On this day, April 17 …

2018: Barbara Bush, first lady and wife of President George H.W. Bush and mother of President George W. Bush and Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush, dies in Houston at the age of 92.

Also on this day:

1492 : A contract is signed by Christopher Columbus and a representative of Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, giving Columbus a commission to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia.

: A contract is signed by Christopher Columbus and a representative of Spain’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, giving Columbus a commission to seek a westward ocean passage to Asia. 1521: Martin Luther goes before the Diet of Worms to face charges stemming from his religious writings.

Martin Luther goes before the Diet of Worms to face charges stemming from his religious writings. 1924: The motion picture studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is founded as a result of a merger of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures and the Louis B. Mayer Co..