Today In History

Today is Wednesday, March 15, the 74th day of 2023. There are 291 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

On March 15, 44 B.C., Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of nobles that included Brutus and Cassius.

ON THIS DATE

› 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.

› 1820: Maine became the 23rd state.

› 1917: Czar Nicholas II abdicated in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, who declined the crown, marking the end of imperial rule in Russia.

› 1919: Members of the American Expeditionary Force from World War I convened in Paris for a three-day meeting to found the American Legion.

› 1944: During World War II, Allied bombers again raided German-held Monte Cassino.

› 1965: President Lyndon B. Johnson, addressing a joint session of Congress, called for new legislation to guarantee every American’s right to vote; the result was passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

› 1972: “The Godfather,” Francis Ford Coppola’s epic gangster movie based on the Mario Puzo novel and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, premiered in New York.

› 1977: The situation comedy “Three’s Company,” starring John Ritter, Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers, premiered on ABC-TV.

› 2005: Former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers was convicted in New York of engineering the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history. (He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.)

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Judd Hirsch is 88. Jazz musician Charles Lloyd is 85. Rock musician Phil Lesh is 83. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 82. Rock singer-musician Sly Stone is 80. Rock singer-musician Howard Scott (War; Lowrider Band) is 77. Rock singer Ry Cooder is 76. Actor Frances Conroy is 70. Actor Craig Wasson is 69. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is 68. Actor Joaquim de Almeida is 66. Movie director Renny Harlin is 64. Model Fabio is 62. Singer Terence Trent D’Arby (AKA Sananda Maitreya) is 61. Rock singer Bret Michaels (Poison) is 60. R&B singer Rockwell is 59. Actor Chris Bruno is 57. Actor Kim Raver is 56. Rock singer Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) is 55. Rock musician Mark Hoppus is 51. Country singer-musician Matt Thomas (Parmalee) is 49. Actor Eva Longoria is 48. Rapper-musician will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) is 48. Rock DJ Joseph Hahn (Linkin Park) is 46. Rapper Young Buck is 42. Actor Sean Biggerstaff is 40. Actor Kellan Lutz is 38. Actor Caitlin Wachs is 34.