On This Day in History - April 8th - Almanac

Today is Wednesday, April 8, the 98th day of 2015 with 267 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mercury, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, in 1726; pioneer neurosurgeon Harvey Cushing in 1869; actor Mary Pickford in 1892; Olympic figure skater/actor Sonja Henie in 1912; former first lady Betty Ford in 1918; comedian Shecky Greene in 1926 (age 89); composer Jacques Brel in 1929; actor/ former ambassador to Mexico John Gavin in 1931 (age 84); journalist Seymour Hersh in 1937 (age 78); former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 1938 (age 77); basketball Hall of Fame member John Havlicek in 1940 (age 75); choreographer Michael Bennett of "A Chorus Line" fame in 1943; baseball Hall of Fame member Jim "Catfish" Hunter in 1946; rock musician Steve Howe in 1947 (age 68); baseball Hall of Fame member Gary Carter in 1954; novelist Barbara Kingsolver in 1955 (age 60); actor/singer John Schneider in 1960 (age 55); musician Julian Lennon in 1963 (age 52); actor Robin Wright in 1966 (age 49); actor Patricia Arquette in 1968 (age 47); actor Taran Noah Smith in 1984 (age 31).

On this date in history:

In 1913, 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted, requiring that U.S. senators be "elected by the people."

In 1935, the U.S. Congress approved the Works Progress Administration, a central part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal."

In 1952, U.S. President Harry Truman ordered government seizure of the steel industry to avoid a general strike.

In 1960, the U.S. Senate passed the landmark Civil Rights Bill.

In 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's longstanding career record. (Aaron played two more seasons, ending with 755 home runs, a total eventually surpassed by Barry Bonds, who had 762.)

In 1990, Ryan White, who put the face of a child on AIDS, died of complications from the ailment at age 18.

In 1992, former tennis great Arthur Ashe confirmed he had AIDS. He said he contracted the disease from a blood transfusion.

In 1993, Marian Anderson, the first African-American singer to appear at New York's Metropolitan Opera, died at age 91.

In 1994, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, 27, was found dead in his Seattle home after what authorities said was a self-inclicted a gunshot wound to the head. .

In 2005, about 250,000 mourners attended a 3-hour funeral mass for Pope John Paul II in Rome's St. Peter's Square while about 1 million others gathered nearby. Among those in attendance were U.S. President George W. Bush and about 100 other world leaders.

In 2011, with less than 2 hours to spare, U.S. President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders reached agreement on a federal budget, narrowly averting a government shutdown.

In 2012, a church in Makurdi, Nigeria collapsed during Easter mass, killing 22 people.

In 2013, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis appointed eight cardinals to look into ways of reforming the Roman Catholic Church.

In 2014, Connecticut (40-0) captured a ninth NCAA women's basketball title, routing Notre Dame 79-58, the day after the UConn men's team also won a national championship, its fourth. The school's teams also won both titles in 2004. (The UConn women (38-1) won their 10th national title -- again beating Notre Dame -- on April 7, 2015. The score was 63-53.)

A thought for the day: "April hath put a spirit of youth in everything." -- William Shakespeare