Among Buddhists, celebrated as the birthday of Buddha (563-483 B.C.). An estimated 350 millions persons currently profess the Buddhist faith.
EVENTS
- 1893 – First recorded college basketball game occurs.
- 1904 – France and the United Kingdom sign the Entente cordiale. The treaty, which was initially designed to regulate the countries’ colonial interests in Africa, later evolved into the Triple Entente to fight Germany in World War I.
- 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified requiring direct popular election of U.S. senators. Previously, they had been chosen by state legislatures.
- 1952 – President Harry S. Truman seized control of America’s steel mills to prevent a shutdown by strikers. However, on April 29th, the seizure was ruled unconstitutional by a U.S. District Court. Workers immediately began a strike lasting 53 days, ending it when they received a 16-cents per-hour wage increase and additional benefits.
- 1953 – Jomo Kenyatta is sentenced to 7 years hard labor. Kenyatta led the Mau Mau movement against the British colonialists. He is considered to be Kenya’s founding father and became the country’s first President in 1964.
- 1959 – One of the first modern programming languages is created. The Common Business-Oriented Language or COBOL was primarily designed by a woman, Grace Hopper. Also known as Amazing Grace, she is regarded as one of the pioneers in the field.
- 1974 – Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run passing Babe Ruth as the all time home run leader.
- 1977 – The Clash release their debut album of the same name. The British combo around lead vocalist Joe Strummer is considered one of the most influential early punk rock bands.
- 1986 – Clint Eastwood is elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
- 1990 – Ryan White died at age 18 of complications from AIDS. As a young boy, White, a hemophiliac, contracted the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome from a blood transfusion. At age ten, he was banned from school. He then moved with his mother to Cicero, Indiana, where he was accepted by the students. As his plight was publicized, he gained international celebrity status and helped promote understanding of the dreaded disease.
- 2005 – Over 4 million people pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II. Karol Józef Wojtyła from Poland was an immensely popular Pope. He was succeeded by German Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger.
Pope John Paul II funeral
BIRTHDAYS
- 1336 – Tamerlane (Conquerer of Asia)
- 1605 – Philip IV (King of Spain)
- 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances (Puerto Rican doctor, politician)
- 1859 – Edmund Husserl (Austrian mathematician, philosopher)
- 1912 – Sonja Henie (Champion figure skater)
- 1918 – Betty Ford (American wife of Gerald R. Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States)
Betty Ford - 1929 – Jacques Brel (Belgian singer-songwriter, actor)
- 1938 – Kofi Anan (Secretary General UN)
- 1946 – Catfish Hunter (Baseball player)
- 1963 – Julian Lennon (Singer)
- 1968 – Patricia Arquette (Actress)
DEATHS
- 1857 – Mangal Pandey (Indian freedom fighter)
- 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky (Russian dancer, choreographer)
- 1973 – Pablo Picasso (Spanish painter, sculptor)
- 1981 – Omar Bradley (American general)
Omar Bradley - 2013 – Margaret Thatcher (English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)
