Today in history

On April 24, 1800, Congress approved a bill establishing the Library of Congress.

In 1792, Capt. Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle began composing "War Song for the Rhine Army," later known as "La Marseillaise" (lah mahr-say-YEHZ'), the national anthem of France.

In 1877, federal troops were ordered out of New Orleans, ending the North's post-Civil War rule in the South.

In 1915, in what's considered the start of the Armenian genocide, the Ottoman Empire began rounding up Armenian political and cultural leaders in Constantinople.

In 1916, some 1,600 Irish nationalists launched the Easter Rising by seizing several key sites in Dublin. (The rising was put down by British forces five days later.)

In 1932, in the Free State of Prussia, the Nazi Party gained a plurality of seats in parliamentary elections.

In 1947, novelist Willa Cather died in New York at age 73.

In 1953, British statesman Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1967, Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was killed when his Soyuz 1 spacecraft smashed into the Earth after his parachutes failed to deploy properly during re-entry; he was the first human spaceflight fatality.

In 1970, the People's Republic of China launched its first satellite, which kept transmitting a song, "The East Is Red."

In 1980, the United States launched an unsuccessful attempt to free the American hostages in Iran, a mission that resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen.

In 1990, the space shuttle Discovery blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope.

Ten years ago: The White House accused North Korea of assisting Syria's secret nuclear program, saying a Syrian nuclear reactor destroyed by Israel in 2007 was not intended for "peaceful purposes."

Five years ago: In Bangladesh, a shoddily constructed eight-story commercial building housing garment factories collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people.

One year ago: Two inmates received lethal injections on the same gurney about three hours apart as Arkansas completed the nation's first double execution since 2000, just days after the state ended a nearly 12-year hiatus on administering capital punishment. Astronaut Peggy Whitson broke the U.S. record for most time in space and talked up Mars during a congratulatory call from President Donald Trump; the International Space Station's commander surpassed the record of 534 days, two hours and 48 minutes for most accumulated time in space by an American.