FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2012

Today is Friday, April 13, the 104th day of 2012. There are 262 days left in the year.

1668 ― John Dryden (36) becomes first English poet laureate

1742 ― George Frederic Handel's ``Messiah" performed for first time (Dublin)

1842 ― Lord Rosse successfully casts 72-inch (183-cm) mirror for a telescope

1924 ― Greek plebiscite for a republic

1926 ― At 41, Walter Johnson pitches his seventh opening-day shutout

1933 ― First flight over Mt. Everest (Lord Clydesdale)

1943 ― Nazi's discover mass grave of Polish officers near Katyn

1960 ― France becomes the fourth nuclear nation exploding an A-Bomb in Sahara

1961 ― U.N. General Assembly condemns South Africa for apartheid

1981 ― Washington Post's Janet Cooke wins Pulitzer Prize for ``Jimmy's World" (later admits story was a hoax and returns prize)