This day in history

[March 28, 2013]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, March 28, the 87th day of 2013. There are 278 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 28, 1979, America's worst commercial nuclear accident occurred inside the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pa.

On this date:

In 1834, the U.S. Senate voted to censure President Andrew Jackson for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States.

In 1854, during the Crimean War, Britain and France declared war on Russia.

In 1898, the Supreme Court, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, ruled that a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrants was a U.S. citizen.

In 1930, the names of the Turkish cities of Constantinople and Angora were changed to Istanbul and Ankara.

In 1935, the notorious Nazi propaganda film "Triumph des Willens" (Triumph of the Will), directed by Leni Riefenstahl, premiered in Berlin with Adolf Hitler present.

In 1939, the Spanish Civil War effectively ended as Madrid fell to the forces of Francisco Franco.

In 1941, novelist and critic Virginia Woolf, 59, drowned herself near her home in Lewes, East Sussex, England.

In 1943, composer Sergei Rachmaninoff died in Beverly Hills, Calif.

In 1963, the Alfred Hitchcock film "The Birds" premiered in New York.

In 1969, the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, died in Washington D.C. at age 78.

In 1978, in Stump v. Sparkman, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld, 5-3, the judicial immunity of an Indiana judge against a lawsuit brought by a young woman who'd been ordered sterilized by the judge when she was a teenager.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to the widow of U.S. Olympic legend Jesse Owens.

Ten years ago: American-led forces in Iraq dropped thousand-pound bombs on Republican Guard units guarding the gates to Baghdad and battled for control of the strategic city of Nasiriyah (nah-sih-REE'-uh). President George W. Bush warned of "further sacrifice" ahead in the face of unexpectedly fierce fighting. Japan launched its first spy satellites to monitor communist neighbor North Korea's missile development and suspected nuclear weapons programs.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush declared that Iraq was standing at a defining moment as it struggled to put down heavily armed Shiite militias in new flare-ups of violence. Cuba made it legal for its citizens to own cellphones in their own names.

One year ago: The U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up three days of public arguments on President Barack Obama's historic health care law. On the last day of his visit, Pope Benedict XVI demanded more freedom for the Roman Catholic Church in communist-run Cuba and preached against "fanaticism" in an unusually political sermon before hundreds of thousands at Revolution Plaza. Bluegrass legend and banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs, 88, died in Nashville, Tennessee.

Today's birthdays: Former White House national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski (ZBIG'-nyef breh-ZHIN'-skee) is 85. Country musician Charlie McCoy is 72. Movie director Mike Newell is 71. Actress Conchata Ferrell is 70. Actor Ken Howard is 69. Actress Dianne Wiest (weest) is 65. Country singer Reba McEntire is 58. Olympic gold medal gymnast Bart Conner is 55. Rapper Salt (Salt-N-Pepa) is 47. Actress Tracey Needham is 46. Actor Max Perlich is 45. Movie director Brett Ratner is 44. Country singer Rodney Atkins is 44. Actor Vince Vaughn is 43. Rapper Mr. Cheeks (Lost Boyz) is 42. Actor Ken L. is 40. Rock musician Dave Keuning is 37. Actress Annie Wersching is 36. Actress Julia Stiles is 32. Singer Lady Gaga is 27.

Thought for today: "A man can do his best only by confidently seeking (and perpetually missing) an unattainable perfection." -- Ralph Barton Perry, American author and educator (1876-1957)

[Associated Press]

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