1387 – Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” characters begin their pilgrimage to Canterbury (according to scholars)
1492 – Christopher Columbus signs a contract with the Spanish monarchs to find the “Indies” with the stated goal of converting people to Catholicism. This promises him 10% of all riches found, and the governorship of any lands encountered.
1895 – Treaty of Shimonoseki is signed ending the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-95)
1941 – British troop land in Iraq
1961 – 1,400 Cuban exiles land in Bay of Pigs in a doomed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro
1982 – Proclamation of the Constitution Act by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
1993 – Two Los Angeles police officers convicted in federal court of violating Rodney King’s civil rights and sentenced to prison, while two others are acquitted,
2001 – A letter between Gale Norton and Jeb Bush is released, stating that the Bush administration has decided to go ahead with plans to auction 6 million acres of potentially oil-and-gas-rich seabed in the Gulf of Mexico
2009 – Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark becomes the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the first woman to lead the organization
2013 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in New Zealand
2018 – Protests across India at the rape and murder of an 8-year old Muslim girl in Kathua, Bengalu
2020 – WHO warns Africa could be next epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 300,000 deaths, pushing 30 million into poverty as it records nearly 1000 deaths and 19,000 cases to date
Film & TV:
2011 – “Game of Thrones”, based on the fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin premieres on HBO
2019 – Beyoncé releases a live album of her 2018 Coachella performance on the same day as her Netflix documentary “Homecoming”
Music:
1970 – Paul McCartney’s 1st solo album “McCartney” is released
Sport:
1976 – NL greatest comeback: trailing 12-1, Philadelphia Phillies beat Chicago Cubs, 18-16 in 10 innings at Wrigley Field; Mike Schmidt hits 4 consecutive HRs
