1670 – The Hudson Bay Company was founded by England’s King Charles II.

1776 – France and Spain agreed to donate arms to American rebels fighting the British.

1797 – A mutiny in the British navy spread from Spithead to the rest of the fleet.

1798 – The black General Toussaint L’ouverture forced British troops to agree to evacuate the port of Santo Domingo.

1808 – The citizens of Madrid rose up against Napoleon.

1813 – Napoleon defeated a Russian and Prussian army at Grossgorschen.

1853 – Franconi’s Hippodrome opened at Broadway and 23rd Street in New York City.

1863 – Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was wounded by his own men in the battle of Chancellorsville, VA. He died 8 days later.

1865 – U.S. President Andrew Johnson offered $100,000 reward for the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

1885 – The Congo Free State was established by King Leopold II of Belgium.

1885 – The magazine “Good Housekeeping” was first published.

1887 – Hannibal W. Goodwin applied for a patent on celluloid photographic film. This is the film from which movies are shown.

1890 – The Oklahoma Territory was organized.

1902 – “A Trip to the Moon,” the first science fiction film was released. It was created by magician George Melies.

1922 – WBAP-AM began broadcasting in north Texas.

1926 – In India, Hindu women gained the right to seek elected office.

1926 – U.S. Marines landed in Nicaragua to put down a revolt and to protect U.S. interests. They did not depart until 1933.

1932 – Jack Benny’s first radio show debuted on NBC Radio.

1933 – Hitler banned trade unions in Germany.

1939 – Lou Gehrig set a new major league baseball record when he played in his 2,130th game. The streak began on June 1, 1925.

1941 – Hostilities broke out between British forces in Iraq and that country’s pro-German faction.

1941 – The Federal Communications Commission agreed to let regular scheduling of TV broadcasts by commercial TV stations begin on July 1, 1941. This was the start of network television.

1945 – Russians took Berlin after 12 days of fierce house-to-house fighting. The Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria.

1946 – Prisoners revolted at California‘s Alcatraz prison.

1954 – Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals set a new major league record when he hit 5 home runs against the New York Giants.

1960 – Caryl Chessman was executed. He was a convicted sex offender and had become a best selling author while on death row.

1965 – The “Early Bird” satellite was used to transmit television pictures across the Atlantic.

1969 – The ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) made its maiden voyage.

1970 – Student anti-war protesters at Ohio‘s Kent State University burn down the campus ROTC building. The National Guard took control of the campus.

1974 – Former U.S. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew was disbarred by the Maryland Court of Appeals.

1974 – The filming of “Jaws” began in Martha’s Vineyard, MA.

1982 – The British submarine HMS Conqueror sank Argentina’s only cruiser, the General Belgrano during the Falkland Islands War. More than 350 people died.

1993 – At Washington’s National Gallery of Art, an exhibit of 80 paintings from the collection of Dr. Albert C. Barnes opened.

1993 – Authorities said that they had recovered the remains of David Koresh from the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, TX.

1994 – Nelson Mandela claimed victory after South Africa’s first democratic elections.

1999 – In Panama, Mireya Moscoso de Grubar, of the Armulfista Party, was elected president.

2002 – It was reported that Phyllis Diller had retired from touring.

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