A mass shooting occurs at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky that leaves five victims dead and eight wounded.
The Paravur temple accident in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu, kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.
An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, impacting India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.
Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and dozens of other senior officials and dignitaries.
President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces the abrogation of the constitution and assumes all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis.
The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland.
Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140.
A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.
The Ojhri Camp explosion kills or injures more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan.
Imprisoned IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands was elected to Westminster as the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He died twenty-six days later.
Red River Valley tornado outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people.
Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people.
Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.
Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu's Art of War and Sun Bin's lost military treatise, are discovered by construction workers in Shandong.
Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.
The TEV Wahine, a New Zealand ferry sinks in Wellington harbour due to a fierce storm – the strongest winds ever in Wellington. Out of the 734 people on board, fifty-three died.
One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.
Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp.
World War II: The Axis powers establish the Independent State of Croatia.
The Russian city of Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad to honor the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Soviet Communist Party General Secretary, who had guided the defense of Tsaritsyn during the Russian Civil War in 1920.
Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.
The Third Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Huliaipole.
RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, UK, on her maiden and only voyage.
British suffer a sharp defeat by the Boers south of Brandfort. 600 British troops are killed and wounded and 800 taken prisoner.
1896 Summer Olympics: The Olympic marathon is run ending with the victory of Greek athlete Spyridon Louis.
On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America.
The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.
At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops die.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.
American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.
Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico.
After the original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonnes (32,000 lb) bell for the Palace of Westminster, had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current 13.76 tonnes (30,300 lb) bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town of Missolonghi begin leaving the town after a year's siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.
Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Ottoman government from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.
Greek War of Independence: the island of Psara joins the Greek struggle for independence.
The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.
The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth's climate for the next two years.
Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.
War of the First Coalition: A surprise Austrian attack at the Battle of Voltri marks the beginning of the Italian Campaign of 1796-1797, the decisive campaign under Napoleon Bonaparte that will end the war a year later.
War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia gains control of Silesia at the Battle of Mollwitz.
Bach leads the first performance of his cantata Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen, BWV 66, his first cantata composed for Easter in Leipzig.
Robert Walpole resigns from the British government, commencing the Whig Split which lasts until 1720.
The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain.
The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.
The settlement of Villa Imperial de Carlos V (now the city of Potosí) in Bolivia is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area.
Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.
Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing and is awarded the title "Great Treasure Prince of Dharma".
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.