Events Pre-1600 1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan II. 1362 – Kaunas Castle falls to the Teutonic Order after a month-long siege. 1492 – Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe for his voyage to Asia to acquire spices. 1521 – Trial of Martin Luther over his teachings begins during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. Initially intimidated, he asks for time to reflect before answering and is given a stay of one day. 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano reaches New York harbor.
1601–1900 1783 – American Revolutionary War: Colbert's Raid: A Spanish garrison under Captain Jacobo du Breuil defeat British irregulars at Arkansas Post. 1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in the Americas. 1797 – Citizens of Verona begin an unsuccessful eight-day rebellion against the French occupying forces. 1861 – The state of Virginia's secession convention votes to secede from the United States; Virginia later becomes the eighth state to join the Confederate States of America. 1863 – American Civil War: Grierson's Raid begins: Troops under Union Army Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi. 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Plymouth begins: Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina. 1869 – Morelos is admitted as the 27th state of Mexico. 1876 – Catalpa rescue: The rescue of six Fenian prisoners from Fremantle Prison in Western Australia. 1895 – The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtian province, Taiwan and the Penghu to Japan.
1901–present 1905 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York, which holds that the "right to free contract" is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. 1907 – The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day. 1912 – Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150. 1925 – The Communist Party of Korea (CPK) was founded in Japanese-ruled Korea (Chōsen) in Keijō (now Seoul) by Kim Yong-bom and Pak Hon-yong. 1931 – After negotiations between Catalan and Spanish provisional governments, the Catalan Republic proclaimed in April 14 becomes the Generalitat de Catalunya, the autonomous government of Catalonia within the Spanish Republic. 1941 – World War II: The Axis powers invasion of Yugoslavia is completed when it signs an armistice with Germany and Italy. 1942 – World War II: French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Königstein Fortress. 1944 – Forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People's Liberation Army attack the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrenders. Its leader Dimitrios Psarros is murdered. 1945 – World War II: Montese, Italy, is liberated from Nazi forces. 1945 – Historian Tran Trong Kim is appointed the Prime Minister of the Empire of Vietnam. 1946 – The last French troops are withdrawn from Syria. 1951 – The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom's first National Park. 1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro. 1964 – Jerrie Mock completes the first around-the-world airplane flight by a woman. Her solo flight in the Spirit of Columbus, which took days, took off and landed at the Port Columbus International Airport in Ohio. 1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy. 1969 – Communist Party of Czechoslovakia chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed. 1970 – Apollo program: The damaged Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely. 1971 – The Provisional Government of Bangladesh is formed. 1975 – The Cambodian Civil War ends and the Cambodian Genocide begins. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender. 1978 – Mir Akbar Khyber is assassinated, provoking the Saur Revolution in Afghanistan. 1982 – Constitution Act, 1982 Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. 1986 – An alleged state of war lasting 335 years between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly is declared over. 1992 – The Katina P is deliberately run aground off Maputo, Mozambique, and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean. 1998 – Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-90, the final Spacelab mission. 2003 – Anneli Jäätteenmäki takes office as the first female prime minister of Finland. 2006 – A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates an explosive device in a Tel Aviv restaurant, killing 11 people and injuring 70. 2013 – An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, kills 15 people and injures 160 others. 2013 – The ceremonial funeral of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher takes place at St Paul's Cathedral.Margaret Thatcher: Queen leads mourners at funeral, BBC News, 17 April 2013 2014 – NASA's Kepler space telescope confirms the discovery of the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of another star. 2021 – The funeral of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, takes place at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Births Pre-1600 1277 – Michael IX Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (died 1320) 1455 – Andrea Gritti, Doge of Venice (died 1538) 1497 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador, conquered northern Chile (died 1553) 1573 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (died 1651) 1586 – John Ford, English poet and playwright (died 1639) 1598 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (died 1671)
