This day in history

[March 14, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Monday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2011. There are 292 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 14, 1794, Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America's cotton industry.

On this date:

In 1743, a memorial service was held at Faneuil (FAN'-yul) Hall in Boston honoring Peter Faneuil, who had donated the building bearing his name.

In 1883, German political philosopher Karl Marx died in London at age 64.

In 1900, Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act.

In 1923, President Warren G. Harding became the first chief executive to file an income tax report.

In 1939, the republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation of Slovakia.

In 1951, during the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul (sohl).

In 1961, the New Testament of the New English Bible was first published.

In 1964, a jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and sentenced him to death. (Both the conviction and death sentence were later overturned, but Ruby died before he could be retried.)

In 1980, a Polish airliner crashed while making an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing all 87 people aboard, including 22 members of a U.S. amateur boxing team.

In 1991, a British court overturned the wrongful convictions of the "Birmingham Six," who had spent 16 years in prison for a 1974 Irish Republican Army bombing, and ordered them released.

Ten years ago: Inspectors tightened U.S. defenses against foot-and-mouth disease a day after a case was confirmed in France. Doug Swingley won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska for the third straight year.

Five years ago: Iraqi authorities reported discovering at least 87 corpses -- those of men shot to death execution-style -- as Iraq edged closer to open civil warfare. Israel raided a jail in the West Bank town of Jericho, seizing six militants, after the new Hamas-led Palestinian government said it would release the men. A reservoir dam in Hawaii burst, releasing a torrent of water that killed seven people.

One year ago: French voters, scarred by their country's economic crisis, dealt President Nicolas Sarkozy (sahr-koh-ZEE') and his conservative leadership a stern blow by strongly favoring leftist candidates in regional elections. Actor Peter Graves died in Los Angeles at age 83, four days short of his birthday.

Today's birthdays: Former astronaut Frank Borman is 83. Singer Phil Phillips is 80. Actor Michael Caine is 78. Composer-conductor Quincy Jones is 78. Former astronaut Eugene Cernan is 77. Actor Raymond J. Barry is 72. Movie director Wolfgang Petersen is 70. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey is 66. Rock musician Walt Parazaider (Chicago) is 66. Actor Steve Kanaly is 65. Comedian Billy Crystal is 63. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is 63. Country singer Jann Browne is 57. Actor Adrian Zmed is 57. Prince Albert II, the ruler of Monaco, is 53. Actress Laila Robins is 52. Actress Tamara Tunie is 52. Actress Penny Johnson Jerald is 50. Producer-director-writer Kevin Williamson is 46. Actor Gary Anthony Williams is 45. Actress Megan Follows is 43. Rock musician Michael Bland is 42. Country singer Kristian Bush is 41. Rock musician Derrick (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 39. Actress Grace Park is 37. Actor Jake Fogelnest is 32. Actor Chris Klein is 32. Actress Kate Maberly is 29. Singer-musician Taylor Hanson (Hanson) is 28. Actor Jamie Bell is 25.

Thought for today: "Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death." -- Ayn Rand, American author (1905-1982)

[Associated Press]

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