• 0417 - Zosimus becomes bishop of Rome
• 0537 - Goths lay siege to Rome
• 0843 - Icon worship officially re-instated in Aya Sofia Constantinople
• 1302 - Romeo & Juliet's wedding day, according to Shakespeare
• 1502 - Tebriz] shah Ismail I of Persia crowned
• 1513 - Giovanni de' Medici chosen Pope Leo X
• 1563 - League of High Nobles routes 2nd protest against King Philip II
• 1567 - Geuzen army leaves Walcheren to return to Oosterweel
• 1597 - Land guardian Albrecht occupies Amiens on France
• 1598 - Countess Charlotte of Nassau marries duke Claude de la Tremoille
• 1649 - Treaty of Rueil destroys 1st Fronde-uprising
• 1665 - NY approves new code guaranteeing Protestants religious rights
• 1669 - Volcano Etna in Italy erupts killing 15,000
• 1702 - 1st English daily newspaper "Daily Courant," publishes
• 1779 - US army Corps of Engineers established (1st time)
• 1789 - Benjamin Banneker with L'Enfant begin to lay out Washington DC
• 1791 - Samuel Mulliken, Phila, is 1st to obtain more than 1 US patent
• 1794 - Royal Theatre in London's Dury Lane opens
• 1795 - Battle at Kurdla India: Mahratten beat Mogols
• 1810 - Emperor Napoleon married by proxy to Archduchess Marie Louise
• 1812 - Citizenship granted to Prussian Jews
• 1823 - 1st normal school in US opens, Concord Academy, Concord, Vt
• 1824 - US War Dept creates the Bureau of Indian Affair
• 1835 - HMS Beagle anchors off Valparaiso, Chile
• 1850 - Woman's Medical College of Penn (1st female medical school)
• 1851 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto," premieres in Venice
• 1861 - Confederate convention in Montgomery, adopts constitution
• 1862 - Lincoln removes McClellen as general-in-chief & makes him head of
• 1862 - 12] Gen Stonewall Jackson evacuates Winchester Virginia Army of the Potomac. Gen Henry Halleck is named general-in-chief
• 1864 - Skirmish at Calfkiller Creek (Sparta), Tennessee
• 1865 - Gen Sherman's Union forces occupies Fayetteville, NC
• 1867 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Don Carlos," premieres in Paris
• 1867 - Great Mauna Loa eruption (Hawaiian volcano)
• 1882 - Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association organized in Princeton NJ
• 1888 - Great blizzard of '88 strikes NE US
• 1892 - 1st public basketball game (Springfield, Mass)
• 1895 - Spanish cruiser Reina Regenta sinks at Gibraltar, 400 killed
• 1901 - Cincinnati Enquirer reports Balt mgr John McGraw signed Cherokee Indian Tokohoma, who is really black 2nd baseman Charlie Grant
• 1904 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Brandon Wheat Kings in 2 games
• 1905 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 beat Rat Portage Thisles, 2 games to 1
• 1910 - Jack Hobbs 1st Test ton (187 v SAfr), his only Test hit wicket
• 1912 - 1st Stanley Cup game to be played in 3 20-min periods, formerly played in 30-min halfs, Quebec beats Moncton 9-3 on way to sweep
• 1917 - British troops occupy Baghdad
• 1917 - 1st NHL championship game ever played, Toronto Arenas beats Montreal Canadiens 7-3 in 1st of 2 game set (second game on March 13)
• 1918 - Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia
• 1918 - Save the Redwoods League founded
• 1919 - General strike in Germany, crushed
