TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Thursday, April 25, the 115th day of 2019. There are 250 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY

On April 25, 1507, a world map produced by German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller contained the first recorded use of the term “America,” in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

• Actor Al Pacino is 79. • Ballroom dance judge Len Goodman (“Dancing With the Stars”) is 75. • Rock musician Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 74. • Actress Talia Shire (“Rocky”) is 74. • Actor Jeffrey DeMunn (“Billions”) is 72. • Actor Hank Azaria (“The Simpsons”) is 55. • Actress Renee Zellweger is 50. • Actress Gina Torres (“Suits”) is 50. • Actor Jason Lee (“My Name Is Earl”) is 49. • Actress Emily Bergl (“Shameless”) is 44. • Actress Sara Paxton (“Good Girls”) is 31.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“It’s the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter.” — Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress (1901-92).

ON THIS DATE

In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

In 1898, the U.S. Congress declared war on Spain; the 10-week conflict resulted in an American victory.

In 1915, during World War I, Allied soldiers invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula in an unsuccessful attempt to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war.

In 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe River, a meeting that dramatized the collapse of Nazi Germany’s defenses. … Delegates from some 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to organize the United Nations.

In 1959, the St. Lawrence Seaway opened to shipping.

In 1972, Polaroid Corp. introduced its SX-70 folding camera, which ejected self-developing photographs.

In 1993, hundreds of thousands of gay rights activists and their supporters marched in Washington, D.C., demanding equal rights and freedom from discrimination.