Today In History

Today is Thursday, March 16, the 75th day of 2017. There are 290 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1802: President Thomas Jefferson signed a measure authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

ON THIS DATE

› A.D. 37: Roman emperor Tiberius died; he was succeeded by Caligula.

› 1517: The 12th and final session of the Fifth Lateran Council of the Catholic Church took place in Rome, almost five years after the council began.

› 1751: James Madison, fourth president of the United States, was born in Port Conway, Virginia.

› 1792: Sweden’s King Gustav III was shot and mortally wounded during a masquerade party by a former member of his regiment (he died 13 days later).

› 1926: Rocket science pioneer Robert H. Goddard successfully tested the first liquid-fueled rocket at his Aunt Effie’s farm in Auburn, Massachusetts.

› 1945: During World War II, American forces declared they had secured Iwo Jima, although pockets of Japanese resistance remained.

› 1974: The Grand Ole Opry House opened in Nashville with a concert attended by President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Comedian-director Jerry Lewis is 91. Country singer Ray Walker (The Jordanaires) is 83. Movie director Bernardo Bertolucci is 76. Game show host Chuck Woolery is 76. Singer-songwriter Jerry Jeff Walker is 75. Country singer Robin Williams is 70. Bluegrass musician Tim O’Brien (Hot Rize; Earls of Leicester) is 63. Rock singer-musician Nancy Wilson (Heart) is 63. World Golf Hall of Famer Hollis Stacy is 63. Actress Isabelle Huppert is 62. Actor Clifton Powell is 61. Rapper-actor Flavor Flav (Public Enemy) is 58. Rock musician Jimmy DeGrasso is 54. Actor Jerome Flynn is 54. Folk singer Patty Griffin is 53. Movie director Gore Verbinski is 53. Country singer Tracy Bonham is 50. Actress Lauren Graham is 50. Actor Judah Friedlander is 48. Actor Alan Tudyk is 46. Actress Brooke Burns is 39. Actor Brett Davern (TV: “Awkward”) is 34. Actress Alexandra Daddario is 31. Rhythm and blues singer Jhene Aiko is 29. Rock musician Wolfgang Van Halen is 26.