Events

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

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

• 1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged on the public gallows at Montfaucon.

• 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.

• 1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII.

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

• 
  *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.

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

• 1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling 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 – The 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.

• 1907 – Honolulu, Hawaii becomes an independent city.

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

• 1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Company for $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.

• 1927 – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

• 1937 – The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.

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

• 1938 – The first televised FA Cup Final takes place between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End.

• 1939 – World's Fair: NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt's opening day ceremonial address.

• 1943 – World War II: Operation Mincemeat: The submarine 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 – World War II: Fuehrerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for one day. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.

• 1947 – In Nevada, the Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam a second time.

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

• 1953 – In Warner Robins, Georgia, an F4 tornado kills 18 people.

• 1956 – Former Vice President and Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia. He collapses after proclaiming "I would rather be a servant in the house of the lord than sit in the seats of the mighty."

• 1967 – The Aldene Connection opened in Roselle Park, NJ, shutting down the CNJ's Jersey City waterfront terminal and transferring commuters to Newark Penn Station.

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

• 1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain 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.

• 1988 – Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II officially opens World Expo '88 in Brisbane, Australia.

• 1993 – CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free.

• 1993 – Virgin Radio broadcasts for the first time in the United Kingdom.

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

• 1999 – Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bringing the number of 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.

• 2004 – U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.

• 2008 – Two skeletal remains found near Ekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia and one of his sisters.

• 2009 – Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

• 2009 – Failed attack on the Dutch Royal Family results in 7 deaths and 17 injured.

• 2009 – The United Kingdom formally ends combat operations in Iraq.

Births

• 1245 – King Philip III of France (d. 1285)

• 1331 – Gaston Phoebus of Foix (d.1391)

• 1553 – Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, queen of France (d. 1601)

• 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 statesman (d. 1793)

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

• 1770 – David Thompson, Canadian explorer (d. 1857)

• 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician (d. 1855)

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

• 1812 – Kaspar Hauser, German mystery boy (d. 1833)

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

• 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)

• 1864 – Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (d. 1913)

• 1865 – Max Nettlau, German anarchist (d. 1944)

• 1869 – Hans Poelzig, German architect (d. 1936)

• 1870 – Franz Lehár, Austrian composer (d. 1948)

• 1874 – Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish 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)

• 1895 – Philippe Panneton, French Canadian physician, diplomat and writer (d. 1960)

• 1896 – Hans List, Austrian inventor (d. 1996)

• 1897 – Humberto Mauro, Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983)

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

• 1902 – Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)

• 1905 – Sergey Nikolsky, Russian mathematician

• 1908 – Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)

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

• 1909 – Queen Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)

• 1909 – F. E. McWilliam,Irish sculptor (d. 1992)

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

• 1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)

• 1920 – Duncan Hamilton, British racing driver (d. 1994)

• 1921 – Tove Maës, Danish actress

• 1923 – Percy Heath, American jazz musician (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 2005)

• 1923 – Al Lewis, American actor (d. 2006)

• 1923 – Francis Tucker, South African Rally Driver (d. 2008)

• 1925 – Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)

• 1925 – Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)

• 1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress

• 1928 – Hugh Hood, Canadian author (d. 2000)

• 1930 – Felix Guattari, French philosopher and social theorist, (d. 1992)

• 1933 – Dickie Davies, British television presenter

• 1933 – Willie Nelson, American musician

• 1934 – Jerry Lordan, English composer and singer (d. 1995)

• 1938 – Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak film director

• 1938 – Gary Collins, American actor

• 1938 – Larry Niven, American author

• 1940 – Burt Young, American actor

• 1941 – Johnny Farina, American musician and composer (Santo & Johnny)

• 1943 – Frederick Chiluba, former Zambian president (1991-2001)

• 1943 – Bobby Vee, American singer

• 1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress

• 1945 – Annie Dillard, American writer

• 1945 – Michael Smith, American astronaut (d. 1986)

• 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden

• 1946 – Don Schollander, American swimmer

• 1946 – Bill Plympton, American animator

• 1947 – Leslie Grantham, English actor

• 1947 – Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer

• 1947 – Mats Odell, Swedish politician

• 1947 – Tom Køhlert, Danish footballer

• 1948 – Perry King, American actor

• 1949 – Phil Garner, baseball manager

• 1949 – António Guterres, Prime Minister of Portugal

• 1952 – Jacques Audiard, French film director

• 1953 – Merrill Osmond, American musician (The Osmonds)

