Today in History
Today is Tuesday, March 28, the 87th day of 2017. There are 278 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 28, 1942,
during World War II, British naval forces staged a successful raid on
the Nazi-oc'cup'ied French port of St. Nazaire in Operation Chariot,
destroying the only dry dock on the Atlantic coast capable of repairing
the German battleship Tirpitz. On this date: In 1834, the U.S. Senate
voted to censure President Andrew Jackson for the removal of federal
deposits from the Bank of the United States. In 1896, the opera "Andrea
Chenier," by Umberto Giordano, premiered in Milan, Italy. In 1898, the
Supreme Court, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, ruled that a child
born in the United States to Chinese immigrants was a U.S. citizen. In
1930, the names of the Turkish cities of Constantinople and Angora were
changed to Istanbul and Ankara. In 1935, the notorious Nazi propaganda
film "Triumph des Willens" (Triumph of the Will), directed by Leni
Riefenstahl, premiered in Berlin with Adolf Hitler present. In 1941,
novelist and critic Virginia Woolf, 59, drowned herself near her home
in Lewes, East Sussex, England. In 1955, John Marshall Harlan II was
sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1969,
the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, died in
Washington, D.C. at age 78. In 1977, "Rocky" won best picture at the
49th Academy Awards; Peter Finch was honored posthumously as best actor
for "Network" while his co-star, Faye Dunaway, was recognized as best
actress. In 1979, America's worst commercial nuclear accident occurred
with a partial meltdown inside the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile
Island plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania. In 1987, Maria von Trapp,
whose life story inspired the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The
Sound of Music," died in Morrisville, Vermont, at age 82. In 1990,
President George H.W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to
the widow of U.S. Olympic legend Jesse Owens. Ten years ago: Iran aired
a video of 15 British sailors and marines who were captured five days
earlier; the lone female captive, Faye Furney, wearing a white tunic
and a black head scarf, said the British boats had "trespassed" in
Iranian waters while patrolling for smugglers near the mouth of the
Shatt al-Arab, a disputed waterway. (The crew members were released a
week later.) In the Philippines, dozens of children were taken hostage
on a bus by a day-care center owner armed with grenades and guns; the
crisis ended peacefully 10 hours later with the hostage-taker's
surrender. Five years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up three days
of public arguments on President Barack Obama's historic health care
law. On the last day of his visit, Pope Benedict XVI demanded more
freedom for the Roman Catholic Church in communist-run Cuba and
preached against "fanaticism" in an unusually political sermon before
hundreds of thousands at Revolution Plaza. Bluegrass legend and banjo
pioneer Earl Scruggs, 88, died in Nashville, Tennessee. One year ago:
The FBI said it had successfully used a mysterious technique without
Apple Inc.'s help to hack into the iPhone used by a gunman in a mass
shooting in California, effectively ending a pitched court battle.
Officers shot and wounded a man who had pulled a weapon at a security
checkpoint as he entered the underground U.S. Capitol Visitor Center.
Winston Moseley, the man convicted of the 1964 stabbing death of bar
manager Kitty Genovese, died at the Clinton Correctional Facility in
Dannemora, New York, at age 81. Actor James Noble, 94, died in Norwalk,
Connecticut. Today's Birthdays: Former White House national security
adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski (ZBIG'-nyef breh-ZHIN'-skee) is 89. Author
Mario Vargas Llosa is 81. Country musician Charlie McCoy is 76. Movie
director Mike Newell is 75. Actress Conchata Ferrell is 74. Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte is 72. Actress Dianne Wiest (weest) is 71.
Country singer Reba McEntire is 62. Olympic gold medal gymnast Bart
Conner is 59. Rapper Salt (Salt-N-Pepa) is 51. Actress Tracey Needham
is 50. Actor Max Perlich is 49. Movie director Brett Ratner is 48.
Country singer Rodney Atkins is 48. Actor Vince Vaughn is 47. Rapper
Mr. Cheeks (Lost Boyz) is 46. Actor Ken L. is 44. Singer/songwriter
Matt Nathanson is 44. Rock musician Dave Keuning is 41. Actress Annie
Wersching is 40. Actress Julia Stiles is 36. Singer Lady Gaga is 31.
Thought for Today: "A man can do his best only by confidently seeking
(and perpetually missing) an unattainable perfection. Ralph Barton
Perry, American author and educator (1876-1957).
