Today in History

Today is Tuesday, March 3, the 63rd day of 2020. There are 303 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 3, 1931, "The Star-Spangled Banner" became the national anthem of the United States as President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional resolution.

On this date:

In 1791, Congress passed a measure taxing distilled spirits; it was the first internal revenue act in U.S. history.

In 1845, Florida became the 27th state.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed a measure creating the National Academy of Sciences.

In 1894, British Prime Minister William Gladstone submitted his resignation to Queen Victoria, ending his fourth and final premiership.

In 1934, bank robber John Dillinger escaped from the Lake County Jail in Crown Point, Indiana, along with another prisoner, Herbert Youngblood.

In 1943, in London's East End, 173 people died in a crush of bodies at the Bethnal Green tube station, which was being used as a wartime air raid shelter.

In 1974, a Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed shortly after takeoff from Orly Airport in Paris, killing all 346 people on board.

In 1985, coal miners in Britain voted to end a year-long strike that proved to be the longest and most violent walkout in British history.

In 1991, motorist Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur video. Twenty-five people were killed when a United Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashed while approaching the Colorado Springs airport.

In 1996, Israel declared "total war" against the militant group Hamas after a bus bomb in Jerusalem killed 19 people, including the bomber, the third such suicide attack in eight days.

In 2001, a plane carrying members of a National Guard engineering crew crashed in heavy rain near Macon, Ga., killing all 21 people on board.

In 2002, voters in Switzerland approved joining the United Nations, abandoning almost 200 years of formal neutrality.

Ten years ago: Appearing before a White House audience of invited guests, many wearing white medical coats, President Barack Obama firmly rejected calls from Republicans to draft new health care legislation from scratch. Greece announced painful new austerity measures, cutting salaries for government workers and raising sales taxes as it tried to snuff out a financial crisis threatening Europe's economy. British politician Michael Foot died in north London at age 96.

Five years ago: In a direct challenge to the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood before Congress and bluntly warned the U.S. that an emerging nuclear agreement with Iran would pave "Iran's path to the bomb." President Barack Obama pushed back sternly, saying the U.S. would never sign such a deal and that Netanyahu was offering no useful alternative.

One year ago: A tornado roared into the small community of Beauregard, Alabama, killing 23 people; it was the nation's deadliest tornado in nearly six years.

Today's Birthdays: Singer-musician Mike Pender (The Searchers) is 79. Movie producer-director George Miller is 75. Actress Hattie Winston is 75. Singer Jennifer Warnes is 73. Actor-director Tim Kazurinsky is 70. Singer-musician Robyn Hitchcock is 67. Actor Robert Gossett is 66. Rock musician John Lilley is 66. Actress Miranda Richardson is 62. Rock musician John Bigham is 61. Radio personality Ira Glass is 61. Actress Mary Page Keller is 59. Olympic track and field gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee is 58. Former NFL player and College Football Hall of Famer Herschel Walker is 58. Actress Laura Harring is 56. Contemporary Christian musician Duncan Phillips (Newsboys) is 56. Rapper-actor Tone Loc is 54. Actress Julie Bowen is 50. Country singer Brett Warren (The Warren Brothers) is 49. Actor David Faustino is 46. Gospel singer Jason Crabb is 43. Singer Ronan Keating (Boyzone) is 43. Rapper Lil' Flip is 39. Actress Jessica Biel is 38. Rock musician Blower (AKA Joe Garvey) (Hinder) is 36. Musician Brett Hite (Frenship) is 34. Pop singer Camila Cabello is 23. Actor Thomas Barbusca (TV: "The Mick") is 17. Actress Reylynn Caster is 17.

Thought for Today: "Nothing is really real unless it happens on television." -- Daniel J. Boorstin, educator and Librarian of Congress (1914-2004).

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