Events
- 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I.
- 1655 - The miraculous statue entitled the Infant of Prague is solemnly crowned by command of Cardinal Harrach.
- 1660 - Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of England.
- 1721 - Sir Robert Walpole enters office as the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom under King George I.
- 1812 - U.S. President James Madison enacted a ninety-day embargo on trade with the United Kingdom.
- 1814 - Napoleon abdicates for the first time.
- 1818 - The United States Congress adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (then 20).
- 1841 - William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia becoming the first President of the United States to die in office and the one with the shortest term served.
- 1850 - The Great Fire of Cottenham, a large part of the Cambridgeshire village (England) is burnt to the ground under suspicious circumstances.
- 1850 - Los Angeles, California is incorporated as a city.
- 1859 - Bryant's Minstrels debut "Dixie" in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.
- 1865 - American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
- 1866 - Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in the city of Kiev.
- 1887 - Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
- 1905 - In India, an earthquake near Kangra kills 20,000.
- 1913 - The Greek aviator Emmanuel Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot victim of the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes.
- 1918 - World War I: Second Battle of the Somme ends.
- 1930 - The Communist Party of Panama is founded.
- 1939 - Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
- 1945 - World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.
- 1945 - World War II: Soviet Army takes control of Hungary.
- 1949 - Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
- 1958 - The CND Peace Symbol displayed in public for the first time in London.
- 1960 - Senegal independence day.
- 1964 - The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
- 1965 - The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft plane is unveiled.
- 1967 - Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in New York City's Riverside Church.
- 1968 - Martin Luther King, Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
- 1968 - Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6.
- 1968 - AEK Athens BC becomes the first Greek team to win the European Basketball Cup.
- 1969 - Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
- 1973 - The World Trade Center in New York is officially dedicated.
- 1975 - Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
- 1975 - Vietnam War: Operation Baby Lift - A United States Air Force C-5A Galaxy crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, transporting orphans - 172 die.
- 1976 - Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest.
- 1979 - President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
- 1983 - Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space (STS-6).
- 1984 - President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
- 1988 - Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
- 1991 - Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their plane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
- 1994 - Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name "Mosaic Communications Corporation".
- 1996 - Comet Hyakutake was imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
- 1999 - Against the plea of Pope John Paul II, NATO planes continued to bomb the former Yugoslavia on Easter Sunday.
- 2002 - The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.
- 2007 - 15 British Royal Navy personnel held in Iran are released by the Iranian President.
Births - 186 - Caracalla, Roman emperor (d. 217)
- 1492 - Ambrosius Blarer, German reformer (d. 1564)
- 1572 - William Strachey, English writer (d. 1621)
- 1593 - Edward Nicholas, English statesman (d. 1669)
- 1646 - Antoine Galland, French archaeologist (d. 1715)
- 1648 - Grinling Gibbons Dutch-born woodcarver (d. 1721)
- 1688 - Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer (d. 1768)
- 1718 - Benjamin Kennicott, English churchman and Hebrew scholar (d. 1783)
- 1772 - Nachman of Breslov, founder of Breslov Hasidut (d. 1810)
- 1785 - Bettina von Arnim, German writer (d. 1859)
- 1802 - Dorothea Dix, American social activist (d. 1887)
- 1819 - Queen Maria II of Portugal (d. 1853)
- 1821 - Linus Yale, Jr., American inventor and manufacturer (d. 1868)
- 1826 - Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer (d. 1901)
- 1842 - Edouard Lucas, French mathematician (d. 1891)
- 1846 - Comte de Lautréamont, French writer (d. 1870)
- 1858 - Remy de Gourmont, French poet (d. 1915)
- 1875 - Pierre Monteux, French conductor (d. 1964)
- 1876 - Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter (d. 1958)
- 1882 - Kurt von Schleicher, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1934)
- 1884 - Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese naval commander (d. 1943)
- 1888 - Tris Speaker, American baseball player (d. 1958)
- 1888 - Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish literary historian (d. 1975)
- 397 - St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan
- 636 - Saint Isidore of Seville, Church Father and the proposed patron of Internet
- 896 - Pope Formosus (b. 816)
- 1284 - King Alfonso X of Castile (b. 1221)
- 1292 - Pope Nicholas IV (b. 1227)
- 1305 - Jeanne of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France
- 1536 - Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1460)
- 1588 - King Frederick II of Denmark (b. 1534)
- 1609 - Charles de L'Ecluse, Flemish botanist (b. 1526)
- 1617 - John Napier, Scottish mathematician (b. 1550)
- 1643 - Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian (b. 1583)
- 1661 - Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish soldier
- 1701 - Joseph Haines, entertainer and author
- 1743 - Daniel Neal, English historian (b. 1678)
- 1761 - Theodore Gardelle, Swiss painter and enameler (b. 1722)
- 1766 - John Taylor, English classical scholar (b. 1704)
- 1774 - Oliver Goldsmith, English writer (b. 1728)
- 1792 - James Sykes, American politician (b. 1725)
- 1807 - Joseph Jérôme Lefrançais de Lalande, French astronomer (b. 1732)
