Events

• 351 AD – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
• 1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
• 1544 – The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing.
• 1685 – Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
• 1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
• 1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
• 1763 – Pontiac’s War begins with Pontiac’s attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
• 1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
• 1832 – Greece’s independence is recognised by the Treaty of London.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
• 1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector – a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
• 1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans.
  • Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
• 1915 – The Republic of China accedes to 13 of the 21 Demands, extending the Empire of Japan’s control over Manchuria and the Chinese economy.
• 1920 – Kyiv Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kyiv only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
• 1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognises the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
• 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco’s forces.
• 1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
• 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
• 1945 – World War II: Last German U-boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
• 1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany’s participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
• 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded.
• 1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
• 1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
• 1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
• 1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
• 1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
• 1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
• 2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants.
  • The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.
• Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan).
• Dien Bien Phu Victory Day (Vietnam).

People (Births)

• 1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797).
• 1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814).
• 1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813).
• 1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833).
• 1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954).
• 1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943).
• 1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980).
• 1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988).
• 1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012).
• 1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2015).
• 1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982).
• 1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician.
• 1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist.
• 1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honour recipient (d. 2005).
• 1978 – James Carter, American hurdler.
• 1998 – Maryna Piddubna, Ukrainian Paralympic swimmer.

People (Deaths)

• 1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481).
• 1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737).
• 1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739).
• 1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896).
• 1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886).
• 1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880).
• 1979 – Heinz Reinefarth, German SS officer (b. 1903).
• 1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (b. 1941).
• 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909).
• 2005 – Peter Rodino, American captain and politician (b. 1909).
• 2012 – Dennis E. Fitch, American captain and pilot (b. 1942).
• 2014 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (b. 1923).