On this date:
In 1509, Henry the Eighth ascended the throne of England following the death of his father, Henry the Seventh.
In 1864, Congress authorized the use of the phrase "In God We Trust" on US coins.
In 1889, the Oklahoma Land Rush began at noon as thousands of homesteaders staked claims.
In 1930, the United States, Britain and Japan signed the London Naval Treaty, which regulated submarine warfare and limited shipbuilding.
In 1944, during World War Two, US forces began invading Japanese-held New Guinea with amphibious landings near Hollandia.
In 1952, an atomic test conducted in Nevada became the first nuclear explosion shown on live network television.
In 1954, the televised Senate Army-McCarthy hearings began.
In 1964, President Johnson opened the New York World's Fair.
In 1993, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum was dedicated in Washington DC to honor the victims of Nazi extermination.
In 1994, Richard M. Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, died at a New York hospital four days after suffering a stroke; he was 81.
Ten years ago: Pro-Iranian kidnappers in Lebanon freed American hostage Robert Polhill after nearly 39 months of captivity. Millions of Americans joined in a worldwide 20th anniversary celebration of the first "Earth Day."
Five years ago: At least two-thousand Rwandan refugees were massacred by Rwandan troops at a camp in Kibeho.
One year ago: At Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, investigators found a powerful bomb made from a propane tank, heightening suspicions that gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who killed 13 people before killing themselves, intended to destroy the school, and may have had help in assembling their arsenal. NATO struck directly against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, destroying his luxurious mansion.
"Success is a journey, not a destination."
-- Anonymous.