This day in history

[March 10, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, March 10, the 69th day of 2010. There are 296 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 10, 1876, the first successful voice transmission over Alexander Graham Bell's telephone took place in Boston as his assistant heard Bell say, "Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you."

On this date:

In 1496, Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain.

In 1785, Thomas Jefferson was appointed America's minister to France, succeeding Benjamin Franklin.

In 1848, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War.

In 1880, the Salvation Army arrived in the United States from England.

In 1910, luggage maker Samsonite Corp. had its beginnings as the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Co. was founded in Denver by Jesse Shwayder.

In 1948, the body of the anti-Communist foreign minister of Czechoslovakia, Jan Masaryk, was found in the garden of Czernin Palace in Prague.

In 1949, Nazi wartime broadcaster Mildred E. Gillars, also known as "Axis Sally," was convicted in Washington, D.C. of treason. (She served 12 years in prison.)

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in Memphis, Tenn., to assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. (Ray later repudiated that plea, maintaining his innocence until his death.)

In 1980, "Scarsdale Diet" author Dr. Herman Tarnower was shot to death at his home in Purchase, N.Y. (Tarnower's former lover, Jean Harris, was convicted of his murder; she served nearly 12 years in prison before being released in January 1993.)

In 1985, Konstantin U. Chernenko, who was the Soviet Union's leader for just 13 months, died at age 73.

Ten years ago: Pope John Paul II approved sainthood for Katharine Drexel, a Philadelphia socialite who had taken a vow of poverty and devoted her fortune to helping poor blacks and American Indians. (Drexel, who died in 1955, was canonized in Oct. 2000.)

Five years ago: Lebanon's president reappointed staunchly pro-Syrian politician Omar Karami as prime minister. A suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral in Mosul, Iraq, killing at least 47 people. Former President Bill Clinton underwent surgery in New York to remove scar tissue and fluid from his chest. Michael Jackson, clad in pajamas and walking gingerly, arrived one hour late to his child molestation trial after the judge threatened to have him arrested him for tardiness; a back injury was blamed. (Jackson was acquitted.)

One year ago: A gunman, 28-year-old Michael McLendon, killed 10 people, including his mother, four other relatives and the wife and child of a local sheriff's deputy across two rural Alabama counties before committing suicide. In his first major speech on education, President Barack Obama called for tying teachers' pay to student performance and expanding innovative charter schools.

Today's birthdays: Talk show host Ralph Emery is 77. Bluegrass/country singer-musician Norman Blake is 72. Actor Chuck Norris is 70. Playwright David Rabe is 70. Singer Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean) is 70. Actress Katharine Houghton is 65. Rock musician Tom Scholz (Boston) is 63. Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell is 63. Producer-director-writer Paul Haggis is 57. Alt-country/rock musician Gary Louris is 55. Actress Shannon Tweed is 53. Pop/jazz singer Jeanie Bryson is 52. Actress Sharon Stone is 52. Rock musician Gail Greenwood is 50. Magician Lance Burton is 50. Actress Jasmine Guy is 48. Rock musician Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) is 47. Music producer Rick Rubin is 47. Britain's Prince Edward is 46. Actor Stephen Mailer is 44. Actress Paget Brewster is 41. Actor Jon Hamm (TV: "Mad Men") is 39. Country singer Daryle Singletary is 39. Rapper-producer Timbaland is 38. Actor Cristian (kris-tee-AHN') de la Fuente is 36. Rock musician Jerry Horton (Papa Roach) is 35. Actor Jeff Branson is 33. Singer Robin Thicke is 33. Actress Bree Turner is 33. Olympic gold-medal gymnast Shannon Miller is 33. Contemporary Christian singer Michael Barnes (Red) is 31. Country singer Carrie Underwood is 27. Actress Emily Osment is 18.

Thought for today: "Show me a man who claims he is objective and I'll show you a man with illusions." -- Henry R. Luce, American magazine publisher (1898-1967)

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.