Today in History

Today is Monday, March 2, the 62nd day of 2020. There are 304 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a game against the New York Knicks, an NBA record that still stands. (Philadelphia won, 169-147.)

On this date:

In 1877, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, even though Tilden had won the popular vote.

In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act.

In 1932, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, which moved the date of the presidential inauguration from March 4 to January 20, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.

In 1933, the motion picture "King Kong" had its world premiere at New York's Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy.

In 1939, Roman Catholic Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected pope on his 63rd birthday; he took the name Pius XII. The Massachusetts legislature voted to ratify the Bill of Rights, 147 years after the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution had gone into effect. (Georgia and Connecticut soon followed.)

In 1940, the cartoon character Elmer Fudd made his debut in the Warner Bros. animated short "Elmer's Candid Camera," in which the title character finds himself pitted against a rascally rabbit that was a precursor to Bugs Bunny.

In 1943, the three-day Battle of the Bismarck Sea began in the southwest Pacific during World War II; U.S. and Australian warplanes were able to inflict heavy damage on an Imperial Japanese convoy.

In 1972, the United States launched the Pioneer 10 space probe, which flew past Jupiter in late 1973, sending back images and scientific data.

In 1985, the government approved a screening test for AIDS that detected antibodies to the virus, allowing possibly contaminated blood to be excluded from the blood supply.

In 1989, representatives from the 12 European Community nations agreed to ban all production of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), the synthetic compounds blamed for destroying the Earth's ozone layer, by the end of the 20th century.

In 1990, more than 6,000 drivers went on strike against Greyhound Lines Inc. (The company, later declaring an impasse in negotiations, fired the strikers.)

In 1995, the Internet search engine website Yahoo! was incorporated by founders Jerry Yang and David Filo.

Ten years ago: Authorities in San Diego County found the body of 17-year-old Chelsea King, who'd been missing since Feb. 25, 2010. (John Albert Gardner III later pleaded guilty to raping and murdering King and another victim, 14-year-old Amber Dubois; he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)

Five years ago: Iraqi forces launched a large-scale offensive to take Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit from the Islamic State group, the first step in a campaign to reclaim parts of northern Iraq from the Sunni extremists. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who rose to become the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress, announced she would not seek re-election when her fifth term ended.

One year ago: Bernie Sanders kicked off his 2020 presidential campaign, proclaiming himself the Democrat best prepared to beat Donald Trump. Speaking at a conservative conference in Washington, President Donald Trump railed against the policies of "socialism" in a continued attempt to portray Democrats as out of touch with ordinary Americans.

Today's Birthdays: Actor John Cullum is 90. Former Soviet President and Nobel peace laureate Mikhail S. Gorbachev is 89. Actress Barbara Luna is 81. Author John Irving is 78. Actress Cassie Yates is 69. Actress Laraine Newman is 68. Former Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., is 67. Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is 65. Singer Jay Osmond is 65. Pop musician John Cowsill (The Cowsills) is 64. Former tennis player Kevin Curren is 62. Country singer Larry Stewart (Restless Heart) is 61. Rock singer Jon Bon Jovi is 58. Blues singer-musician Alvin Youngblood Hart is 57. Actor Daniel Craig is 52. Actor Richard Ruccolo is 48. Rock musician Casey (formerly w/Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 44. Rock singer Chris Martin (Coldplay) is 43. Actress Heather McComb is 43. Actress Rebel Wilson is 40. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard is 39. NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 38. NHL goalie Henrik Lundqvist is 38. Musician Mike "McDuck" Olson (Lake Street Dive) is 37. Actor Robert Iler is 35. Actress Nathalie Emmanuel is 31. Country singer Luke Combs is 30. Singer-rapper-actress Becky G is 23.

Thought for Today: "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." -- Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka "Dr. Seuss"), American children's author (born this day, 1904; died 1991).

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