TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS SATURDAY, MARCH 11,

the 70th day of 2017. There are 295 days left in the year. The Jewish holiday Purim begins at sunset. Daylight saving time returns Sunday at 2 a.m. local time; clocks go forward one hour.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:

On this date in 1942, as Japanese forces continued to advance in the Pacific during World War II, U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines for Australia, where he vowed on March 20, “I shall return” — a promise he kept more than 2½ years later.

In 1957,

Charles Van Doren’s 14-week run on the rigged NBC game show “Twenty-One” ended after he was “defeated” by attorney Vivienne Nearing; Van Doren’s take was $129,000. American explorer Richard E. Byrd died in Boston at age 68.

In 1997,

rock star Paul McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 2004,

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

In 2011,

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

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Actress Tricia O’Neil is 72. Actor Mark Metcalf is 71. Rock singer-musician Mark Stein (Vanilla Fudge) is 70. Singer Bobby McFerrin is 67. Actress Susan Richardson is 65. Singer Nina Hagen and country singer Jimmy Fortune (The Statler Brothers) are 62. Singer Cheryl Lynn is 60. Actress Alex Kingston and country musician David Talbot are 54.Actor Johnny Knoxville is 46. Rock singer-musicians Benji and Joel Madden (Good Charlotte; The Madden Brothers) are 38. Actor David Anders and singer LeToya are 36. Actress Thora Birch is 35. TV personality Melissa Rycroft is 34. Actor Rob Brown is 33.