2012: The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people and injuring 400 others.
2005: A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 65 feet (20 meters) from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
2002: FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
1997: The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran's Khorasan Province, killing 1,567, injuring over 2,300, leaving 50,000 homeless, and damaging or destroying over 15,000 homes.
1994: Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.
1993: In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills 156 workers.
1975: Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder in Japan.
1972: In the Vietnam War, the US had two fighter ace crews. The USAF's Ritchie and DeBellevue scored their first kill while the USN's Cunningham and Driscoll scored their third, fourth and fifth kills.
1948: The Republic of China implements "temporary provisions" granting President Chiang Kai-shek extended powers to deal with the Communist uprising; they will remain in effect until 1991.
1946: First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
1866: Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is crowned the Ruling Prince of the United Principalities of Romania.
1865: American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.
1864: American Civil War: Colonel Emory Upton leads a 10-regiment "Attack-in-depth" assault against the Confederate works at The Battle of Spotsylvania, which, though ultimately unsuccessful, would provide the idea for the massive assault against the Bloody Angle on May 12. Upton is slightly wounded but is immediately promoted to brigadier general.
1768: John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III. This action provokes rioting in London.
1291: Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.
AD 70: Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, opens a full-scale assault on Jerusalem and attacks the city's Third Wall to the northwest.
28 BC: A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.