Today is the 97th day of 2014 and the 19th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1712, slaves in New York City launched a revolt, killing nine white slaveholders.

In 1862, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant defeated Confederate troops in the Battle of Shiloh.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower suggested during a press conference that the fall of French Indochina to communism could create a "domino effect" in Southeast Asia.

In 1994, civil war and ethnic genocide began in Rwanda, claiming an estimated 500,000 to one million lives over the next several months.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: William Wordsworth (1770-1850), poet; Will Keith Kellogg (1860-1951), Kellogg Company founder; Billie Holiday (1915-1959), singer-songwriter; Ravi Shankar (1920-2012), musician; James Garner (1928- ), actor; Francis Ford Coppola (1939- ), filmmaker; David Frost (1939-2013), journalist/TV personality; Stan Winston (1946-2008), special effects artist; Jackie Chan (1954- ), actor; James "Buster" Douglas (1960- ), boxer; Russell Crowe (1964- ), actor; Tiki and Ronde Barber (1975- ), football players.

TODAY'S FACT: Educator Booker T. Washington was the first African-American to be depicted on a U.S. postage stamp, issued on this day in 1940.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1963, at age 23, golfer Jack Nicklaus won the first of his six Masters titles.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Wisdom is oft-times nearer when we stoop than when we soar." -- William Wordsworth, from "The Excursion"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,925 -- performances of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific" during its original Broadway run, which began on this day in 1949.

TODAY'S MOON: First quarter moon (April 7).

Today is the 96th day of 2014 and the 18th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1830, Joseph Smith established the Mormon Church in Fayette Township, N.Y.

In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, 1,500 years after the last recorded original games.

In 1917, the United States formally entered World War I by declaring war on Germany.

In 1947, the first Tony Awards were presented for achievement in live Broadway theater.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936), journalist; Gil Kane (1926-2000), illustrator; Gerry Mulligan (1927-1996), jazz musician; Merle Haggard (1937- ), singer-songwriter; Billy Dee Williams (1937- ), actor; Barry Levinson (1942- ), director/producer; John Ratzenberger (1947- ), actor; Michael Rooker (1955- ), actor; Paul Rudd (1969- ), actor; Zach Braff (1975- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: Florence Green, the last surviving veteran of World War I, died in February 2012 at the age of 110.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 2004, the University of Connecticut became the first university to win the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball championships in the same year.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." -- Mahatma Gandhi, on this day in 1930, during the Salt March to protest British rule in India

TODAY'S NUMBER: 25 -- world records set at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (March 30) and first quarter moon (April 7).

Today is the 95th day of 2014 and the 17th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1792, George Washington cast the first presidential veto, striking down a bill that concerned representative apportionment among the states.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps.

In 1955, Winston Churchill resigned as prime minister of Great Britain due to failing health.

In 2010, an explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia killed 29 miners.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), philosopher; Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), writer/educator; Spencer Tracy (1900-1967), actor; Bette Davis (1908-1989), actress; Gregory Peck (1916-2003), actor; Colin Powell (1937- ), U.S. Army general/diplomat; Mitch Pileggi (1952- ), actor; Pharrell Williams (1973- ), rapper/producer; Hayley Atwell (1982- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: In addition to shelter, clothing, medical care and food, enrollees in the Civilian Conservation Corps were provided $30 per month in wages, $22-25 of which was required to be sent home to a family dependent.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers scored his 31,420th career point, breaking the NBA's all-time scoring record.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I will permit no man to narrow and degrade my soul by making me hate him." -- Booker T. Washington

TODAY'S NUMBER: 635 -- number of vetoes cast by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his multiple terms as U.S. president, from 1933 to 1945.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (March 30) and first quarter moon (April 7).