On April 20, 1861, just days after the outbreak of the American Civil War, Colonel Robert E. Lee resigned his commission in the United States Army, ending more than three decades of federal service and setting in motion one of the most consequential personal…
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At around 9:45 p.m. local time on April 20, 2010, a series of explosions shook the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore rig operating 41 miles off Louisiana’s coast. Leased by BP and run by Transocean, the rig was drilling a deep exploratory well in the…
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On April 19, 1775, the opening shots of the American Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord—later immortalized as “the shot heard around the world”—gave way, almost immediately, to something more consequential than a single day’s fighting. As British regulars retreated into Boston under constant…
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On April 18, 1946, Jackie Robinson stepped onto the field for the Montreal Royals and, in doing so, altered the trajectory of American professional sports. His regular season debut in the International League marked the first time in the modern era that a professional…
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On April 19, 1956, the world watched in rapt attention as Hollywood royalty became actual royalty. In a union that seemed plucked from the script of a romantic film, American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco, transforming from an Oscar-winning screen…
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On April 18, 1506, under the direction of Pope Julius II, the cornerstone of what would become one of the most iconic churches in Christendom—St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City—was laid. The event marked not only the beginning of a monumental architectural project but…
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On April 17, 1970, the crew of Apollo 13 returned safely to Earth, concluding one of the most dramatic and closely watched episodes in the history of human spaceflight. What began as a routine mission to the Moon had, within days, become a test…
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On April 17, 2014, NASA announced a milestone in the search for life beyond Earth: the confirmation of Kepler-186f, the first Earth-size planet discovered orbiting within the habitable zone of another star. This groundbreaking discovery was made possible by the Kepler Space Telescope, a…
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On April 16, 1862, in the midst of a war that had already begun to transform the political and moral landscape of the United States, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, ending slavery in the nation’s capital.…
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On April 16, 1457 BC, Pharaoh Thutmose III of Egypt confronted a coalition of Canaanite city-states near the strategic fortress of Megiddo in present-day northern Palestine. More than a turning point in Egypt’s imperial ambitions, the Battle of Megiddo holds distinction as the earliest…
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