On April 17, 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of assassinating Senator Robert F. Kennedy and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted to life in prison after the Supreme Court of California overturned the death penalty in the state.

On April 17, 1982, the Constitution Act 1982 was proclaimed in Ottawa, establishing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and terminating the British Parliament's power to amend the Canadian constitution.