Today is the 117th day of 2014 and the 39th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1521, explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines.

In 1805, U.S. Marines captured Derna, a city on "the shores of Tripoli."

In 1865, the steamboat Sultana exploded in the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn., 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.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: 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- ), radio/TV personality; August Wilson (1945-2005), playwright.

TODAY'S FACT: In 1667, blind and impoverished poet John Milton sold the copyright to his masterpiece, "Paradise Lost," for 10 pounds.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1956, 31-year-old boxer Rocky Marciano retired with a perfect record, the only heavyweight champion to do so.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The friend in my adversity I shall always cherish most. I can better trust those who have helped to relieve the gloom of my dark hours than those who are so ready to enjoy with me the sunshine of my prosperity." -- Ulysses S. Grant

TODAY'S NUMBER: 1,776 -- planned height (in feet) of One World Trade Center when the skyscraper is completed.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (April 22) and new moon (April 28).

Today is the 116th day of 2014 and the 38th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1865, John Wilkes Booth, President Abraham Lincoln's assassin, was killed by Union troops in Virginia.

In 1937, German planes bombed the city of Guernica in Spain.

In 1986, a reactor ruptured at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Soviet Union, spreading radioactive material over much of Europe.

In 2000, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean signed the nation's first bill allowing gay couples to form civil unions.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863), artist; Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903), landscape architect; Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951), philosopher; Charles Richter (1900-1985), seismologist; Bernard Malamud (1914-1986), author; I.M. Pei (1917- ), architect; Carol Burnett (1933- ), actress/comedian; Giancarlo Esposito (1958- ), actor; Jet Li (1963- ), actor; Kevin James (1965- ), actor/comedian; Tom Welling (1977- ), actor; Channing Tatum (1980- ), actor.

TODAY'S FACT: The United States has 104 operational nuclear reactors, more than any other nation.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1941, the organ, now a staple at Major League Baseball stadiums, made its debut at Wrigley Field, during a game in which the Chicago Cubs lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-2.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Without heroes we're all plain people and don't know how far we can go." -- Bernard Malamud

TODAY'S NUMBER: 64,000 -- square miles contaminated by radioactive material from the Chernobyl disaster, an area approximately the size of Wisconsin.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (April 22) and new moon (April 28).

Today is the 115th day of 2014 and the 37th day of spring.

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).