Thousands of Chinese students take to the streets in Beijing to protest government policies and issue a call for greater democracy in the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC).

On this day, the luxury liner R.M.S. Titanic sinks just two hours after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic.

On April 12, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Vostok, Soviet Major Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human being to travel into space.

Many historians have pointed to the victory at Vimy Ridge during World War I as a moment of greatness for Canada, when it emerged from Britain’s shadow to attain its own measure of military achievement.

Sir Winston Churchill, the British leader who guided Great Britain and the Allies through the crisis of World War II, retires as British prime minister.

On April 1, 1918, the Royal Air Force (RAF) is formed with the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

On this day, the Eiffel Tower is unveiled in Paris.

The United States completes the withdrawal of all its combat troops from Vietnam on this day.

After 44 years of rule, Queen Elizabeth I of England dies.

Representatives from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen meet in Cairo to establish the Arab League, a regional organization of Arab states.