Today is Monday, March 13th, the 72nd day of 2006. There are 293 days left in the year. The Jewish holiday Purim begins at sunset.
Today’s Highlight in History:
One hundred years ago, on March 13th, 1906, American suffragist Susan Brownell Anthony died in Rochester, New York, at age 86.
On this date:
In 1781, the planet Uranus was discovered by Sir William Herschel.
In 1868, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson began in the U.S. Senate.
In 1884, Standard Time was adopted throughout the United States.
In 1901, the 23rd president of the United States, Benjamin Harrison, died in Indianapolis.
In 1925, a law went into effect in Tennessee prohibiting the teaching of evolution.
In 1933, banks began to re-open after a “holiday” declared by President Roosevelt.
In 1964, 38 residents of a Queens, New York neighborhood failed to respond to the cries of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese, 28, as she was being stabbed to death.
In 1969, the Apollo Nine astronauts splashed down, ending a mission that included the successful testing of the Lunar Module.
In 1980, Ford Motor Chairman Henry Ford II announced he was stepping down.
In 1980, a jury in Winamac, Indiana, found Ford Motor Company innocent of reckless homicide in the fiery deaths of three young women riding in a Ford Pinto.
Ten years ago: A gunman burst into an elementary school in Dunblane, Scotland, and opened fire on a class of kindergartners, killing 16 children and one teacher before killing himself. World leaders, including President Clinton, held a summit in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, where they vowed unequivocal support for the Mideast peace process.
Five years ago: France announced its first case of foot-and-mouth disease, prompting the U.S. Department of Agriculture to suspend imports of livestock and fresh meat from the European Union. Ahmed Ressam, an Algerian national who was arrested with a carload of explosives just before New Year’s Eve 1999, went on trial in Los Angeles on charges of plotting to bomb Seattle and other U-S cities during the millennium celebrations. (He was convicted of terrorism the following month.)
One year ago: Pope John Paul II was released from the hospital and returned to his Vatican apartment overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Robert Iger was named to succeed Michael Eisner as chief executive of The Walt Disney Company.
Today’s Birthdays: Jazz musician Roy Haynes is 81. Country singer Jan Howard is 76. Songwriter Mike Stoller is 73. Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka is 67. Actor William H. Macy is 56. Actress Deborah Raffin is 53. Comedian Robin Duke is 52. Actress Dana Delany is 50. Rock musician Adam Clayton (U2) is 46. Jazz musician Terence Blanchard is 44. Actor Christopher Collet is 38. Actress Annabeth Gish is 35. Actress Tracy Wells is 35. Rapper Common is 34. Rapper Khujo (Goodie Mob, The Lumberjacks) is 34. Singer Glenn Lewis is 31. Actor Danny Masterson is 30. Actor Emile Hirsch is 21. Singers Nicole and Natalie Albino (Nina Sky) are 20.
Thought for Today: “I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.” — Susan B. Anthony, American feminist (1820-1906).