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1077 - Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted.

1521 - Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.

1547 - Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.

1573 - Articles of Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.

1754 - Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word serendipity.

1760 - Pownal, Vermont created by Benning Wentworth as one of the New Hampshire Grants.

1788 - The first penal colony is founded at Botany Bay, Australia.

1813 - Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.

1820 - Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovered the Antarctic continent approaching the Antarctic coast.

1846 - Battle of Aliwal, India won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.

1855 - The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific on the Panama Railway.

1871 - Franco-Prussian War: France surrenders, ending the war.

1878 - The Yale News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States.

1887 - In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.

1902 - The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, DC with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.

1909 - United States troops leave Cuba after being there since the Spanish-American War.

1915 - An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.

1916 - Louis D. Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.

1917 - United States ends search for Pancho Villa.

1917 - Municipally owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco.

1918 - Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.

1921 - A symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to honour the unknown dead of World War I.

1932 - Japan occupies Shanghai.

1933 - The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and by a group of Cambridge University Students and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement of the formal Indian Independence Act 1947 during WWII

1935 - Iceland becomes the first country to legalize abortion.

1938 - The first ski tow in America begins operation in Vermont.

1938 - The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195.

1945 - World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.

1946 - Bluenose, Canada's greatest sailing ship, founders on a Haitian reef.

1952 - Derek Bentley hanged for murder

1958 - Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate begin their murder spree with the killings of her parents and infant sister.

1982 - US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades.

1986 - Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission (Space Shuttle Challenger disaster) - Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart 73 seconds after liftoff killing all seven astronauts onboard, including Christa McAuliffe, who was supposed to be the first teacher in space. Failure blamed on leaking Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster.

1994 - The first trial of accused murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

1998 - Gunmen hold at least 400 children and teachers hostage for several hours at an elementary school in Manila, Philippines.

2002 - TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.

2004 - Lord Hutton publishes his report into the death of UN weapons inspector Dr David Kelly.

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1457 - King Henry VII of England (d. 1509)

1540 - Ludolph van Ceulen, German mathematician (d. 1610)

1582 - John Barclay, Scottish writer (d. 1621)

1600 - Pope Clement IX (d. 1669)

1608 - Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)

1611 - Johannes Hevelius, astronomer (d. 1687)

1622 - Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691)

1701 - Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)

1706 - John Baskerville, English printer (d. 1775)

1712 - Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761)

1717 - Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774)

1719 - Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (d. 1749)

1755 - Samuel Thomas von Sömmering, German physician (d. 1830)

1784 - George Hamilton Gordon Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)

1822 - Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)

1833 - Charles George 'Chinese' Gordon, British soldier and administrator (d. 1885)

1841 - Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born explorer and journalist (d. 1904)

1853 - José Martí, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1895)

1857 - William Seward Burroughs, American inventor (d. 1898)

1873 - Colette, French writer (d. 1954)

1874 - Vsevolod Meyerhold, Russian theatre director (d. 1940)

1879 - Francis Picabia, French-born painter and poet (d. 1953)

1880 - Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer (d. 1970)

1884 - Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist (d. 1962)

1886 - Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973)

1887 - Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist and conductor (d. 1982)

1890 - Robert Stroud, American convict, the Birdman of Alcatraz (d. 1963)

1891 - Bill Doak, baseball player (d. 1954)

1892 - Ernst Lubitsch, German-born film director (d. 1947)

1897 - Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (d. 1986)

1903 - Aleksander Kamiński, Polish writer

1899 - Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (d. 1940)

1910 - John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)

1910 - Arnold Moss, American character actor (d. 1989)

1912 - Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)

1922 - Robert W. Holley, American biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1993)

1923 - Ivo Robić, Croatian singer (d. 2001)

1927 - Ronnie Scott, British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner (d. 1996)

1927 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (d. 2001)

1929 - Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinetist

1929 - Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-born artist

1934 - Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor (d. 1970)

1935 - David Lodge, English author

1936 - Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer

1936 - Alan Alda, American actor, writer, and director

1938 - Leonid Zhabotinsky, Russian weightlifter

1941 - Joel Crothers, American actor (d. 1985)

1944 - John Tavener, English composer

1945 - Robert Wyatt, English musician

1948 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian dancer

1948 - Charles Taylor, former leader of Liberia

1950 - Barbi Benton, American actress

1950 - Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, King of Bahrain

1951 - Brian Bilbray, American politician

1951 - Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut

1954 - Rick Warren, pastor and author

1959 - Randi Rhodes, American personality

1959 - Dave Sharp, Welsh guitarist (The Alarm)

