April 6
1453
Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.
1896
In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.
1917
World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson's address to Congress).
1930
Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares: "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the, " beginning the Salt Satyagraha.
1968
United States erupts in race violence. Dozens of major cities in the United States are rocked by an escalation in the race riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King.
1998
Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
2004
Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
2005
Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.