TODAY’S HISTORY

1902: Marie and Pierre Curie isolated the radioactive element radium for the first time.

1946: The League of Nations officially dissolved.

1999: Two gunwielding students killed 12 fellow students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

2010: A gas explosion and fire killed 11 people on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, beginning an oil spill that would not be capped for several months.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), German dictator; Harold Lloyd (18931971), filmmaker; Joan Miro (1893-1983), painter/sculptor; Lionel Hampton (1908-2002), jazz musician; Tito Puente (1923-2000), jazz musician; George Takei (1937-), actor; Ryan O’neal (1941-), actor; Steve Spurrier (1945-), football coach; Jessica Lange (1949-), actress; Luther Vandross (1951-2005), singer-songwriter; Crispin Glover (1964-), actor; Andy Serkis (1964-), actor/director; Carmen Electra (1972-), actress.

TODAY’S FACT: England sent criminals to Australia for forced labor and isolation from society well into the 19th century.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 2008, Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first female driver to win an Indycar race.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “When I stand in front of a canvas, I never know what I’m going to do — and nobody is more surprised than I at what comes out.” — Joan Miro

TODAY’S NUMBER: 63 — points scored by Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls against the Boston Celtics on this day in 1986, setting an NBA playoff record that still stands. The Bulls lost 135-131 in double overtime and eventually lost the first-round series, while the Celtics went on to win the championship.