1997The Chemical Weapons Convention becomes effectiveThe arms control treaty prohibits the production, storage, and use of chemical weapons. It has so far been ratified by some 190 countries.
1992Four Los Angeles police offices are acquitted of charges stemming from the beating of Rodney King. Rioting ensues.
1983Harold Washington is sworn in as Chicago’s first black mayor.
1975The U.S. embassy in Vietnam is evacuated as North Vietnamese forces fight their way into Saigon.
1946Former Japanese leaders are indicted in Tokyo as war criminals.
1945A day before committing suicide, Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun marryOn the same day, U.S. troops liberated the Dachau concentration camp near Munich.
1945The Nazi concentration camp of Dachau is liberated by Allied troops.
1945The German Army in Italy surrenders unconditionally to the Allies.
1930The film All Quiet on the Western Front, based on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel Im Western Nichts Neues, premiers.
1927Construction of the Spirit of St. Louis is completed.
1924Open revolt breaks out in Santa Clara, Cuba.
1918America’s WWI Ace of Aces, Eddie Rickenbacker, scores his first victory with the help of Captain James Norman Hall.
1916Irish nationalists surrender to the British in Dublin.
1913Gideon Sundback of Hoboken patents the all-purpose zipper.
1901Hirohito, emperor of Japan during and after World War II.