Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, March 28, the 87th day of 2017. There are 278 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 28, 1942, during World War II, British naval forces staged a successful raid on the Nazi-occupied French port of St. Nazaire in Operation Chariot, destroying the only dry dock on the Atlantic coast capable of repairing the German battleship Tirpitz.

On this date:

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 1896, the opera "Andrea Chenier," by Umberto Giordano, premiered in Milan, Italy.

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

In 1977, "Rocky" won best picture at the 49th Academy Awards; Peter Finch was honored posthumously as best actor for "Network" while his co-star, Faye Dunaway, was recognized as best actress.

In 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.

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: Iran aired a video of 15 British sailors and marines who were captured five days earlier; the lone female captive, Faye Furney, wearing a white tunic and a black head scarf, said the British boats had "trespassed" in Iranian waters while patrolling for smugglers near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a disputed waterway. (The crew members were released a week later.) In the Philippines, dozens of children were taken hostage on a bus by a day-care center owner armed with grenades and guns; the crisis ended peacefully 10 hours later with the hostage-taker's surrender.

Five years ago: The U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up three days of public arguments on President Barack Obama's historic health care law. On the last day of his visit, Pope Benedict XVI demanded more freedom for the Roman Catholic Church in communist-run Cuba and preached against "fanaticism" in an unusually political sermon before hundreds of thousands at Revolution Plaza. Bluegrass legend and banjo pioneer Earl Scruggs, 88, died in Nashville, Tennessee.

One year ago: The FBI said it had successfully used a mysterious technique without Apple Inc.'s help to hack into the iPhone used by a gunman in a mass shooting in California, effectively ending a pitched court battle. Officers shot and wounded a man who had pulled a weapon at a security checkpoint as he entered the underground U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Winston Moseley, the man convicted of the 1964 stabbing death of bar manager Kitty Genovese, died at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, at age 81. Actor James Noble, 94, died in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Today's Birthdays: Former White House national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski is 89. Author Mario Vargas Llosa is 81. Country musician Charlie McCoy is 76. Movie director Mike Newell is 75. Actress Conchata Ferrell is 74. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is 72. Actress Dianne Wiest is 71. Country singer Reba McEntire is 62. Olympic gold medal gymnast Bart Conner is 59. Rapper Salt (Salt-N-Pepa) is 51. Actress Tracey Needham is 50. Actor Max Perlich is 49. Movie director Brett Ratner is 48. Country singer Rodney Atkins is 48. Actor Vince Vaughn is 47. Rapper Mr. Cheeks (Lost Boyz) is 46. Actor Ken L. is 44. Singer/songwriter Matt Nathanson is 44. Rock musician Dave Keuning is 41. Actress Annie Wersching is 40. Actress Julia Stiles is 36. Singer Lady Gaga is 31.

Thought for Today: "A man can do his best only by confidently seeking (and perpetually missing) an unattainable perfection." -- Ralph Barton Perry, American author and educator (1876-1957).

(Above Advance for Use Tuesday, March 28)

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