Today is the 117th day of 2015 and the 39th day of spring.
TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1521, explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines.
In 1865, the steamboat Sultana exploded in the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, killing some 1,700 passengers.
In 2006, construction began on the Freedom Tower (later renamed One World Trade Center) at the World Trade Center site in New York City.
In 2014, John XXIII and John Paul II became the first popes to be canonized as saints since 1954.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Morse code co-inventor; Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), soldier/18th U.S. president; Rogers Hornsby (1896-1963), baseball player; Enos Slaughter (1916-2002), baseball player; Jack Klugman (1922-2012), actor; Coretta Scott King (1927-2006), activist; Casey Kasem (1932-2014), radio/TV personality; August Wilson (1945-2005), playwright; Herm Edwards (1954- ), football coach/sportscaster.
TODAY'S FACT: In 1667, blind and impoverished poet John Milton sold the copyright to his masterpiece, "Paradise Lost," for 10 pounds (roughly $2,200 in 2015 U.S. currency).
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1956, 31-year-old boxer Rocky Marciano retired with a perfect 49-0 record, the only heavyweight champion to do so.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "Though I have been trained as a soldier, and have participated in many battles, there never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not have been found of preventing the drawing of the sword." -- Ulysses S. Grant
TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,776 -- architectural height (in feet) of One World Trade Center.
TODAY'S MOON: Between first quarter moon (April 25) and full moon (May 3).