Today in History
Today is Monday, March 26, the 85th day of 2018. There are 280 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlights in History:
On March 26, 1945, during World War II, Iwo Jima was fully secured by U.S. forces following a final, desperate attack by Japanese soldiers. Former British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, 82, died in Ty Newydd, Llanystumdwy, Wales.
On this date:
In 1812, an earthquake devastated Caracas, Venezuela, causing an estimated 26,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna.
In 1874, poet Robert Frost was born in San Francisco.
In 1892, poet Walt Whitman died in Camden, New Jersey.
In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the finals by a score of 9-1.
In 1934, Britain enacted a Road Traffic Act reimposing a 30 mile-per-hour speed limit in “built-up areas” and requiring driving tests for new motorists.
In 1958, the U.S. Army launched America’s third successful satellite, Explorer 3. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” won seven Academy Awards, including best picture of 1957.
In 1967, Pope Paul VI issued an encyclical, “Populorum Progressio,” on “the progressive development of peoples,” in which he expressed concern for those trying to escape hunger, poverty, endemic disease and ignorance.
In 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and witnessed by President Jimmy Carter at the White House.
In 1988, Jesse Jackson stunned fellow Democrats by soundly defeating Michael S. Dukakis in Michigan’s Democratic presidential caucuses.
In 1992, a judge in Indianapolis sentenced former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson to six years in prison for raping a Miss Black America contestant. (Tyson ended up serving three years.)
In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate techno-religious cult who committed suicide were found inside a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
Ten years ago: Behind the Pentagon’s closed doors, U.S. military leaders told President George W. Bush they were worried about the Iraq war’s mounting strain on troops and their families, but indicated they’d go along with a brief halt in pulling out troops during summer 2008. The space shuttle Endeavour landed at Cape Canaveral, Florida, making a rare nighttime touchdown that ended a 16-day mission.
Five years ago: A study from the Society of Actuaries said that insurance companies would have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims under President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. President Obama named veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson as the agency’s first female director. Italy’s top criminal court overturned the acquittal of American Amanda Knox in the grisly murder of British roommate Meredith Kercher and ordered Knox to stand trial again. (Although convicted in absentia, Knox was exonerated by the Italian Supreme Court in 2015.)
One year ago: President Donald Trump took to Twitter to attack conservative lawmakers for the failure of the Republican bill to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law. A man was fatally shot and 16 other people were hurt when a dispute escalated into a gunbattle at the Cameo club in Cincinnati; police arrested two men on murder charges.
Today’s Birthdays: Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is 88. Actor Alan Arkin is 84. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is 83. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is 78. Actor James Caan is 78. Author Erica Jong is 76. Journalist Bob Woodward is 75. Singer Diana Ross is 74. Actor Johnny Crawford is 72. Rock singer Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) is 70. Singer and TV personality Vicki Lawrence is 69. Actor Ernest Thomas is 69. Comedian Martin Short is 68. Country singer Ronnie McDowell is 68. Movie composer Alan Silvestri is 68. Rock musician Monte Yoho is 66. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is 65. Radio talk show host Curtis Sliwa is 64. Country singer Dean Dillon is 63. Country singer Charly McClain is 62. TV personality Leeza Gibbons is 61. Actress Ellia English is 59. Actress Jennifer Grey is 58. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen is 58. Actor Billy Warlock is 57. Actor Eric Allan Kramer is 56. Basketball and College Basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton is 56. Actor Michael Imperioli is 52. Rock musician James Iha (EE’-hah) is 50. Country singer Kenny Chesney is 50. Movie director Martin McDonagh (Film: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) is 48. Actress Leslie Mann is 46. Actor T.R. Knight is 45. Rapper Juvenile is 43. Actress Amy Smart is 42. Actress Bianca Kajlich is 41. Moderator Margaret Brennan (TV: “Face the Nation”) is 38. Actor Sterling Sulieman is 34. Actress Keira Knightley is 33. Rapper J-Kwon is 32. Actress Carly Chaikin is 28.
Thought for Today: “Our whole life is an attempt to discover when our spontaneity is whimsical, sentimental irresponsibility and when it is a valid expression of our deepest desires and values.” — Helen Merrell Lynd, American sociologist and author (1896-1982).