1865

John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, was surrounded by federal troops near Port Royal, Virginia, and killed.

1977

The legendary nightclub Studio 54 had its opening night in New York.

1986

In the worst nuclear disaster in history, an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing into the atmosphere. Dozens of people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands.

2012

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor became the first head of state since World War II to be convicted by an international war crimes court as he was found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape, and the use of child soldiers. (Taylor was sentenced to 50 years in prison.)

Birthdays

Actor-comedian Carol Burnett is 92. Composer-producer Giorgio Moroder is 85. Olympic swimming gold medalist Donna de Varona is 78. Actor Joan Chen is 64. Actor Jet Li is 62. Actor-comedian Kevin James is 60. Former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey is 59. Actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste is 58. First lady Melania Trump is 55. Singer Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins is 55. Actor Jordana Brewster is 45.