1660 – English parliament declares Charles Stuart to be King Charles II of England
1835 – 1st installment of Hans Christian Andersen “Fairy Tales” published by C. A. Reitzel in Copenhagen, Denmark
1895 – China cedes Taiwan to Japan under Treaty of Shimonoseki
1902 – Mount Pelée on the French overseas island of Martinique erupts, wiping out the city of Saint-Pierre, killing 30,000 and leaving only two survivors
1945 – V-E Day: World War II ends in Europe after Germany signs an unconditional surrender
1967 – Muhammad Ali is indicted for refusing induction in US Army
1969 – Pope Paul VI publishes constitution Sacra Ritum Congregation
1973 – Ernie Banks fills in for Cubs managerr Whitey Lockman who is ejected during the game, technically becoming baseball’s 1st African American manager
1980 – World Health Organization announces smallpox has been eradicated
1989 – Paul McCartney releases remake of “Ferry Cross the Mersey” in aid of those affected by the Hillsborough disaster, which claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool football fans
2007 – A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed with Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) as First Minister and Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) as Deputy First Minister
2012 – Dmitry Medvedev is confirmed as Russian Prime Minister by the State Duma, after being nominated by Vladimir Putin
2013 – Sir Alex Ferguson announces his retirement as Manchester United’s manager at the end of the season
2018 – President Trump pulls the US out of the multilateral Iran nuclear deal
2019 – Iran announces it will stop complying with parts of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal
2020 – Two US White House staffers test positive for COVID-19 and three members of the coronavirus task force go into self-isolation after possible exposure to the virus
Film & TV:
1958 – “Dracula” film starring Christopher Lee as the eponymous vampire, directed by Terence Fisher is the first Hammer Horror film released
Music:
1979 – The Cure release their debut album “Three Imaginary Boys” (Boys Don’t Cry in US, Australia)
Sport:
1984 – The Soviet Union announces it will not participate in Los Angeles Summer Olympics in retaliation for the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics