Saturday, April 3, 2021 Today is the 93rd day of 2021 and the 15th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1865, Union forces captured Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy.

In 1882, American outlaw Jesse James was killed by Robert Ford, a member of James' own gang who hoped to earn a state reward.

In 1948, President Harry Truman signed into law the Marshall Plan aid bill, which was designed to help rebuild war-torn Europe.

In 1996, "Unabomber" Ted Kaczynski was arrested at his cabin near Lincoln, Montana.

In 2010, Apple Inc. released the first iPad tablet computer.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Washington Irving (1783- 1859), writer; Doris Day (1922- 2019), singer/actress; Marlon Brando (1924-2004), actor; Gus Grissom (1926-1967), astronaut; Jane Goodall (1934- ), primatologist; Wayne Newton (1942- ), singer; Alec Baldwin (1958- ), actor; David Hyde Pierce (1959- ), actor; Eddie Murphy (1961- ), actor/ comedian; Ben Mendelsohn (1969- ), actor; Adam Scott (1973- ), actor; Cobie Smulders (1982- ), actress; Amanda Bynes (1986- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: After Marlon Brando returned his script for "On the Waterfront" twice, Frank Sinatra was cast in the lead role. Brando was ultimately convinced to star and went on to win an Oscar for his iconic performance.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1988, Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins won the NHL's Art Ross trophy as the league's top scorer, ending Wayne Gretzky's streak of consecutive scoring titles at seven.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart." -- Washington Irving

TODAY'S NUMBER: 214,488 -- offshore entities (used as tax havens) revealed in the "Panama Papers," a massive leak of financial and legal documents first published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on this day in 2016.

TODAY'S MOON: Between full moon (March 28) and last quarter moon (April 4).

Sunday, April 4, 2021

Today is the 94th day of 2021 and the 16th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1850, Los Angeles was incorporated as a city. In 1949, 12 nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) pact.

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1973, the World Trade Center was dedicated in New York City.

In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Tris Speaker (1888-1958), baseball player; Robert Sherwood (1896-1955), playwright; Muddy Waters (1913- 1983), blues musician; Maya Angelou (1928-2014), poet/ author; Anthony Perkins (1932-1992), actor; Craig T. Nelson (1944- ), actor; David E. Kelley (1956- ), TV writer/producer; Hugo Weaving (1960- ), actor; Graham Norton (1963- ), TV personality; David Cross (1964- ), actor/ comedian; Robert Downey Jr. (1965- ), actor; David Blaine (1973- ), magician; Heath Ledger (1979-2008), actor; Eric Andre (1983- ), comedian.

TODAY'S FACT: The Beatles remain the only artists in history to simultaneously hold the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a feat the group accomplished on this day in 1964.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1982, Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers finished the season with 212 points. He remains the only player in NHL history to top 200 points in a season.

TODAY'S QUOTE: "The desire to reach the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise and most possible." -- Maya Angelou

TODAY'S NUMBER: 31 -- days in office for William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, who died of pneumonia on this day in 1841. Harrison was the first U.S. president to die in office, and his tenure remains the shortest in U.S. presidential history.

TODAY'S MOON: Last quarter moon (April 4).

Monday, April 5 2021

Today is the 95th day of 2021 and the 17th day of spring.

TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1792, George Washington cast the first presidential veto, striking down a bill that concerned representative apportionment among the states.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps.

In 1955, Winston Churchill resigned as prime minister of Great Britain due to failing health.

In 2010, an explosion at the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia killed 29 miners.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), philosopher; Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), writer/ educator; Spencer Tracy (1900-1967), actor; Bette Davis (1908-1989), actress; Gregory Peck (1916-2003), actor; Roger Corman (1926- ), filmmaker; Colin Powell (1937- ), U.S. Army general/diplomat; Mitch Pileggi (1952- ), actor; Pharrell Williams (1973- ), rapper/producer; Sterling K. Brown (1976- ), actor; Hayley Atwell (1982- ), actress; Lily James (1989- ), actress.

TODAY'S FACT: Easter Island, located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, was given its name by its first recorded European visitor, Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who first encountered it on Easter Sunday, on this day in 1722.

TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers scored his 31,420th career point, breaking the NBA's all-time scoring record.

TODAY'S QUOTE: " I have begun everything with the idea that I could succeed, and I never had much patience with the multitudes of people who are always ready to explain why one cannot succeed." -- Booker T. Washington, "Up From Slavery"

TODAY'S NUMBER: 2.43 -- length (in miles) of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, linking the city of Kobe to Awaji Island in Japan. The bridge, which has the longest main span of any suspension bridge in the world, opened to traffic on this day in 1998.

TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter moon (April 4) and new moon (April 11).