This day in history

[March 15, 2013]  (AP)  Today is Friday, March 15, the 74th day of 2013. There are 291 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 15, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson met with about 100 reporters for the first formal presidential press conference.

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, S.C.

In 1820, Maine became the 23rd state.

In 1919, members of the American Expeditionary Force from World War I convened in Paris for a three-day meeting to found the American Legion.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied bombers again raided German-held Monte Cassino.

In 1956, the Lerner and Loewe musical play "My Fair Lady," based on Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion," opened on Broadway.

In 1962, a chartered Flying Tiger Line airplane carrying 107 people, most of them U.S. Army personnel, disappeared while en route from Guam to the Philippines. "No Strings," Richard Rodgers' first musical following the death of longtime collaborator Oscar Hammerstein II, opened on Broadway.

In 1964, actress Elizabeth Taylor married actor Richard Burton in Montreal; it was her fifth marriage, his second.

In 1970, Expo '70, promoting "Progress and Harmony for Mankind," opened in Osaka, Japan.

In 1972, "The Godfather," Francis Ford Coppola's epic gangster movie based on the Mario Puzo novel and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, premiered in New York.

In 1985, the first Internet domain name, symbolics.com, was registered by the Symbolics Computer Corp. of Massachusetts.

Ten years ago: Hu Jintao (hoo jin-tow) was chosen to replace Jiang Zemin (jahng zuh-MEEN') as the president of China. Protesters in Washington, D.C., and around the world demonstrated against an anticipated war with Iraq.

Five years ago: A construction crane toppled in New York City, killing seven people. China's legislature re-appointed Hu Jintao as president.

One year ago: Convicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (blah-GOY'-uh-vich) walked into a federal prison in Colorado, where the 55-year-old Democrat began serving a 14-year sentence for corruption. The American campaign in Afghanistan suffered a double blow as the Taliban broke off talks with the U.S., and President Hamid Karzai said NATO should pull out of rural areas and speed up the transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces nationwide.

Today's birthdays: Musician DJ Fontana is 82. Former astronaut Alan L. Bean is 81. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 80. Actor Judd Hirsch is 78. Rock musician Phil Lesh is 73. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 72. Rock singer-musician Sly Stone is 70. Rock singer-musician Howard Scott (War; Lowrider Band) is 67. Rock singer Ry Cooder is 66. Actor Craig Wasson is 59. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is 58. Actress Park Overall is 56. Movie director Renny Harlin is 54. Model Fabio is 52. Singer Terence Trent D'Arby (AKA Sananda Maitreya) is 51. Rock singer Bret Michaels (Poison) is 50. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rockwell is 49. Rock singer Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) is 45. Actress Kim Raver is 44. Rock musician Mark Hoppus is 41. Actress Eva Longoria is 38. Rapper-musician will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) is 38. Rock DJ Joseph Hahn (Linkin Park) is 36. Rapper Young Buck is 32. Actor Sean Biggerstaff is 30. Rock musician Ethan Mentzer is 30. Actress Caitlin Wachs is 24.

Thought for today: "We're all in this together - by ourselves." - Lily Tomlin, American comedian

[Associated Press]

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