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1500 - Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil.

1509 - Henry VIII ascends the throne of England after the death of his father.

1529 - Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues or 17° east of the Moluccas.

1836 - Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto forces under Texas General Sam Houston capture Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.

1863 - American Civil War: Grierson's Raid begins – troops under Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.

1864 - The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act which mandates that the inscription "In God We Trust" be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.

1876 - The National League of Baseball plays its first game, establishing the template for the modern game.

1889 - At high noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Run of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.

1898 - Spanish-American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports and the USS Nashville captures a Spanish merchant ship.

1912 - Pravda, the "voice" of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publications in Saint Petersburg.

1915 - The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.

1930 - The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.

1944 - World War II: Operation Persecution initiated – Allied forces land in the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) area of New Guinea.

1945 - World War II: After learning that Soviet forces have taken Eberswalde without a fight, Adolf Hitler admits defeat in his underground bunker and states that suicide is his only recourse.

1946 - The first installment of the popular Japanese comic strip, Sazae-san, is published in the Fukunichi Shimbun.

1954 - Red Scare: Army-McCarthy Hearings begin.

1964 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its first season.

1970 - First Earth Day celebrated.

1971 - John Kerry, dressed in combat fatigues, testifies on his views of the Vietnam War before the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee

1972 - Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts antiwar protests in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

1975 - Barbara Walters signs a five-year $5 million contract with the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), becoming the highest paid television newsperson.

1978 - One Love Peace Concert held at National Heroes Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bob Marley united the two opposing political leaders at this concert bringing peace to the civil war ridden streets of Kingston, Jamaica.

1990 - The Anti-Drug video Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue is released.

1992 - 1992 explosion in Guadalajara, Mexico

206 people were killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 were left homeless

1993 - The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC is dedicated.

1993 - The web browser Mosaic version 1.0 is released.

1997 - Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria; 93 villagers killed.

1997 - A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, Peru ends after government commandos storm and capture the building, rescuing 71 hostages. One hostage dies of a heart attack, two soldiers are killed from rebel fire, and all 14 rebels are slain.

2000 - In a predawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida.

2000 - The Big Number Change takes place in the United Kingdom.

2004 - Two fuel trains collide in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing up to 150 people.

2006 - 243 people were injured in pro-democracy protest in Nepal after Nepali security forces opened fire on protesters against King Gyanendra.

2006 - Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War.

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1451 - Queen Isabella of Castile and Leon (d. 1504)

1550 - Edward de Vere, Lord Great Chamberlain of England (d. 1604)

1610 - Pope Alexander VIII (d. 1691)

1658 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (d. 1709)

1690 - John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (d. 1763)

1692 - James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (d. 1770)

1707 - Henry Fielding, English author (d. 1754)

1711 - Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (d. 1779)

1724 - Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (d. 1804)

1766 - Madame de Staël, French author (d. 1817)

1812 - Solomon Caesar Malan, British orientalist (d. 1894)

1816 - Charles Denis Bourbaki, French general

1840 - Odilon Redon, French painter (d. 1916)

1844 - Lewis Thornton Powell, would-be assassin of Secretary of State William Seward (d. 1865)

1852 - Guillaume IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1912)

1854 - Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer, Nobel laureate (d. 1943)

1860 - Ada Rehan, American stage actress (d. 1916)

1870 (N.S.) - Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary (d. 1924)

1873 - Ellen Glasgow, American author (d. 1945)

1876 - Robert Bárány, American physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1936)

1876 - Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (d. 1920)

1881 - Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970)

1884 - Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist (d. 1939)

1889 - Richard Glücks, German SS officer (d. 1945)

1891 - Harold Jeffreys, English astronomer (d. 1989)

1891 - Nicola Sacco, American anarchist (d. 1927)

1899 - Vladimir Nabokov, Russian writer (d. 1977)

1904 - Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist (d. 1967)

1906 - Eddie Albert, American actor (d. 2005)

1906 - Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Westrobothnia, second in line to the Swedish throne (d. 1946)

1907 - Ivan Efremov, Russian paleontologist and author (d. 1972)

1909 - Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist, Nobel laureate

1910 - Norman Steenrod, American mathematician (d. 1971)

1912 - Kathleen Ferrier, British singer (d. 1953)

1914 - Jan de Hartog, Dutch writer (d. 2002)

1916 - Yehudi Menuhin, American-born violinist (d. 1999)

1918 - Mickey Vernon, baseball player

1919 - Donald J. Cram, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2001)

1922 - Charles Mingus, American musician (d. 1979)

1922 - Wolf V. Vishniac, American microbiologist (d. 1973)

1923 - Bettie Page, American model

1923 - Aaron Spelling, American television producer (d. 2006)

