TKOs Jerry Quarry in 7 to retain the heavyweight boxing title
- 1969 Warren E. Burger sworn in as US Supreme Court Chief Justice
- 1970 "Red Skelton Show" last airs on CBS-TV, moved to NBC-TV
- 1970 American rock singer Chubby Checker arrested for marijuana possession
- 1971 MLB Philadelphia Phillies Rick Wise no-hits Reds, and hits 2 HR's and 3 RBI in 4-0 win at Cincinnati
- 1971 WTVP TV channel 47 in Peoria, IL (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1972 45 countries leave the Sterling Area, allowing their currencies to fluctuate independently of the British Pound
- 1972 Bernice Gera becomes first female umpire in US pro baseball, Geneva Senators and Auburn Twins in Geneva, New York
- 1972 Hurricane Agnes becomes America's costliest natural disaster, affecting 15 states with 119 deaths and $3 billion in damage
Title IX
1972 US President Richard Nixon signs Title IX into law, prohibiting sex discrimination in federally funded education programs and expanding opportunities for women and girls in school and college sports
- 1973 Phillies' Ken Brett hits a home run in his fourth consecutive game in which he pitches
- 1973 World Court condemns French nuclear tests in the Pacific
- 1975 Rocker Alice Cooper falls off the stage in Vancouver and breaks six ribs
- 1976 CN Tower, world's tallest free-standing structure (555 m/1,815.3 ft), built by Canadian National Railway, opens in downtown Toronto, Ontario (surpassed in 2007)
- 1976 The U.S. vetoes Angola’s application for membership of the United Nations Security
- 1977 Violence erupts in Soweto, South Africa again, and the police make at least 146 arrests
- 1979 "My Sharona" single released by The Knack
- 1979 Charlie Daniels Band releases "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"
- 1979 ICC Men's Cricket ODI World Cup, Lord's, London: West Indies beat England by 92 runs to win second straight final; Player the Match: Vivian Richards (WI) 138 no (157)
- 1979 Supertramp's "Breakfast in America" becomes No. 1 album in the US featuring "Take the Long Way Home"
- 1980 First solar-powered coast-to-coast two-way radio conversation
Botha Warns of Clash
1980 South African Prime Minister P. W. Botha warns the country that confrontation will be inevitable if his proposed President's Council fails
- 1980 West German wins European soccer title (2-1 against Belgium)
- 1981 Amanda Maccaro becomes 1st American to win Russian Ballet Competition
- 1981 French government of Mauroy forms, with 4 communists
- 1981 Longest game in professional baseball: Pawtucket Red Sox finally beat Rochester Red Wings 3-2 in 33 innings (game began April 18)
- 1981 NYC Mayor Koch turns down a $7,500 offer to perform comedy
- 1982 "Cleavage" opens and closes at Playhouse Theater NYC
- 1982 -117°F; All time low at South Pole
- 1982 Himmy of Australia weighs in at a domestic cat record of 20.7 kg (45 lbs)
- 1982 Mary Hart joins Entertainment Tonight
- 1982 US pass the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (Public Law 97-200)
- 1983 Syria throws out PLO leader Arafat
- 1983 US Supreme Court ruled Congress could not veto presidential decisions
- 1985 Bomb destroys Air India Boeing 747 in air near Ireland, 329 die
- 1985 Laffit Pincay Jr. becomes the second jockey to win $100 million
Tip O'Neill Bars Reagan
1986 Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill refuses to allow Republican President Ronald Reagan to address the House
- 1986 Pedro Morales swims world record 100m butterfly (52.84)
- 1988 Charlotte Hornets & Miami Heat begin their NBA expansion draft
- 1988 MLB New York Yankees manager Billy Martin's fifth term ends, and is replaced by Lou Piniella
- 1990 A rally to save TV series "Alien Nation" from cancellation held at Statue of Liberty
Mandela Applauded in Boston
1990 African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela, on a US tour, receives a tumultuous welcome in Boston, Massachusettts
- 1990 Moldavia adopts Declaration of Sovereignty of the Soviet Socialist Republic Moldova, which begins their stepping away from the Soviet Union
- 1990 Police find marijuana at rock and roll legend Chuck Berry's home
- 1990 TV Guide selects Arsenio Hall as TV personality of year
- 1991 "Odd Couple" opens & closes at Belasco Theater NYC
