This day in history

[March 31, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, March 31, the 90th day of 2010. There are 275 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 31, 1968, at the conclusion of a nationally broadcast address on Vietnam, President Lyndon B. Johnson stunned his audience by declaring, "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."

On this date:

In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain issued an edict expelling Jews from Spanish soil, except those willing to convert to Christianity.

In 1880, Wabash, Ind., became the first town in the world to be illuminated by electrical lighting.

In 1889, French engineer Gustave Eiffel unfurled the French tricolor from atop the Eiffel Tower, officially marking its completion.

In 1917, the United States took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark.

In 1933, Congress approved, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed, the Emergency Conservation Work Act, which created the Civilian Conservation Corps.

In 1943, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!" opened on Broadway.

In 1945, the Tennessee Williams play "The Glass Menagerie" opened on Broadway.

In 1949, Newfoundland (now called Newfoundland and Labrador) entered confederation as Canada's tenth province.

In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Karen Ann Quinlan, who was in a persistent vegetative state, could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan, who remained unconscious, died in 1985.)

In 1995, Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez, 23, was shot to death in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the founder of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Ten years ago: The U.N. Security Council decided to let Iraq spend more money to repair its oil industry -- an investment intended to boost the amount of food and medicine Baghdad could buy through the U.N. humanitarian program.

Five years ago: Terri Schiavo, 41, died at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., 13 days after her feeding tube was removed in a wrenching right-to-die dispute that had engulfed the courts, Congress and the White House and divided the country. A damning report by a presidential commission concluded the United States knew "disturbingly little" about nuclear and biological threats from dangerous adversaries. The World Bank approved Paul Wolfowitz as its new president. South Carolina defeated Saint Joseph's, 60-57, in the NIT championship game. Chicken entrepreneur Frank Perdue died in Salisbury, Md. at age 84.

One year ago: President Barack Obama arrived in London with his wife, Michelle, at the start of a trip to Europe, his first journey across the Atlantic since taking office. The Israeli Knesset approved Benjamin Netanyahu's new government. Former Argentine President Raul Alfonsin died at age 82.

Today's birthdays: Actress Peggy Rea is 89. Actor William Daniels is 83. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Gordie Howe is 82. Actor Richard Chamberlain is 76. Actress Shirley Jones is 76. Country singer-songwriter John D. Loudermilk is 76. Musician Herb Alpert is 75. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is 70. House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is 70. Actor Christopher Walken is 67. Comedian Gabe Kaplan is 65. Former Vice President Al Gore is 62. Author David Eisenhower is 62. Actress Rhea Perlman is 62. Actor Ed Marinaro is 60. Rock musician Angus Young (AC/DC) is 55. Actor Marc McClure is 53. Actor William McNamara is 45. Alt-country musician Bob Crawford (The Avett (AY'-veht) Brothers) is 39. Actor Ewan (YOO'-en) McGregor is 39. Rapper Tony Yayo is 32. Jazz musician Christian Scott is 27.

Thought for today: "What is it to be a gentleman? The first to thank and the last to complain." -- Serbian proverb

[Associated Press]

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