NEA DATEBOOK

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1861, delegates from seven states adopted the Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

In 1888, the “Great Blizzard of ‘88” struck the Northeastern United States, killing more than 400 people.

In 2004, over 190 people were killed when terrorist bombs exploded on rush-hour commuter trains in Madrid.

In 2011, a magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck Japan, killing nearly 16,000 people and causing meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

In 2020, the World Health Organization officially announced the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Lawrence Welk (1903-1992), bandleader; Ralph Abernathy (1926-1990), civil rights leader; Rupert Murdoch (1931- ), business leader; Sam Donaldson (1934- ), TV journalist; Antonin

Scalia (1936-2016), U.S. Supreme Court justice; Douglas Adams (1952-2001), author; Peter Berg (1964- ), actor/filmmaker; Terrence Howard (1969- ), actor; Johnny Knoxville (1971- ), actor; Anthony Davis (1993- ), basketball player.

TODAY’S FACT: According to Forbes, News Corp. Chairman Emeritis Rupert Murdoch’s net worth was $19 billion as of late February 2024.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1979, Randy Holt of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings was penalized nine times for a record total of 67 minutes.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it . ... Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job.” — Douglas Adams, “The Restaurant at the End of the Universe”

TODAY’S MOON: Between new moon (March 10) and first quarter moon (March 16).