This day in history

[March 05, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, March 5, the 64th day of 2011. There are 301 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.

On this date:

In 1770, the Boston Massacre took place as British soldiers who'd been taunted by a crowd of colonists opened fire, killing five people.

In 1868, the Senate was organized into a Court of Impeachment to decide charges against President Andrew Johnson, who was later acquitted.

In 1933, in German parliamentary elections, the Nazi Party won 44 percent of the vote; the Nazis joined with a conservative nationalist party to gain a slender majority in the Reichstag.

In 1953, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin died after three decades in power.

In 1959, a fire at the Negro Boys Industrial School in Wrightsville, Ark., claimed the lives of 21 teenagers trapped inside a locked dormitory room.

In 1960, Cuban newspaper photographer Alberto Korda took the now-famous picture of guerrilla leader Che Guevara during a memorial service in Havana for victims of a ship explosion. Elvis Presley was discharged from the U.S. Army.

In 1963, country music performers Patsy Cline, "Cowboy" Copas and "Hawkshaw" Hawkins died in a plane crash near Camden, Tenn., that also claimed the life of pilot Randy Hughes (Cline's manager).

In 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons went into effect after 43 nations ratified it.

In 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 space probe flew past Jupiter, sending back photographs of the planet and its moons.

In 1982, comedian John Belushi was found dead of a drug overdose in a rented bungalow in Hollywood; he was 33.

Ten years ago: Vice President Dick Cheney underwent an angioplasty for a partially blocked artery after going to a hospital with chest pains. Two students at Santana High School in Santee, Calif., were shot to death, 13 other people were wounded; student shooter Charles "Andy" Williams was later sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. A stampede broke out during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Saudi Arabia, killing 35 Muslims.

Five years ago: AT&T announced it was buying BellSouth Corp., a big step toward resurrecting the old Ma Bell telephone system. "Crash" won the Best Picture Academy Award in an upset over "Brokeback Mountain"; Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for "Capote" and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for "Walk the Line."

One year ago: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, visiting Guatemala, told reporters that demand for narcotics in the United States was fueling drug violence in Central America as she acknowledged a measure of U.S. responsibility for what she called "a terrible criminal scourge." New York Democratic Rep. Eric Massa, facing a harassment complaint by a male staffer, said he was stepping down from his seat with "a profound sense of failure." Andree Peel, 105, a member of the World War II Resistance, died in Bristol, England.

Today's birthdays: Actor James Noble is 89. Actor James B. Sikking is 77. Actor Dean Stockwell is 75. Actor Fred Williamson is 73. Actress Samantha Eggar is 72. Actor Michael Warren is 65. Actor Eddie Hodges is 64. Singer Eddy Grant is 63. Violinist Eugene Fodor is 61. Rock musician Alan Clark (Dire Straits) is 59. Actress-comedian Marsha Warfield is 57. Magician Penn Jillette is 56. Actress Adriana Barraza is 55. Rock singers Charlie and Craig Reid (The Proclaimers) are 49. Rock musician John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 41. Singer Rome is 41. Actor Kevin Connolly is 37. Actress Jill Ritchie is 37. Actress Jolene Blalock is 36. Actress Eva Mendes is 36. Model Niki Taylor is 36. Actor Sterling Knight is 22. Actor Jake Lloyd is 22.

Thought for today: "More tears have been shed over men's lack of manners than their lack of morals." -- Helen Hathaway, American writer (1893-1932)

[Associated Press]

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