Today is the 114th day of 2014 and the 36th day of spring.
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TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States.
In 1916, the Irish Republican Brotherhood began the Easter Uprising in Dublin, Ireland, seizing several key locations and proclaiming Irish independence.
In 1980, the United States launched Operation Eagle Claw, an unsuccessful attempt to free American hostages in Iran that resulted in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen.
In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched from the space shuttle Discovery.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), artist; Robert Penn Warren (1905-1989), novelist/poet; Richard Donner (1930- ), filmmaker; Shirley MacLaine (1934- ), actress; Sue Grafton (1940- ), author; Barbra Streisand (1942- ), singer/actress; Cedric the Entertainer (1964- ), comedian/actor; Djimon Hounsou (1964- ), actor; Aidan Gillen (1968- ), actor; Damon Lindelof (1973- ), TV writer/executive; Kelly Clarkson (1982- ), singer-songwriter.
TODAY'S FACT: In 2013, American plastic surgeons performed 15.1 million cosmetic procedures; 1.7 million of these procedures were surgical, while the rest were "minimally invasive."
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1901, the first American League game was played. The Chicago White Stockings defeated the Cleveland Blues, 8-2.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "The end of man is knowledge ... but he can't know whether he is killed because of the knowledge which he has got or because of the knowledge which he hasn't got and which if he had it, would save him." -- Robert Penn Warren, "All the King's Men"
TODAY'S NUMBER: 15 -- teams in Major League Baseball's modern American League.
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (April 22) and new moon (April 28).