After spending 27 years behind bars, mostly on Robben Island, anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela was finally released from Victor Verster Prison in South Africa. His release marked a pivotal moment in the dismantling of apartheid, symbolizing hope for racial reconciliation and democracy. Mandela would go on to lead negotiations to end apartheid and later become South Africa’s first Black president in 1994.

In Chicago during Prohibition, seven members and associates of the North Side Gang, led by George 'Bugs' Moran, were gunned down in a garage by men associated with rival mob boss Al Capone. Disguised as police officers, the attackers lined up the victims against a wall before shooting them with Thompson submachine guns. The massacre shocked the nation, highlighting the brutality of organized crime and fueling the public’s demand for stronger law enforcement against gang violence.

On the Ides of March, Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators led by Brutus, Cassius, and others, who feared his growing power threatened the Republic. Caesar was stabbed 23 times inside the Theatre of Pompey. His death triggered a series of civil wars that ultimately ended the Roman Republic and paved the way for the rise of the Roman Empire under his adopted heir, Octavian (later Augustus).

The World Health Organization officially declared the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a pandemic. This announcement acknowledged the rapid worldwide spread of the virus, which had already infected over 100,000 people across multiple continents. The declaration led to drastic public health measures, lockdowns, and economic disruptions on a global scale, marking the beginning of one of the most significant health crises in modern history.

President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Lincoln died the following morning, becoming the first U.S. president to be assassinated. His death came just days after the Civil War effectively ended, plunging the nation into mourning and shaping the course of Reconstruction.

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made history by becoming the first human to travel into space and orbit the Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. His successful 108-minute flight marked a major milestone in the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, boosting Soviet prestige and accelerating global interest in space exploration.

The British luxury liner RMS Titanic, the largest and most advanced passenger ship of its time, struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. The ship sank in the early hours of April 15, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board. The disaster exposed serious flaws in maritime safety practices and led to major reforms, including requirements for sufficient lifeboats and the establishment of the International Ice Patrol.

David Ben-Gurion, head of the Jewish Agency, proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel as the British mandate in Palestine ended. Within hours, the new nation was recognized by the United States and the Soviet Union. The declaration immediately triggered the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, as neighboring Arab states invaded, beginning decades of conflict in the region.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, declaring that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Overturning the 'separate but equal' doctrine from Plessy v. Ferguson, the decision became a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Movement and a critical step toward ending legalized segregation in the United States.

The Woodstock Music & Art Fair opened on a farm in Bethel, New York, drawing an audience of more than 400,000 people. Featuring performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, and many other legendary artists, the festival became a symbol of the 1960s counterculture movement, promoting peace, love, and music during a time of social upheaval and the Vietnam War.

On September 11, 2001, members of the terrorist group al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes in the United States. Two planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, causing both towers to collapse. A third struck the Pentagon, and the fourth, United Flight 93, crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in history. The attacks reshaped U.S. foreign and domestic policy, leading to the War on Terror and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A U.S. U-2 spy plane flying over Cuba photographed Soviet nuclear missile sites under construction, sparking the Cuban Missile Crisis. Over the next 13 days, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war as the United States demanded the removal of the missiles and imposed a naval blockade of Cuba. The crisis ended when Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba and the secret removal of American missiles from Turkey. It remains the closest the world has come to full-scale nuclear conflict.

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, sailing under the Spanish crown, made landfall in the Bahamas during his first voyage across the Atlantic. His arrival marked the first lasting contact between Europe and the Americas, initiating centuries of exploration, colonization, and cultural exchange known as the Columbian Exchange. While celebrated for opening the New World to Europe, Columbus’s voyages also led to the displacement, conquest, and suffering of Indigenous peoples across the Americas.

In protest of the Tea Act, which allowed Britain’s East India Company to sell tea at reduced rates while still taxing the colonies, American patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded British ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water. The act of defiance escalated tensions with Britain, leading to harsh retaliatory laws and fueling revolutionary sentiment that culminated in the American Revolution.

Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first successful powered, controlled, and sustained airplane flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Orville piloted the aircraft for 12 seconds over 120 feet. Their breakthrough revolutionized transportation and laid the foundation for modern aviation, ushering in a new era of global mobility and technological advancement.