Today in History
Today is Wednesday, March 29, the 88th day of 2017. There are 277 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 29, 1867,
Britain's Parliament passed, and Queen Victoria signed, the British
North America Act creating the Dominion of Canada, which came into
being the following July. On this date: In 1638, Swedish colonists
settled in present-day Delaware. In 1790, the tenth president of the
United States, John Tyler, was born in Charles City County, Virginia.
In 1792, Sweden's King Gustav III died, nearly two weeks after he had
been shot and mortally wounded by an assassin during a masquerade
party. In 1912, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, his doomed
expedition stranded in an Antarctic blizzard after failing to be the
first to reach the South Pole, wrote the last words of his journal:
"For Gods sake look after our people. In 1936, German Chancellor Adolf
Hitler claimed overwhelming victory in a plebiscite on his policies. In
1943, World War II rationing of meat, fats and cheese began. In 1951,
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted in New York of conspiracy to
commit espionage for the Soviet Union. (They were executed in June
1953.) The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I" opened on
Broadway. In 1962, Jack Paar hosted NBC's "Tonight" show for the final
time. (Johnny Carson debuted as host the following October.) In 1971,
Army Lt. William L. Calley Jr. was convicted of murdering 22 Vietnamese
civilians in the My Lai (mee ly) massacre. (Calley ended up serving
three years under house arrest.) A jury in Los Angeles recommended the
death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the
1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. (The sentences were later commuted.) In
1973, the last United States combat troops left South Vietnam, ending
America's direct military involvement in the Vietnam War. In 1984,
under cover of early morning darkness, the Baltimore Colts football
team left its home city of three decades and moved to Indianapolis. In
1992, Democratic presidential front-runner Bill Clinton acknowledged
experimenting with marijuana "a time or two" while attending Oxford
University, adding, "I didn't inhale and I didn't try it again. Ten
years ago: A defiant, Democratic-controlled Senate approved, 51-47,
legislation calling for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq
within a year (however, supporters of the bill were unable to muster
enough votes to override a promised veto by President George W. Bush).
Veteran diplomat Ryan Crocker was sworn in as the new U.S. ambassador
to Iraq. West Virginia beat Clemson, 78-73, for its first NIT title in
65 years. Five years ago: A divided House approved, 228-191, a $3.6
trillion Republican budget recasting Medicare and imposing sweeping
cuts in domestic programs. Stanford routed Minnesota 75-51 to win the
NIT title. One year ago: In the clearest sign yet of the impact of
Justice Antonin Scalia's death, labor unions won, on a tie vote, a
high-profile Supreme Court dispute they had seemed all but certain to
lose. President Barack Obama told the National Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin
Summit in Atlanta that opioid abuse needed to be a higher-priority
issue for the federal government. A man described as "psychologically
unstable" hijacked a flight from Egypt to Cyprus, threatening to blow
it up; his explosives turned out to be fake and he surrendered with all
passengers released unharmed after a bizarre, six-hour standoff.
Oscar-winning actress Patty Duke, 69, died in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.
Today's Birthdays: Author Judith Guest is 81. Former British Prime
Minister Sir John Major is 74. Comedian Eric Idle is 74. Composer
Vangelis is 74. Basketball Hall of Famer Walt Frazier is 72. Singer
Bobby Kimball (Toto) is 70. Actor Bud Cort is 69. Actor Brendan Gleeson
is 62. Actor Christopher Lawford is 62. Pro and College Football Hall
of Famer Earl Campbell is 62. Actress Marina Sirtis is 62.
International Gymnastics Hall of Famer Kurt Thomas is 61. Actor
Christopher Lambert is 60. Rock singer Perry Farrell (Porno for Pyros;
Jane's Addiction) is 58. Comedian-actress Amy Sedaris is 56. Model Elle
Macpherson is 54. Movie director Michel Hazanavicius (mee-SHEHL'
ah-zah-nah-VEE'-see-oos) is 50. Rock singer-musician John Popper (Blues
Traveler) is 50. Actress Lucy Lawless is 49. Country singer Regina
Leigh (Regina Regina) is 49. Country singer Brady Seals is 48. Former
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is 46. CBS News correspondent
Lara Logan is 46. Actor Sam Hazeldine is 45. International Tennis Hall
of Famer Jennifer Capriati is 41. Actor Chris D'Elia is 37. Pop singer
Kelly Sweet is 29. Thought for Today: "To silence criticism is to
silence freedom. Sidney Hook, American philosopher and author
(1902-1989).
