On this day, March 17

1762 New York held its first St. Patrick’s Day parade. 1776 The Revolutionary War Siege of Boston ended as British forces evacuated the city.

1903 The office of mayor was restored to the Pittsburgh city charter. William B. Hays, who had taken office as city recorder, assumed the title of mayor. 1936 Pittsburgh’s Great St. Patrick’s Day Flood began as the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers and their tributaries, swollen by rain and melted snow, started exceeding flood stage; the high water was blamed for more than 60 deaths. 1968 A peaceful antiVietnam War protest in London was followed by a riot outside the U.S. Embassy; more than 200 people were arrested and more than 80 people were reported injured. 2006 Federal regulators reported the deaths of two women in addition to four others who had taken the abortion pill RU-486; Planned Parenthood said it would immediately stop disregarding the approved instructions for the drug’s use. Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology). — Compiled by

Alyssa Brown Today’s birthdays: The former national chairwoman of the NAACP, Myrlie Evers-Williams, 86. Former astronaut Ken Mattingly, 83. Former NSA director and former CIA director Michael Hayden, 74. Actor Patrick Duffy, 70. Actor Kurt Russell, 68. Actor Gary Sinise, 64. Actor Rob Lowe, 55. Rock singer Billy Corgan, 52. Olympic gold medal soccer player Mia Hamm, 47. Actress Brittany Daniel, 43. Singer and TV personality Tamar Braxton, 42. TV personality Rob Kardashian, 32. Pop/rock singer-songwriter Hozier, 29. Actor John Boyega, 27. Thought for today: “Beagan agus a ra go maith.” (Say little, but say it well.) — Irish saying