TODAY IN HISTORY

1859: The opera “Faust” by Charles Gounod premiered in Paris.

1931: Nevada Gov. Fred B. Balzar signed a measure legalizing casino gambling.

1942: During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered men between the ages of 45 and 64, inclusive, to register for nonmilitary duty.

1945: During World War II, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the carrier USS Franklin off Japan (the ship was saved). Adolf Hitler ordered the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands in his so-called “Nero Decree,” which was largely disregarded.

1977: The series finale of “Mary Tyler Moore” aired on CBS, ending the situation comedy’s seven-season run.

1987: Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as chairman of his PTL ministry organization amid a sex and money scandal involving Jessica Hahn, a former church secretary.

1991: Polish President Lech Walesa arrived in Washington for his first state visit to the United States.

1995: After a 21-month hiatus, Michael Jordan returned to professional basketball with his former team, the Chicago Bulls.

1997: Artist Willem de Kooning, considered one of the 20th century’s greatest painters, died in East Hampton, N.Y., at age 92.

2003: President George W. Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq.)

2007: A methane gas explosion in a Siberian coal mine killed 110 workers.

2013: Pope Francis officially began his ministry as the 266th pope, receiving the ring symbolizing the papacy and a wool stole exemplifying his role as shepherd of his 1.2 billion-strong flock during a Mass at the Vatican.

2020: President Donald Trump focused attention on a malaria drug, chloroquine, as a possible coronavirus treatment; the FDA issued a statement saying that there were “no FDA-approved therapeutics” to treat COVID-19.

2022: Russian forces pushed deeper into Ukraine’s besieged and battered port city of Mariupol, where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant and local authorities pleaded for more Western help.