This day in history

Today is Thursday, April 25, the 116th day of 2024. There are 250 days left in the year.

Birthdays: Actor Al Pacino is 84. Rock musician Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revival is 79. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA is 79. Actor Talia Shire is 79. Actor Jeffrey DeMunn is 77. Rock musician Steve Ferrone of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers is 74. Country singer-songwriter Rob Crosby is 70. Actor Hank Azaria is 60. Actor Renee Zellweger is 55. Actor Melonie Diaz is 40. Actor Sara Paxton is 36.

▶ In 404 BC, the Peloponnesian War ended as Athens surrendered to Sparta.

▶ In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

▶ In 1862, during the Civil War, a Union fleet commanded by Flag Officer David G. Farragut captured New Orleans.

▶ In 1898, the United States Congress declared war on Spain; the 10-week conflict resulted in an American victory.

▶ In 1915, during World War I, Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war.

▶ In 1945, during World War II, US and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany’s defenses. Meanwhile, delegates from some 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.

▶ In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in orbit from the space shuttle Discovery. (It was later discovered that the telescope’s primary mirror was flawed, requiring the installation of corrective components to achieve optimal focus.)

▶ In 1992, Islamic forces in Afghanistan took control of most of the capital of Kabul following the collapse of the Communist government.

▶ In 2019, former vice president Joe Biden entered the Democratic presidential race, declaring the fight against Donald Trump to be a “battle for the soul of this nation.”

▶ In 2022, Elon Musk reached an agreement to buy Twitter for roughly $44 billion, promising a more lenient touch to policing content on the social media platform.

▶ Last year, President Biden formally announced that he would be running for reelection in 2024.