1618: Second Defenestration of Prague: Two Catholic Lords Regent and their secretary are thrown out of a window and amazingly are not seriously injured by the 70 foot (21m) fall. Triggers the Thirty Years’ War.

1785: Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals

1813: South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador (“The Liberator”)

1949: Federal Republic of [West] Germany created out of the American, British and French occupation zones

1958: Mao Zedong starts the “Great Leap Forward” movement in China

1998: The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.

Source: Onthisday.com