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752 - Stephen is elected Pope. He died three days later, before being ordained bishop, and is not considered a legitimate pope.

1568 - Peace of Longjumeau ends the Second War of Religion in France. Again Catherine de Medici and Charles IX of France make substantial concessions to the Huguenots.

1708 - James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth.

1775 - American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his famous speech -"give me liberty or give me death" at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia.

1801 - Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death in his bedroom at St. Michael Palace.

1806 - After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their "Corps of Discovery" begin their arduous journey home.

1821 - Battle and fall of city of Kalamata, Greek War of Independence.

1839 - First recorded use of "OK" as an abbreviation for "oll korrect" in the Boston Morning Post.

1848 - The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.

1857 - Elisha Otis's first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway, New York City.

1857 - Death of Emile L'Angelier in Glasgow, Scotland -- possibly by the hand of Madeleine Smith.

1868 - The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.

1889 - Land run: President Benjamin Harrison opens Oklahoma to white settlement starting on April 22.

1889 - The free Woolwich Ferry officially opens in east London.

1889 - The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community was established by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian India.

1903 - The Wright Brothers apply for a patent on their invention of one of the first successful airplanes after much hard work.

1909 - Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.

1919 - In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.

1931 - Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev embrace the gallows during the Indian struggle for independence. Their request to be shot by a firing squad is refused.

1933 - The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.

1935 - Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.

1940 - The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or the then Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All India Muslim League.

1942 - World War II: In the Indian Ocean, Japanese forces capture the Andaman Islands.

1956 - Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world.

1962 - NS ''Savannah'', the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, was launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace initiative.

1963 - In London, United Kingdom, Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann win the eighth Eurovision Song Contest for Denmark singing "Dansevise" (Dancing tune).

1965 - NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States' first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).

1978 - The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.

1983 - Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.

1983 - the Apatosaurus is made the official state dinosaur of Guam.

1989 - Stanley Pons and Martin Fleischmann announce cold fusion at the University of Utah.

1989 - A 1,000-foot diameter Near-Earth asteroid misses the Earth by 400,000 miles.

1994 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.

1996 - Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.

1999 - Gunmen assassinate Paraguay's Vice President Luis María Argaña.

2001 - The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.

2003 - In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 11 soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company as well as 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2004 - Andhra Pradesh Federation of Trade Unions holds its first conference in Hyderabad, India.

2005 - The United States 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.

2006 - Federal Reserve discontinues publishing M3 money supply see Petroeuro.

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1429 - Margaret of Anjou, wife of Henry VI of England (d. 1482)

1638 - Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (d. 1731)

1699 - John Bartram, American botanist (d. 1777)

1723 - Agha Mohammad Khan Ghajar, King of Iran (d. 1771)

1749 - Pierre Simon de Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)

1754 - Baron Jurij Vega, Slovenian mathematician, physicist, and artillery officer (d. 1802)

1769 - William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (d. 1839)

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

1823 - Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)

1831 - Eduard Schlagintweit, German writer (d. 1866)

1834 - Julius Reubke, German composer (d. 1858)

1858 - Ludwig Quidde, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1941)

1868 - Dietrich Eckart, early supporter of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party and member of Thule Society (d. 1923)

1878 - Franz Schreker, Austrian composer (d. 1934)

1881 - Roger Martin du Gard, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)

1881 - Hermann Staudinger, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)

1882 - Emmy Noether, German mathematician (d. 1935)

1887 - Juan Gris, Spanish artist (d. 1927)

1887 - Prince Felix Yussupov, Russian assassin of Rasputin (d. 1967)

1899 - Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)

1900 - Erich Fromm, German-born psychoanalyst (d. 1980)

1905 - Lale Andersen, German singer and cabaretist (d. 1972)

1905 - Joan Crawford, American actress (d. 1977)

1907 - Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1992)

1910 - Akira Kurosawa, Japanese film director (d. 1998)

1912 - Betty Astell, British actress (d. 2005)

1912 - Wernher von Braun, German-born physicist and engineer (d. 1977)

1915 - Vasily Zaitsev, Russian World War II hero (d. 1991)

1925 - David Watkin, British cinematographer

1929 - Sir Roger Bannister, British runner

1931 - Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player

1931 - Yevgenij Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)

1934 - Mark Rydell, American film and television director

1934 - Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician

1937 - Craig Breedlove, American land speed record holder

1938 - Maynard Jackson, American politician (d. 2003)

1939 - Pepe Lienhard, Swiss band leader and entertainer

1941 - Jim Trelease, American educator and children's literature author

1942 - Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian and political figure (d. 1980)

