Today is the 116th day of 2016 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 1898, the United States declared war on Spain.
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; Meadowlark Lemon (1932-2015), basketball player; Jerry Leiber (1933-2011), songwriter/producer; 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: In 1901, New York became the first state to begin requiring automobile license plates.
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: "The newest computer can merely compound, at speed, the oldest problem in the relations between human beings, and in the end the communicator will be confronted with the old problem, of what to say and how to say it." -- 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 full moon (April 21) and last quarter moon (April 29).