This day in history

[March 04, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2010. There are 302 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 4, 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York. (The lawmakers then adjourned for lack of a quorum.)

On this date:

In 1791, Vermont became the 14th state.

In 1858, Sen. James Henry Hammond of South Carolina declared "Cotton is king" in a speech to the U.S. Senate.

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States.

In 1908, a fire at Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, claimed the lives of 172 children and three adults.

In 1930, Coolidge Dam in Arizona was dedicated by its namesake, former President Calvin Coolidge.

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as America's 32nd president.

In 1940, Kings Canyon National Park in California was established.

In 1960, baritone Leonard Warren, 50, collapsed and died while performing in Verdi's "La forza del destino" (The Force of Destiny) at New York's Metropolitan Opera. An explosives-laden French freighter, La Coubre, exploded in Havana's harbor, killing at least 75 people.

In 1977, some 1,500 people were killed in an earthquake that shook southern and eastern Europe.

In 1989, Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. announced plans for a huge media merger.

Ten years ago: Ahead of Super Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush charged John McCain with "clouded" education views while the Arizona senator asked, "Where's the outrage?" over a late surge of money to pay for negative TV ads.

Five years ago: American troops in Iraq fired on a car carrying just-freed Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena (zhoo-lee-AH'-nah ZGRAY'-nah), killing Nicola Calipari, the intelligence officer who'd helped negotiate her release and injuring the reporter. Martha Stewart, imprisoned for five months for her role in a stock scandal, left federal prison to start five months of home confinement. President George W. Bush nominated career scientist Stephen L. Johnson to head the Environmental Protection Agency.

One year ago: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, addressing a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, called on Americans to look beyond their own tumbling financial markets to see a world gripped by an "economic hurricane" that could be turned around with U.S. help. Playwright Horton Foote, who'd won an Oscar for his screen adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird," died in Hartford, Conn. at age 92.

Today's birthdays: Actress Paula Prentiss is 72. Movie director Adrian Lyne is 69. Singer Bobby Womack is 66. Rock musician Chris Squire (Yes) is 62. Singer Shakin' Stevens is 62. Author James Ellroy is 62. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is 60. Singer Chris Rea is 59. Actor Ronn Moss is 58. Actress Kay Lenz is 57. Musician Emilio Estefan is 57. Movie director Scott Hicks is 57. Actress Catherine O'Hara is 56. Actress Patricia Heaton is 52. Actor Steven Weber is 49. Rock musician Jason Newsted is 47. Actress Stacy Edwards is 45. Rapper Grand Puba is 44. Rock musician Patrick Hannan (The Sundays) is 44. Rock singer Evan Dando (Lemonheads) is 43. Actress Patsy Kensit is 42. Gay rights activist Chaz Bono is 41. Actor Nick Stabile (stah-BEEL') is 40. Rock musician Fergal Lawler (The Cranberries) is 39. Country singer Jason Sellers is 39. Jazz musician Jason Marsalis is 33. TV personality Whitney Port is 25. Actress Andrea Bowen ("Desperate Housewives") is 20. Actress Jenna Boyd is 17

Thought for today: "Beauty is whatever gives joy." -- Edna St. Vincent Millay, American author and poet (1892-1950)

[Associated Press]

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