1925 - George Cole, British actor

1926 - Charlotte Rae, American actress

1926 - James Stirling, British architect (d. 1992)

1935 - Paul Chambers, American jazz bassist (d. 1969)

1936 - Glen Campbell, American musician

1937 - Jack Nicholson, American actor

1937 - Jack Nitzsche, American composer (d. 2000)

1939 - Jason Miller, American playwright (d. 2001)

1943 - Louise Glück, American poet and 12th US Poet Laureate

1944 - Steve Fossett, American adventurer

1946 - John Waters, American film writer

1950 - Peter Frampton, British musician

1950 - Zygi Wilf, owner of the Minnesota Vikings

1951 - Paul Carrack, British musician

1952 - Marilyn Chambers, American actress

1953 - Juhani Komulainen, Finnish composer

1958 - Ken Olandt, American actor

1959 - Catherine Mary Stewart, Canadian actress

1959 - Ryan Stiles, Canadian-born actor

1962 - Jeff Minter, British video game programmer

1965 - Lauri Hendler, Actress

1965 - Peter Zezel, Canadian ice hockey player

1966 - Mariana Levy, Mexican actress (d. 2005)

1967 - Sheryl Lee, American actress

1967 - Harvey Williams, American football player

1968 - Zarley Zalapski, Canadian ice hockey player

1969 - Dion Dublin, English footballer

1970 - Andrea Giani, Italian volleyball player

1970 - Regine Velasquez, Filipino singer

1971 - Daisuke Enomoto, first Japanese space tourist

1972 - Owen Finegan, Australian rugby player

1974 - Shavo Odadjian, Armenian-born bassist (System of a Down)

1975 - Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (d. 1999)

1976 - Michał Żewłakow, Polish footballer

1976 - Paul Henderson, Australian footballer

1977 - Mark van Bommel, Dutch football player

1978 - Esteban Tuero, Argentinian race car driver

1979 - Daniel Johns, Australian musician (Silverchair)

1980 - Courtney Friel, presenter of World Poker Tour

1981 - Ken Dorsey, American football player

1982 - Kaká, Brazilian footballer

1982 - Tim Hamilton, Slovak adult movie actor

1983 - Matt Jones, American football player

1984 - Amelle Berrabah, British singer (Sugababes)

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296 - Pope Caius

455 - Petronius Maximus, Roman Emperor

536 - Pope Agapetus I

1592 - Bartolomeo Ammanati, Italian architect (b. 1511)

1672 - Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (b. 1598)

1699 - Hans Erasmus Aßmann, Freiherr von Abschatz, German statesman (b. 1646)

1758 - Antoine de Jussieu, French naturalist (b. 1686)

1778 - James Hargreaves, English inventor (b. 1720)

1806 - Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (stabbed) (b. 1763)

1833 - Richard Trevithick, English inventor (b. 1771)

1839 - Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (b. 1784)

1892 - Edouard Lalo, French composer (b. 1823)

1896 - Thomas Meik, British civil engineer (b. 1812)

1908 - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1836)

1925 - André Caplet, French composer (b. 1878)

1930 - Jeppe Aakjaer, Danish poet (b. 1866)

1945 - Käthe Kollwitz, German artist (b. 1867)

1945 - Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician (b. 1900)

1946 - Harlan F. Stone, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (b. 1872)

1951 - Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (b. 1870)

1968 - Stephen H. Sholes, American recording executive (b. 1911)

1978 - Will Geer, American actor (b. 1902)

1980 - Jane Froman, American actor (b. 1907)

1980 - Fritz Strassmann, German physicist (b. 1902)

1983 - Earl "Fatha" Hines, British jazz pianist (b. 1903)

1983 - John Louis Evans, convicted murderer (executed) (b. 1950)

1984 - Ansel Adams, American photographer (b. 1902)

1985 - Paul H. Emmett, American chemical engineer (b. 1900)

1986 - Mircea Eliade, Romanian writer (b. 1907)

1994 - Richard Nixon, President of the United States (b. 1913)

1995 - Maggie Kuhn, American activist (b. 1905)

1996 - Erma Bombeck, American humorist (b. 1927)

2002 - Linda Lovelace, American adult actress (b. 1949)

2003 - Martha Griffiths, U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1912)

2003 - Michael Larrabee, American athlete (b. 1933)

2004 - Pat Tillman, American football player and U.S. Army Ranger (killed in action) (b. 1976)

2005 - Philip Morrison, American physicist (b. 1915)

2005 - Erika Fuchs, German translator (b. 1906)

2006 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921)

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Earth Day.

Easter Sunday - 1984.

Brazil - Discovery Day.

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Liturgical feasts

Saint Leonidas (died 202)
Saints Soter and Caius
Saint Theodorus (d. 613)