 Today's highlight in history:
On April 25, 1862, during the Civil War, a Union fleet commanded by
Flag Officer David G. Farragut captured the city of New Orleans.
On this date:
In 1507, a world map produced by German cartographer Martin
Waldseemueller contained the first recorded use of the term
"America," in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci (vehs-POO'-chee).
In 1792, highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first
person under French law to be executed by the guillotine.
In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal.
In 1898, the United States formally declared war on Spain.
In 1901, New York Gov. Benjamin Barker Odell Jr. signed an
automobile registration bill which imposed a 15 mph speed limit on
highways.
In 1915, during World War I, Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli (guh-LIHP'-uh-lee)
Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Empire out
of the war.
In 1944, the United Negro College Fund was founded.
In 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on
the Elbe (EL'-beh) River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of
Nazi Germany's defenses. Delegates from some 50 countries met in San
Francisco to organize the United Nations.
In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.
In 1972, Polaroid Corp. introduced its SX-70 folding camera, which
ejected self-developing photographs. Actor George Sanders was found
dead in his hotel room near Barcelona, Spain; he was 65.
In 1983, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov invited Samantha Smith to
visit his country after receiving a letter from the Manchester,
Maine, schoolgirl.
In 1992, Islamic forces in Afghanistan took control of most of the
capital of Kabul following the collapse of the Communist government.
[to top of second column] |
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush hosted Crown Prince
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at his Texas ranch for a day of talks. The
House voted 405-9 to abolish the embattled Immigration and
Naturalization Service. A Russian rocket blasted into orbit,
carrying South African Internet millionaire Mark Shuttleworth, the
world's second space tourist. Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, the
effervescent, sometimes volatile member of the Grammy-winning trio
TLC, died in an SUV crash in Honduras; she was 30.
Five years ago: Brushing off a presidential veto threat, the
House passed, 218-208, a $124.2 billion supplemental spending bill
ordering U.S. troops to begin coming home from Iraq in the fall of
2007. The Dow Jones industrial average topped 13,000 for the first
time, ending the day at 13,089.89. Rosie O'Donnell announced she was
leaving the ABC talk show "The View" in June (she actually left in
late May).
One year ago: President Bashar Assad of Syria sent the
military into the southern city of Daraa, where an anti-government
uprising had begun the previous month.
Today's birthdays: Movie director-writer Paul Mazursky is 82.
Actor Al Pacino is 72. Ballroom dance judge Len Goodman (TV:
"Dancing with the Stars") is 68. Rock musician Stu Cook (Creedence
Clearwater Revival) is 67. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA) is 67.
Actress Talia Shire is 66. Actor Jeffrey DeMunn is 65. Rock musician
Michael Brown (The Left Banke) is 63. Rock musician Steve Ferrone
(Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 62. Country singer-songwriter Rob
Crosby is 58. Actor Hank Azaria is 48. Rock singer Andy Bell
(Erasure) is 48. Rock musician Eric Avery (Jane's Addiction) is 47.
Country musician Rory Feek (Joey + Rory) is 47. TV personality Jane
Clayson is 45. Actress Renee Zellweger is 43. Actress Gina Torres is
43. Actor Jason Lee is 42. Actor Jason Wiles is 42. Actress Emily
Bergl is 37. Actress Marguerite Moreau is 35. Singer Jacob Underwood
is 32. Actress Sara Paxton is 24. Actress Allisyn Ashley Arm is 16.
Thought for today: "I think it is all a matter of love: the
more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it is." -- Vladimir Nabokov,
Russian-born author (1899-1977)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed. |