1944 - Michael Nyman, British minimalist composer

1948 - David Olney, American musician

1949 - Ric Ocasek, American musician (The Cars)

1950 - Anthony De Longis, American actor

1951 - Corinne Clery, French actress

1951 - Ron Jaworski, American NFL quarterback, ESPN analyst

1952 - Kim Stanley Robinson, American author

1953 - Bo Diaz, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1990)

1953 - Chaka Khan, American singer

1955 - Moses Malone, American basketball player

1956 - José Manuel Durão Barroso, Portuguese politician, president of the European Commission

1956 - Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross-country skier

1957 - Amanda Plummer, American actress

1960 - Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister of Scotland

1961 - Helmi Johannes, Indonesian television newscaster

1964 - Hope Davis, American actress

1964 - John Pinette, American comedian

1965 - Richard Grieco, American actor and singer

1965 - Marti Pellow, Scottish singer

1965 - Gary Whitehead, American poet

1968 - Damon Albarn, English musician (Blur and Gorillaz)

1968 - Mitch Cullin, American novelist

1968 - Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer

1971 - Gail Porter, British television presenter

1971 - Karen McDougal, American model

1971 - Yasmeen Ghauri, Canadian supermodel

1971 - Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Japanese professional wrestler

1972 - Judith Godrèche, French actress and author

1973 - Jason Kidd, American basketball player

1973 - Jerzy Dudek, Polish football goalkeeper

1975 - Alydar, American racehorse (d. 1990)

1976 - Keri Russell, American actress

1976 - Ricardo Zonta, Brazilian racing car driver

1977 - Jean Carlos Gamarra, Peruvian Taekwondo Player

1978 - Nicholle Tom, American actress

1978 - Walter Samuel, Argentine footballer

1979 - Mark Buehrle, American baseball player

1979 - Misty Hyman, American swimmer

1981 - Erin Crocker, Female Nascar driver

1982 - Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish football goalkeeper

1983 - Jerome Thomas, English footballer

1985 - Maurice Drew, American football player

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1103 - Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)

1369 - King Pedro of Castile (b. 1334)

1548 - Itagaki Nobukata, retainer of Takeda Shingen

1555 - Pope Julius III, (b. 1487)

1559 - Emperor Gelawdewos of Ethiopia (killed in battle) (b. 1521/1522)

1596 - Henry Unton, English diplomat

1606 - Justus Lipsius, Flemish humanist (b. 1547)

1618 - James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, Scottish politician

1653 - Johan van Galen, Dutch naval officer (b. 1604)

1680 - Nicolas Fouquet, French statesman (b. 1615)

1742 - Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French writer (b. 1670)

1747 - Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French soldier (b. 1675)

1748 - Johann Gottfried Walther, German music theorist, organist, and composer (b. 1684)

1754 - Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian (b. 1693)

1783 - Charles Caroll, American lawyer and delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1723)

1801 - Tsar Paul of Russia (b. 1754)

1842 - Stendhal, French writer (b. 1783)

1927 - Paul César Helleu, French artist (b. 1859)

1931 - Bhagat Singh, Rajguru Sukhdev Indian freedom fighters

1935 - Florence Moore, American actress (b. 1886)

1955 - Artur da Silva Bernardes, President of Brazil (b. 1875)

1960 - Franklin Pierce Adams, American newspaper columnist (b. 1881)

1964 - Peter Lorre, Hungarian-born actor (b. 1904)

1965 - Mae Murray, American actress (b. 1889)

1968 - Edwin O'Connor, American novelist and Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (b. 1918)

1970 - Del Lord, Canadian director (b. 1894)

1972 - Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer (b. 1895)

1979 - Orlando Letelier, Chilean ambassador to the United States (b. 1932)

1979 - Ted Anderson, English footballer (b. 1911)

1992 - Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)

1994 - Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (b. 1950)

2002 - Eileen Farrell, American soprano (b. 1920)

2002 - Ben Hollioake, English cricketer (b. 1977)

2003 - Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-born journalist (b. 1926)

2004 - Rupert Hamer, Australian politician (b. 1916)

2006 - Desmond Doss, American soldier and first Conscientious objector Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)

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Roman Empire - The fifth and final day of Quinquatria, held in honor of Minerva.

Roman Empire - Tubilustrium was held in honor of Mars.

Ancient Latvia - Lieldienas held in honor of Mara and other pagan goddesses.

Pakistan - National Day (Republic Day).

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Liturgical feasts

Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo (died 1606)
Saint Ethelwald
Saint Victorian
Saint Rebecca (d.1914)