Today is Thursday, April 1, the 91st day of 2021. There are 274 days left in the year. This is April Fool’s Day.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On April 1, 1954, the United States Air Force Academy was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

On this date:

In 1789, the U.S. House of Representatives held its first full meeting in New York; Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania was elected the first House speaker.

In 1933, Nazi Germany staged a daylong national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses.

In 1945, American forces launched the amphibious invasion of Okinawa during World War II. (U.S. forces succeeded in capturing the Japanese island on June 22.)

In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette advertising on radio and television, to take effect after Jan. 1, 1971.

In 1972, the first Major League Baseball players’ strike began; it lasted 12 days.

In 1976, Apple Computer was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.

In 1984, Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father, Marvin Gay (correct), Sr. in Los Angeles, the day before the recording star’s 45th birthday. (The elder Gay pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received probation.)

In 1987, in his first speech on the AIDS epidemic, President Ronald Reagan told doctors in Philadelphia, “We’ve declared AIDS public health enemy no. 1.”

In 1992, the National Hockey League Players’ Association went on its first-ever strike, which lasted 10 days.

In 2003, American troops entered a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, and rescued Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed on March 23.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Jane Powell is 92. Actor Don Hastings is 87. Actor Ali MacGraw is 82. R&B singer Rudolph Isley is 82. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is 71. Singer Susan Boyle is 60. Actor Jessica Collins is 50. Rapper-actor Method Man is 50. Political commentator Rachel Maddow is 48.