Today in History

Today is Saturday, March 28, the 87th day of 2015. There are 278 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 28, 1979, America's worst commercial nuclear accident occurred with a partial meltdown inside the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania.

On this date:

In 1515, St. Teresa of Avila was born Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada.

In 1834, the U.S. Senate voted to censure President Andrew Jackson for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States.

In 1854, during the Crimean War, Britain and France declared war on Russia.

In 1898, the Supreme Court, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, ruled that a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrants was a U.S. citizen.

In 1930, the names of the Turkish cities of Constantinople and Angora were changed to Istanbul and Ankara.

In 1935, the notorious Nazi propaganda film "Triumph des Willens" (Triumph of the Will), directed by Leni Riefenstahl, premiered in Berlin with Adolf Hitler present.

In 1941, novelist and critic Virginia Woolf, 59, drowned herself near her home in Lewes, East Sussex, England.

In 1955, John Marshall Harlan II was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1965, an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck La Ligua, Chile, leaving about 400 people dead or missing, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1969, the 34th president of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, died in Washington D.C. at age 78.

In 1987, Maria von Trapp, whose life story inspired the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music," died in Morrisville, Vermont, at age 82.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush presented the Congressional Gold Medal to the widow of U.S. Olympic legend Jesse Owens.

Ten years ago: The Colorado Supreme Court threw out the death penalty in a rape-and-murder case because five of the trial jurors had consulted the Bible and quoted Scripture during deliberations. (The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider reinstating the death sentence of Robert Harlan, who ended up being resentenced to life in prison for the murder of cocktail waitress Rhonda Maloney.) A major earthquake off the west coast of Indonesia killed some 1,300 people.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama secretly visited Afghanistan near the front lines of the increasingly bloody 8-year-old war. Actress-writer June Havoc, 97, whose childhood in vaudeville was immortalized in the musical "Gypsy," died in Stamford, Connecticut. Jazz guitarist Herb Ellis died in Los Angeles at age 88.

One year ago: Russian President Vladimir Putin called President Barack Obama to discuss a solution to the crisis in Ukraine; the leaders agreed that top U.S. and Russian diplomats should work on the details. Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan became the first man in 12 years to win the Olympic and world figure skating titles in the same year. Jeremiah Denton, 89, a former U.S. senator who'd survived 7 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, died in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Ray Rice married Janay Palmer a day after the Baltimore Ravens running back was indicted for aggravated assault for punching his fiancee in an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino elevator. (Charges against Rice were dropped when he agreed to enter an intervention program.)

Today's Birthdays: Former White House national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski is 87. Author Mario Vargas Llosa is 79. Country musician Charlie McCoy is 74. Movie director Mike Newell is 73. Actress Conchata Ferrell is 72. Actor Ken Howard is 71. Actress Dianne Wiest is 69. Country singer Reba McEntire is 60. Olympic gold medal gymnast Bart Conner is 57. Rapper Salt (Salt-N-Pepa) is 49. Actress Tracey Needham is 48. Actor Max Perlich is 47. Movie director Brett Ratner is 46. Country singer Rodney Atkins is 46. Actor Vince Vaughn is 45. Rapper Mr. Cheeks (Lost Boyz) is 44. Actor Ken L. is 42. Singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson is 42. Rock musician Dave Keuning is 39. Actress Annie Wersching is 38. Actress Julia Stiles is 34. Singer Lady Gaga is 29.

Thought for Today: "Those who say they give the public what it wants begin by underestimating public taste and end by debauching it." -- T.S. Eliot, American-Anglo poet and critic (1888-1965).

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