We take a look at some of the events that occurred on April 25th.

Today In …

1859 - The ground breaking at the site that would eventually be the location of the Suez Canal occurred today.

1901 - New York became the first state to require licenses/tags for automobiles.

1983 - Soviet leader Yuri Andropov invited Samantha Smith, a girl from the U.S., to the Soviet Union after receiving a letter from the young girl.

1993 - Boris Yeltsin was elected the Russian leader.

2007 - The New York Stock Exchange closed above 13,000 for the first time.

Sharing A Birthday Today…

Hank Azaria the voice of several characters on TV’s “The Simpsons” and star of “The Birdcage” and “Godzilla” was born in 1964.

Jeffrey DeMunn who appeared in “The Green Mile” and “Hollywoodland” was born in 1947.

Ella Fitzgerald the legendary singer was born in 1918.

Jason Lee the star of “Dogman”, TV’s “My Name is Earl” and the voice of Syndrome in “The Incredibles” was born in 1970.

Meadowlark Lemon a former member of basketball’s infamous Harlem Globetrotters was born in 1932.

Guglielmo Marconi the Nobel Prize winner and inventor whose work was a precursor to the modern radio was born in 1874.

Edward R. Murrow the famed journalist/reporter was born in 1908.

Al Pacino the Oscar winning actor who’s starred in “The Godfather”, “Scarface” and “Scent of a Woman” was born in 1940.

Talia Shire the actress best known as Adrian in the “Rocky” movies and who also starred in “The Godfather” was born in 1946.

Gina Torres who appeared on TV’s “Alias” and “24” as well as in the final “Matrix” movies was born in 1969.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky the Russian composer whose works include “The Nutcracker” was born in 1840.

Renee Zellweger who starred in “Bridget Jones’ Diary”, “Chicago” and “Cold Mountain” was born in 1969.

We Said Goodbye To…

Art Fleming the game show host of “Jeopardy” through the 1960s and 70s passed away in 1995 at the age of 69.

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes a member of the musical trio TLC was killed in a car accident in 2002 at the age of 30.

Bobby Pickett the singer best known for "The Monster Mash" passed away in 2007 at the age of 69.

Ginger Rogers the actress who starred in “Kitty Foyle” who will forever be remembered as Fred Astaire’s dancing partner in several films passed away in 1995 at the age of 83.

Anna Sewell the author of “Black Beauty” passed away in 1878 at the age of 58.

Top Of The Charts On This Day In…

1960 - “Stuck On You” by Elvis Presley
1970 - “ABC” by the Jackson 5
1992 - “Jump” by Kris Kross
1998- “Too Close” by Next

Memorable Sports Moments In…

1959 - Mario Andretti made his racing debut!

In Print In…

1719 - “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe was first published.

1953 - In “Nature” magazine, James Watson’s and Francis Crick’s report on the double helix structure in deoxyribose nucleic acid a.k.a. DNA was first printed.

Special Observances

Today is Administrative Professionals Day

Don’t forget about the Today In History Newsletter!

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