ON THIS DAY IN RECENT HISTORY ~ APRIL 25

ON THIS DAY IN RECENT HISTORY ~ APRIL 25

1901 - New York becomes 1st state requiring auto license plates ($1 fee).
1902 - Erwin Harvey becomes 1st Cleveland ballplayer (Bronchos) to have six hits in one game.
1905 - Whites win right to vote in South Africa.
1925 - Paul von Hindenburg elected president of Germany.
1928 - Buddy, a German Shepherd, becomes 1st guide dog for the blind.

1945 - Red army completely surrounds Berlin.
1950 - Chuck Cooper becomes 1st black to play in NBA.
1952 - American Bowling Congress approves use of an automatic pinsetter.

1953 - Scientists identify DNA.
1954 - Bell labs announces 1st solar battery (NYC).
1956 - Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" goes #1.

1960 - 1st submerged circumnavigation of Earth completed (Triton).
1961 - Mercury/Atlas rocket lifted off with an electronic mannequin.
1962 - US Ranger spacecraft crash lands on Moon.
1967 - The Beatles record "All You Need Is Love" during a British TV broadcast. Marianne Faithfull sings in the chorus.
1968 - "Half a Sixpence" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 512 performances.
1969 - BBC Radio serial "Mrs. Dale's Diary" 5,400th & last episode.
1970 - Freda Payne releases "Band of Gold."
1970 - Melanie releases "Lay Down."

1971 - About 200,000 anti-Vietnam War protesters march on Washington.
1974 - NFL moves goal posts & adopts sudden-death playoff.
1974 - Pam Morrison, Jim Morrison's widow, dies of a heroin overdose at the age of 27.

1976 - Cub centerfielder Rick Monday rescues US flag from 2 fans trying to set it on fire.
1977 - Elvis Presley records a concert in Saginaw, Michigan. Three of the songs later appear on the album "Moody Blue," which is released posthumously.
1978 - Supreme Court rules pension plans can't require women to pay more.
1979 - The film "Rock & Roll High School" starring the Ramones premiers.

1980 - A's manager Billy Martin restrained by umps from attacking a fan.
1980 - Announcement of Jimmy Carter hostage rescue bungle in Iran.
1983 - Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit.
1984 - Rock group Wings disbands.
1985 - "Big River" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC for 1005 performances.
1985 - West German Parliament ruled it illegal to deny the holocaust.
1990 - 25th Academy of Country Music Awards: Clint Black & Kathy Mattea win.

1990 - Hubble space telescope is placed into orbit by shuttle Discovery.
1991 - "Grand Hotel" closes at Beck Theater NYC after 1018 performances.
1993 - "Blood Brothers" opens at Music Box Theater NYC for 839 performances.
1993 - Russia elects Boris Yeltsin leader.
1994 - 14" of snow in Southern Calif.
2003 - Sinead O'Connor announces on her Web site that she is going to retire.
2007 - Boris Yeltsin's funeral - the first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

1908 - Edward R Murrow, Pole Creek NC, newscaster (Person to Person) (d. 1965)
1917 - Ella Fitzgerald, Newport News VA, jazz singer (d. 1996)
1933 - Jerry Leiber, songwriter (Leiber & Stoller)
1934 - Denny "Scott" Miller, Bloomington Ind, actor (Wagon Train)
1945 - Stu Cook, rock bassist (Creedence Clearwater Revival-Proud Mary)
1945 - Walt Wesley, NBA star (Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, LA Lakers)
1947 - Jeffrey DeMunn, Buffalo NY, actor (Blaze, Frances, Windy City)
1949 - Michael Brown, NYC, keyboardist (Left Bank-Don't Walk Away Renee)
1953 - Ron Clements, American animation director
1965 - Eric Avery, American musician (Jane's Addiction, Deconstruction, Polar Bear)
1940 - Al Pacino, NYC, actor (And Justice For All, Godfather, Scorpio)
1945 - Bjorn Ulvaeus, rock vocalist/guitarist (ABBA-Waterloo, Dancing Queen)
1969 - Renée Zellweger, American actress

FAMOUS DEATHS

1982 - Don Wilson, TV announcer (Jack Benny Show), dies at 81
1990 - Dexter Gordon, Jazz saxophonist, dies of kidney failure at 67
1995 - Ginger Rogers, actress/dancer (Top Hat, Stage Door), dies at 83
1995 - Art Fleming, game show host (Jeopardy), dies at 74
2007 - Bobby "Boris" Pickett, American singer and songwriter (b. 1938)
2009 - Beatrice Arthur, American comedian (Maude), actress, and singer, (b. 1922)