Various historical milestones, today
1898
The United States declares war on Spain.
On April 25, 1898 the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898.
1945
U.S. and Soviet forces meet at Torgau, Germany on Elbe River.
Elbe Day, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the River Elbe, near Torgau in Germany. This contact between the Soviets, advancing from the East, and the Americans, advancing from the West, meant that the two powers had effectively cut Germany in two.
1956
Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” goes to number one on the charts.
1 on the Country and Western chart for seventeen weeks and reached No. 3 on the R&B chart, becoming Presley’s first million-seller, and one of the best-selling singles of 1956. “Heartbreak Hotel” achieved unheard feats as it reached the top 5 of Country and Western, pop, and Rhythm ‘n’ Blues charts simultaneously.
1960
The first submerged circumnavigation of the Earth is completed by a Triton submarine.
May 10, 1960: USS Triton Completes First Submerged Circumnavigation. 1960: The USS Triton, a nuclear-powered radar picket submarine, arrives in Groton, Connecticut, after completing the first completely submerged circumnavigation of Earth. It spends 60 days, 21 hours under water.
1962
A U.S. Ranger spacecraft crash lands on the Moon.
NASA’s Ranger 4 crash landed on the Moon on April 26, 1962, making it the first American spacecraft to reach the lunar surface. The Ranger 4 spacecraft was designed to crash-land on the Moon after capturing a series of images on its approach.