- 1991 A peace summit, brokered by the clergy and business and attended by all major political parties, but boycotted by the Conservative Party, is held to end the violence in South Africa
- 1992 "Tin Bigha Day" protest in India of corridor opening to Bangladesh
- 1993 Lorena Gallo Bobbitt amputates husband's John Wayne Bobbitt's penis
Babangida Ends Democracy
1993 Nigeria's military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida, annuls results of presidential elections and halts a return to democracy
- 1993 United Nations authorizes worldwide oil embargo against Haiti
- 1994 Deborah A. Batts becomes the first openly gay US federal judge
- 1994 Moshood Abiola is accused of treason and arrested after declaring himself president of Nigeria
- 1994 Opération Turquoise: 2,500 French troops head into Rwanda to protect civilians under the mandate of the United Nations
- 1994 Replay shows Oakland Athletics's Bobby Witt beat Kansas City's Greg Gagne to 1st in 6th but umpire Gary Cedarstrom calls him safe, ruining Witt's perfect game
- 1994 South Africa reclaims its seat in United Nations
Archbishop Tutu Retires
1996 Archbishop Tutu retires as Archbishop of Cape Town and head of the Anglican Church in South Africa
- 1996 Nintendo 64 goes on sale in Japan
- 1997 Dow Jones Industrial Average drops 192.25 points
- 1997 In the Central African Republic, soldiers fire on foreign peacekeepers in the third major rebellion since May
- 2000 The bulk ore carrier MV Treasure sinks off the western coast of South Africa, soiling more than 19 000 penguins; this resulted in the world's largest ever rescue of birds from an oiling event
- 2000 The Cotonou Agreement, a trade and aid framework, is signed in Cotonou, Benin
500 HRs and 500 Steals
2003 Barry Bonds steals second base against the LA Dodgers, becoming the first player in MLB history to have 500 career home runs and 500 steals
- 2004 Bob Dylan accepts honorary doctorate of music degree from the University of St Andrews, Scotland's oldest university
Reddit Founded
2005 Reddit founded by American University of Virginia students Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian
- 2008 Félix Hernández of the Seattle Mariners hits a grand slam home run against New York Mets, 1st pitcher since Steve Dunning in 1971
Toyoda Leads Toyota
2009 Akio Toyoda is confirmed as the new President of the Toyota Motor Corporation
Marina Bay Sands
2010 Marina Bay Sands casino resort owned by Las Vegas sands officially opens in Singapore, with an infinity pool on the world's largest cantilevered platform
- 2011 Kawhi Leonard is selected with the 15th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Indiana Pacers and traded to the San Antonio Spurs on draft night
- 2011 NBA Draft: Duke point guard Kyrie Irving first pick Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2012 76 monks are hospitalized in Thailand following an attack by a swarm of bees
- 2012 A coach crashes in Croatia killing 8 Czech tourists and injuring 44
- 2012 Greece proposes to slow down austerity measures by two years
- 2013 18 Romanians are killed and 32 are injured after a bus crash in Montenegro
- 2013 9 tourists and 1 tour guide are killed after gunmen storm a hotel near Nanga Parbat, Pakistan
- 2013 ICC Men's Cricket Champions Trophy, Edgebaston, Birmingham: India defeats England by 5 runs; Player of the series: Shikhar Dhawan, IND 363 runs
Monet's Water Lilies
2014 Claude Monet's Water Lilies is sold at auction for US$54 million
- 2014 Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is re-elected President of Mauritania
- 2016 Amy Schumer announces her first world tour during a sold-out performance at Madison Square Garden
- 2016 Ceasefire agreement signed between Colombian government and Farc rebels - ending more than 50 years of conflict
- 2016 Los Angeles court decision clears Led Zeppelin of stealing riff from "Stairway to Heaven" from band Spirit
- 2016 NBA Draft: LSU point guard Ben Simmons first pick by Philadelphia 76ers
- 2016 Storms and widespread flooding in West Virginia leave at least 24 dead
2016 United Kingdom votes in the Brexit referendum to leave the European Union
Bridge Over Troubled Water
2017 "Bridge over Troubled Water" single, organized by Simon Cowell for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, hits #1 on the UK Singles Chart
