Today in History

Today is Monday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2019. There are 302 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as America's 32nd president.

On this date:

In 1791, Vermont became the 14th state.

In 1793, George Washington was sworn in for a second term as president of the United States during a ceremony in Philadelphia.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated for a second term of office; with the end of the Civil War in sight, Lincoln declared: "With malice toward none, with charity for all."

In 1913, the "Buffalo nickel" officially went into circulation.

In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge's inauguration was broadcast live on 21 radio stations coast-to-coast.

In 1952, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married in San Fernando Valley, California.

In 1974, the first issue of People magazine, then called People Weekly, was published by Time-Life Inc.; on the cover was actress Mia Farrow.

In 1977, some 1,500 people were killed in an earthquake that shook southern and eastern Europe.

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had "deteriorated" into an arms-for-hostages deal.

In 1994, in New York, four extremists were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six people and injured more than a thousand. Actor-comedian John Candy died in Durango, Mexico, at age 43.

In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sexual harassment at work can be illegal even when the offender and victim are of the same gender.

In 2005, Martha Stewart, imprisoned for five months for her role in a stock scandal, left federal prison to start five months of home confinement.

Ten years ago: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, addressing a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, called on Americans to look beyond their own tumbling financial markets to see a world gripped by an "economic hurricane" that could be turned around with U.S. help. Playwright Horton Foote, who'd won an Oscar for his screen adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird," died in Hartford, Conn. at age 92.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama submitted a $3.9 trillion budget for fiscal 2015. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Ukraine with the new government's leaders in a show of support following Russia's military incursion into the Crimean Peninsula.

One year ago: "The Shape of Water" won the Oscar for best picture and in three other categories; the top prize was announced by Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway a year after they were caught up in the erroneous announcement that "La La Land" and not "Moonlight" had won for best picture. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would "never" extradite any of the 13 Russians who'd been indicted by the United States for election-meddling; he also insisted to NBC News that they didn't act on behalf of his government. Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in the southwestern English city of Salisbury; both survived what British authorities said was a murder attempt using a nerve agent.

Today's Birthdays: Former Congressional Budget Office director Alice Rivlin is 88. Actress Paula Prentiss is 81. Movie director Adrian Lyne is 78. Singer Shakin' Stevens is 71. Author James Ellroy is 71. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is 69. Singer Chris Rea is 68. Actor/rock singer-musician Ronn Moss is 67. Actress Kay Lenz is 66. Musician Emilio Estefan is 66. Movie director Scott Hicks is 66. Actress Catherine O'Hara is 65. Actor Mykelti Williamson is 62. Actress Patricia Heaton is 61. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., is 61. Actor Steven Weber is 58. Rock musician Jason Newsted is 56. Actress Stacy Edwards is 54. Rapper Grand Puba is 53. Rock musician Patrick Hannan (The Sundays) is 53. Rock singer Evan Dando (Lemonheads) is 52. Actress Patsy Kensit is 51. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., is 51. Gay rights activist Chaz Bono is 50. Actress Andrea Bendewald is 49. Actor Nick Stabile is 49. Rock musician Fergal Lawler (The Cranberries) is 48. Country singer Jason Sellers is 48. Jazz musician Jason Marsalis is 42. Actress Jessica Heap is 36. Actor Scott Michael Foster is 34. TV personality Whitney Port is 34. Actress Audrey Esparza is 33. Actress Margo Harshman is 33. Actor Josh Bowman is 31. Actress Andrea Bowen is 29. Actress Jenna Boyd is 26.

Thought for Today: "I do not understand the world, but I watch its progress." -- Katherine Anne Porter, American author (1894-1980).

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