Today In History For April 25th

Today is Monday, April 25, the 115th day of 2011. There are 250 days left in the year.

On April 25, 1507, German cartographer Martin Waldseemueller produced a world map containing the first recorded use of the term "America," in honor of Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci (vehs-PYOO'-chee).

In 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in orbit from the space shuttle Discovery. (Although Hubble was hailed as a scientific triumph, it was discovered that the telescope's primary mirror was flawed, requiring the installation of corrective components to achieve optimal focus).

In 1792, highwayman Nicolas Jacques Pelletier became the first person under French law to be executed by the guillotine.