ON THIS DAY

1500: Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral becomes the first European to discover Brazil.

1838: British steamship Sirius becomes the first vessel to cross the Atlantic from Britain to New York on steam power only.

1915: German army uses poison gas for first time on Western Front in World War I. 1945: Allied forces take Bologna in Italy during World War II. 2011: Security forces for President Bashar al-Assad open fire at tens of thousands of protesters throughout Syria. 2012: Parliamentary Speaker Peter Slipper stands aside amid a variety of allegations. Birthdays: German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804); Russian leader Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924); Australian artist Sidney Nolan (19171993); US actor Jack Nicholson (1937-); Australian singer Daniel Johns (1979-).