Today in History.

• Position: News

On this date in 1984, recording star Marvin Gaye was shot to death by his father, Marvin Gay, Sr. in Los Angeles, the day before his 45th birthday. The elder Gay pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and received probation.

Today is Wednesday, April 1, the 91st day of 2015. There are 274 days left in the year. This is April Fools' Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On April 1, 1945, American forces launched the amphibious invasion of Okinawa during World War II. (U.S. forces succeeded in capturing the Japanese island on June 22.)

On this date:

In 1865, during the Civil War, Union forces led by Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan routed Confederate soldiers under the command of Maj. Gen. George Pickett in the Battle of Five Forks in Virginia.

In 1924, Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich. (Hitler was released in Dec. 1924; during his time behind bars, he wrote his autobiographical screed, ''Mein Kampf.'')

In 1933, Nazi Germany staged a daylong national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses.

In 1954, the United States Air Force Academy was established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1962, the Katherine Anne Porter novel ''Ship of Fools,'' an allegory about the rise of Nazism in Germany, was published by Little, Brown & Co. on April Fool's Day.

In 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed a measure banning cigarette...