From Historynet: Today in History April 3

527             In Constantinople, Justin , seriously ill, crowns his nephew Justinian  as his co-emperor.

1581          Francis Drake  completes circumnavigation of the world.

1812          The territory of Orleans becomes the 18th state and will become known as Louisiana.

1818          The United States flag is declared to have 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars.

1841          President William Henry Harrison , aged 68, becomes the first president to die in office, just a month after being sworn in.

1862          The Battle of Yorktown begins as 

Union Gen. George B. McClellan  closes in on Richmond, Va.

1917          The U.S. Senate votes 90-6 to enter World War I on Allied side.

1918          The Battle of the Somme ends.

1941          Field Marshal Erwin Rommel  captures the British held town of Benghazi in North Africa.

1949          The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty is signed.

1968          Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.  is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

1974          Hank Aaron  ties Babe Ruth's home-run record.

1979          Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , the president of Pakistan is executed.

1985          A coup in Sudan ousts President Nimeiry  and replaces him with General Dahab .