On this day in 1947, civil disorder broke out in Taipei following an altercation between a female cigarette vendor and the authorities the previous day. This was the beginning of what became known as the 228 Incident, and the “White Terror”, which saw thousands of deaths over the span of several decades.
On this day in 1953, James D. Watson and Francis Crick announced to friends that they had determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement took place on April 25 following publication in the April edition of Nature.
On this day in 1972, the United States and the People's Republic of China signed the Shanghai Communiqué. The document pledged that it was in the interest of all nations for the United States and China to work towards the normalization of their relations.
On this day in 1991, the first Gulf War ended.
And on this day in 2004, over one million Taiwanese participating in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally formed a 500-kilometre long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident of 1947