Today In History
Today is Wednesday, March 8, the 67th day of 2023. There are 298 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On March 8, 1965, the United States landed its first combat troops in South Vietnam as 3,500 Marines arrived to defend the U.S. air base at Da Nang.
ON THIS DATE
› 1618: German astronomer Johannes Kepler devised his third law of planetary motion.
› 1817: The New York Stock & Exchange Board, which had its beginnings in 1792, was formally organized; it later became known as the New York Stock Exchange.
› 1948: The Supreme Court, in McCollum v. Board of Education, struck down voluntary religious education classes in Champaign, Illinois, public schools, saying the program violated separation of church and state.
› 1971: Joe Frazier defeated Muhammad Ali by decision in what was billed as “The Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden in New York. Silent film comedian Harold Lloyd died in Beverly Hills, California, at age 77.
› 1983: In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals convention in Orlando, Florida, President Ronald Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire.”
› 1988: Seventeen soldiers were killed when two Army helicopters from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, collided in midflight.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Jazz musician George Coleman is 88. Actor Sue Ane Langdon is 87. College Football Hall of Famer Pete Dawkins is
85. Actor-director Micky Dolenz (The Monkees) is 78. Singer-musician Randy Meisner is 77. Songwriter Carole Bayer Sager is 76. Pop singer Peggy March is 75. Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Rice is 70. Jazz musician Billy Childs is 66. Singer Gary Numan is 65. NBC News anchor Lester Holt is 64. Actor Aidan Quinn is 64. Actor Camryn Manheim is 62. Actor Leon is
62. Country-rock singer Shawn Mullins is 55. Neosoul singer Van Hunt is
53. Actor Andrea Parker is
53. Actor Boris Kodjoe is
50. Actor Freddie Prinze Jr. is 47. Actor James Van Der Beek is 46. R&B singer Kameelah Williams (702) is 45. Actor Nick Zano is 45. Rock singer Tom Chaplin (Keane) is
44. Rock musician Andy Ross (OK Go) is 44. Actor Jessica Collins is 40. R&B singer Kristinia DeBarge is 33.