1587: English captain Francis Drake sinks the Spanish fleet in Cadiz harbour
1775: Minutemen Capt John Parker orders not to fire unless fired upon. A shot is fired and the American revolution begins at the Lexington Common. That was the "shot heard round the world"
1933: FDR announces that the US will leave the gold standard
1939: Connecticut finally approves Bill of Rights
1971: The Soviet Union launch the first manned spacelab, Salyut 1
1972: Bangladesh joins the British Commonwealth
1995: A massive bomb explosion destroys much of a federal building in Oklahoma City, USA
April 19th birthdays
1903: Eliot Ness, American agent who put Al Capone behind bars