Other Notable Events, April 8

In 1913, 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted, requiring that U.S. senators be elected by the people.

In 1917, Austria-Hungary, an ally of Germany, severed diplomatic relations with the United States.

In 1935, the U.S. Congress approved the Works Progress Administration, a central part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

In 1952, U.S. President Harry Truman ordered government seizure of the steel industry to avoid a general strike.

In 1960, the U.S. Senate passed the landmark Civil Rights Bill.

In 1974, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run, breaking Babe Ruth's longstanding career record. (Aaron played two more seasons, ending with 755 home runs, a total eventually surpassed by Barry Bonds, who has 762.)

In 1990, Ryan White, who put the face of a child on AIDS, died of complications from the ailment at age 18.

In 1992, former tennis great Arthur Ashe confirmed he had AIDS. He said he contracted the disease from a blood transfusion.

In 1993, Marian Anderson, the first African-American singer to appear at New York's Metropolitan Opera, died at age 91.

In 1994, Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, 27, was found dead in his Seattle home of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

In 2004, U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice told the 9/11 Commission that a report about a possible plane hijacking received by the White House one month before terrorists struck New York and Washington contained mostly historical information and made no specific warning about a U.S. attack.

In 2005, about 250,000 mourners attended a 3-hour funeral mass for Pope John Paul II in Rome's St. Peter's Square while about 1 million others gathered nearby. Among those in attendance were U.S. President George W. Bush and about 100 other world leaders.

In 2011, with less than 2 hours to spare, U.S. President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders reached agreement on a federal budget, narrowly averting a government shutdown.

In 2012, a church in Makurdi, Nigeria collapsed during Easter mass, killing 22 people.

In 2013, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis appointed eight cardinals to look into ways of reforming the Roman Catholic Church.