Today is Tuesday, March 15th, the 74th day of 2005. There are 291 days left in the year. This is “Buzzard Day” in Hinckley, Ohio.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On March 15th, 1919, the American Legion was founded, in Paris.
On this date:
In 44 B.C., Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of nobles that included Brutus and Cassius.
In 1493, Christopher Columbus returned to Spain, concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere.
In 1767, the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, was born in Waxhaw, South Carolina.
In 1820, Maine became the 23rd state.
In 1913, President Wilson held the first open presidential news conference.
In 1944, during World War Two, Allied bombers again raided German-held Monte Cassino.
In 1956, the Lerner and Loewe musical “My Fair Lady” opened on Broadway.
In 1964, actress Elizabeth Taylor married actor Richard Burton in Montreal; it was her fifth marriage, his second.
In 1975, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis died near Paris at age 69.
In 1977, the U.S. House of Representatives began a 90-day test to determine the feasibility of showing its sessions on television.
Ten years ago: President Clinton issued an executive order formally blocking a $1 billion contract between Conoco and Iran to develop a huge offshore oil tract in the Persian Gulf.
Five years ago: Their presidential nominations secured, Al Gore and George W. Bush dug in for the eight-month battle to Election Day, with Bush saying he was braced for Gore’s “politics of personal destruction and distortions,” and Gore arguing that Bush’s “risky tax scheme” would hurt the economy. TV funnyman Durward Kirby died in Fort Myers, Florida, at age 88.
One year ago: Ten days after being convicted in a stock scandal, Martha Stewart resigned from the board of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to the Caribbean from African exile after winning temporary asylum in Jamaica. A drive-by shooting in Mosul, Iraq, killed four American missionaries.
Today’s Birthdays: Country singer Carl Smith is 78. Former astronaut Alan L. Bean is 73. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 72. Jazz musician Cecil Taylor is 72. Actor Judd Hirsch is 70. Rock musician Phil Lesh is 65. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 64. Rock singer-musician Sly Stone is 61. Rock singer-musician Howard Scott (War) is 59. Rock singer Ry Cooder is 58. Actor Craig Wasson is 51. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is 50. Actress Park Overall is 48. Movie director Renny Harlin is 46. Model Fabio is 44. Singer Terence Trent D’Arby is 43. Rock singer Bret Michaels (Poison) is 42. Singer Rockwell is 41. Rock singer Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) is 37. Actress Kim Raver is 36. Rock musician Mark Hoppus (Blink 182) is 33. Actress Eva Longoria is 30. Rapper-musician will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) is 30. Rock DJ Joseph Hahn (Linkin Park) is 28. Rapper Young Buck is 24. Actor Sean Biggerstaff is 22. Actress Caitlin Wachs is 16.
Thought for Today: “We’re all in this together — by ourselves.” — Lily Tomlin, American comedian.