• 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand film director

• 1955 – Nicolas Hulot, French journalist

• 1956 – Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone

• 1956 – Lars von Trier, Danish film director

• 1957 – Aviva Chomsky, American historian, daughter of Noam Chomsky

• 1958 – Charles Berling, French actor, director and screenwriter

• 1959 – Paul Gross, Canadian actor, director, and writer

• 1959 – Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada

• 1959 – W. Thomas Smith, Jr, American author and columnist

• 1960 – Kerry Healey, American politician

• 1960 – David Miscavige, American cult leader

• 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player

• 1963 – Michael Waltrip, American race car driver

• 1964 – Ian Healy, Australian cricketer

• 1964 – Barrington Levy, Jamaican musician

• 1965 – Adrian Pasdar, American actor

• 1966 – Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1966 – Glenn Humplik, Canadian TV Show Co-Host (Tom Green Show)

• 1967 – Steven Mackintosh, British actor

• 1969 – Paulo Jr., Brazilian musician (Sepultura)

• 1969 – Warren Defever, American musician, composer

• 1970 – Ken Stanton, American Radio Personality

• 1971 – John Boyne, Irish novelist

• 1971 – Darren Emerson, English DJ (Underworld)

• 1973 – Akon, American R&B Singer

• 1973 – Jeff Timmons, American singer (98 Degrees)

• 1975 – Elliott Sadler, American race car driver

• 1975 – Mike Chat, American actor

• 1975 – Johnny Galecki, American actor

• 1976 – Amanda Palmer, American musician (The Dresden Dolls)

• 1977 – Jeannie Haddaway, American politician

• 1977 – Pell James, American actress

• 1978 – Tom Fulp, Animator and Founder of Newgrounds

• 1979 – Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer

• 1980 – Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer

• 1980 – Luis Scola, Argentinean basketball player

• 1981 – John O'Shea, Irish footballer

• 1981 – Emma Pierson, British actress

• 1982 – Lloyd Banks, American rapper

• 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress

• 1982 – Cleo Higgins, British singer and actress

• 1982 – Drew Seeley, Canadian actor and singer

• 1983 – Tatjana Hüfner, German luger

• 1983 – Troy Williamson, American football player

• 1984 – Shawn Daivari, American wrestler and manager

• 1984 – Lee Roache, English footballer

• 1985 – Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American singer and call girl

• 1987 – Alipate Carlile, Australian rules footballer

• 1987 – Nikki Webster, Australian entertainer

• 1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian cricketer

Deaths

• 65 – Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)

• 1063 – Emperor Renzong of China (b. 1010)

• 1131 – Adjutor, Roman Catholic Saint

• 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 – King Sigismund I of Sweden (b. 1561)

• 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)

• 1841 – Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish author and philologist (b. 1758)

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

• 1863 – Jean Danjou, French foreign legion captain (b. 1828)

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

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

• 1879 – Emma Hale Smith Bidamon, wife of Joseph Smith, and mother of Joseph Smith III (b.1804)

• 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)

• 1943 – Beatrice Webb, British economist (b. 1858)

• 1945 – Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's new wife (b. 1912)

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

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

• 1966 – Richard Farina, American folk singer and author (b. 1937)

• 1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish actress (b. 1934)

• 1972 – Gia Scala, English-American 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)

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

• 1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian filmmaker (b. 1929)

• 1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)

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

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

• 1996 – David Opatoshu, American actor (b. 1918)

• 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 (b. 1955)

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

• 2006 – Lawrence Patrick, Biomechanics Professor, crash test subject (b. 1920)

• 2006 – Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian novelist (b. 1925)

• 2006 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (b. 1934)

• 2007 – Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (b. 1983)

• 2007 – Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)

• 2007 – Tom Poston, American actor (b. 1921)

• 2007 – Gordon Scott, American actor (b. 1927)

• 2007 – Zola Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)

• 2008 – John Cargher, Australian radio broadcaster (b. 1919)

Holidays and observances

• Walpurgis Night – Celebrated in Germany, central, and western Europe

• Scandinavia – The arrival of spring.

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

• Finland – Mayday's eve. Most celebrations take place day prior to the first of May.

• The Netherlands – Queen's Day, the largest one-day holiday in the Netherlands.

• 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.

• Czech Republic and Slovakia – Carodejnice – witches' night

• Saint Adjutor

• Saint Eutropius

• Saint Maximus, 3rd century martyr

• Saint Quirinus of Neuss

• Saint Suitbert the Younger (d. 807)

• Saint Pope Pius V