TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Tuesday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2017. There are 292 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On March 14, 1967, the body of President John F. Kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
On this date
1794 — Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America’s cotton industry. 1885 — The Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera “The Mikado” premiered at the Savoy Theatre in London. 1900 — Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act. 1907 — President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order designed to prevent Japanese laborers from immigrating to the United States as part of a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Japan. 1923 — President Warren G. Harding became the first chief executive to file an income tax return, paying a levy of $17,990 on his $75,000 salary. 1939 — The republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation of Slovakia. 1951 — During the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul. 1964 — A jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and sentenced him to death. (Both the conviction and death sentence were overturned, but Ruby died before he could be retried.) 1975 — “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” a sendup of the legend of King Arthur, had its world premiere in Los Angeles. 1980 — A LOT Polish Airlines jet crashed while attempting to land in Warsaw, killing all 87 people aboard, including 22 members of a U.S. amateur boxing team. 1990 — The Soviet Congress of People’s Deputies held a secret ballot that elected Mikhail S. Gorbachev to a new, powerful presidency. 1991 — A British court overturned the convictions of the “Birmingham Six,” who had spent 16 years in prison for a 1974 Irish Republican Army bombing, and ordered them released. 2010 — The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided more than $58 million in direct aid to Floyd County institutions and businesses.
Five years ago
President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, hosted a White House state dinner for British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife, Samantha.
One year ago
The Senate voted 49-40 to confirm John B. King Jr. as the nation’s education secretary; King had been serving as acting secretary since Arne Duncan stepped down in Dec. 2015.
Europe and Russia launched the ExoMars probe on a joint mission to explore the atmosphere of Mars and hunt for signs of life on the red planet.
Today’s Birthdays
Singer Phil Phillips (Song: “Sea of Love”) is 91. Former astronaut Frank Borman is 89. Actor Michael Caine is 84. Composer-conductor Quincy Jones is 84. Actor Raymond J. Barry is 78. Movie director Wolfgang Petersen is 76. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey is 72. Rock musician Walt Parazaider (Chicago) is 72. Actor Steve Kanaly is 71. Comedian Billy Crystal is 69. Former Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is 69. Actor-writer-comedian-radio personality Rick Dees is 66. Country singer Jann Browne is 63. Actor Adrian Zmed is 63. Prince Albert II, the ruler of Monaco, is 59. Actress Laila Robins is 58. Actress Tamara Tunie is 58. Actress Penny Johnson Jerald is 57. Producer-director-writer Kevin Williamson is 52. Actress Elise Neal is 51. Actor Gary Anthony Williams is 51. Actress Megan Follows is 49. Rock musician Michael Bland is 48. Country singer Kristian Bush is 47. Rock musician Derrick is 45. Actress Betsy Brandt is 44. Actress Grace Park