Today in History

Today is Friday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2014. There are 292 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 14, 1964, a jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and sentenced him to death. (Both the conviction and death sentence were later overturned, but Ruby died before he could be retried.)

On this date:

In 1743, a memorial service was held at Faneuil Hall in Boston honoring Peter Faneuil, who had donated the building bearing his name.

In 1794, Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America's cotton industry.

In 1885, the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera "The Mikado" premiered at the Savoy Theatre in London.

In 1900, Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act.

In 1923, President Warren G. Harding became the first chief executive to file an income tax return, paying a tax of $17,990 on his $75,000 salary.

In 1939, the republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation of Slovakia.

In 1951, during the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul.

In 1962, Democrat Edward M. Kennedy officially launched in Boston his successful candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts once held by his brother, President John F. Kennedy. (Edward Kennedy served in the Senate for nearly 47 years.)

In 1967, the body of President John F. Kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1980, a LOT Polish Airlines jet crashed while attempting to land in Warsaw, killing all 87 people aboard, including 22 members of a U.S. amateur boxing team.

In 1990, the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies held a secret ballot that elected Mikhail S. Gorbachev to a new, powerful presidency.

In 1991, a British court overturned the convictions of the "Birmingham Six," who had spent 16 years in prison for a 1974 Irish Republican Army bombing, and ordered them released.

Ten years ago: Opposition Socialists scored a dramatic upset win in Spain's general election, unseating conservatives stung by charges they'd provoked the Madrid terror bombings that killed 191 people by supporting the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Russian President Vladimir Putin won a second term. Two Palestinian suicide bombers killed eleven Israelis in the port of Ashdod.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama met at the White House with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; afterward, Obama downplayed divisions between the U.S. and Europe over how to tackle the world's financial crisis. Finance officials from rich and developing countries, meeting in Horsham, England, pledged to do "whatever is necessary" to fix the global economy. Altovise Joanne Gore Davis, a dancer and actress and the widow of Sammy Davis Jr., died in Los Angeles at age 65.

One year ago: During his first full day as pontiff, Pope Francis stopped by his Vatican hotel to pick up his luggage and pay the bill himself, a day after being elected by his fellow cardinals. Some 10,000 workers from across the European Union protested outside a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, demanding they end years of austerity and focus instead on curbing runaway unemployment with more spending. A nearly 19-hour standoff in Herkimer, N.Y., came to an end inside a cluttered, abandoned bar as police SWAT teams killed the suspect in four fatal shootings. The NHL's realignment plan was approved by the league's board of governors.

Today's Birthdays: Former astronaut Frank Borman is 86. Singer Phil Phillips (Song: "Sea of Love") is 88. Actor Michael Caine is 81. Composer-conductor Quincy Jones is 81. Former astronaut Eugene Cernan is 80. Actor Raymond J. Barry is 75. Movie director Wolfgang Petersen is 73. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey is 69. Rock musician Walt Parazaider (Chicago) is 69. Actor Steve Kanaly is 68. Comedian Billy Crystal is 66. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is 66. Country singer Jann Browne is 60. Actor Adrian Zmed is 60. Prince Albert II, the ruler of Monaco, is 56. Actress Laila Robins is 55. Actress Tamara Tunie is 55. Actress Penny Johnson Jerald is 53. Producer-director-writer Kevin Williamson is 49. Actor Gary Anthony Williams is 48. Actress Megan Follows is 46. Rock musician Michael Bland is 45. Country singer Kristian Bush is 44. Rock musician Derrick (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 42. Actress Betsy Brandt is 41. Actress Grace Park is 40. Actor Corey Stoll (TV: "House of Cards") is 38. Actor Jake Fogelnest is 35. Actor Chris Klein is 35. Actress Kate Maberly is 32. Singer-musician Taylor Hanson (Hanson) is 31. Actor Jamie Bell is 28. Rock musician Este Haim (Haim) is 28.

Thought for Today: "Writers should be read but not seen. Rarely are they a winsome sight." -- Edna Ferber, American author (1887-1968).

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