1601–1900 1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (died 1700) 1635 – Edward Stillingfleet, British theologian and scholar (died 1699) 1683 – Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (died 1729) 1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, Scottish politician (died 1767) 1734 – Taksin, King of Thailand (died 1782) 1741 – Samuel Chase, American lawyer and jurist (died 1811) 1750 – François de Neufchâteau, French academic and politician, French Minister of the Interior (died 1828) 1756 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian commander (died 1805) 1766 – Collin McKinney, American surveyor, merchant, and politician (died 1861) 1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist and explorer (died 1868) 1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician and academic (died 1840) 1799 – Eliza Acton, English food writer and poet (died 1859) 1814 – Josif Pančić, Serbian botanist and academic (died 1888) 1816 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English architect and philanthropist (died 1876) 1820 – Alexander Cartwright, American firefighter and (disputed) inventor of baseball (died 1892) 1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1900) 1837 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier, founded J.P. Morgan & Co. (died 1913) 1842 – Maurice Rouvier, French businessman and politician, 53rd Prime Minister of France (died 1911) 1849 – William R. Day, American jurist and politician, 36th United States Secretary of State (died 1923) 1852 – Cap Anson, American baseball player and manager (died 1922) 1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician and theorist (died 1940) 1865 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (died 1939) 1866 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (died 1927) 1868 – Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková, Moravian educator (died 1915) 1875 – Aleksander Tõnisson, Estonian general and politician, 5th Estonian Minister of War (died 1941) 1877 – Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (died 1949) 1878 – Emil Fuchs, German-American lawyer and businessman (died 1961) 1878 – Demetrios Petrokokkinos, Greek tennis player (died 1942) 1879 – Henri Tauzin, French hurdler (died 1918) 1882 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist and composer (died 1951) 1885 – Karen Blixen, Danish writer (died 1962) 1888 – Herms Niel, German soldier, trombonist, and composer (died 1954) 1891 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (died 1965) 1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American soldier and author (died 1948) 1896 – Señor Wences, Spanish-American ventriloquist (died 1999) 1897 – Nisargadatta Maharaj, Indian philosopher and educator (died 1981) 1897 – Thornton Wilder, American novelist and playwright (died 1975) 1897 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (died 1983) 1899 – Aleksander Klumberg, Estonian decathlete and coach (died 1958)
1901–present 1903 – Nicolas Nabokov, Russian-American composer and educator (died 1978) 1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (died 1976) 1903 – Morgan Taylor, American hurdler and coach (died 1975) 1905 – Louis Jean Heydt, American journalist and actor (died 1960) 1905 – Arthur Lake, American actor (died 1987) 1906 – Sidney Garfield, American physician, co-founded Kaiser Permanente (died 1984) 1909 – Alain Poher, French politician, President of France (died 1996) 1910 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister of Defence (died 1990) 1910 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter and producer (died 1999) 1910 – Helenio Herrera, French footballer and manager (died 1997) 1911 – Hervé Bazin, French author and poet (died 1996) 1911 – Lester Rodney, American soldier and journalist (died 2009) 1912 – Marta Eggerth, Hungarian-American actress and singer (died 2013) 1914 – George Davis, American art director (died 1984) 1914 – Mac Raboy, American illustrator (died 1967) 1915 – Martin Clemens, Scottish soldier (died 2009) 1915 – Joe Foss, American general and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (died 2003) 1915 – Regina Ghazaryan, Armenian painter (died 1999) 1916 – Win Maung, 3rd President of Union of Myanmar (died 1989) 1916 – A. Thiagarajah, Sri Lankan educator and politician (died 1981) 1916 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, world's first female prime minister (died 2000) 1918 – William Holden, American actor (died 1981) 1919 – Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (died 2016) 1919 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (died 2012) 1920 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (died 2016) 1921 – Melvin Storer, American shipfitter and navy diver (died 2003) 1923 – Lindsay Anderson, English actor, director, and screenwriter (died 1994) 1923 – Solly Hemus, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2017) 1923 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (died 2014) 1923 – Gianni Raimondi, Italian lyric tenor (died 2008) 1923 – Harry Reasoner, American soldier and journalist (died 1991) 1924 – Kenneth Norman Jones, Australian public servant (died 2022) 1924 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (died 2013) 1925 – René Moawad, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 13th President of Lebanon (died 1989) 1926 – Joan Lorring, British actress (died 2014) 1926 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (died 2004) 1927 – Margot Honecker, East German politician and First Lady (died 2016) 1928 – Victor Lownes, American businessman (died 2017) 1928 – Cynthia Ozick, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist 1928 – Heinz Putzl, Austrian fencer 1928 – Fabien Roy, Canadian accountant and politician (died 2023) 1929 – James Last, German-American bassist, composer, and bandleader (died 2015) 1930 – Chris Barber, English trombonist and bandleader (died 2021)