Today in History

Today is Saturday, March 10, the 69th day of 2018. There are 296 days left in the year. Daylight saving time will begin Sunday at 2 a.m. local time.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 10, 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.

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

In 1933, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake centered off Long Beach, California, 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 1959, the Tennessee Williams play "Sweet Bird of Youth," starring Paul Newman and Geraldine Page, opened at Broadway's Martin Beck Theatre.

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in Memphis, Tennessee (on his 41st birthday) 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 1988, pop singer Andy Gibb died in Oxford, England, at age 30 of heart inflammation.

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

In 2003, shortly before the start of the Iraq war, Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks, told a London audience: "Just so you know... we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." (Maines later apologized for the phrasing of her remark.)

Ten years ago: A suicide bomber killed five U.S. soldiers as they chatted with shop owners while on a foot patrol in central Baghdad. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer apologized after allegations surfaced that he had paid thousands of dollars for a high-end call girl; he did not elaborate on the scandal, which drew calls for his resignation. Democrat Barack Obama ridiculed the idea of being Hillary Rodham Clinton's running mate, saying in Columbus, Mississippi, that voters had to choose between the two for the top spot on the fall ticket.

Five years ago: The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, accused the Taliban and the U.S. of working in concert to convince Afghans that violence would worsen if most foreign troops left -- an allegation the top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Joseph Dunford, rejected as "categorically false."

One year ago: The Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 235,000 jobs in February 2017 as the unemployment rate dipped to 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent. President Donald Trump chose Scott Gottlieb, a conservative doctor-turned-pundit with deep ties to Wall Street and the pharmaceutical industry, to lead the Food and Drug Administration. Two girls, ages 10 and 3, were killed in a fire in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, blamed on an exploding hoverboard; a firefighter died in a traffic accident en route to the blaze. South Korea's Constitutional Court formally removed impeached President Park Geun-hye from office over a corruption scandal. Death claimed "Bridges of Madison County" author Robert James Waller at age 77 and Joni Sledge, a member of the group Sister Sledge, at age 60.

Today's Birthdays: Talk show host Ralph Emery is 85. Bluegrass/country singer-musician Norman Blake is 80. Actor Chuck Norris is 78. Playwright David Rabe is 78. Singer Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean) is 78. Actress Katharine Houghton (Film: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?") is 76. Actor Richard Gant is 74. Rock musician Tom Scholz (Boston) is 71. Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell is 71. TV personality/businesswoman Barbara Corcoran (TV: "Shark Tank") is 69. Actress Aloma Wright is 68. Blues musician Ronnie Earl (Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters) is 65. Producer-director-writer Paul Haggis is 65. Alt-country/rock musician Gary Louris is 63. Actress Shannon Tweed is 61. Pop/jazz singer Jeanie Bryson is 60. Actress Sharon Stone is 60. Rock musician Gail Greenwood is 58. Magician Lance Burton is 58. Movie producer Scott Gardenhour is 57. Actress Jasmine Guy is 56. Rock musician Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) is 55. Music producer Rick Rubin is 55. Britain's Prince Edward is 54. Rock singer Edie Brickell is 52. Actor Stephen Mailer is 52. Actor Philip Anthony-Rodriguez is 50. Actress Paget Brewster is 49. Actor Jon Hamm is 47. Rapper-producer Timbaland is 46. Actor Cristian de la Fuente is 44. Rock musician Jerry Horton (Papa Roach) is 43. Actor Jeff Branson is 41. Singer Robin Thicke is 41. Actress Bree Turner is 41. Olympic gold medal gymnast Shannon Miller is 41. Contemporary Christian singer Michael Barnes (Red) is 39. Actor Edi Gathegi is 39. Rock musician Matt Asti (MGMT) is 38. Actor Thomas Middleditch is 36. Country singer Carrie Underwood is 35. Actress Olivia Wilde is 34. Rhythm-and-blues singer Emeli Sande is 31. Country singer Rachel Reinert is 29. Actress Emily Osment is 26.

Thought for Today: "Show me a man who claims he is objective and I'll show you a man with illusions." -- Henry R. Luce, American magazine publisher (1898-1967).