Today is the 125th day of 2014 and the 47th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1809, Mary Kies became the first woman to receive a U.S. patent, for a weaving technique.

In 1862, the Mexican army halted the invading French army in the Battle of Puebla. This day would later be celebrated as the "Cinco de Mayo" holiday.

In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into outer space.

In 1994, 18-year-old American Michael P. Fay was caned in Singapore as punishment for theft and vandalism.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), philosopher; Karl Marx (1818-1883), philosopher; Nellie Bly (1864-1922), journalist; Tyrone Power (1914-1958), actor; Michael Palin (1943- ), actor/comedian; John Rhys-Davies (1944- ), actor; Brian Williams (1959- ), TV journalist; Craig David (1981- ), singer-songwriter; Henry Cavill (1983- ), actor; Adele (1988- ), singer-songwriter; Chris Brown (1989- ), singer-songwriter.

TODAY'S FACT: Tchaikovsky was the guest conductor at the grand opening of New York's Carnegie Hall (then called the Music Hall) on this day in 1891.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1973, Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby with a time of 1:59:40, a record that still stands.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The tyrant dies and his rule is over; the martyr dies and his rule begins." -- Soren Kierkegaard

TODAY'S NUMBER: 23 -- perfect games (as of April 2014) thrown by major league pitchers since Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox first accomplished the feat on this day in 1904. A perfect game is one in which no opposing player reaches base.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (April 28) and first quarter moon (May 6).

Today is the 124th day of 2014 and the 46th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1886, a labor demonstration in Chicago's Haymarket Square turned violent when a bomb exploded and demonstrators began rioting.

In 1959, the first Grammy Awards were held.

In 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen killed four students at Kent State University during an anti-war protest.

In 1979, Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister in British history.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Horace Mann (1796-1859), educator; Jane Jacobs (1916-2006), author/activist; Hosni Mubarak (1928- ), former president of Egypt; Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), actress/UNICEF ambassador; Roberta Peters (1930- ), opera singer; Dick Dale (1937- ), guitarist; George Will (1941- ), journalist/author; Randy Travis (1959- ), singer-songwriter; Will Arnett (1970- ), actor; Erin Andrews (1978- ), sportscaster; Lance Bass (1979- ), singer.

TODAY'S FACT: About 14.5 million Americans were members of a labor union in 2013.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1936, "Joltin'" Joe DiMaggio made his major-league debut with the New York Yankees.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men -- the balance wheel of the social machinery." -- Horace Mann

TODAY'S NUMBER: 5 -- Oscars for which Audrey Hepburn was nominated in the Best Actress category. She won once.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (April 28) and first quarter moon (May 6).

Today is the 123rd day of 2014 and the 45th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1802, Washington, D.C., was incorporated as a city.

In 1921, West Virginia approved the first state sales tax.

In 1973, construction was completed on Chicago's Sears Tower (later renamed the Willis Tower), the tallest building in the world at the time.

In 2006, Zacarias Moussaoui, convicted of conspiracy in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was sentenced to life in prison.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), statesman/philosopher; Golda Meir (1898-1978), Israeli prime minister; Bing Crosby (1903-1977), singer/actor; Pete Seeger (1919-2014), singer-songwriter; Sugar Ray Robinson (1921-1989), boxer; James Brown (1933-2006), singer-songwriter; Frankie Valli (1934- ), singer; Greg Gumbel (1946- ), sportscaster; Christina Hendricks (1975- ), actress; Dule Hill (1975- ), actor; Cheryl Burke (1984- ), dancer.

TODAY'S FACT: Residents of Washington, D.C., did not receive the right to vote in presidential elections until the 23rd Amendment was passed in 1961.

TODAY'S SPORTS: in 1987, Julius Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers played his final game, finishing with 30,026 points, 10,525 rebounds and 5,176 assists in his professional basketball (ABA and NBA) career.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "I'd really rather put songs on people's lips than in their ears." -- Pete Seeger

TODAY'S NUMBER: 23 -- hours of solitary confinement each day for prisoners at the Supermax prison in Florence, Colo., where Zacarias Moussaoui is imprisoned.

TODAY'S MOON: Between new moon (April 28) and first quarter moon (May 6).