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 Today's
highlight in history:
On March 26, 1958, the U.S. Army launched America's third successful satellite, Explorer 3.
On this date:
In 1804, the Louisiana Purchase was divided into the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana.
In 1827, composer Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna.
In 1892, poet Walt Whitman died in Camden, N.J.
In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens.
In 1958, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" won seven Academy Awards, including best picture of 1957; its director, David Lean, and star Alec Guinness also received Oscars. Joanne Woodward was named best actress for "The Three Faces of Eve."
In 1971, East Pakistan proclaimed its independence, taking the name Bangladesh.
In 1979, a peace treaty was signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the White House.
In 1982, groundbreaking ceremonies took place in Washington for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
In 1988, Jesse Jackson stunned fellow Democrats by soundly defeating Michael Dukakis in Michigan's Democratic presidential caucuses.
In 1997, the bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate techno-religious cult who'd committed suicide were found inside a rented mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
Ten years ago: President Clinton stood with President Nelson Mandela in a racially integrated South African parliament to salute a country that was "truly free and democratic at last." The federal government endorsed a new HIV test that yielded instant results.
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Five years ago: The Senate approved a $2.2 trillion budget that provided less than half the $726 billion in tax cuts President Bush wanted. Former Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan died in Washington at age 76.
One year ago: The military concluded that high-ranking Army officers had made critical errors in reporting the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, but that there was no criminal wrongdoing in the shooting of the former NFL star by fellow soldiers. (The findings were rejected by Tillman's family.) Australian detainee David Hicks pleaded guilty before a military tribunal at Guantanamo to helping terrorists fight the United States in Afghanistan. (Hicks was sentenced to seven years in prison; all but nine months' prison time was suspended. Hicks was returned to Australia to serve out his term, and was freed last December.)
Today's birthdays: Jazz musician James Moody is 83. Conductor-composer Pierre Boulez is 83. Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is 78. Actor-director Leonard Nimoy is 77. Actor Alan Arkin is 74. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 68. Actor James Caan is 68. Author Erica Jong is 66. Journalist Bob Woodward is 65. Singer Diana Ross is 64. Actor Johnny Crawford is 62. Rock singer Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) is 60. Singer and TV personality Vicki Lawrence is 59. Actor Ernest Thomas is 59. Singer Teddy Pendergrass is 58. Comedian Martin Short is 58. Country singer Ronnie McDowell is 58. Movie composer Alan Silvestri is 58. Rock musician Monte Yoho is 56. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao is 55. Country singer Dean Dillon is 53. Country singer Charly McClain is 52. TV personality Leeza Gibbons is 51. Actress Jennifer Grey is 48. Basketball player John Stockton is 46. Actor Michael Imperioli is 42. Rock musician James Iha is 40. Country singer Kenny Chesney is 40. Actor T.R. Knight is 35. Rapper Juvenile is 33. Actress Amy Smart is 32. Actress Bianca Kajlich is 31. Actress Keira Knightley is 23. Rapper J-Kwon is 22.
Thought for today: "The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it."
-- Walt Whitman (1819-1892)
[Associated Press]
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