Today:
1492 – The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, issued the Alhambra Decree, expelling all Jews from Spain.
1657 – English Parliament made the decision to offer the crown to Oliver Cromwell (he later declined).
1774 – The British Parliament passed the Boston Port Act, closing the port of Boston as punishment for the Boston Tea Party.
1854 – The Treaty of Kanagawa was signed between the United States and Japan, opening Japanese ports to American trade.
1889 – The Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public in Paris.
1918 – Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the United States for the first time.
1930 – The cities of Constantinople and Angora were officially renamed to Istanbul and Ankara, respectively.
1966 – The Soviet Union launched Luna 10, which later became the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon.
1991 – The Warsaw Pact, the military alliance of Eastern Bloc nations, was officially dissolved.
2005 – Terri Schiavo, at the center of a prolonged right-to-die legal case, passed away in Florida.