1606 – The Charter of the Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.

1815 – The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth’s climate for the next two years. The is the climactic equivalent of three SUV’s going around the block.

1849 – Safety pin patented by Walter Hunt of NYC; He sold the rights for $100.

1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is elected emperor of Mexico. He has the full faith and backing of the French, so you know this will end well.

1912 – The RMS Titanic leaves port in Southampton, England for her first and only voyage.

1919 – Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos. Mexican politics used to be so “energetic”. It is getting that way again with the drug cartels flexing their muscle.

1940 – Katyn massacre – Mass execution of 40,000 Polish officers and intelligentsia approved and signed by USSR leader Joseph Stalin.

1963 – 129 people die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.

2010 – Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board including President Lech Kaczynski, effectively decapitating the Polish government.