Today in History

Today is Thursday, March 5, the 65th day of 2020. There are 301 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre took place as British soldiers who'd been taunted by a crowd of colonists opened fire, killing five people.

On this date:

In 1766, Antonio de Ulloa arrived in New Orleans to assume his duties as the first Spanish governor of the Louisiana Territory, where he encountered resistance from the French residents.

In 1868, the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson began in the U.S. Senate, with Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding. Johnson, the first U.S. president to be impeached, was accused of "high crimes and misdemeanors" stemming from his attempt to fire Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; the trial ended on May 26 with Johnson's acquittal.

In 1933, in German parliamentary elections, the Nazi Party won 44 percent of the vote; the Nazis joined with a conservative nationalist party to gain a slender majority in the Reichstag.

In 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in which he said: "From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an 'iron curtain' has descended across the continent, allowing police governments to rule Eastern Europe."

In 1953, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin died after three decades in power. Composer Sergei Prokofiev died in Moscow at age 61.

In 1963, country music performers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins died in the crash of their plane, a Piper Comanche, near Camden, Tennessee, along with pilot Randy Hughes (Cline's manager).

In 1982, comedian John Belushi was found dead of a drug overdose in a rented bungalow in Hollywood; he was 33.

In 1983, Country Music Television (CMT) made its debut with the video "It's Four in the Morning," performed by Faron Young.

In 1998, NASA scientists said enough water was frozen in the loose soil of the moon to support a lunar base and perhaps, one day, a human colony.

In 2002, President George W. Bush slapped punishing tariffs of eight to 30 percent on several types of imported steel in an effort to aid the ailing U.S. industry.

In 2003, In a blunt warning to the United States and Britain, the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Russia said they would block any attempt to get U.N. approval for war against Iraq.

In 2013, Fox announced its 24-hour sports cable network called Fox Sports 1, which launched Aug. 17, 2013.

Ten years ago: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, visiting Guatemala, told reporters that demand for narcotics in the United States was fueling drug violence in Central America as she acknowledged a measure of U.S. responsibility for what she called "a terrible criminal scourge." New York Democratic Rep. Eric Massa, facing a harassment complaint by a male staffer, said he was stepping down from his seat with "a profound sense of failure." Andree Peel, 105, a member of the World War II Resistance, died in Bristol, England.

Five years ago: The U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was slashed in the face and arm by an assailant in Seoul. Actor Harrison Ford crash-landed his vintage plane on a golf course in Los Angeles after reporting engine failure shortly after takeoff. Convicted murderer Jodi Arias was spared the death penalty as a jury in Phoenix voted 11-1 in favor of execution -- not enough to send Arias to death row for the slaying of her lover, Travis Alexander. Islamic State militants continued their campaign targeting cultural heritage sites in territories they controlled in northern Iraq, bulldozing the historic city of Nimrud. Cardinal Edward Egan, 82, the former Archbishop of New York, died.

One year ago: The Santa Anita race course in southern California canceled racing indefinitely to re-examine its dirt surface after the deaths of 21 horses in the preceding two months; the track would remain closed for racing for nearly a month. Forbes magazine proclaimed 21-year-old Kylie Jenner to be the youngest-ever self-made billionaire. Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former New York City mayor, announced that he would not join the crowded field of Democrats running for president in 2020. (Bloomberg would reverse course and formally announce his presidential bid in November.)

Today's Birthdays: Actor Paul Sand is 88. Actor James B. Sikking is 86. Actor Dean Stockwell is 84. Actor Fred Williamson is 82. Actress Samantha Eggar is 81. Actor Michael Warren is 74. Actor Eddie Hodges is 73. Singer Eddy Grant is 72. Rock musician Alan Clark (Dire Straits) is 68. Actress-comedian Marsha Warfield is 66. Magician Penn Jillette is 65. Actress Adriana Barraza is 64. Actress Talia Balsam is 61. Rock singers Charlie and Craig Reid (The Proclaimers) are 58. Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin is 54. Actor Paul Blackthorne is 51. Rock musician John Frusciante is 50. Singer Rome is 50. Actor Kevin Connolly is 46. Actress Eva Mendes is 46. Actress Jill Ritchie is 46. Actress Jolene Blalock is 45. Model Niki Taylor is 45. Actress Kimberly McCullough is 42. Actress Karolina Wydra is 39. Singer-songwriter Amanda Shires is 38. Actress Dominique McElligott is 34. Actor Sterling Knight is 31. Actor Jake Lloyd is 31. Actor Micah Fowler is 22.

Thought for Today: "Tomorrow is a thief of pleasure." -- Sir Rex Harrison, British actor (1908-1990).

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