Today in History

Today is Monday, April 23, the 113th day of 2018. There are 252 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On April 23, 1968, student protesters began occupying buildings on the campus of Columbia University in New York; police put down the protests a week later. The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church merged to form the United Methodist Church.

On this date:

In 1616 (Old Style calendar), English poet and dramatist William Shakespeare died in Stratford-upon-Avon on what has traditionally been regarded as the 52nd anniversary of his birth in 1564.

In 1789, President-elect George Washington and his wife, Martha, moved into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House, in New York.

In 1791, the 15th president of the United States, James Buchanan, was born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

In 1898, Spain declared war on the United States, which responded in kind two days later.

In 1935, Poland adopted a constitution which gave new powers to the presidency.

In 1943, U.S. Navy Lt. (jg) John F. Kennedy assumed command of PT-109, a motor torpedo boat, in the Solomon Islands during World War II. (On Aug. 2, 1943, PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, killing two crew members; Kennedy and 10 others survived.)

In 1954, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hit the first of his 755 major-league home runs in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals. (The Braves won, 7-5.)

In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to death for assassinating New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (The sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.)

In 1971, hundreds of Vietnam War veterans opposed to the conflict protested by tossing their medals and ribbons over a wire fence in front of the U.S. Capitol.

In 1988, Greek cycling champion Kanellos Kanellopoulos pedaled the human-powered aircraft Daedalus over the Aegean Sea for nearly four hours.

In 1998, James Earl Ray, who confessed to assassinating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and then insisted he'd been framed, died at a Nashville hospital at age 70.

In 2005, the recently created video-sharing website YouTube uploaded its first clip, "Me at the Zoo," which showed YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, pushing for a Mideast peace agreement, met at the White House with Jordan's King Abdullah II. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that Army Gen. David Petraeus (peh-TRAY'-uhs) would be nominated to be the next commander of U.S. Central Command. The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed that police had the power to conduct searches and seize evidence, even when done during an arrest that turned out to have violated state law. The Chicago Cubs won their 10,000th game, joining the Giants in reaching that mark with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings at Colorado.

Five years ago: A car bomb exploded outside the French Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, wounding three people and partially setting the building on fire. France legalized same-sex marriage after a wrenching national debate that exposed deep conservatism in the nation's heartland and triggered huge demonstrations.

One year ago: Centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right populist Marine Le Pen advanced to a May runoff in France's presidential election (Macron ended up defeating Le Pen).

Today's Birthdays: Actor Alan Oppenheimer is 88. Actor David Birney is 79. Actor Lee Majors is 79. Hockey Hall of Famer Tony Esposito is 75. Irish nationalist Bernadette Devlin McAliskey is 71. Actress Blair Brown is 71. Writer-director Paul Brickman is 69. Actress Joyce DeWitt is 69. Actor James Russo is 65. Filmmaker-author Michael Moore is 64. Actress Judy Davis is 63. Actress Valerie Bertinelli is 58. Actor Craig Sheffer is 58. Actor-comedian-talk show host George Lopez is 57. U.S. Olympic gold medal skier Donna Weinbrecht is 53. Actress Melina Kanakaredes is 51. Rock musician Stan Frazier (Sugar Ray) is 50. Country musician Tim Womack (Sons of the Desert) is 50. Actor Scott Bairstow is 48. Actor-writer John Lutz is 45. Actor Barry Watson is 44. Rock musician Aaron Dessner (The National) is 42. Rock musician Bryce Dessner (The National) is 42. Professional wrestler/actor John Cena is 41. Actor-writer-comedian John Oliver is 41. Actor Kal Penn is 41. MLB All-Star Andruw Jones is 41. Actress Jaime King is 39. Pop singer Taio Cruz is 35. Actor Aaron Hill is 35. Actor Jesse Lee Soffer is 34. Actress Rachel Skarsten is 33. Rock musician Anthony LaMarca (The War on Drugs) is 31. Singer-songwriter John Fullbright is 30. Tennis player Nicole Vaidisova is 29. Actor Dev Patel is 28. Actor Matthew Underwood is 28. Actor Camryn Walling is 28. Model Gigi Hadid is 23. Actor Charlie Rowe (TV: "Salvation") is 22. U.S. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Chloe Kim is 18.

Thought for Today: "Curiosity is insubordination in its purest form." -- Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born author (1899-1977).