TODAY IN HISTORY

Today’s highlight in history

On March 14, 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.)

On this date

In 1794, Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America’s cotton industry.

In 1962, Democrat Edward M. Kennedy officially launched his successful candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts once held by his brother, President John F. Kennedy.

In 1967, the body of President John F. Kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 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.

In 2015, Robert Durst, a wealthy eccentric linked to two killings and his wife’s disappearance, was arrested on a murder warrant a day before HBO aired the final episode of a serial documentary about his life.

Today’s birthdays

Former astronaut Frank Borman is 93. Actor Michael Caine is 88. Producer Quincy Jones is 88. Singer Michael Martin Murphey is 76. Actor Steve Kanaly is 75. Actor Billy Crystal is 73. Radio personality Rick Dees is 70. Actor Laila Robins is 62. Director-writer Kevin Williamson is 56. Actor Elise Neal is 55. Actor Megan Follows is 53. Actor Chris Klein is 42. NBA star Stephen Curry is 33. Actor Ansel Elgort is 27. Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles is 24.