Today in History: April 17, the Bay of Pigs Invasion

Today is Friday, April 17, the 107th day of 2026. There are 258 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On April 17, 1961, some 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed bid to topple Fidel Castro. Cuban forces crushed the incursion within three days.

Also on this date:

In 1964, Geraldine "Jerrie" Mock completed the first solo around-the-world flight by a woman, landing her single-engine Cessna plane in Columbus, Ohio, after a 29-day journey.

In 1969, a jury in Los Angeles convicted Sirhan Sirhan of assassinating Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. (Sirhan's death sentence would be commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole. He remains in prison today.)

In 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts James A. Lovell, Fred W. Haise and Jack Swigert splashed down safely in the Pacific, four days after a ruptured oxygen tank crippled their spacecraft and forced the crew to abort plans for a third moon landing.

In 1975, Cambodia's five-year civil war ended as the capital Phnom Penh fell to the Khmer Rouge, which instituted brutal, radical policies that claimed an estimated 1.7 million lives (nearly one in four Cambodians) until the regime was overthrown in 1979.

In 1991, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 3,000 for the first time, ending the day at 3,004.46, up 17.58.

In 1993, a federal jury in Los Angeles convicted two former police officers of violating the civil rights of motorist Rodney King in a 1991 beating. Two other officers were acquitted.

In 2013, a massive explosion of ammonium nitrate at a Texas fertilizer plant killed 15 people and injured hundreds of others. The blast and fire at the West Fertilizer Co. plant left part of the small town of West in ruins.

In 2014, astronomers announced NASA's orbiting Kepler telescope had discovered the most Earth-like planet yet detected - a distant, rocky world similar in size to our own orbiting a red dwarf star in the "'Goldilocks" zone where it's not too hot and not too cold for life.

Today's Birthdays: Actor David Bradley is 84. Actor Clarke Peters is 74. Author Nick Hornby is 69. Actor Sean Bean is 67. Rock singer Maynard James Keenan (Tool) is 62. Actor Lela Rochon is 62. Actor Kimberly Elise is 59. Singer-songwriter Liz Phair is 59. Director-producer Adam McKay is 58. Rapper-actor Redman is 56. Football Hall of Famer Tony Boselli is 54. Actor Jennifer Garner is 54. Singer Victoria Beckham is 52. Actor Rooney Mara is 41. Rapper Ryujin is 25. Actor Kyla-Drew Simmons is 22. Singer Asa Enami is 20.