Today in History

• 2010 Oil rig Deepwater Horizon is declared sealed after a 5-month long spill in the Gulf of Mexico

  Thought to be one of the biggest accidents in the oil and gas industry, the Deepwater Horizon spill or the BP oil spill began on April 20, 2010, when an explosion destroyed the rig and killed 11 people.

• 2006 A Military coup overthrows the elected government in Thailand

  Forces loyal to General Sonthi Boonyaratglin overthrew the elected government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and dissolved the parliament and the constitution.

• 1983 Saint Kitts and Nevis gain their Independence from the British Crown

  The first Europeans set foot on the Island country in the West Indies in the late 15th century during an expedition led by Columbus. In 1713, the control over the islands was passed from the French to the British.

• 1973 Carl XVI Gustaf succeeds his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf as the King of Sweden

  Sweden is a constitutional monarchy, where the monarch is the ceremonial head of state. In 1980, Swedish law was changed to allow the firstborn of a monarch to become the crown’s heir apparent, irrespective of their gender.

• 1944 The Moscow Armistice ends the Continuation War

  The peace treaty was signed between the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and Finland. It put an end to the conflict between the USSR and Finland between 1941 and 1944.