Today in History: Monday, April 25, 2016

AP Photo/Library of Congress AP Highlight in History: On April 25, 1507, "America" was first used as the name of a continent on a map. German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller used the name in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.
On this date in: 1792 Highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first person under French law to be executed by guillotine. 1859 Ground was broken for the Suez Canal. 1874 Radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy. 1898 The United States declared war on Spain. 1901 New York became the first state to require automobile license plates. 1915 Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Turkish Empire out of World War I. 1945 U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, in central Europe, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany. AP Photo 1945 Delegates from some 50 countries met in San Francisco to organize the United Nations. 1959 The St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping. 1972 Polaroid Corp. introduced its SX-70 folding camera, which ejected self-developing photographs. 1990 Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was inaugurated as president of Nicaragua, ending 11 years of leftist Sandinista rule. 1990 The Hubble Space Telescope was deployed from the space shuttle Discovery. 1992 Islamic forces took control of most of the Afghan capital Kabul following the collapse of the Communist government. 2007 The Dow Jones industrial average topped 13,000 for the first time, ending the day at 13,089.89. 2011 President Bashar Assad of Syria sent the military into the southern city of Daraa, where an anti-government uprising had begun the previous month.		Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Actor Al Pacino turns 76 years old today. AP Photo/Matt Sayles Name Profession Age Meadowlark Lemon Basketball player (Harlem Globetrotters) 84 Talia Shire Actress 71 Bjorn Ulvaeus Singer (ABBA) 71 Hank Azaria Actor 52 Jane Clayson TV host 49 Gina Torres Actress 47 Renee Zellweger Actress 47 Jason Lee Actor ("My Name is Earl") 46 Tim Duncan Basketball player 40 Sara Paxton Actress 28 Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. turns 74 years old today. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite