TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Sunday, March 27, the 86th day of 2022.

Today’s highlight in history

On March 27, 1977, in aviation’s worst disaster, 583 people were killed when a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off in heavy fog, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on an airport runway on the Canary Island of Tenerife.

On this date

In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted present-day Florida.

In 1625, Charles I acceded to the English throne upon the death of James I.

In 1794, Congress approved “An Act to provide a Naval Armament” of six armed ships.

In 1912, first lady Helen Herron Taft and the wife of Japan’s ambassador to the United States, Viscountess Chinda, planted the first two of 3,000 cherry trees given to the U.S. as a gift by the mayor of Tokyo.

In 1945, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower told reporters in Paris that German defenses on the Western Front had been broken.

In 1964, Alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake (the strongest on record in North America) and tsunamis that together claimed about 130 lives.

In 1973, “The Godfather” won the Academy Award for best picture of 1972, but its star, Marlon Brando, refused to accept his Oscar for best actor. Instead, Brando sent actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather in his place, who gave a speech on the mistreatment of Native Americans in film.

In 1975, construction began on the Trans-alaska Pipeline, which was completed two years later.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Julian Glover is 87. Actor Jerry Lacy is 86. Hall of Fame racer Cale Yarborough is 83. Actor-director Austin Pendleton is 82. Actor Michael York is 80. Musician Andrew Farriss (INXS) is 63. Director Quentin Tarantino is 59. Actor Talisa Soto is 55. Singer Mariah Carey is 52. Actor Elizabeth Mitchell is 52. Actor Nathan Fillion is 51. Singer Fergie is 47. MLB player Buster Posey is 35. Actor Brenda Song is 34.