Today In History
Today is Tuesday, April 17, the 107th day of 2018. There are 258 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 1961: Some 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in an attempt to topple Fidel Castro.
ON THIS DATE
› 1492: A contract was signed by Christopher Columbus and a representative of Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, giving Columbus a commission to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia.
› 1924: The motion picture studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was founded, the result of a merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and the Louis B. Mayer Co.
› 1937: Cartoon character Daffy Duck made his debut in the Warner Bros. animated short “Porky’s Duck Hunt,” directed by Tex Avery.
› 1964: Geraldine “Jerrie” Mock became the first woman to complete a solo airplane trip around the world as she returned to Columbus, Ohio, after 29 1/2 days in her Cessna 180. Ford Motor Co. unveiled the Mustang at the New York World’s Fair.
› 1970: Apollo 13 astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert splashed down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft while en route to the moon.
› 1972: The Boston Marathon allowed women to compete for the first time.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor David Bradley is 76. Composer-musician Jan Hammer is 70. Actress Olivia Hussey is
67. Actor Clarke Peters is
66. Rock singer-musician Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks) is 63. Rapper Afrika Bambaataa is 61. Actor Sean Bean is 59. Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason is 57. Actor Joel Murray is 56. Rock singer Maynard James Keenan is
54. Actress Lela Rochon is 54. Actor William Mapother is 53. Actress Leslie Bega is 51. Actor Henry Ian Cusick is 51. Actress Kimberly Elise is
51. Singer Liz Phair is 51. Rapper-actor Redman is
48. Actress Jennifer Garner is 46. Country musician Craig Anderson is
45. Singer Victoria Adams Beckham is 44. Actor Nicholas D’Agosto is 38. Actor Charlie Hofheimer is 37. Actress Rooney Mara is 33. Actress Jacqueline MacInnes Wood is 31. Actor Paulie Litt is
23. Actress Dee Dee Davis is 22.