Today in History

Today in History

Today is Friday, March 10, the 69th day of 2017. There are 296 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 10, 1848, the U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War.

On this date:

In 1629, England's King Charles I dissolved Parliament; he did not call it back for 11 years.

In 1785, Thomas Jefferson was appointed America's minister to France, succeeding Benjamin Franklin.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell's assistant, Thomas Watson, heard Bell say over his experimental telephone: "Mr. Watson -- come here -- I want to see you" from the next room of Bell's Boston laboratory.

In 1927, the Sinclair Lewis novel "Elmer Gantry" was published by Harcourt, Brace & Co.

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

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 1952, Fulgencio Batista once again became leader of Cuba in a bloodless coup that deposed President Carlos Piro Socarras.

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in Memphis, Tennessee, to assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (Ray later repudiated that plea, maintaining his innocence until his death.)

In 1973, the Pink Floyd album "The Dark Side of the Moon" was first released in the U.S. by Capitol Records (the British release came nearly two weeks later).

In 1985, Konstantin U. Chernenko, who was the Soviet Union's leader for 13 months, died at age 73; he was succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev.

In 1987, the Vatican issued a 40-page document on scientific techniques involving procreation, condemning such practices as surrogate motherhood, test-tube births and cloning.

In 1993, Dr. David Gunn was shot to death outside a Pensacola, Florida, abortion clinic. (Shooter Michael Griffin is serving a life sentence.)

Ten 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.

Five years ago: Rick Santorum won the Kansas caucuses in a rout and Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney countered in Wyoming. Israel pounded Gaza for a second day, trading airstrikes and rocket fire with Palestinian militants, killing 15 of them. F. Sherwood Rowland, 84, the Nobel prize-winning chemist who sounded the alarm on the thinning of the Earth's ozone layer, died in Corona del Mar, California.

One year ago: Donald Trump and his Republican rivals turned their presidential debate in Miami into a mostly respectful but still pointed discussion of Social Security, Islam, trade and more. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an official visit to the White House. Sir Ken Adam, the British film production designer behind the sets for some of the James Bond movies and "Dr. Strangelove," died in London at age 95.

Today's Birthdays: Talk show host Ralph Emery is 84. Bluegrass/country singer-musician Norman Blake is 79. Actor Chuck Norris is 77. Playwright David Rabe is 77. Singer Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean) is 77. Actor Richard Gant is 73. Rock musician Tom Scholz (Boston) is 70. Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell is 70. TV personality/businesswoman Barbara Corcoran (TV: "Shark Tank") is 68. Actress Aloma Wright is 67. Blues musician Ronnie Earl (Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters) is 64. Producer-director-writer Paul Haggis is 64. Alt-country/rock musician Gary Louris is 62. Actress Shannon Tweed is 60. Pop/jazz singer Jeanie Bryson is 59. Actress Sharon Stone is 59. Rock musician Gail Greenwood is 57. Magician Lance Burton is 57. Movie producer Scott Gardenhour is 56. Actress Jasmine Guy is 55. Rock musician Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) is 54. Music producer Rick Rubin is 54. Britain's Prince Edward is 53. Rock singer Edie Brickell is 51. Actor Stephen Mailer is 51. Actor Philip Anthony-Rodriguez is 49. Actress Paget Brewster is 48. Actor Jon Hamm is 46. Country singer Daryle Singletary is 46. Rapper-producer Timbaland is 45. Actor Cristian (kris-tee-AHN') de la Fuente is 43. Rock musician Jerry Horton (Papa Roach) is 42. Actor Jeff Branson is 40. Singer Robin Thicke is 40. Actress Bree Turner is 40. Olympic gold medal gymnast Shannon Miller is 40. Contemporary Christian singer Michael Barnes (Red) is 38. Actor Edi Gathegi is 38. Rock musician Matt Asti (MGMT) is 37. Actor Thomas Middleditch (TV: "Silicon Valley") is 35. Country singer Carrie Underwood is 34. Actress Olivia Wilde is 33. Rhythm-and-blues singer Emeli Sande is 30. Country singer Rachel Reinert is 28. Actress Emily Osment is 25.

Thought for Today: "There is no tyranny so despotic as that of public opinion among a free people." -- Donn Piatt, American journalist (1819-1891).