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313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule.

711 - Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).

1006 - Supernova SN 1006, the brightest supernova in recorded history, appears in the constellation Lupus.

1483 - Orbital calculations suggest that on this day Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit until July 23, 1503.

1492 - Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.

1671 - Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.

1794 - The Battle of Boulou is fought, in which French forces defeated the Spanish under General Union.

1789 - On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.

1803 - Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling – overnight – the size of the young nation.

1812 - The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.

1838 - Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation

1863 - Mexican forces attacked the French Foreign Legion in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.

1871 - Camp Grant Massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.

1894 - Coxey's Army reaches Washington, D.C. to protest the unemployment caused by the Panic of 1893.

1900 - Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.

1900 - Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express.

1904 - The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.

1920 - Peru becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1925 - Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Company for USD $146 million plus $50 million for charity.

1927 - The Federal Industrial Institute for Women, opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women's federal prison in the United States.

1938 - The animated cartoon short Porky's Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit.

1939 - Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to appear on television.

1939 - The 1939 New York World's Fair opens.

1943 - World War II: Operation Mincemeat – The submarine HMS ''Seraph'' surfaces in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain to deposit a dead man planted with false invasion plans and dressed as a British military intelligence officer.

1945 - Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day.

1947 - In Nevada, the Boulder Dam is officially renamed Hoover Dam again.

1948 - In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.

1966 - The Church of Satan is founded.

1973 - Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces that top White House aids H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and others have resigned.

1975 - Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gains control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Duong Van Minh.

1980 - Accession of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

1991 - A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh killing an estimated 138,000 people.

1993 - The World Wide Web was born at CERN.

1993 - During a tennis match between
1 female tennis player Monica Seleš and Magdalena Maleeva, Günter Parche plunged a steak knife between Seleš's shoulderblades. Seleš did not return to competitive tennis for over two years.

1995 - U.S. President Bill Clinton became the first U.S. President to visit Northern Ireland.

1997 - Ellen DeGeneres's character comes out of the closet on the sitcom Ellen.

1999 - Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bringing the total members to 10.

2001 - The Mitchell Report on the Arab-Israeli conflict is published.

2002 - A referendum in Pakistan overwhelmingly approves the Presidency of Pervez Musharraf for another five years.

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1623 - François de Laval, first bishop of New France (d. 1708)

1651 - Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French educational reformer, Catholic saint (d. 1719)

1662 - Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)

1664 - François Louis, Prince of Conti, French general (d. 1709)

1710 - Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)

1721 - Roger Sherman, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1793)

1723 - Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (d. 1806)

1770 - David Thompson, Canadian explorer (d. 1857)

1777 - Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (d. 1855)

1803 - Albrecht Graf von Roon, Prime Minister of Prussia (d. 1879)

1829 - Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist (d. 1884)

1857 - Eugene Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)

1864 - Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (d. 1913)

1865 - Max Nettlau, German anarchist and historian (d. 1944)

1869 - Hans Poelzig, German architect (d. 1936)

1870 - Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (d. 1948)

1874 - Cyriel Verschaeve, Belgian clergyman (d. 1949)

1876 - Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist (d. 1937)

1877 - Alice B. Toklas, American companion of Gertrude Stein (d. 1967)

1883 - Jaroslav Hašek, Czech novelist (d. 1923)

1893 - Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister (d. 1946)

1896 - Hans List, Austrian inventor and founder of AVL List (d. 1996)

1901 - Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian-born economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)

1902 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)

1908 - Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic foreign and later prime minister (d. 1970)

1909 - Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)

1909 - F. E. McWilliam, Northern Irish sculptor (d. 1992)

1916 - Claude Shannon, American engineer and mathematician (d. 2001)

1916 - Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)

1921 - George Crowe, baseball player

1923 - Marianne Paegel, Austrian Nazi

1923 - Al Lewis, American actor and politician (d. 2006)

1925 - Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)

1926 - Cloris Leachman, American actress

1930 - Lawton Chiles, American politician (d. 1998)

1933 - Willie Nelson, American musician, composer, and actor

1938 - Larry Niven, American author

1940 - Burt Young, American actor

1941 - Johnny Farina, American guitarist (Santo and Johnny)

1943 - Bobby Vee, American singer

1944 - Jill Clayburgh, American actress

1945 - Annie Dillard, American writer

1945 - Michael Smith, astronaut (d. 1986)

