Today in History

Today is Saturday, March 10, the 70th day of 2012. There are 296 days left in the year. Daylight-saving time begins Sunday at 2 a.m. local time. Clocks go forward one hour.

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 1906, about 1,100 miners in northern France were killed by a coal-dust explosion.

In 1933, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake centered off Long Beach, Calif., resulted in 120 deaths.

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 1972, the three-day National Black Political Convention convened in Gary, Ind.

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 Jan. 1993.)

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

Ten years ago: Israeli helicopters destroyed Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's office in Gaza City, hours after 11 Israelis were killed in a suicide bombing in a cafe across the street from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's residence in Jerusalem. Russell Crowe won best actor honors at the Screen Actors Guild awards for "A Beautiful Mind" while Halle Berry won best actress for "Monster's Ball." Actress Irene Worth died in New York at age 85.

Five years ago: In their first direct talks since the Iraq war began, U.S. and Iranian envoys traded harsh words and blamed each other for Iraq's crisis at a one-day international conference in Baghdad. President George W. Bush, in Uruguay as part of his Latin America tour, asked Congress for $3.2 billion to pay for 8,200 more U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq on top of the 21,500-troop buildup he had announced in Jan. 2007. Standup comedian Richard Jeni, 49, died at a Los Angeles hospital of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

One year ago: The House Homeland Security Committee examined Muslim extremism in America during a hearing punctuated by tearful testimony and angry recriminations. (Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., accused U.S. Muslims of doing too little to help fight terror in America; Democrats warned of inflaming anti-Muslim sentiment.)

Today's Birthdays: Talk show host Ralph Emery is 79. Bluegrass/country singer-musician Norman Blake is 74. Actor Chuck Norris is 72. Playwright David Rabe is 72. Singer Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean) is 72. Actress Katharine Houghton is 67. Rock musician Tom Scholz (Boston) is 65. Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell is 65. Actress Aloma Wright is 62. Producer-director-writer Paul Haggis is 59. Alt-country/rock musician Gary Louris is 57. Actress Shannon Tweed is 55. Pop/jazz singer Jeanie Bryson is 54. Actress Sharon Stone is 54. Rock musician Gail Greenwood is 52. Magician Lance Burton is 52. Actress Jasmine Guy is 50. Rock musician Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) is 49. Music producer Rick Rubin is 49. Britain's Prince Edward is 48. Actor Stephen Mailer is 46. Actress Paget Brewster is 43. Actor Jon Hamm (TV: "Mad Men") is 41. Country singer Daryle Singletary is 41. Rapper-producer Timbaland is 40. Actor Cristian de la Fuente is 38. Rock musician Jerry Horton (Papa Roach) is 37. Actor Jeff Branson is 35. Singer Robin Thicke is 35. Actress Bree Turner is 35. Olympic gold-medal gymnast Shannon Miller is 35. Contemporary Christian singer Michael Barnes (Red) is 33. Country singer Carrie Underwood is 29. Actress Olivia Wilde is 28. Actress Emily Osment is 20.

Thought for Today: "He who knows, does not speak. He who speaks, does not know." -- Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher.

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.