^B{^#!16!17 April^N! National Day of Syria. Feast day of St Donnan, St Aybert, St Stephen Harding, St Innocent of Tortona, St Mappalicus and Others, and St Robert of Chaise-Dieu.
^B{1521^B} The Diet of Worms excommunicated German Church reformer Martin Luther. ^B{1961^B} US troops and Cuban exiles failed in their attempt to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. ^B{1956^B} The first Premium Bonds were issued in Britain. ^B{1957^B} Archbishop Makarios returned to Greece after over a year in exile in the Seychelles. ^B{1969^B} The age at which a person is eligible to vote in Britain was lowered from 21 to 18. ^B{1975^B} The Cambodian communist Khmer Rouge captured the capital, Pnomh Penh. ^B{1980^B} Southern Rhodesia became Zimbabwe.
^B{^I{^#!14!Born ^N}John Ford, English playwright, ^B{1586^B}; Leonard Woolley, English archeologist, ^B{1880^B}; Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet leader, ^B{1894^B}; Thornton Wilder, US novelist, ^B{1897^B}; Sirimavo Bandaranaike, first woman prime minister of Sri Lanka, ^B{1916^B}; Lindsay Anderson, British film and stage director, ^B{1923^B}.
^B{^I{^#!14!Died ^N}Mme de SΘvignΘ, French writer, ^B{1696^B}; Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor, ^B{1711^B}; Benjamin Franklin, American scientist and politician, ^B{1790^B}; Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese novelist, ^B{1972^B}; Scott Brady, US actor, ^B{1985^B}; Turgut Ozal, Turkish politician, ^B{1993^B}.
