1657 – Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).

1861 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.

1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, aka The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims marking his final victories before his death the following day.

1926 – Western Electric and Warner Bros. announce Vitaphone, a process to add sound to film.

1990 – Pete Rose pleads guilty to hiding $300,000 in income. Today this act would get him an Obama cabinet seat.

1999 – Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School located in Jefferson County, Colorado. Actually, this could have never really happened, because the school was a ‘gun-free zone’. Everybody was obeying the law except the criminals.

2010 – Deepwater Horizon oil well explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last five months.