On April 21, 1926, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was born in Mayfair, London; she was the first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and the Queen Mother. Christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, the princess became monarch upon the death of her father in 1952, beginning a 64-year-old reign surpassing that of Queen Victoria.

Ten years ago

Nouri al-Maliki was nominated by the Shiites as Iraq’s prime minister after outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim al- Jaafari gave up his bid for another term. Chinese President Hu Jintao wrapped up his U.S. tour with a visit to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Miss Kentucky Tara Elizabeth Conner was crowned Miss USA during the pageant in Baltimore.

Five years ago

President Barack Obama announced the Justice Department was assembling a team to “root out any cases of fraud or manipulation” in oil markets that might be contributing to $4 a gallon-plus gasoline prices.

One year ago

An Indonesian court found an American couple, Tommy Schaefer and Heather Mack, guilty of premeditated murder and sentenced them to prison in the death of Mack’s mother, Sheila von Wiese-Mack, on the resort island of Bali. The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Michele Leonhart, announced her retirement in the wake of allegations that DEA agents had attended sex parties with prostitutes. Pope Francis accepted the resignation of U.S. Bishop Robert Finn, who’d pleaded guilty to failing to report a suspected child abuser.

— By The Associated Press