- 2017 Landslide in Xinmo village, Sichuan province, China kills 15 with more than 100 missing
- 2017 NHL Draft: Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) center Nico Hischier first pick by New Jersey Devils
- 2017 Saudi Arabia and allies, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain issue list of 13 conditions to Qatar in return for lifting sanctions, including closing Al Jazeera TV
- 2018 12 boys and their coach are stranded in Tham Luang Nang Non cave, Thailand by monsoon flooding, prompting an international rescue effort when they are discovered 9 days later
Deadly Blast at Rally
2018 Explosion at a rally in Addis Ababa after speech by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed kills two and injures 150
- 2018 Indian chess prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa becomes the second-youngest grandmaster at 12 years, 10 months, 13 days
Laura Ingalls Wilder Award Renamed
2018 Laura Ingalls Wilder's name removed from book award by US Association for Library Service to Children, due to author's racist views and language
- 2018 Violent clashes over several days between ethnic Berom farmers and Fulani herders in Plateau state, Nigeria, kill 86
President Mnangagwa's Narrow Escape
2018 Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa survives probable assassination attempt after blast at election rally in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe kills 2 and injures nearly 50
- 2019 Ashleigh Barty becomes first Australian female in 42 years (since Evonne Goolagong Cawley) to attain world #1 tennis ranking when she beats Julia Görges 6-3, 7-5 at the Birmingham Classic
Protests in Prague
2019 Biggest protests in Prague since the fall of communism against Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, with estimated 250,000 in Letna Plain park
- 2019 Turkey's ruling AK party lose the re-run of Istanbul's mayoral election to Ekrem Imamoglu of the Republican People's Party
- 2020 125 pilots grounded by Pakistan International Airlines after revelations many had cheated in exams or held fake licenses
- 2020 COVID-19 cases rise sharply again in America as country records its 3rd highest daily total, more than 35,000
- 2020 Germany locks down a second area after a spike in COVID-19 cases in Gütersloh and Warendorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, affecting half a million people
- 2021 1st ICC World Test Championship final, Southampton: New Zealand dismisses India for meagre 170; completes tricky chase of 139 on 6th day to win inaugural cricket title
Britney Fights Conservatorship
2021 Britney Spears requests a judge to end her court-ordered conservatorship, stating, "I think this conservatorship is abusive. I don't think I can live a full life."
- 2021 Rembrandt's masterpiece "The Night Watch" seen in its entirety for first time in 300 years after AI used to fill in pieces trimmed at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- 2021 US Supreme Court rules in favor of teen kicked off cheerleading team after profane social media post, saying school violated her free speech [1]
- 2022 Singer-songwriter Paul Simon makes his Newport Folk Festival debut, joining headliner Nathaniel Rateliff for four songs at the end of his set tributing the songwriter
- 2022 TV series "The Bear" created by Christopher Storer, starring Jeremy Allen White, premieres on Hulu
- 2022 US Supreme Court declares for the first time that there is a constitutional right to carry a handgun in public for self defense, striking down a century-old gun law in New York that limited licenses, in a 6-3 vote [1] [2]
Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride
2023 Jason Mraz releases his album "Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride" on his 46th birthday
- 2024 Islamist extremists mount a coordinated terrorist attack on police posts, churches and a synagogue in Russia's Dagestan republic, killing 20 people
- 2024 More than 1300 people have died during this year's Hajj pilgrimage, according to Saudi Arabia as temperatures rose over 46 degrees C (117 degrees F), attended by 1.83 million Muslims [1]
- 2025 Iran launches missiles at US military base in Qatar and Iraq [1]
- 2025 Thai Department of Special Investigation seizes 2.4 metric tons of methamphetamine worth $90.8 million disguised as corn flour [1]
