TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT April 3, 1968

Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. delivered what turned out to be his final speech, telling a rally of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, that “I’ve been to the mountaintop” and “seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!”

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1776

George Washington received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard College.

1860

The legendary Pony Express began carrying mail between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California.

1882

Outlaw Jesse James was shot to death in St. Joseph, Missouri, by Robert Ford, a member of James’ gang.

1936

Bruno Hauptmann was electrocuted in Trenton, New Jersey, for the kidnap-murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr.

1942

During World War II, Japanese forces began their final assault on Bataan against American and Filipino troops who surrendered six days later; the capitulation was followed by the notorious Bataan Death March.

1948

President Harry S. Truman signed the Marshall Plan, designed to help European allies rebuild after World War II and resist communism.

1978

At the Academy Awards, Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” was named best picture of 1977; its co-star, Diane Keaton, won best actress while Richard Dreyfuss was honored as best actor for “The Goodbye Girl.”