858 | | St. Nicholas I begins his reign as Catholic Pope. |
1519 | | Envoys of Montezuma II attend the first Easter mass in Central America. |
1547 | | Charles V's troops defeat the Protestant League of Schmalkalden at the battle of Muhlburg. |
1558 | | Mary, Queen of Scotland, marries the French dauphin, Francis. |
1792 | | Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle composes "La Marseilles". It will become France's national anthem. |
1800 | | The Library of Congress is established in Washington, D.C. with a $5,000 allocation. |
1805 | | U.S. Marines attack and capture the town of Derna in Tripoli from the Barbary pirates. |
1833 | | A patent is granted for first soda fountain. |
1877 | | Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire. |
1884 | | Otto von Bismarck cables Cape Town, South Africa that it is now a German colony. |
1898 | | Spain declares war on United States, rejecting an ultimatum to withdraw from Cuba. |
1915 | | Turks of the Ottoman Empire begin massacring the Armenian minority in their country. |
1916 | | Irish nationalists launch the Easter Uprising against British occupation. |
1944 | | The first B-29 arrives in China, over the Hump of the Himalayas. |
1948 | | The Berlin airlift begins to relieve surrounded city. |
1953 | | Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. |
1961 | | President John Kennedy accepts "sole responsibility" for the failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. |
1968 | | Leftist students take over Columbia University in protest over the Vietnam War. |
1980 | | A rescue attempt of the U.S. hostages held in Iran fails when a plane collides with a helicopter in the Iranian desert. |
1981 | | The IBM Personal Computer is introduced. |
1989 | | Thousands of Chinese students strike in Beijing for more democratic reforms. |
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