Today is Saturday, April 25, the 116th day of 2020. There are 250 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History:

On April 25, 1945, during World War II, U.S. and Soviet forces linked up on the Elbe (EL’-beh) 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.

On this date:

In 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.

In 1859, ground was broken for the Suez Canal.

In 1874, radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi was born in Bologna, Italy.

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

In 1917, legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald was born in Newport News, Virginia.

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

In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in orbit from the space shuttle Discovery. (It was later discovered that the telescope’s primary mirror was flawed, requiring the installation of corrective components to achieve optimal focus.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Al Pacino is 80. Ballroom dance judge Len Goodman (TV: “Dancing with the Stars”) is 76. Rock musician Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) is 75. Singer Bjorn Ulvaeus (ABBA) is 75. Actress Talia Shire is 75. Actor Jeffrey DeMunn is 73. Rock musician Steve Ferrone (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 70. Country singer-songwriter Rob Crosby is 66. Actor Hank Azaria is 56. Rock singer Andy Bell (Erasure) is 56. Rock musician Eric Avery is 55. Country musician Rory Feek (Joey + Rory) is 55.

Thought for Today: “I think it is all a matter of love: the more you love a memory, the stronger and stranger it is.” — Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born author (1899-1977).