This day in history

[March 03, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, March 3, the 62nd day of 2010. There are 303 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a measure making "The Star-Spangled Banner" the national anthem of the United States.

On this date:

In 1845, Florida became the 27th state.

In 1849, the U.S. Department of the Interior was established.

In 1894, British Prime Minister William Gladstone submitted his resignation to Queen Victoria, ending his fourth and final premiership.

In 1918, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which ended Russian participation in World War I. (The treaty was rendered moot by the November 1918 armistice.)

In 1940, Artie Shaw and his orchestra recorded "Frenesi" for RCA Victor.

In 1945, the Allies fully secured the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese forces during World War II.

In 1960, actress-comedian Lucille Ball filed for divorce from her husband, Desi Arnaz, a day after they'd finished filming the last episode of "The Luci-Desi Comedy Hour" ("Lucy Meets the Mustache") on Arnaz's 43rd birthday.

In 1969, Apollo 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a mission to test the lunar module.

In 1974, a Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed shortly after takeoff from Orly Airport in Paris, killing all 346 people on board.

In 1991, motorist Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur video. Twenty-five people were killed when a United Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashed while approaching the Colorado Springs airport.

Ten years ago: Former dictator General Augusto Pinochet returned to Chile a free man, 16 months after he was detained in Britain on torture charges. Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Christian college, said it was lifting its ban on interracial dating. (University president Bob Jones III made the announcement on CNN's "Larry King Live.")

Five years ago: President George W. Bush visited CIA headquarters, where he promised agency employees they would retain an "incredibly vital" role in safeguarding the nation's security despite the creation of a new post of national director of intelligence. Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly around the world alone without stopping or refueling, touching down in central Kansas after a 67-hour, 23,000-mile journey.

One year ago: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during a visit to Israel, promised to work with the incoming government, but said movement toward establishment of a Palestinian state was "inescapable." Guinea-Bissau's parliamentary leader Raimundo Pereira was sworn in as the country's new president, following the assassination of Joao Bernardo "Nino" Vieira. Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's son and himself a Tony-winning actor, died in Rancho Mirage, Calif. at age 82.

Today's birthdays: Socialite Lee Radziwill is 77. Movie producer-director George Miller is 65. Actress Hattie Winston is 65. Singer Jennifer Warnes is 63. Actor-director Tim Kazurinsky is 60. Singer-musician Robyn Hitchcock is 57. Rock musician John Lilley is 56. Actress Miranda Richardson is 52. Radio personality Ira Glass is 51. Actress Mary Page Keller is 49. Olympic track and field gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee is 48. College Football Hall of Famer Herschel Walker is 48. Rapper-actor Tone-Loc (lohk) is 44. Rock musician John Bigham is 41. Actress Julie Bowen is 40. Country singer Brett Warren (The Warren Brothers) is 39. Actor David Faustino is 36. Singer Ronan Keating (Boyzone) is 33. Rapper Lil' Flip is 29. Actress Jessica Biel is 28. Rock musician Blower (aka Joe Garvey) (Hinder) is 26.

Thought for today: "We are creatures of the moment; we live from one little space to another; and only one interest at a time fills these." -- William Dean Howells, American author and editor (1837-1920)

[Associated Press]

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