Today is the 115th day of 2014 and the 37th day of spring.
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TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1859, British, French and German engineers began construction on the Suez Canal in Egypt.
In 1901, New York became the first state to begin requiring automobile license plates.
In 1945, U.S. and Soviet troops met at the Elbe River in Germany, signaling the defeat of German defenses.
In 1953, Francis Crick and James D. Watson published an article describing the double helix structure of DNA.
In 2011, a four-day tornado outbreak in the southern United States began, producing 358 confirmed tornadoes and killing more than 300 people.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), soldier/politician; Edward R. Murrow (1908-1965), journalist; Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996), singer; Al Pacino (1940- ), actor; Hank Azaria (1964- ), actor; John Henson (1965-2014), puppeteer; Joe Buck (1969- ), sportscaster; Renee Zellweger (1969- ), actress; Jason Lee (1970- ), actor; Tim Duncan (1976- ), basketball player.
TODAY'S FACT: Edward R. Murrow was born Egbert Roscoe Murrow.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1950, Chuck Cooper became the first African-American drafted into the NBA when he was selected by the Boston Celtics with the first pick of the second round.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." -- Edward R. Murrow
TODAY'S NUMBER: 26,723 -- nautical miles traveled by the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered submarine USS Triton during its 60-day, 21-hour submerged circumnavigation of the world, completed on this day in 1960.
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (April 22) and new moon (April 28).