TODAY IN HISTORY

On April 17, 1492, Spain's King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to finance Christopher Columbus' voyage to seek out a westward ocean passage to Asia.

In 1521 Martin Luther went before the Diet of Worms to face charges stemming from his religious writings.

In 1961 about 1,500 CIA trained Cuban exiles launched the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.

In 1964 Ford Motor Co. introduced the Mustang. Also in 1964 Jerrie Mock of Columbus, Ohio, became the first female pilot to make a solo flight around the world.

In 1969 Sirhan Sirhan was convicted of first-degree murder in the assassination of Sen. Robert Kennedy (DN.Y.). Also in 1969 Czechoslovak Communist Party Chairman Alexander Dubcek was deposed.

In 1970 the astronauts of Apollo 13 splashed down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft.

In 1975 Phnom Penh fell to communist Khmer Rouge insurgents, ending Cambodia's five-year war.

In 1982 Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed a new constitution for Canada, giving that nation independence from Britain.

In 1983 Polish police in Warsaw routed 1,000 Solidarity supporters participating in an unofficial ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

In 1991 the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 3,000 for the first time.