On this day in 1547, Ivan the Terrible was crowned as the Czar of Russia.

The Duke of Norfolk was tried for treason for attempting to restore Catholicism in England in 1572, he was executed on the 2nd of June that year.

The British Museum opened in London on this day in 1759. The British defeated the French at the Battle of Corunna in the Peninsula War of 1809.

On this day in 1900, the US Senate consented to the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 which the UK renounced the rights to the Samoan Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

In 1919, the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution prohibiting the sale or transportation of alcoholic beverages was ratified. Prohibition went into effect exactly a year later in 1920, it was repealed by the 21st Amendment and ended in 1933.

General Dwight D Eisenhower took command of the Allied invasion force on this day in 1944.

‘Hello Dolly’ opened on this day in 1964 at the St. James Theatre in New York City. Colonel Muammar el-Quaddafi became the president of Libya in 1970. The Shah of Iran and his family fled from their homeland in 1979 for the safety of Egypt.

Great Britain and the Vatican resumed full diplomatic relations in 1982, the first time in over 400 years.

On this day in 1988, a CBS sports commentator, Jimmy Snyder, was fired after making the remark that during the era of slavery blacks had been bred to produce stronger offspring.

Operation Desert Storm began on this day in 1991, it was designed to drive the invading Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. In 1992, officials from the government of El Salvador met with rebel leaders in Mexico City to sign a pact bringing to an end the 12 years of civil war, the fighting had led to at least 75,000 people being killed.

Bill Cosby’s son Ennis, aged 27, was shot and killed while changing a tyre on a road in Los Angeles, California in 1997.

On this day in 1999, in southern Kosovo, 37 bodies were found to have been mutilated just one day after heavy fighting during an attack by Serb forces, all the bodies were wearing civilian clothing.

Ricardo Lagos was elected as the new socialist president of Chile in the year 2000.

US Attorney General John Ashcroft announced in 2002 that John Walker Lindh would be brought to the US to face trial. He was charged with conspiracy to kill US citizens, providing support to terrorist organizations and engaged in prohibited transactions with the Taliban in Afghanistan. He was later sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Famous birthdays on this day include French industrialist Andre Michelin in 1853, Scottish athlete and rugby union player Eric Liddell in 1902. Ethel Merman in 1909 and Ronnie Milsap in 1944. American film director John Carpenter in 1948, British singer Sade in 1959 and Kate Moss in 1974.

As you can see over the years this has been quite an eventful day for a number of very different reasons. Check back to see what the next day in the calendar year has to offer tomorrow.