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History
Today is Thursday, April 25, the 115th day of 2002. There are 250 days left in the year.
Highlight in History:
On April 25, 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.
On this date:
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 became the first state to require automobile license plates; the fee was $1.
In 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany’s defenses.
In 1945, delegates from some 50 countries met in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.
In 1983, the Pioneer 10 spacecraft crossed Pluto’s orbit, on its endless voyage through the Milky Way.
In 1990, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was inaugurated as president of Nicaragua, ending 11 years of leftist Sandinista rule.
In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the space shuttle Discovery.
In 1995, show business legend Ginger Rogers died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., at age 83.
Ten years ago:
Islamic forces in Afghanistan took control of most of the capital of Kabul following the collapse of the Communist government. An earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale shook northern California.
Five years ago:
The prosecution began calling witnesses in Timothy McVeigh’s Oklahoma City bombing trial. A federal judge ruled for the first time that the Food and Drug Administration can regulate tobacco as a drug — but said it couldn’t restrict cigarette advertising.
One year ago:
In unusually blunt terms, President Bush warned China that an attack on Taiwan could provoke a U.S. military response. A rescue plane flew out of the South Pole with ailing American doctor Ronald S. Shemenski in the most daring airlift ever from the pole. Ousted Philippine President Joseph Estrada became the country’s first leader to be arrested for alleged corruption in office. Federal regulators ordered limited price controls on California wholesale electricity markets.
Today’s Birthdays:
Country musician Vassar Clements is 74. Movie director-writer Paul Mazursky is 72. Former Harlem Globetrotter George “Meadowlark” Lemon is 70. Songwriter Jerry Leiber is 69. Actor Al Pacino is 62. Rock musician Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 57. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA) is 57. Actress Talia Shire is 56. Actor Jeffrey DeMunn is 55. Rock musician Michael Brown (The Left Banke) is 53. Country singer-songwriter Rob Crosby is 48. Actor Hank Azaria is 38. Rock singer Andy Bell (Erasure) is 38. Rock musician Eric Avery (Jane’s Addiction) is 37. TV personality Jane Clayson (“The Early Show”) is 35. Actress Renee Zellweger is 33. Actor Jason Lee is 32. Actress Emily Bergl is 27. Singer Jacob Underwood (O Town) is 22.
