1386 – Treaty of Windsor between Portugal and England (oldest diplomatic alliance in the world still in force)
1502 – Master navigator and admiral Christopher Columbus, long considered the “discoverer” of the New World, set sail from Cádiz, Spain, on his fourth and final voyage, hoping to find a passage to Asia.
1865 – President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation declaring armed resistance in the South is virtually at an end; this is the commonly accepted end date of the American Civil War
1901 – The First Australian Parliament opens in Melbourne, though the first working session will not be until 21 May
1941 – British intelligence at Bletchley Park breaks German spy codes after capturing Enigma machines aboard the weather ship Muenchen
1945 – World War II: The Soviet Union marks Victory Day
1960 – US becomes the first country to legalize the birth control pill
1974 – The U.S. House Judiciary Committee launched a formal impeachment investigation of President Richard M. Nixon.
2018 – Historic win in Malaysian general election by opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan led by 92 year old former Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, defeating Prime Minister Najib Razak and ending 61 years of rule by the Barisan Nasional coalition
Births & Deaths: 1860 – Dramatist J.M. Barrie—best known for Peter Pan, the title character of which is an eternal boy—was born in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland.
1874 – British archeologist Howard Carter, best known discovering the intact tomb (designated KV62) of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh, Tutankhamun, was born.
Sport: 2001 – Accra Sports Stadium Disaster: 129 Ghanian football fans die in a stampede caused by the firing of teargas by police following a decision by the referee in a crucial match between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko
Music: 1962 – The Beatles sign their 1st contract with EMI Parlophone
TV & Film: 1958 – “Vertigo”, American film noir psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak, is released
