Today in History

Today is Tuesday, April 28, the 118th day of 2015. There are 247 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 28, 1945, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were executed by Italian partisans as they attempted to flee the country.

On this date:

In 1758, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

In 1788, Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.

In 1789, there was a mutiny on the HMS Bounty as rebelling crew members of the British ship, led by Fletcher Christian, set the captain, William Bligh, and 18 others adrift in a launch in the South Pacific. (Bligh and most of the men with him reached Timor in 47 days.)

In 1817, the United States and Britain signed the Rush-Bagot Treaty, which limited the number of naval vessels allowed in the Great Lakes.

In 1918, Gavrilo Princip, the assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and the archduke's wife, Sophie, died in prison of tuberculosis.

In 1925, the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts, which gave rise to the term "Art Deco," began a six-month run in Paris.

In 1940, Glenn Miller and his Orchestra recorded "Pennsylvania 6-5000" for RCA Victor.

In 1952, war with Japan officially ended as a treaty signed in San Francisco the year before took effect. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Supreme Allied commander in Europe; he was succeeded by Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway.

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered U.S. Marines to the Dominican Republic to protect American citizens and interests in the face of a civil war. Barbra Streisand's first TV special, "My Name Is Barbra," aired on CBS.

In 1974, a federal jury in New York acquitted former Attorney General John Mitchell and former Commerce Secretary Maurice H. Stans of charges in connection with a secret $200,000 contribution to President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign from financier Robert Vesco.

In 1988, a flight attendant was killed and more than 60 persons injured when part of the roof of an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 tore off during a flight from Hilo (HEE'-loh) to Honolulu.

In 1990, the musical "A Chorus Line" closed after 6,137 performances on Broadway.

Ten years ago: A military jury at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, condemned Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar to death for the 2003 murders of two officers in Kuwait. (Akbar is appealing his sentence.) More than 100 volunteers joined police in Duluth, Georgia, in searching for Jennifer Wilbanks, a bride-to-be who had vanished two days earlier. (Wilbanks turned up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, having run away on her own.)

Five years ago: Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry said a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was worse than officials had believed, and that the federal government was offering to help industry giant BP contain the slick threatening the U.S. shoreline. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown committed a gaffe during his country's short election campaign when an open microphone caught him slamming a voter he'd been trying to win over. (Brown personally apologized to Gillian Duffy for calling her a "bigoted woman" over the issue of immigration.)

One year ago: President Barack Obama arrived in the Philippines on the last stop of a weeklong Asia tour that also included Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. The United States and its European allies hit more than two dozen Russian government officials, executives and companies with new sanctions as punishment for their country's actions in Ukraine. Two dozen tornadoes ripped through Mississippi, killing 14 people.

Today's Birthdays: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harper Lee is 89. Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III is 85. Actor Frank Vincent is 78. Actress-singer Ann-Margret is 74. Actor Paul Guilfoyle is 66. Former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno is 65. Rock musician Chuck Leavell is 63. Actress Mary McDonnell is 62. Rock singer-musician Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) is 62. Actress Nancy Lee Grahn (TV: "General Hospital") is 59. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan is 55. Rapper Too Short is 49. Actress Simbi Khali is 44. Actress Bridget Moynahan is 44. Actor Chris Young is 44. Rapper Big Gipp is 42. Actor Jorge Garcia is 42. Actress Elisabeth Rohm is 42. Actress Penelope Cruz is 41. Actor Nate Richert is 37. Actress Jessica Alba is 34. Actor Harry Shum Jr. is 33. Actress Jenna Ushkowitz is 29. Actress Aleisha Allen is 24.

Thought for Today: "It takes a long time to understand nothing." -- Edward Dahlberg, American author and critic (1900-1977).