This day in history

[March 31, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, March 31, the 90th day of 2009. There are 275 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 31, 1968, at the conclusion of a nationally broadcast address, President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked his listeners by announcing he would not seek another term of office.

On this date:

In 1809, English poet Edward FitzGerald, best known for his translation of "The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam," was born in Suffolk.

In 1880, Wabash, Ind., became the first town in the world to be illuminated by electrical lighting.

In 1889, French engineer Gustave Eiffel unfurled the French tricolor from atop the Eiffel Tower, officially marking its completion.

In 1917, the United States took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark.

In 1933, Congress approved, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed, the Emergency Conservation Work Act, which created the Civilian Conservation Corps.

In 1943, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!" opened on Broadway.

In 1945, the Tennessee Williams play "The Glass Menagerie" opened on Broadway.

In 1949, Newfoundland (now called Newfoundland and Labrador) entered confederation as Canada's 10th province.

In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Karen Ann Quinlan, who was in a persistent vegetative state, could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan, who remained unconscious, died in 1985.)

In 2005, Terri Schiavo, 41, died at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., 13 days after her feeding tube was removed in a wrenching right-to-die dispute.

Ten years ago: Three U.S. Army soldiers were captured by Serb forces near the Yugoslav-Macedonia border. (Staff Sgt. Andrew Ramirez, Staff Sgt. Christopher Stone and Spec. Steven M. Gonzales were released more than a month later.) Four New York City police officers were charged with murder for killing Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant, in a hail of bullets. (The officers were acquitted in February 2000.)

Five years ago: Four American civilian contractors were killed in Fallujah, Iraq; frenzied crowds dragged the burned, mutilated bodies and strung two of them from a bridge. Air America, intended as a liberal voice in network talk radio, made its debut on five stations.

One year ago: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced his resignation amid the wreckage of the national housing crisis. A Bahamas jury ruled that Anna Nicole Smith's son, Daniel, died from an accidental drug overdose, just like his mother. American movie director Jules Dassin, whose Greek wife, Melina Mercouri, starred in his hit movie "Never on Sunday" and six more of his films, died in Athens at age 96.

Today's birthdays: Actress Peggy Rea is 88. Actor William Daniels is 82. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Gordie Howe is 81. Actor Richard Chamberlain is 75. Actress Shirley Jones is 75. Country singer-songwriter John D. Loudermilk is 75. Musician Herb Alpert is 74. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is 69. Actor Christopher Walken is 66. Comedian Gabe Kaplan is 64. Former Vice President Al Gore is 61. David Eisenhower is 61. Actress Rhea Perlman is 61. Actor Ed Marinaro is 59. Rock musician Angus Young (AC/DC) is 54. Actor Marc McClure is 52. Actor William McNamara is 44. Alt-country musician Bob Crawford (The Avett Brothers) is 38. Actor Ewan McGregor is 38. Rapper Tony Yayo is 31. Jazz musician Christian Scott is 26.

Thought for today: "So often we rob tomorrow's memories by today's economies." -- John Mason Brown, American critic and lecturer (1900-1969)

[Associated Press]

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