The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Mars, Mercury and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus.
In 1861, Texas seceded from the United States.
In 1865, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.
In 1896, Giacomo Puccini's opera La Boheme premiered in Turin, Italy.
In 1946, Norwegian Trygve Lie was selected to be the first U.N. secretary-general.In 1947, members of the Jewish underground launched pamphlet bombs throughout Tel Aviv, warning British military authorities to expect further retaliation against its drive to suppress violence in the Holy Land.
In 1951, the Defense Department, responding to needs to effectively execute its Korean War strategy, ordered drafting of 80,000 men during April for assignment to the U.S. Army.
In 1968, the communist Viet Cong began a major offensive in the Vietnam War with a fierce attack on the South Vietnamese city of Hue.
In 1978, famed director Roman Polanski escaped to France after pleading guilty to charges of having sex with an underage girl.
In 1991, South African President F.W. De Klerk announced he would seek repeal of key laws on which the apartheid system was based.
In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during its descent over the southwestern United States. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.
In 2004, Janet Jackson had a "wardrobe malfunction" in her appearance with Justin Timberlake during the halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII.
In 2009, Iceland swore in its first female prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir.
In 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with hundreds of thousands of protesters demanding his departure after a reign of nearly 30 years, announced he wouldn't seek re-election.
In 2012, at least 73 people were killed and 200 hurt in a fight between fans and players at a soccer match in Port Said, Egypt.
In 2021, the Myanmar military took control of the government and announced a nationwide state of emergency hours after detaining leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking elected government officials in a coup.
