Today is Wednesday, April 1, the 91st day of 2009. There are 274 days left in the year.
1578 _ William Harvey of England discovers blood circulation
1748 _ Ruins of Pompeii found
1778 _ Oliver Pollock, a New Orleans businessman, creates ``$" symbol
1836 _ Charles Darwin aboard HMS Beagle reaches Cocos Islands
1867 _ International Exhibition opens in Paris France
1891 _ Painter Gauguin leaves Marseille for Tahiti
1934 _ Bonnie and Clyde kill two police officers
1945 _ U.S. forces launch invasion of Okinawa during WWII
1952 _ Big Bang theory proposed in Physical Review by Alpher, Bethe and Gamow
1979 _ Iran proclaimed an Islamic Republic following fall of Shah