Today in History - April 8th

1513 - Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain.
1525 - Albert von Brandenburg, the leader of the Teutonic Order, assumes the title "Duke of Prussia" and passed the first laws of the Protestant church, making Prussia a Protestant state.
1789 - The House of Representatives held its first meeting.
1834 - In New York City, Cornelius Lawrence became the first mayor to be elected by popular vote in a city election.
1873 - Alfred Paraf patented the first successful oleomargarine.
1913 - The Seventeenth amendment was ratified, requiring direct election of senators.
1935 - The Works Progress Administration was approved by the Congress.
1939 - Italy invaded Albania.
1946 - The League of Nations assembled in Geneva for the last time.
1947 - The first illustrated insurance policy was issued by the Allstate Insurance Company.
1952 - President Truman seized steel mills to prevent a nationwide strike.
1953 - The bones of Sitting Bull were moved from North Dakota to South Dakota.
1974 - Hank Aaron hits 715th home run breaking Babe Ruth's record.
1985 - Phyllis Diller underwent a surgical procedure for permanent eyeliner to eliminate the need for eyelid makeup.
1986 - Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel,CA.
1988 - Former President Reagan aid Lyn Nofzinger was sentenced to prison for illegal lobbying for Wedtech Corp.
1998 - The widow of Martin Luther King Jr. presented new evidence in an appeal for new federal investigation of the assassination of her husband.
2000 - 19 troops were killed when a Marine V22 Osprey crashed during a training mission in Arizona.
2002 - Ed McMahon filed a $20 million lawsuit against his insurance company, two insurance adjusters, and several environmental cleanup contractors. The suit alleged breach of contract, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress concerning a toxic mold that had spread through McMahon's Beverly Hills home.