Today in History

Today is Thursday, March 5, the 64th day of 2009. There are 301 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: Fifty years ago, on March 5, 1959, a fire at the Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, Ark., claimed the lives of 21 teenagers trapped inside a locked dormitory room (four dozen other boys managed to escape).

On this date: In 1770, the Boston Massacre took place as British soldiers who'd been taunted by a crowd of colonists opened fire, killing five people.

In 1849, Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as the 12th president of the United States. (The swearing-in was delayed by a day because March 4, 1849, fell on a Sunday.) In 1868, the Senate was organized into a Court of Impeachment to decide charges against President Andrew Johnson, who was later acquitted.

In 1933, in German parliamentary elections, the Nazi Party won 44 percent of the vote; the Nazis joined with a conservative nationalist party to gain a slender majority in the Reichstag.

In 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.

In 1953, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin died after three decades in power.

In 1963, country music performers Patsy Cline, "Cowboy" Copas and "Hawkshaw" Hawkins died in a plane crash near Camden, Tenn., that also claimed the life of pilot Randy Hughes (Cline's manager).

In 1970, a nuclear non-proliferation treaty went into effect after 43 nations ratified it.

In 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 space probe flew past Jupiter, sending back photographs of the planet and its moons.

In 1982, comedian John Belushi was found dead of a drug overdose in a rented bungalow in Hollywood; he was 33.

Ten years ago: Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema (MAH'-see-moh duh-LAY'-muh) met at the White House with President Bill CLinton, a day after a military jury in North Carolina acquitted a Marine pilot in the Italian cable car accident that killed 20 people; D'Alema demanded justice, while Clinton expressed profound regret. Actor Richard Kiley died in Warwick, N.Y., at age 76.

Five years ago: Martha Stewart was convicted in New York of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she'd unloaded her Imclone stock just before the price plummeted; her ex-stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic (buh-KAHN'-oh-vik), also was found guilty in the stock scandal. (Each later received a five-month prison sentence.) One year ago: John McCain, having sewn up the Republican presidential nomination, got a White House embrace from President George W. Bush, who praised the Arizona senator's "incredible courage and strength of character and perseverance."


Today's Birthdays: Actor James Noble is 87. Actor James B.

Sikking is 75. Actor Dean Stockwell is 73. Actor Fred Williamson is 71. Actor Michael Warren is 63. Actor Eddie Hodges is 62. Singer Eddy Grant is 61. Violinist Eugene Fodor is 59. Rock musician Alan Clark (Dire Straits) is 57. Actress-comedian Marsha Warfield is 55.

Magician Penn Jillette is 54. Actress Adriana Barraza is 53. Pop singer Teena Marie is 53. Rock singers Charlie and Craig Reid (The Proclaimers) are 47. Rock musician John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 39. Singer Rome is 39. Actor Kevin Connolly is 35.

Actress Jill Ritchie is 35. Actress Jolene Blalock is 34. Actress Eva Mendes is 34. Model Niki Taylor is 34. Actor Jake Lloyd is 20.

Thought for Today: "To force opinion is like pushing the magnetized needle round by brute strength until it points to where we wish the North Star stood, rather than to where it really is." Dorothy Canfield Fisher, American author and essayist (1879-1958).

(Above Advance for Use Thursday, March 5)


Copyright 2009, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 02-22-09 0820CST | save this article / add to your favorites list