On This Day in History

U.S. president Harry S. Truman relieved General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of his commands for making public statements about the Korean War that contradicted the administration's policies.

The Stone of Scone, removed months earlier by Scottish students, was found on the altar of Arbroath Abbey.

Pope John XXIII issued Pacem in terris, the first papal encyclical addressed to "all men of good will" rather than only to Catholics.

Almost 50 confirmed tornadoes struck six states in the Midwestern United States during the Palm Sunday tornado outbreak, killing over 270 people and injuring 1,500 others.

Rudi Dutschke, the most prominent leader of the German student movement, survived an assassination attempt, which led to the largest protests to that date in Germany.

On the Art of the Cinema, a treatise on film propaganda in support of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea written by the future North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, was published.

Uganda–Tanzania War: The allied forces of Tanzania and the Uganda National Liberation Front captured the capital Kampala, deposing Ugandan president Idi Amin.

Prisoners at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility near Lucasville, Ohio, rioted and took over the prison for 11 days, resulting in the deaths of one officer and nine inmates.

While attempting to set a record as the youngest person to pilot an airplane across the United States, the aircraft flown by seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff crashed in Cheyenne, Wyoming, killing her and two others.

In a FIFA World Cup qualifying match, Australia defeated American Samoa 31–0, the largest margin of victory recorded in international football.

In a coup attempt, members of the Venezuelan military detained President Hugo Chávez and demanded his resignation.

A bomb exploded at Oktyabrskaya station on the Minsk Metro in Belarus, killing 15 people and injuring more than 200.

The tour bus of the German football team Borussia Dortmund was attacked with roadside bombs in Dortmund, killing a police officer and injuring one of the team's players.

A Myanmar Air Force airstrike killed at least 100 villagers in Pazigyi.