1532 – Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro springs a trap on Incan emperor Alahualpa, massacring 5,000 unarmed men and taking Atahualpa captive. He was later executed. While fighting between the Spanish and the Incas continued, this effectively marked the end of the Inca empire and the beginning of European colonization of South America.
1941 – Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels publishes his screed of hate in a German magazine, blaming the world war on European Jews, thus giving the Nazis rationalization for exterminating them.
1959 – The last Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, “The Sound of Music,” opens on Broadway. Shortly thereafter, Oscar Hammerstein dies from cancer. The musical was made into an Academy Award-winning movie in 1965, starring Julie Andrews.
2004 – Condoleezza Rice is nominated for Secretary of State by Pres. George W. Bush. She was formerly Bush’s National Security Advisor.
