This day in history

[March 12, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, March 12, the 71st day of 2009. There are 294 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 12, 1912, Juliette Gordon Low of Savannah, Ga., founded the Girl Guides, which later became the Girl Scouts of America.

On this date:

In 1664, England's King Charles II granted an area of land in present-day North America known as New Netherland to his brother James, the Duke of York.

In 1864, Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to the rank of general-in-chief of the Union armies in the Civil War by President Abraham Lincoln.

In 1930, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi began a 200-mile march to protest a British tax on salt.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered the first of his 30 radio "fireside chats," telling Americans what was being done to deal with the nation's economic crisis.

In 1938, the Anschluss merging Austria with Nazi Germany took place as German forces crossed the border between the two countries.

In 1939, Pope Pius XII was formally crowned in ceremonies at the Vatican.

In 1947, President Harry S. Truman established what became known as the Truman Doctrine to help Greece and Turkey resist Communism.

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson won the New Hampshire Democratic primary, but anti-war Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota placed a strong second.

In 1969, Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman in London.

In 1989, some 2,500 veterans and supporters marched at the Art Institute of Chicago to demand that officials remove an American flag placed on the floor as part of a student's exhibit.

Ten years ago: Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic joined NATO. Violinist Yehudi Menuhin died in Berlin at age 82.

Five years ago: Marcus Wesson, the domineering patriarch of a cultlike clan he'd bred through incest, surrendered to police who found the bodies of nine of his offspring, all but one minors, at their home in Fresno, Calif. (Wesson was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.)

One year ago: New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned two days after reports had surfaced that he was a client of a prostitution ring. Former Sen. Howard Metzenbaum, a liberal Ohio Democrat who challenged big business, died near Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at age 90. Space shuttle Endeavour docked with the international space station, kicking off almost two weeks of demanding construction work. Lance Mackey won his second consecutive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, completing the 1,100-mile journey in just under 9 1/2 days.

Today's birthdays: Playwright Edward Albee is 81. Former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young is 77. Actress Barbara Feldon is 76. Broadcast journalist Lloyd Dobyns is 73. Singer Al Jarreau is 69. Actress-singer Liza Minnelli is 63. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is 62. Singer-songwriter James Taylor is 61. Rock singer-musician Bill Payne (Little Feat) is 60. Actor Jon Provost ("Lassie") is 59. Author Carl Hiaasen is 56. Rock musician Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) is 53. Actor Jerry Levine is 52. Singer Marlon Jackson (The Jackson Five) is 52. Actor Courtney B. Vance is 49. Actor Titus Welliver is 48. Former baseball player Darryl Strawberry is 47. Actress Julia Campbell is 46. Actor Aaron Eckhart is 41. ABC News reporter Jake Tapper is 40. Rock musician Graham Coxon is 40. Country musician Tommy Bales (Flynnville Train) is 36. Actor Samm Levine is 27. Actor Tyler Patrick Jones is 15. Actress Kendall Applegate ("Desperate Housewives") is 10.

Thought for today: "'Home' is any four walls that enclose the right person." -- Helen Rowland, American writer, journalist and humorist (1876-1950)

[Associated Press]

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