The French gave us "April Fools Day" http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-fools-tradition-popularized As well as the guillotine & the stoopid metric system
Today in 1970, feuding Houston surgeons Denton Cooley & Michael DeBakey appear on the cover of Life Magazine
Today in 1836, Sam Houston & the Texian Army defeat Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. 18 minutes.