The Sri Lankan Civil War ends
The 25-year conflict between the government and the separatist Tamil Tigers had claimed up to 100,000 lives. It ended with the Tigers’ defeat.
Mount St. Helens erupts
The eruption killed 57 people. A large part of the previously cone-shaped volcano was replaced by a massive crater; its summit is now some 1300 feet (400 meters) lower than before the eruption.
45 people die in the United States’ worst school massacre
In the Bath school disaster, a disgruntled school board member set off several bombs at the Bath Consolidated School and other locations in Michigan.
Napoleon Bonaparte is appointed Emperor of the French
Even today, the French leader, a native of Corsica, is widely known for his successful military campaigns – and his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
- 1920 Pope John Paul II
- 1912 Perry Como
American singer, actor - 1897 Frank Capra
Italian/American director, producer, screenwriter - 1895 Augusto César Sandino
Nicaraguan rebel leader - 1868 Nicholas II of Russia
- 2004 Elvin Jones
American drummer - 1955 Mary McLeod Bethune
American educator, activist - 1911 Gustav Mahler
Austrian composer - 1909 Isaac Albéniz
Spanish pianist, composer - 1799 Pierre Beaumarchais
French playwright