• 1922 - Western Hockey Championship: Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) sweep Regina Capitals, in 2 games
• 1924 - 3rd term of Belgium Theunis govt begins
• 1924 - Eden Phillpotts' "Farmer's Wife," premieres in London
• 1924 - NHL Championship: Montreal Canadiens sweeps Ottawa Senators in 2 games
• 1926 - Eamon da Valera ends leadership of Sinn Fein
• 1927 - 1st armored commercial car hold-up in US, Pittsburgh
• 1927 - 1st golden gloves tournament
• 1927 - Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens famous Roxy Theater (NYC)
• 1928 - Netherlands & Belgium tie 1-1 (soccer match in Amsterdam)
• 1930 - Pres & Chief Justice William Taft buried in Arlington
• 1934 - Netherlands beats Belgium 9-3, in soccer
• 1935 - Bank of Canada opens
• 1935 - Hermann Goering officially creates German Air Force, the Luftwaffe
• 1938 - Artur Seyss-Inquart replaces Kurt von Schuschnigg as Chancellor of Austria; German troops also entered the country
• 1941 - Bronko Nagurski beats Ray Steele in Minn, to become wrestling champ
• 1941 - FDR signs Lend-Lease Bill (lend money to Britain)
• 1942 - 1st deportation train leaves Paris for Auschewitz Concentration Camp
• 1942 - Gen MacArthur leaves Corregidor (Bataan) for Australia
• 1942 - Japanese troop land on North-Sumatra
• 1943 - Nazi Militia forms in Netherlands
• 1944 - Dutch resistance fighter Joop Westerweel arrested
• 1945 - 1,000 allied bombers harass Essen, 4,662 ton bombs
• 1945 - Flemish nazi collaborator Maria Huygens sentenced to death
• 1948 - 1st black in the US Tennis Open (Reginald Weir)
• 1948 - Jewish Agency of Jerusalem bombed
• 1948 - Reginald Weit became the 1st black to play in the US Tennis Open
• 1948 - WBAL TV channel 11 in Baltimore, MD (CBS) begins broadcasting
• 1953 - 1st woman army doctor commissioned (FM Adams)
• 1953 - American B-47 accidentally drops a nuclear bomb on South Carolina, the bomb doesn't go off due to 6 safety catches
• 1954 - US Army charges Senator Joseph McCarthy used undue pressure tactics
• 1956 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship
• 1958 - Charles Van Doren finally loses on TV game show "21"
• 1958 - Starting this season, AL batters are required to wear batting helmets
• 1959 - "Raisin in the Sun," 1st Broadway play by a black woman, opens
• 1959 - Teddy Scholten wins Eurovision Song festival with "A Little Bit"
• 1960 - Pioneer 5 launched into solar orbit between Earth & Venus
• 1961 - Then NHL record 40 penalties, Black Hawks & Maple Leafs (20 each)
• 1963 - Somalia drops diplomatic relations with Great Britain
• 1965 - Indonesia President Sukarno accepts qualifications of Suharto
• 1966 - Military coup led by Indonesian Gen Suharto breaks out
• 1967 - Pink Floyd releases their 1st song (Arnold Layne)
• 1968 - Anti-Zionist Clandestine Radio Voice of El Assifa starts transmitting
• 1968 - Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 12nd string quartet
• 1968 - Otis Redding posthumously receives gold record for " Dock of the Bay"
• 1970 - 12th Grammy Awards: Aquarius, Crosby Stills & Nash, Peggy Lee win
• 1970 - Iraq Ba'th Party recognizes Kurd nation
• 1972 - "Inner City" closes at Barrymore Theater NYC after 97 performances
• 1973 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA S&H Green Stamp Golf Classic
