Today in History

Today is Monday, April 1, the 91st day of 2013. There are 274 days left in the year. This is April Fool's Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 1, 1789, the U.S. House of Representatives held its first full meeting in New York; Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was elected the first House speaker.

On this date:

In 1853, Cincinnati, Ohio, established a fire department made up of paid city employees.

In 1912, the city of Branson, Mo., was incorporated.

In 1933, Nazi Germany staged a daylong national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses.

In 1939, the United States recognized the government of Gen. Francisco Franco in Spain, the same day Franco went on radio to declare victory in the Spanish Civil War.

In 1945, American forces launched the amphibious invasion of Okinawa during World War II.

In 1962, the Katherine Anne Porter novel "Ship of Fools," an allegory about the rise of Nazism in Germany, was published by Little, Brown & Co. on April Fool's Day.

In 1963, New York City's daily newspapers resumed publishing after settlement was reached in a 114-day strike. The daytime drama "General Hospital" premiered on ABC-TV.

In 1972, the first Major League Baseball players' strike began; it lasted 12 days.

In 1976, Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.

In 1983, tens of thousands of anti-nuclear demonstrators linked arms in a 14-mile human chain spanning three defense installations in rural England, including the Greenham Common U.S. Air Base.

In 1984, recording star Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father, Marvin Gay Sr. in Los Angeles, the day before his 45th birthday. (The elder Gay pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and received probation.)

In 1992, the National Hockey League Players' Association went on its first-ever strike, which lasted 10 days.

Ten years ago: American troops entered a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, and rescued Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who'd been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed on March 23. A Cuban plane hijacked the day before with 32 people aboard landed at Key West, Fla., where the hijacker surrendered.

Five years ago: The Pentagon made public a legal memo dated March 14, 2003 that approved the use of harsh interrogation techniques against terror suspects, saying that President George W. Bush's wartime authority trumped any international ban on torture. (The memo was rescinded in December 2003.) Top executives of the country's five biggest oil companies told a skeptical Congress they knew record fuel prices were hurting people, but argued it wasn't their fault and that their huge profits were in line with other industries.

One year ago: A coalition of more than 70 partners, including the United States, pledged to send millions of dollars and communications equipment to Syria's opposition groups. Myanmar's democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, was elected to her country's parliament. Former Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid died at age 77. Taylor Swift won her second consecutive entertainer of the year award at the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Jane Powell is 85. Actress Grace Lee Whitney is 83. Actress Debbie Reynolds is 81. Country singer Jim Ed Brown is 79. Actor Don Hastings is 79. Actress Ali MacGraw is 75. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rudolph Isley is 74. Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff is 65. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is 63. Rock musician Billy Currie (Ultravox) is 63. Actress Annette O'Toole is 61. Movie director Barry Sonnenfeld is 60. Singer Susan Boyle (TV: "Britain's Got Talent") is 52. Country singer Woody Lee is 45. Actress Jessica Collins is 42. Rapper-actor Method Man is 42. Movie directors Albert and Allen Hughes are 41. Political commentator Rachel Maddow is 40. Tennis player Magdalena Maleeva is 38. Actor David Oyelowo is 37. Singer Bijou Phillips is 33. Actor Sam Huntington is 31. Actor Matt Lanter is 30. Actor Josh Zuckerman is 28. Country singer Hillary Scott (Lady Antebellum) is 27.

Thought for Today: "A caval donato non si guarda in bocca." (Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.) -- Italian proverb.

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.