Today in History
Today is Thursday, March 16, the 75th day of 2017. There are 290 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 16, 1802,
President Thomas Jefferson signed a measure authorizing the
establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. On
this date: In A.D. 37, Roman emperor Tiberius died; he was succeeded by
Caligula. In 1517, the 12th and final session of the Fifth Lateran
Council of the Catholic Church took place in Rome, almost five years
after the council began. In 1751, James Madison, fourth president of
the United States, was born in Port Conway, Virginia. In 1792, Sweden's
King Gustav III was shot and mortally wounded during a masquerade party
by a former member of his regiment (he died 13 days later). In 1926,
rocket science pioneer Robert H. Goddard successfully tested the first
liquid-fueled rocket at his Aunt Effie's farm in Auburn, Massachusetts.
In 1935, Adolf Hitler decided to break the military terms set by the
Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY') by ordering the rearming of Germany. In
1945, during World War II, American forces declared they had secured
Iwo Jima, although pockets of Japanese resistance remained. In 1968,
during the Vietnam War, the My Lai (mee ly) Massacre of Vietnamese
civilians was carried out by U.S. Army troops; estimates of the death
toll vary between 347 and 504. In 1974, the Grand Ole Opry House opened
in Nashville with a concert attended by President Richard Nixon and his
wife, Pat. In 1987, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis announced his
candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. In 1991, a plane
carrying seven members of country singer Reba McEntire's band and her
tour manager crashed into Otay Mountain in southern California, killing
all on board. U.S. skaters Kristi Yamaguchi, Tonya Harding and Nancy
Kerrigan swept the World Figure Skating Championships in Munich,
Germany. In 2003, American activist Rachel Corrie, 23, was crushed to
death by an Israeli military bulldozer while trying to block demolition
of a Palestinian home in the Gaza Strip. Ten years ago: Former CIA
operative Valerie Plame told a House committee that White House and
State Department officials had "carelessly and recklessly" blown her
cover in a politically motivated smear of her husband, former
Ambassador Joseph Wilson, for publicly disputing President George W.
Bush's assertion that Saddam Hussein was on the brink of acquiring a
nuclear bomb. Menu Foods, a major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold
under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands, recalled 60
million containers of wet pet food after reports of kidney failure and
deaths. Five years ago: A jury in New Brunswick, New Jersey, convicted
former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi (dah-ROON' RAH'-vee) in
the webcam spying episode that ended in the suicide of his gay
roommate, Tyler Clementi. (Ravi served 20 days in jail for invasion of
privacy, bias intimidation and other counts.) Actor George Clooney and
his father, Nick Clooney, were arrested outside the embassy of Sudan in
Washington during a protest that accused Sudanese President Omar
al-Bashir of provoking a humanitarian crisis in his own country. One
year ago: President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to take the
seat of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who had died the previous
month; Republicans pledged to leave the seat empty until after the
presidential election and said they wouldn't even hold confirmation
hearings. Washington, D.C.'s subway system began an unprecedented
29-hour safety shutdown, inconveniencing hundreds of thousands of
people. Frank Sinatra Jr., 72, who carried on his famous father's
legacy with his own music career, died while on tour in Daytona Beach,
Florida. Today's Birthdays: Comedian-director Jerry Lewis is 91.
Country singer Ray Walker (The Jordanaires) is 83. Movie director
Bernardo Bertolucci is 76. Game show host Chuck Woolery is 76.
Singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker is 75. Country singer Robin
Williams is 70. Actor Erik Estrada is 68. Actor Victor Garber is 68.
Actress Kate Nelligan is 66. Country singer Ray Benson (Asleep at the
Wheel) is 66. Bluegrass musician Tim O'Brien (Hot Rize; Earls of
Leicester) is 63. Rock singer-musician Nancy Wilson (Heart) is 63.
World Golf Hall of Famer Hollis Stacy is 63. Actress Isabelle Huppert
is 62. Actor Clifton Powell is 61. Rapper-actor Flavor Flav (Public
Enemy) is 58. Rock musician Jimmy DeGrasso is 54. Actor Jerome Flynn is
54. Folk singer Patty Griffin is 53. Movie director Gore Verbinski is
53. Country singer Tracy Bonham is 50. Actress Lauren Graham is 50.
Actor Judah Friedlander (FREED'-lan-duhr) is 48. Actor Alan Tudyk
(TOO'-dihk) is 46. Actor Tim Kang is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Blu
Cantrell is 41. Actress Brooke Burns is 39. Actor Brett Davern (TV:
"Awkward") is 34. Actress Alexandra Daddario is 31. Rhythm and blues
singer Jhene Aiko is 29. Rock musician Wolfgang Van Halen is 26.
Thought for Today: "Until we lose ourselves there is no hope of finding
ourselves. Henry Miller, American author (1891-1980).
