1949
"A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy"
Laurence Olivier's Hamlet became the first British film to win an Oscar.
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1603
Queen Elizabeth I died at age 69 after ruling England for more than 40 years.
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1882
Robert Koch announced the discovery of the tuberculosis bacillus.
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1958
Rock 'n' roll star Elvis Presley joined the U.S. army for two years.
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1989
In one of worst oil spills in recent history, the tanker, Exxon Valdez, ran aground and released 240,000 barrels of oil into Prince William Sound.
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1999
NATO begins launching air strikes in an attempt to force Serbia to cease hostilities against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
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2002
Halle Berry became the first African-American actress to win a best actress Oscar and Denzel Washington became the second African-American actor to get the best actor award.
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2004
The notorious Bird family's more than half-century stronghold on the nation of Antigua and Barbuda came to an end when Baldwin Spencer won the post of prime minister in the general election.