1946 - King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

1946 - Don Schollander, American swimmer

1947 - Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer

1948 - Perry King, American actor

1949 - Phil Garner, baseball manager

1949 - Antonio Guterres, Prime Minister of Portugal

1954 - Jane Campion, New Zealand film director

1955 - Nicolas Hulot, French journalist and author

1956 - Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone

1956 - Lars von Trier, Danish film director

1959 - Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

1960 - Kerry Healey, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts

1961 - Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and team owner

1963 - Michael Waltrip, American race car driver

1964 - Barrington Levy, Jamaican musician

1964 - Ian Healy, former Australian cricketer

1969 - Paulo Jr., Brazilian bassist (Sepultura)

1969 - Clark Vogeler, American guitarist (The Toadies)

1971 - Darren Emerson, English dance music DJ (Underworld)

1971 - John Boyne, Irish novelist

1975 - Elliott Sadler, American race car driver

1981 - John O'Shea, Irish footballer

1982 - Kirsten Dunst, American actress

1982 - Lloyd Banks, American rapper

1983 - Troy Williamson, American football player

1984 - Shawn Daivari, Iranian professional wrestler

1985 - Miss Alex White, American rock musician

1987 - Nikki Webster, Australian pop star/entertainer and model

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65 - Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)

1063 - Emperor Renzong of China (b. 1010)

1341 - John III, Duke of Brittany (b. 1285)

1439 - Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English military leader (b. 1382)

1524 - Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473)

1544 - Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, Lord Chancellor of England

1555 - Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)

1632 - Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559)

1642 - Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (b. 1578)

1660 - Petrus Scriverius, Dutch writer (b. 1576)

1655 - Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617)

1696 - Robert Plot, British naturalist (b. 1640)

1712 - Philipp van Limborch, Dutch Protestant theologian (b. 1633)

1736 - Johann Albert Fabricius, German classical scholar and bibliographer (b. 1668)

1758 - François d'Agincourt, French composer (b. 1684)

1792 - John Montagu, Supposed inventor of the sandwich (b. 1718)

1795 - Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (b. 1716)

1847 - Archduke Charles of Austria, Austrian general (b. 1771)

1865 - Robert Fitzroy, English admiral and meteorologist (b. 1805)

1875 - Jean Frederic Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766)

1883 - Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832)

1900 - Casey Jones, American train engineer (b. 1863)

1903 - Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and suffragist (b.1831)

1936 - Alfred Edward Housman, English poet (b. 1859)

1943 - Otto Jespersen, Danish philologist (b. 1860)

1945 - Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's new wife (suicide) (b. 1912)

1945 - Adolf Hitler, Austrian Nazi dictator of Germany (suicide) (b. 1889)

1956 - Alben W. Barkley, Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)

1970 - Inger Stevens, Swedish actress (b. 1934)

1973 – Václav Renč, Czech poet, dramatist and translator (b. 1911)

1974 - Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900)

1980 - Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician (b. 1898)

1982 - Lester Bangs, American music journalist, author, and musician (b. 1949)

1983 - George Balanchine, Russian-born dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)

1983 - Muddy Waters, American musician (b. 1915)

1985 - George Pravda, Czechoslovakian actor (b. 1918)

1985 - Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist

1989 - Yi, Bang-ja, Crown Princess of Korea (b. 1901)

1989 - Sergio Leone, Italian filmmaker (b. 1929)

1994 - Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)

1994 - Richard Scarry, American author (b. 1919)

1995 - Maung Maung Kha, Prime minister of Burma (b. 1920)

1998 - Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet (b. 1926)

2002 - Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, founder of the Gründerzeit Museum in Berlin-Mahlsdorf. (b. 1928)

2003 - Peter 'Possum' Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956)

2003 - Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)

2003 - Mark Berger, University of Kentucky Professor

2005 - Ron Todd, TGWU General Secretary (1985 - 1992) (b. 1927)

2006 - Paul Spiegel (b. 1937)

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Scandinavia - The arrival of spring, Walpurgis Night.

Sweden - Birthday of King Carl XVI Gustav, an official flag day.

The Netherlands - Queen's Day.

Roman Empire - third day of the Floralia in honor of Flora.

Bealtaine Eve (From either Irish Bealtaine or Scottish Gaelic). Originally a Celtic Druid holiday.

Vietnam - Liberation Day.

Mexico - Children's Day.

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Liturgical Feast days
in the Roman Catholic Church:

Saint Eutropius
Saint Maximus, 3rd century martyr
Saint Marianus and James, martyrs in Numidia in 259
Saint Suitbert the Younger (d. 807)
Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo
Saint Pope Pius V
Blessed Hildegard
Blessed Radolf of Affligem
Blessed Rosemonde