1959 - Frank Darabont, American filmmaker

1960 - Robert von Dassanowsky, American cultural historian, writer, and producer

1962 - Sam Phillips, American singer

1968 - Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer and songwriter

1968 - DJ Muggs, American musician (Cypress Hill)

1968 - Rakim, American rapper

1969 - Kathryn Morris, American actress

1969 - Linda Sanchez, American politician

1969 - Mo Rocca, Writer and comedian

1972 - Nicky Southall, English footballer

1974 - Tony Delk, American basketball player

1974 - Jermaine Dye, baseball player

1975 - David Zingler, American writer

1975 - Junior Spivey, Baseball player

1976 - Mark Madsen, American basketball player

1976 - Jarrod Montague, American drummer (Taproot)

1976 - Emiko Kado, wrestler (d. 1999)

1977 - Daunte Culpepper, American football player

1977 - Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)

1977 - Matt DeVries, American guitarist (Chimaira)

1977 - Takuma Sato, Japanese formula one driver

1978 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer

1978 - Jamie Carragher, English footballer

1978 - Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer

1979 - Pixie, English model

1979 - Ali Boulala, Swedish skateboarder

1980 - Nick Carter, American singer (Backstreet Boys)

1981 - Rick Razzano, American football player

1981 - Elijah Wood, American actor

1984 - Andre Iguodala, American basketball player

1986 - Jessica Ennis, English heptathlete

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814 - Charlemagne (b. 742)

1061 - Duke Spytihněv II of Bohemia (b. 1031)

1271 - Isabella of Aragon, queen of Philip III of France (b. 1247)

1443 - Robert le Maçon, Chancellor of France

1547 - King Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)

1596 - Sir Francis Drake, English explorer and soldier

1599 - Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian composer (b. 1547)

1613 - Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (b. 1545)

1621 - Pope Paul V (b. 1550)

1681 - Richard Allestree, English royalist churchman (b. 1619)

1672 - Pierre Séguier, Chancellor of France (b. 1588)

1687 - Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer (b. 1611)

1697 - John Fenwick, English conspirator

1725 (O.S.) - Tsar Peter I of Russia, (b. 1672)

1754 - Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (b. 1684)

1832 - Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)

1859 - Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)

1864 - Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (b. 1799)

1903 - Augusta Holmès, French composer (b. 1847)

1912 - Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (b. 1819)

1915 - Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist (b. 1846)

1918 - John McCrae, Canadian poet (b. 1872)

1935 - Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer (b. 1859)

1938 - Bernd Rosemeyer, German racecar driber (b. 1909)

1939 - William Butler Yeats, Irish writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1865)

1949 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)

1950 - Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician (b. 1883)

1953 - James Scullin, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)

1960 - Zora Neale Hurston, American author (b. 1891)

1963 - Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)

1965 - Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)

1965 - Maxime Weygand, French soldier (b. 1867)

1971 - Donald Winnicott, British psychoanalyst (b. 1896)

1973 - John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)

1983 - Frank Forde, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)

1986 - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger:

Greg Jarvis (b. 1944)

Christa McAuliffe (b. 1948)

Ronald McNair (b. 1950)

Ellison Onizuka (b. 1946)

Judith Resnik (b. 1949)

Francis R. Scobee (b. 1939)

Michael J. Smith (b. 1945)

1988 - Klaus Fuchs, German physicist (b. 1911)

1991 - Red Grange, American football player (b. 1903)

1994 - Hal Smith, American actor (b. 1916)

1996 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1940)

1996 - Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)

1999 - Markey Robinson, Irish painter (b. 1918)

1999 - Torgny T:son Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)

2001 - Curt Blefary, baseball player (b. 1943)

2002 - Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author (b. 1907)

2004 - Lloyd M. Bucher, U.S. Navy officer (b. 1927)

2004 - Don Cholito, Puerto Rican radio host (b. 1923)

2004 - Elroy Hirsch, American football player (b. 1923)

2004 - Don Stansauk, professional wrestler (b. 1936)

2005 - Jim Capaldi, English singer and songwriter (b. 1944)

2005 - Karen Lancaume, French actress (suicide) (b. 1973)

2006 - Yitzchak Kadouri, Jewish rabbi (b. around 1900)

2006 - Henry McGee, English comedian (b. 1929)

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Catholicism - Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas

World Leprosy Day