Highlight: In 1968, student protesters began occupying buildings on the campus of Columbia University in New York; police put down the protests a week later. The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form the United Methodist Church.

In 1616 (Old Style calendar), English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon on what has traditionally been regarded as the 52nd anniversary of his birth in 1564.

In 1789, President-elect George Washington and his wife, Martha, moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House, in New York.

In 1791, the 15th president of the United States, James Buchanan, was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States, which responded in kind two days later.

In 1943, U.S. Navy Lt. John F. Kennedy assumed command of PT-109, a motor torpedo boat, in the Solomon Islands during World War II.

In 1954, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 major-league home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (The Braves won, 7-5.)

In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.)

In 1971, hundreds of Vietnam War veterans opposed to the conflict protested by tossing their medals and ribbons over a wire fence in front of the U.S. Capitol.

In 1988, Greek cycling champion Kanellos Kanellopoulos pedaled the human-powered aircraft Daedalus over the Aegean Sea for nearly four hours.

In 1998, James Earl Ray, who confessed to assassinating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and then insisted he’d been framed, died at a Nashville hospital at age 70.

In 2005, the recently created video-sharing website YouTube uploaded its first clip, “Me at the Zoo,” which showed YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, pushing for a Mideast peace agreement, met at the White House with Jordan’s King Abdullah II. The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that police had the power to conduct searches and seize evidence, even when done during an arrest that turned out to have violated state law. The Chicago Cubs won their 10,000th game, joining the Giants in reaching that mark with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings at Colorado.

Five years ago: France legalized same-sex marriage after a wrenching national debate that exposed deep conservatism in the nation’s heartland and triggered huge demonstrations.

One year ago: Centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right populist Marine Le Pen advanced to a May runoff in France’s presidential election.