• 1974 - Mount Etna in Sicily erupted
• 1974 - Rhino Store gives people 5� to take home Danny Bonaduce's Album
• 1975 - Portugal military coup under general Spinola fails
• 1975 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
• 1977 - Moslems hold 130 hostages in Wash DC
• 1978 - Terrorists attack mail truck at Tel Aviv, 45 killed
• 1978 - USF-led Bill Cartwright scores 23 points as the Dons oust NC
• 1979 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Sunstar Golf Classic
• 1979 - Randy Hold receives 67 min in penalties in a 60 min NHL hockey game
• 1980 - Rod Marsh bowls 10 overs for 51 runs in dull Aust v Pak cricket draw
• 1981 - Chile constitution takes effect, Augusto Pinochet 2nd term begins
• 1981 - Johnny Mize & Rube Foster elected to baseball Hall of Fame
• 1982 - Failed military coup under Rambocus/Hawker in Suriname
• 1982 - Harrison Williams (Sen-D-NJ) resigned rather than face expulsion
• 1982 - Menachem Begin & Anwar Sadat sign peace treaty in Wash DC
• 1983 - Ice Dance Championship at Helsinki Finland won by Torvill & Dean (GRB)
• 1983 - Ice Pairs Championship at Helsinki won by Valova & Vasiliev (URS)
• 1983 - Ladies Figure Skating Champ in Helsinki won by Rosalynn Sumners (USA)
• 1983 - Men's Fig Skating Championship in Helsinki won by Scott Hamilton (USA)
• 1984 - Chris Johnson wins LPGA Samaritan Turquoise Golf Classic
• 1985 - Mikhail S Gorbachev replaces Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet leader
• 1986 - 1 million days since traditional foundation of Rome, 4/21/753 BC
• 1986 - 12th People's Choice Awards
• 1986 - 187.27 million shares traded in NY Stock Exchange
• 1986 - Islander Mike Bossy, 1st NHLer to score 50 goals in 9 straight seasons
• 1986 - Japanese probe Sakigake flies by Halley's Comet at 6.8 million km
• 1986 - NFL adopts instant replay rule
• 1987 - Wayne Gretzky scores 1,500th NHL point
• 1988 - Utrecht conservatory destroyed by fire
• 1988 - � note ceases to be legal tender, replaced by � coin
• 1990 - 16th People's Choice Awards
• 1990 - Lithuania declares it's Independence
• 1990 - Maggie Will wins Desert Inn LPGA Golf International
• 1991 - Janet Jackson signs $40M 3 album deal with Virgin records
• 1991 - John Smith, amateur wrestler, wins James E Sullivan Award
• 1991 - Monica Seles ends Steffi Graf's streak of 186 weeks ranked as #1
• 1993 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Prague won by Kurt Browning CAN
• 1994 - Eduardo Frei succeeds Patricio Aylwin as president of Chile
• 1995 - -36.8�F (-38.2�C) in Chosedachar, Komi-district, on 67�N
• 1995 - Pres Nazarbajev disbands Kazachstan parliament
• 1995 - Sinn Fein party leader, Gerry Adams, arrives in US
• 1995 - Yolanda Chen hop-skip-jumps world indoor record 15.03m
• 1996 - Chris Harris scores 130 in losing NZ side v Australia, World Cup
• 1996 - Mark Waugh scores 110 v NZ for his third century of the World Cup
• 1997 - 3rd Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
• 1997 - Ashes of Star Trek creator, Gene Roddenberry are launched into space
• 1997 - Beatle McCartney knighted Sir Paul by Queen
• 1997 - SF Giant J T Snow suffers a fractured eye socket when hit by a pitch

Famous birthdays for this day ..

