Today:
1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León sights North America.
1794 – The United States Congress approves the “Act to provide a Naval Armament,” laying the foundation for the U.S. Navy with the authorization of six frigates.
1871 – England and Scotland compete in the first international rugby football match in Edinburgh, marking the inception of international rugby competition.
1912 – First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, plant the first two of 3,000 cherry trees along the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., initiating the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
1964 – South-central Alaska is struck by a 9.2-magnitude earthquake, the strongest ever recorded in North America, causing tsunamis and resulting in over 130 fatalities.
1977 – Two Boeing 747 airplanes, one operated by KLM and the other by Pan Am, collide on a runway in Tenerife, Canary Islands, resulting in 583 deaths, making it the deadliest accident in aviation history.
1980 – The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea during a storm, leading to the deaths of 123 workers.
1998 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra, the first oral treatment for erectile dysfunction, developed by Pfizer.
2020 – North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), marking a significant step in the country’s integration into international defense alliances.
2022 – During the 94th Academy Awards ceremony, actor Will Smith slaps comedian Chris Rock on stage after a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, leading to widespread media coverage and discussions about conduct at public events.