TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS MONDAY, MARCH 12, the 71st day of 2018. There are 294 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS IN HISTORY: On this date in 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson won the New Hampshire Democratic primary, with Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota placing a strong second.

In 1912, the Girl Scouts of the USA had its beginnings when Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Ga., founded the first American troop of the Girl Guides.

In 1951, “Dennis the Menace,” created by cartoonist Hank Ketcham, made its syndicated debut in 16 newspapers.

In 1980, a Chicago jury found John Wayne Gacy Jr. guilty of the murders of 33 men and boys. The next day, Gacy was sentenced to death; he was executed in May 1994.

In 1993, Janet Reno was sworn in as the first female U.S. attorney general. A three-day blizzard that came to be known as “The Storm of the Century” began inundating the eastern third of the U.S. In 2003, Elizabeth Smart, the 15-yearold girl who vanished from her bedroom nine months earlier, was found alive in a Salt Lake City suburb with two drifters, Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, who are serving prison terms for kidnapping her.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Politician, diplomat and civil rights activist Andrew Young is 86. Actress Barbara Feldon is 85. Actress-singer Liza Minnelli is 72. Singer-songwriter James Taylor is 70. Rock singer-musician Bill Payne (Little Feat) is 69. Actor Jon Provost (TV: “Lassie”) is 68. Author Carl Hiaasen is 65. Rock musician Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) and actress Lesley Manville are 62. Actor Jerry Levine and singer Marlon Jackson (The Jackson Five) are 61. Actors Jason Beghe and Courtney B. Vance are 58. Actor Titus Welliver and former MLB All-Star Darryl Strawberry are 56. Actor Aaron Eckhart is 50. Rock musician Graham Coxon is 49. Country musician Tommy Bales (Flynnville Train) is 45. Actor Rhys Coiro is 39. Country singer Holly Williams is 37. Actor Samm Levine is 36. Actress Jaimie Alexander is 34. Actor Tyler Patrick Jones is 24. Actress Kendall Applegate is 19.