• 1544 - Torquato Tasso, Italy, Renaissance poet (Aminta, Apologia)
• 1549 - Hendrik L Spieghel, Dutch merchant/writer
• 1549 - Henric Spieghel, Dutch Renaissance poet (Hertspiegel)
• 1596 - Isaac Elsevier, book publisher
• 1654 - Heinrich Georg Neuss, composer
• 1683 - Giovanni Veneziano, composer
• 1726 - Louise-Florence d'�pinay, France, writer (Woman, Man & 2 Kingdoms)
• 1731 - Robert Treat Paine, judge, signer (Declaration of Independence)
• 1754 - Juan Mel�ndez Vald�s, Spanish lawyer/poet
• 1781 - Anthony Philip Heinrich, composer
• 1793 - Jan F Willems, Flemish writer/philologist
• 1811 - Marsena Rudolph Patrick, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
• 1811 - Urbain Jean Joseph le Verrier, co-discoverer (Neptune)
• 1812 - James Speed, Atty Gen (Union), died in 1887
• 1812 - Pieter Bluss� van Oud-Alblas, Dutch liberal minister of Finance
• 1812 - William Vincent Wallace, composer
• 1818 - John Wilkins Whitfield, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1879
• 1819 - Henry Tate, English sugar producer (Tate Gallery)
• 1819 - Marius Petipa, French ballet dancer/choreographer (Don Quiotte)
• 1822 - Allison Nelson, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1862
• 1827 - Septimus Winner, composer
• 1832 - Franz Melde, German phyicist (Melde test)
• 1832 - William Ruffin Cox, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1919
• 1840 - Edmund Kirby Jr, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1863
• 1846 - Ant�nio C G Crespo, Brazilian/Portuguese poet
• 1860 - Thomas Hastings, NYC, architect (NY Public Library)
• 1863 - Andrew Stoddart, cricketer (My Dear Victorious Stod)
• 1863 - Wobbe de Vries, Dutch linguist
• 1872 - Abraham van Stolk Jzn, lumber merchant/art collector
• 1876 - Carl Ruggles, Marion Mass, composer (Evocations)
• 1876 - David Wijnkoop, Dutch revolutionary socialist
• 1879 - Justus Hermann Wetzel, composer
• 1879 - Niels Bjerrum, Danish chemist (ph tests)
• 1884 - Jan Lemaire, Dutch writer/actor (Beautiful Juliet)
• 1885 - Malcolm Campbell, 1st auto racer to travel 5 miles/min (8 km/min)
• 1890 - Vannevar Bush, developed 1st electronic analogue computer
• 1892 - Raoul Walsh, NYC, director (Thief of Baghdad, Battle Cry)
• 1892 - Wladyslaw Anders, Polish general (WW I, WW II)
• 1897 - Henry Dixon Cowell, Menlo Park Calif, composer (New Musical Resources)
• 1898 - Dorothy Gish, Massillon OH, film actress (Orphans of the Storm)
• 1899 - Frederick IX, [Christian FFMKWG], King of Denmark (1947-72)
• 1902 - Josef Martin Bauer, writer
• 1903 - Dorothy Schiff, publisher (NY Post)
• 1903 - George Dickinson, cricketer (bowled for NZ in their 1st 3 Tests)
• 1904 - Cornelis Jan Bakker, Dutch/US nuclear physicist
• 1904 - Maurits Wertheim, Dutch writer (Isaac De Fuentes)
• 1906 - Aasan Ferit Alnar, composer
• 1907 - Eleni Gatzoyiannis, heroine (saved her kids)
• 1907 - Helmuth J von Moltke, German politician (July 20th plot)
• 1907 - Jessie Matthews, London England, actress (Gangway, First a Girl)
• 1907 - Margaret Herbison, British minister (Lab)
• 1908 - Lawrence Welk, Strasburg ND, orch leader (Lawrence Welk Show)
• 1909 - Ljubica Maric, composer
• 1910 - Robert H G Havemann, German chemist
