This day in history

[March 15, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Monday, March 15, the 74th day of 2010. There are 291 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On March 15, 44 B.C., Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of nobles that included Brutus and Cassius.

On this date:

In 1493, Christopher Columbus returned to Spain, concluding his first voyage to the Western Hemisphere.

In 1767, the seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, was born in Waxhaw, S.C.

In 1820, Maine became the 23rd state.

In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson met with reporters for what's been described as the first presidential press conference.

In 1919, members of the American Expeditionary Force from World War I convened in Paris for a three-day meeting to found the American Legion.

In 1944, during World War II, Allied bombers again raided German-held Monte Cassino.

In 1956, the musical play "My Fair Lady," based on Bernard Shaw's "Pygmalion," opened on Broadway.

In 1964, actress Elizabeth Taylor married actor Richard Burton in Montreal; it was her fifth marriage, his second.

In 1970, the musical "Purlie," starring Cleavon Little in the title role, opened on Broadway. Expo '70, promoting "Progress and Harmony for Mankind," opened in Osaka, Japan.

In 1975, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis died near Paris at age 69.

Ten years ago: Their presidential nominations secured, Al Gore and George W. Bush dug in for the eight-month battle to Election Day, with Bush saying he was braced for Gore's "politics of personal destruction and distortions," and Gore arguing that Bush's "risky tax scheme" would hurt the economy. TV funnyman Durward Kirby died in Fort Myers, Fla; he was in his late 80s.

Five years ago: Former WorldCom chief Bernard Ebbers was convicted in New York of engineering the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history. (He was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.) In a symbolic but stunning rebuke, Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences passed a motion saying it lacked confidence in President Lawrence Summers -- the first such action in the nearly 400-year history of the university.

One year ago: A chorus of outrage greeted news that some $165 million in executive bonuses were being paid by bailed-out insurance giant American International Group. The space shuttle Discovery was launched on a mission to the international space station that had been delayed five times. Mauricio Funes won El Salvador's presidential election. Tony Award-winning actor Ron Silver died in New York City at age 62.

Today's birthdays: Musician DJ Fontana is 79. Former astronaut Alan L. Bean is 78. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 77. Actor Judd Hirsch is 75. Rock musician Phil Lesh is 70. Singer Mike Love (The Beach Boys) is 69. Rock singer-musician Sly Stone is 67. Rock singer-musician Howard Scott (War; Lowrider Band) is 64. Rock singer Ry Cooder is 63. Actor Craig Wasson is 56. Rock singer Dee Snider (Twisted Sister) is 55. Actress Park Overall is 53. Movie director Renny Harlin is 51. Model Fabio is 49. Singer Terence Trent D'Arby (AKA Sananda Maitreya) is 48. Rock singer Bret Michaels (Poison) is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singer Rockwell is 46. Rock singer Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) is 42. Actress Kim Raver is 41. Rock musician Mark Hoppus is 38. Actress Eva Longoria Parker is 35. Rapper-musician will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) is 35. Rock DJ Joseph Hahn (Linkin Park) is 33. Rapper Young Buck is 29. Actor Sean Biggerstaff is 27. Rock musician Ethan Mentzer is 27. Actress Caitlin Wachs is 21.

Thought for today: "People are, if anything, more touchy about being thought silly than they are about being thought unjust." -- E.B. White, American author and humorist (1899-1985)

[Associated Press]

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