TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, MARCH 15, the 74th day of 2019. There are 291 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 44 B.C., Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of nobles that included Brutus and Cassius.
In 1493, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus arrived back in the Spanish harbor of Palos de la Frontera, two months after concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere.
In 1916, a U.S. expeditionary force led by Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing entered Mexico on a futile mission to capture Pancho Villa, whose raiders had attacked Columbus, N.M., killing 18 U.S. citizens.
In 1919, members of the American Expeditionary Force from World War I convened in Paris for a three-day meeting to found the American Legion.
In 1937, America’s first hospital blood bank was opened at Cook County Hospital in Illinois.
In 1944, during World War II, Allied bombers again raided German-held Monte Cassino.
In 1956, the Lerner and Loewe musical play “My Fair Lady,” based on Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion,” opened on Broadway.
In 1985, the first internet domain name, symbolics.com, was registered by the Symbolics Computer Corp. of Massachusetts.
In 1998, CBS’ “60 Minutes” aired an interview with former White House employee Kathleen Willey, who said President Bill Clinton had made unwelcome sexual advances toward her in the Oval Office in 1993, a charge denied by the president.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 86. Actor Judd Hirsch is 84. Jazz musician Charles Lloyd is 81. Rock musician Phil Lesh is 79. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 78. Rock singer-musician Sly Stone is 76. Rock singer-musician Howard Scott (War; Lowrider Band) is 73. Rock singer Ry Cooder is 72. Actress Frances Conroy is 66. Actor Craig Wasson is 65. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is 64. Actor Joaquim de Almeida and actress Park Overall are 62. Movie director Renny Harlin is 60. Model Fabio is 58. Singer Terence Trent D’Arby (aka Sananda Maitreya) is 57. Rock singer Bret Michaels (Poison) is 56. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rockwell is 55. Actor Chris Bruno is 53. Rock singer Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) is 51. Actress Kim Raver is 50. Rock musician Mark Hoppus is 47. Country singer-musician Matt Thomas (Parmalee) is 45. Actress Eva Longoria is 44. Rock DJ Joseph Hahn (Linkin Park) is 42. Actor Sean Biggerstaff and rock musician Ethan Mentzer are 36. Actor Kellan Lutz is 34. Actress Caitlin Wachs is 30.