The Capitulations of Santa Fe were signed by King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, granting Christopher Columbus the authority to seek a westward maritime route to Asia.
In History, Today on April 17
Today we explore events from the year 1492 to the year 2020. Events span the globe, from the countries of Spain, Holy Roman Empire, Trinidad and Tobago, France, China, Switzerland, Cuba, United States, Indonesia.
1492
Santa Fe, Spain
1521
Worms, Holy Roman Empire
Martin Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms to respond to charges of heresy.
1797
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Sir Ralph Abercromby led British forces in the capture of the island of Trinidad from Spain during the French Revolutionary Wars.
1961
Bay of Pigs, Cuba
The Bay of Pigs Invasion began as a failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506.
1964
New York City, United States
The Ford Mustang was officially unveiled by the Ford Motor Company at the New York World's Fair.
1970
Pacific Ocean, United States
The crew of Apollo 13 safely returned to Earth after an oxygen tank explosion aborted their mission to the Moon.
2002
Nice, France
The Treaty of Nice, which amended the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Rome, came into force, reforming the institutional structure of the European Union to accommodate eastward expansion.
2003
Beijing, China
The United States and North Korea held talks in Beijing to address nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
2004
Portland, United States
The first same-sex marriage license in the United States was issued in Multnomah County, Oregon, marking a significant moment in the fight for marriage equality.
2006
Washington D.C., United States
The United States Supreme Court upheld the Solomon Amendment, which allows the federal government to withhold funding from universities that ban military recruiters from their campuses.
2013
West, United States
An explosion at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, killed 15 people and injured over 160, causing widespread damage to the surrounding area.
2014
Mountain View, United States
NASA's Kepler space telescope confirmed the discovery of the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of another star, named Kepler-186f.
2019
Jakarta, Indonesia
The Indonesian general election took place, marking the largest single-day election in the world with over 190 million eligible voters.
2020
Geneva, Switzerland
The World Health Organization warned that there was no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection, impacting global public health policies.