• 1911 - Alan Gifford, Boston MA, actor (Time Lock, Up Periscope)
• 1911 - Fitzroy Maclean, British diplomat soldier politician/historian
• 1912 - Robert Clifford Latham, pepys Scholar
• 1912 - Xavier Montsalvatge, Spanish composer (El gato con botas)
• 1913 - John Jacob Weinzweig, Toronto Canada, composer (Enchanted Hill)
• 1913 - Thomas Gray, professor/anaesthetist
• 1915 - Karl Krolow, writer
• 1915 - Vijay Hazare, cricketer (prolific Indian batsman 1946-54)
• 1916 - [James] Harold Wilson, (L) British PM (1964-70, 1974-76)
• 1917 - GE G�ran Schildt, Finnish art historian/writer (Solb�ten)
• 1919 - Mercer Ellington, son of Duke Ellington/bandleader
• 1920 - D J Enright, England, poet/novelist (Some Men are Brothers)
• 1920 - Henry Marking, CEO (British Airways)
• 1920 - Kenneth Dover, chancellor (St Andrews University)
• 1921 - Astor Piazzolla, Argentina composer (Tango Nuevo)
• 1921 - F[rancis] M[arion] Busby Jr, US, sci-fi author (Star Rebel)
• 1922 - Abdul Razak bin Hussain, premier of Malaysia (1970-77)
• 1922 - Thom Kelling, Dutch singer/guitarist (Programa de Manha)
• 1922 - Vinnette Carroll, NYC, actress (Alice's Restaurant, Reivers)
• 1923 - A Louise Brough Clapp, Okla, tennis player (4 time Wimbledon champ)
• 1923 - A X Gwerder, writer
• 1923 - Ad[rianus C] de Besten, Dutch literary (River Basin)
• 1923 - Morschi Mirando, [Thomas Weiss], German/Dutch gypsy artist
• 1923 - Terry Alexander, London, actor (Tony-Behind the Scenes)
• 1925 - James Miskin, QC/recorder of London
• 1926 - Adrienne Keith Cohen, travel editor
• 1926 - Ilhan Mimaroglu, composer
• 1926 - Patricia Tindaole, England, architect
• 1926 - Ralph Abernathy, civil rights leader (Southern Christian Leadership)
• 1927 - Alan Betts, emeritus professor (Royal Veterinary College)
• 1927 - Raymond Jackson, [Jaki], British cartoonist
• 1927 - Robert Mosbacher, US politician(?)
• 1927 - Ron Todd, British trade unionist
• 1928 - Albert Salmi, Bkln NY, actor (Daniel Boone, 79 Park Avenue)
• 1928 - Peter Roger Hunt, London England, director (Dr No)
• 1929 - Erskine Childers, unofficial/civil servant
• 1929 - Francisco Bernardo Pulgar Vidal, composer
• 1929 - Jackie McGlew, cricketer (dour South African opening bat of the 50')
• 1930 - David Gentleman, designer/painter
• 1931 - Peter Walters, CEO (Midland Bank)
• 1931 - Rupert Murdoch, Australia, publisher (NY Post)/CEO (FOX-TV)
• 1932 - Nigel Lawson, British government official (The Power Game)
• 1932 - Valerie French, London England, actress (Jubal)
• 1933 - Terry J Hatter Jr, US judge in California
• 1934 - George Stamatoyannopoulos, Greece, medical genetics researcher
• 1934 - Joep Straesser, composer (Blossom songs, Ramasasiri)
• 1934 - Keith Speed, British MP
• 1934 - Sam Donaldson, El Paso Tx, ABC White House correspondent (Prime Time)
• 1934 - Sydney Burke, cricketer (S Afr quick, 11 wkts on Test debut v NZ 1961)
• 1936 - Antonin Scalia, Trenton NJ, 105th Supreme Court Justice (1986- )
• 1937 - John Ward, NZ cricket wicket-keeper (8 Tests 1964-68)
• 1938 - Malcolm Keith Speed, British high court judge
• 1942 - Peter Eyre, actor (Hedda)
• 1944 - Ric Rothwell, drummer (Mindbenders-Games of Love)
• 1945 - Harvey Mandel, rock guitarist (Drei Amerikanische LP's)
