Today In History
Today is Friday, March 2, the 61st day of 2018. There are 304 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 1867: Howard University, a historically black school of higher learning in Washington, D.C., was founded.
ON THIS DATE
› 1836: The Republic of Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico.
› 1877: Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, even though Tilden had won the popular vote.
› 1917: Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act.
› 1933: The motion picture “King Kong” had its world premiere at New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy.
› 1939: The Massachusetts legislature voted to ratify the Bill of Rights, 147 years after the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution had gone into effect. (Georgia and Connecticut soon followed.)
› 1958: A multinational expedition led by British explorer Vivian Fuchs completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica by way of the South Pole in 99 days.
› 1965: The movie version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The Sound of Music,” starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, had its world premiere in New York.
› 1989: Representatives from the 12 European Community nations agreed to ban all production of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons).
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor John Cullum is
88. Author Tom Wolfe is
88. Former Soviet President and Nobel peace laureate Mikhail S. Gorbachev is 87. Former Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., is
65. Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is 63. Singer Jay Osmond is 63. Pop musician John Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 62. Tennis player Kevin Curren is 60. Actor Daniel Craig is 50. Actor Richard Ruccolo is 46. Rock musician Casey (Jimmie’s Chicken Shack) is 42. Rock singer Chris Martin (Coldplay) is 41. Actress Heather McComb is 41. Actress Rebel Wilson is
38. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard is 37. Musician Mike “McDuck” Olson (Lake Street Dive) is 35. Actor Robert Iler is 33. Actress Nathalie Emmanuel is 29. Singer-rapper-actress Becky G is 21.