Events

• 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro-Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague.
• 1282 – The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin king Charles I, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.
• 1296 – Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
• 1699 – Guru Gobind Singh establishes the Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab.
• 1815 – Joachim Murat issues the Rimini Proclamation which would later inspire Italian unification.
• 1842 – Ether anaesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.
• 1844 – One of the most important battles of the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti takes place near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
• 1855 – Origins of the American Civil War: “Border Ruffians” from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.
• 1856 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War.
• 1867 – Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre ($4.19/km2), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.
• 1870 – Texas is readmitted to the United States Congress following Reconstruction (refer to American Civil War).
• 1885 – The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the Russian and British Empires.
• 1912 – Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate.
• 1918 – Outburst of bloody March Events in Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate.
• 1939 – The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745 km/h).
• 1940 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei.
• 1944 – World War II: Allied bombers conduct their most severe bombing run on Sofia, Bulgaria.
• 1944 – World War II: Out of 795 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos sent to attack Nuremberg, 95 bombers do not return, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of the war.
• 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna.
  • Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig.
• 1949 – Cold War: A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO.
• 1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
• 1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
• 1976 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: in the first organised response against Israeli policies by a Palestinian collective since 1948, Palestinians create the first Land Day.
• 1979 – The Troubles: Airey Neave, a British Member of Parliament (MP), is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster.
  • The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.

People (Births)

• 1793 – Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentinian soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1877).
• 1874 – Nicolae Rădescu, Romanian general and politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953).
• 1892 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (d. 1972).
• 1894 – Tommy Green, English race walker (d. 1975).
• 1894 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer, founded Ilyushin Aircraft Company (d. 1977).
• 1895 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (d. 1975).
• 1910 – Józef Marcinkiewicz, Polish soldier, mathematician, and academic (d. 1940).
• 1913 – Richard Helms, American soldier and diplomat, 8th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 2002).
• 1913 – Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general, physician, and politician, 4th President of Malta (d. 2012).
• 1929 – Ray Musto, American soldier and politician (d. 2014).
• 1929 – István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian runner (d. 2012).
• 1941 – Bob Smith, American soldier and politician.
• 1966 – Dmitry Volkov, Russian swimmer.
• 1971 – Mari Holden, American cyclist.
• 1976 – Obadele Thompson, Barbadian sprinter.
• 1978 – Paweł Czapiewski, Polish runner.

People (Deaths)

• 1707 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French general and engineer (b. 1633).
• 1804 – Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, French general and politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1718).
• 1940 – Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet Scottish soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (b. 1876).
• 1943 – Jan Bytnar, Polish lieutenant; WWII resistance fighter (b. 1921).
• 1943 – Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski, Polish sergeant; WWII resistance fighter (b. 1920).
• 1959 – John Auden, English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (b. 1894).
• 1973 – Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish military pilot and politician (b. 1903).
• 1978 – Memduh Tağmaç, Turkish general (b. 1904).
• 1979 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (b. 1916).
• 2005 – Milton Green, American hurdler and soldier (b. 1913).
• 2010 – Martin Sandberger, German SS officer (b. 1911).