TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT March 11, 1918

What are believed to be the first confirmed U.S. cases of adeadlyglobal flupandemic were reported among U.S. Army soldiers stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas; 46would die.

ALSO ON THIS DATE

1513

Giovanni de’ Medici was proclaimed pope, succeeding Julius II; he took the name Leo X.

1810

French Emperor Napoleon I was married by proxy in Vienna to Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.

1888

The Blizzard of ‘88, also known as the “Great White Hurricane,” began inundating the northeastern United States, resulting in some 400deaths.

1935

The Bank of Canada began operations, issuing its first series of bank notes.

1941

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Bill, providing war supplies to countries fighting the Axis.

1965

The Rev. James J. Reeb, a white minister from Boston, died two days after being beaten by whites during civil rights disturbances in Selma, Alabama.

1977

More than 130hostages held in Washington, D.C. by Hanafi Muslimswere freed after ambassadors from three Islamic nations joined the negotiations.

2004

Ten bombs exploded in quick succession across the commuter rail network in Madrid, Spain, killing 191 people in an attack linked to al-Qaida-inspired militants.

2011

A magnitude-9.0earthquake and resulting tsunami struck Japan’s northeastern coast, killing nearly 20,000people and severely damaging the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station.