1471: Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire: Final battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York sees Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster, killed and King Edward IV return to his throne, restoring political stability to England until his death in 1483

1493: Spanish Pope Alexander VI decrees in the papal bull “Inter caetera” that all lands west of a line 100 leagues west of any of the islands of the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands belong to Castile, ultimately dividing the Americas between Spain and Portugal

1814: King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decree of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism

1904: United States begins construction of the Panama Canal

1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Source: Onthisday.com