On April 30, 1948, the Organization of American States (OAS) was established in Bogota, Colombia with the signing of the Charter of the Organization of American States at the Ninth International Conference of American States.
On April 30, 1803, the United States and France signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty in Paris, by which France ceded its Louisiana Territory to the US for $15 million. Review the terms of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty.
On April 29, 1997, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction went into force. The Convention prohibits members nations from creating and deploying chemical weapons, and is overseen by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Oliver Ellsworth, third Chief Justice of the United States and primary author of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that established the federal court system, was born in Windsor, Connecticut, on April 29, 1745. Learn more about Oliver Ellsworth.
On April 28, 1952, a peace treaty between Japan and 48 nations took effect, formally ending World War II. Review the terms of the San Francisco Treaty.
On April 28, 1994, Aldrich Ames, a former C.I.A. official, pleaded guilty to passing U.S. secrets to the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War. Ames further confessed that he continued spying for Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Learn more about the case of Aldrich Ames from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Also [...]
On April 27, 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland and parts of several midwestern states during the American Civil War. Lincoln took this action to address drafts riots and the threat of secession by Union states bordering the Confederacy. The President maintained his suspension even after it was [...]
On April 27, 1946, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East began its trials in Tokyo, Japan, ruling on the indictments of former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo and 27 associates. Learn more about the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.
On April 26, 1970, the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) went into force, creating WIPO. WIPO is a United Nations agency that works to promote intellectual property rights in the international community. Today, 184 nations have signed the convention. Learn more about WIPO.
On April 26, 1865, Sergeant Thomas P. Corbett was placed under technical arrest for killing John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. Charges against Corbett were dropped by Secretary of War Stanton, and Corbett received a share of the reward money for Booth, which amounted to $1,653.85. Learn more about Thomas P. Corbett.