16 April 1939

The ferry MV Sewol capsized and sank off Donggeochado, South Korea, killing 306 people, mainly students from Danwon High School.

In one of the deadliest shooting incidents in United States history, a gunman killed 32 people and wounded over 20 more before committing suicide at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia.

India and Bangladesh began a six-day conflict over their disputed border, which ended in a stalemate.

The Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, headquartered in Paris, was founded.

American financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch first described the post–World War II tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States as a "cold war".

Second World War: British and Canadian forces concluded the Liberation of Arnhem in the Netherlands from German occupation.

Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launched the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius (now in Lithuania) from the Red Army.

World War I: Several French army corps began a massive assault against the German-occupied Chemin des Dames ridge, south of Laon, France.

American pilot Harriet Quimby (pictured) became the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

Slavery in Washington, D.C., ended when the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act became law.

French Revolutionary Wars: Severely outnumbered French forces repulsed an Ottoman attack at the Battle of Mount Tabor in present-day Israel.

A revolt of citizens in Toledo, Castile, opposed to the rule of the foreign-born Charles I began when the royal government attempted to unseat radical city councilors.

Emperor Justinian I approved and consecrated Pope Pelagius I.

After defeat by Vitellius' troops at Bedriacum, Roman emperor Otho killed himself.

The historic Børsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, is severely damaged by a fire.

The New York Times and The New Yorker win the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for breaking news of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal.

Ecuador's worst earthquake in nearly 40 years kills 676 and injures more than 230,000.

The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks near Jindo Island, killing 304 passengers and crew and leading to widespread criticism of the South Korean government, media, and shipping authorities.

The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway.

The Pulitzer Prize winners are announced. It was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize.

The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the Baze v. Rees decision that execution by lethal injection does not violate the Eighth Amendment ban against cruel and unusual punishment.

Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho murders 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide.

The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union.

India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.