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From: Mary Minnich< >
Subject: [FOLKLORE-L] Today in History - March 9th
Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1999 05:46:21 -0500


Today is Tuesday, March ninth, the 68th day of 1999.
There are 297 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On March ninth, 1796, the future emperor of France, Napoleon Bonaparte,
married Josephine de Beauharnais (boh-ahr-NAY'). (The couple divorced in
1809.)

On this date:
In 1862, during the Civil War, the ironclads "Monitor" and "Virginia"
(formerly "Merrimac") clashed for five hours to a draw at Hampton Roads,
Virginia.

In 1916, Mexican raiders led by Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, New Mexico,
killing more than a dozen people.

In 1933, Congress, called into special session by President Roosevelt, began
its "hundred days" of enacting New Deal legislation.

In 1945, during World War Two, US B-29 bombers launched incendiary bomb
attacks against Japan.

In 1954, CBS newsman Edward R. Murrow critically reviewed Wisconsin Senator
Joseph R. McCarthy's anti-communism campaign on "See It Now."

In 1975, work began on the Alaskan oil pipeline.

In 1977, about a dozen armed Hanafi Muslims invaded three buildings in
Washington DC, killing one person and taking more than 130 hostages. The
siege ended two days later.

In 1990, Dr. Antonia Novello was sworn in as the first female and Hispanic
surgeon general.

In 1996, comedian George Burns died in Beverly Hills, California, at age
100.

In 1997, gangsta rapper The Notorious B.I.G., whose real name was
Christopher Wallace, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles; he
was 24.

Ten years ago: The Senate rejected President Bush's nomination of John Tower
to be defense secretary by a vote of 53-to-47.

Five years ago: The UN Human Rights Commission condemned anti-Semitism,
putting the world body on record for the first time as opposing
discrimination against Jews.

One year ago: In a case pitting former high school sweethearts against each
other, Brian Peterson pleaded guilty in Wilimington, Delaware, to
manslaughter in the death of his newborn son in a Newark motel and agreed to
testify against the mother, Amy Grossberg. (A month later, Grossberg also
pleaded guilty to manslaughter; she received two and a-half years in prison;
Peterson, two years.)

Today's Birthdays:
Author Mickey Spillane is 81.
Singer Lloyd Price is 66.
Actress Joyce Van Patten is 65.
Actor-comedian Marty Ingees is 63.
Country singer Mickey Gilley is 63.
Singer Mark Lindsay (Paul Revere and the Raiders) is 57.
TV personality Charles Gibson is 56.
Chess player Bobby Fischer is 56.
Actress Trish Van Devere is 54.
Rock musician Robin Trower is 54.
Singer Jeffrey Osborne is 51.
Country musician Jimmy Fadden (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) is 51.
Magazine editor Michael Kinsley is 48.
Actress Linda Fiorentino is 39.
Actress Juliette Binoche is 35.
Actor Emmanuel Lewis is 28.

Thought for Today:
"It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of
him."
-- John Steinbeck, American author (1902-1968).

(Copyright 1999 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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