Today:
1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral officially discovered Brazil and claimed it for Portugal.
1864 – The U.S. Congress authorized the use of the phrase “In God We Trust” on U.S. coins.
1876 – The first game in National League history was played in Philadelphia; Boston defeated Philadelphia 6–5.
1889 – The Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon, opening up 2 million acres of unassigned land for settlement.
1915 – During World War I, German forces released chlorine gas at the Second Battle of Ypres, marking the first large-scale use of chemical weapons in warfare.
1945 – Adolf Hitler admitted defeat in his underground bunker as Soviet troops reached the outskirts of Berlin.
1970 – The first Earth Day was celebrated in the United States, bringing attention to environmental issues.
1993 – The Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington, D.C.
1994 – Former U.S. President Richard Nixon died at age 81.
2004 – Two fuel trains collided and exploded in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing around 160 people and injuring over 1,300.