• 1945 - Mark Stein, vocalist/organist (Vanilla Fudge-You Keep Me Hanging On)
• 1945 - Timothy Mason, consultant (British Arts Council)
• 1945 - Tricia O'Neal, Shreveport Louisiana, actress (Piranha Part II)
• 1946 - Brigitte Fossey, Tourcoing France, actress (Man Who Died Twice)
• 1947 - Dominique Sanda, [Varaigne], Paris France, actress (1900, First Love)
• 1947 - Geoffrey Hunt, Australia, world-champion squash player
• 1947 - Mark Stein, singer/organist/keyboardist (Vanilla Fudge)
• 1948 - George Kooymans, Dutch guitarist/singer (Golden Earring)
• 1949 - Richard de Bois, Dutch drummer/producer
• 1950 - Bobby McFerrin, singer (Don't Worry Be Happy-Grammy 1989)
• 1950 - Jerry Zucker, Milwaukee WI, director (Airplane, Naked Gun)
• 1952 - Douglas Adams, England, author (Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
• 1952 - Susan Richardson, Coatesville Pa, actress (Susan-8 is Enough)
• 1955 - [Kater]Nina Hagen, East Berlin German DR, actress (Blue Angel)
• 1956 - Curtis L Brown Jr, NC, astronaut (STS 47, STS 66, 77, 85, sk:95)
• 1961 - Bruce Watson, Ontario Canada, rock guitarist (Big Country-Wonderland)
• 1961 - Mike Percy, rocker (Dead or Alive-Spin Me Round)
• 1962 - Peter Berg, actor (Chicago Hope)
• 1964 - Raimo Helminen, Tampere FIN, hockey forward (Team Finland, Oly-Br-98)
• 1965 - Eric Jelen, West Germany, tennis star
• 1966 - Pavel Petrovich Mukhortov, Russian cosmonaut
• 1966 - Ralph Tamm, NFL guard/center (Denver Broncos, KC Chiefs)
• 1966 - Steve Reed, LA Calif, pitcher (Colorado Rockies)
• 1967 - Andrew Zesers, cricketer (played for Australia in 1987 World Cup)
• 1967 - Bill Houlder, Thunder Bay, NHL defenseman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
• 1968 - John Barrowman, actor (Peter Fairchild-Central Park West)
• 1969 - Dan Lacroix, Montreal, NHL left wing (NY Rangers)
• 1969 - John Fina, NFL offensive tackle (Buffalo Bills)
• 1970 - Brett Liddle, Boksburg S Afr, Canadian Tour golfer (1993 Newcastle)
• 1970 - Evgeniy Koreshkov, hockey forward (Team Kazakhstan Oly-1998)
• 1971 - Bob Kronenberg, WLAF corner (Rhein Fire)
• 1971 - Jiri Vykoukai, Olomouc CZ, hockey player (Team Czech Rep, Oly-gold-98)
• 1971 - Marta Lovera Parquet, Miss Universe-Paraguay (1996)
• 1971 - Martin Rucinsky, Most Cze, NHL left wing (Canadiens, Oly-Gold-1998)
• 1972 - Carl Greenwood, NFL cornerback (NY Jets)
• 1972 - Chris Shelling, WLAF cornerback (Rhein Fire)
• 1972 - Jamal Duff, NFL defensive end (NY Giants, Wash Redskins)
• 1973 - Kennedy Otieno, Kenya cricket wicket-keeper (85 v Aust 1996 World Cup)
• 1973 - Mike Mihelic, CFL offensive tackle (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
• 1973 - Sammie Brennan, CFL defensive back (BC Lions)
• 1973 - Tony Veland, NFL defensive back (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32)
• 1974 - Billy Granville, linebacker (Cincinnati Bengals)
• 1974 - David Cameron, Australian rower (Olympics-96)
• 1974 - Kevin Donovan, Des Plaines Ill, figure skater (1997 Great Lakes-2nd)
• 1975 - Cedric Henderson, NBA forward (Cleveland Cavaliers)
• 1975 - Shawn Springs, cornerback (Seattle Seahawks)
• 1982 - Hasan Raza, cricketer (Test cricketer at the age of 14)