22 April 1961

American climate activist Wynn Bruce set himself on fire outside the United States Supreme Court Building in an apparent protest against the climate crisis.

The Paris Agreement, an international treaty on climate change, opened for signature and was signed by 175 parties.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested two men who were plotting to commit terrorist attacks against Via Rail operations.

Flammable cargo exploded at a railway station in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing at least 54 people and injuring more than a thousand others.

In a pre-dawn raid, U.S. federal agents seized six-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami and returned him to his Cuban father.

Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager, was murdered while waiting for a bus in Eltham, London, leading to cultural changes of attitudes on racism and the police, and to the law and police practice.

Korean War: The Chinese People's Volunteer Army attacked positions occupied mainly by Australian and Canadian forces, starting the Battle of Kapyong.

Civil War in Mandatory Palestine: The Jewish paramilitary group Haganah captured Haifa from the Arab Liberation Army.

About 600 prisoners of the Jasenovac concentration camp in the Independent State of Croatia revolted, but only 80 managed to escape while the remainder were killed by the Ustaše regime.

The short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was established on territory formerly part of the Russian Empire.

The first meeting of the Colonial Defence Committee, a standing committee of the British Colonial Office, was held to discuss the defence of Barbados.

Anglo-Persian forces combined to capture the Portuguese garrison at Hormuz Island in the Persian Gulf.

A fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral (pictured) anchored off present-day Brazil; he later claimed the land for the Portuguese Empire.

Gregory VII was elected pope following the death of Alexander II.

At least 26 people are killed in a terrorist attack on a group of tourists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Paris Agreement is signed, an agreement to help fight global warming.

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan's war record.

Eighteen-year-old Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Well Hall, Eltham.

A series of gas explosions rip through the streets in Guadalajara, Mexico, killing 206.

Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic.

Pan Am Flight 812 crashes on approach to Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, killing all 107 people on board.

The first Earth Day is celebrated.

Chicano residents in San Diego, California occupy a site under the Coronado Bridge, leading to the creation of Chicano Park.

British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.