• 68 - Galba, governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Roman emperors begun with Julius Caesar and Augustus.
• 1453 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (İstanbul), which would fall on May 29.
• 1513 - Juan Ponce de Leon sets foot on Florida becoming the first European known to do so.
• 1755 - Commodore William James captures the pirate fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India.
• 1792 - The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
• 1801 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen - The British destroy the Danish fleet.
• 1804 - Forty merchantmen are wrecked when a convoy led by HMS Apollo runs aground off Portugal.
• 1810 - Napoleon Bonaparte marries Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.
• 1863 - Richmond Bread Riot: Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond, Virginia and demand the Confederate government to release emergency supplies.
• 1865 - American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg is broken - Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat.
• 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
• 1900 - The Foraker Act passes through Congress, giving Puerto Ricans limited self-rule.
• 1902 - Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated by a terrorist in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.
• 1902 - "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles, California.
• 1917 - World War I: The Battle of Vimy Ridge commences when the Canada Corps launches an artillery bombardment of the German trenches. At that time it was the biggest artillery bombardment in history.
• 1917 - World War I: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
• 1917 - The first woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin, takes her seat as a representative from Montana.
• 1930 - Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.
• 1945 - Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Brazil are established.
• 1962 - The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London.
• 1972 - Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s .
• 1972 - Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins - North Vietnamese soldiers of the 304th Division take the northern half of Quang Tri Province.
• 1973 - Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.
• 1975 - Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.
• 1975 - Construction of the CN Tower is completed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It reaches in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure.
• 1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound.
• 1982 - Falklands War: The Falkland Islands are invaded by Argentina.
• 1984 - Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma is launched aboard Soyuz T-11, and becomes the first Indian in space.
• 1989 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.
• 1991 - The first female Premier of a Canadian province takes office. Rita Johnston succeeds William Vander Zalm, who resigned, as Premier of British Columbia.
• 1992 - In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison.
• 1997 - Tennessee accepts the 15^th Amendment.
• 2002 - Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated. A siege ensues.
• 2004 - Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. Their attack is thwarted.
• 2005 - James Stewart Jr. becomes first African American to win a major motor sports event.
• 2006 - Over 60 tornadoes break out, hardest hit is Tennessee with 29 people killed.

Births