This day in history

[April 20, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Good Friday, April 2, the 92nd day of 2010. There are 273 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war against Germany, saying, "The world must be made safe for democracy." (Congress declared war four days later.)

On this date:

In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed in present-day Florida.

In 1792, Congress passed the Coinage Act, which authorized establishment of the U.S. Mint.

In 1860, the first Italian Parliament met at Turin.

In 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va., because of advancing Union forces.

In 1932, aviator Charles A. Lindbergh and John F. Condon went to a cemetery in The Bronx, N.Y., where Condon turned over $50,000 to a man in exchange for Lindbergh's kidnapped son. (The child, who was not returned, was found dead the following month.)

In 1956, the soap operas "As the World Turns" and "The Edge of Night" premiered on CBS television.

In 1974, French President Georges Pompidou died in Paris.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed into law a windfall profits tax on the oil industry. (The tax was repealed in 1988.)

In 1982, several thousand troops from Argentina seized the disputed Falkland Islands, located in the south Atlantic, from Britain. (Britain seized the islands back the following June.)

In 1986, four American passengers were killed when a bomb exploded aboard a TWA jetliner en route from Rome to Athens, Greece.

Ten years ago: More than 600 people set out on a five-day, 120-mile protest march to Columbia, S.C. to urge state lawmakers to move the Confederate flag from the Statehouse dome. Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (kay-zoh oh-boo-chee) suffered a debilitating stroke (he died more than a month later). Connecticut won its second women's NCAA national championship with a 71-52 victory over Tennessee.

Five years ago: Pope John Paul II, who'd helped topple communism in Europe and left a deeply conservative stamp on the church that he'd led for 26 years, died in his Vatican apartment at the age of 84. Terri Schiavo's body was cremated as disagreements continued between her husband and her parents, who were unable to have their own independent expert observe her autopsy. An Australian helicopter on a relief mission in Indonesia crashed on earthquake-devastated Nias (nee-AHS') Island, killing nine people on board.

One year ago: Leaders of the world's rich and major developing countries met at an emergency G-20 economic summit in London; afterward, President Barack Obama hailed agreements they had reached as a "turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery," but cautioned, "there are no guarantees." The House and Senate passed companion budget plans, giving President Barack Obama and his allies on Capitol Hill a key victory. A 19-count federal racketeering indictment was returned against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich), who denied doing anything illegal. Penn State beat Baylor 69-63 to win the NIT title.

Today's birthdays: Actress Rita Gam is 82. Actress Sharon Acker is 75. Singer Leon Russell is 68. Jazz musician Larry Coryell is 67. Actress Linda Hunt is 65. Singer Emmylou Harris is 63. Social critic and author Camille Paglia ia 63. Actress Pamela Reed is 61. Rock musician Dave Robinson (The Cars) is 57. Country singer Buddy Jewell is 49. Actor Christopher Meloni is 49. Singer Keren Woodward (Bananarama) is 49. Country singer Billy Dean is 48. Actor Clark Gregg is 48. Actress Jana Marie Hupp is 46. Rock musician Greg Camp is 43. Rock musician Tony Fredianelli (Third Eye Blind) is 41. Actress Roselyn Sanchez is 37. Country singer Jill King is 35. Actor Adam Rodriguez is 35. Actor Jeremy Garrett is 34. Rock musician Jesse Carmichael (Maroon 5) is 31. Actress Bethany Joy Lenz is 29. Actor Jesse Plemons is 22.

Thought for today: "The future starts today, not tomorrow." -- Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)

[Associated Press]

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