Today in History

Today in History

Today is Saturday, March 5, the 64th day of 2022. 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 1849, Zachary Taylor was inaugurated as the 12th president of the United States. (The swearing-in was delayed by a day because March 4 fell on a Sunday.)

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.

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 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons went into effect after 43 nations ratified it.

In 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 space probe flew past Jupiter, sending back photographs of the planet and its moons.

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

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 2004, Martha Stewart was convicted in New York of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she'd unloaded her Imclone stock just before the price plummeted; her ex-stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, also was found guilty in the stock scandal. (Each later received a five-month prison sentence.)

In 2020, Palestinian officials closed the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem over fears of the coronavirus. Officials ordered a cruise ship with 3,500 people aboard to stay back from the California coast until passengers and crew could be tested; a traveler from its previous voyage died of the coronavirus.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met at the White House, where Obama urged pressure and diplomacy to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb while Netanyahu emphasized his nation's right to a pre-emptive attack.

Five years ago: Throngs of people converged in the city of Selma, Alabama, for the annual re-enactment of a key event in the civil rights movement: the 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge by demonstrators seeking voting rights.

One year ago: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's health department confirmed that members of his COVID-19 task force altered a state Health Department report to omit the full number of nursing home patients killed by the coronavirus, but insisted the changes were made because of concerns about the data's accuracy. California relaxed guidelines for reopening outdoor venues, clearing the way for fans to attend opening-day baseball games and return to Disneyland nearly a year after coronavirus restrictions shut down major entertainment spots. Movie theaters in New York City reopened, operating at only 25% capacity. Pope Francis began the first-ever papal visit to Iraq with an appeal for Iraqis to protect the country's diversity, and for the country's embattled and dwindling Christian community to persevere.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Paul Sand is 90. Actor James B. Sikking is 88. Actor Fred Williamson is 84. Actor Samantha Eggar is 83. Actor Michael Warren is 76. Actor Eddie Hodges is 75. Singer Eddy Grant is 74. Rock musician Alan Clark (Dire Straits) is 70. Actor-comedian Marsha Warfield is 68. Magician Penn Jillette is 67. Actor Adriana Barraza is 66. Actor Talia Balsam is 63. Rock singers Charlie and Craig Reid (The Proclaimers) are 60. Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin is 56. Actor Paul Blackthorne is 53. Rock musician John Frusciante is 52. Singer Rome is 52. Actor Kevin Connolly is 48. Actor Eva Mendes is 48. Actor Jill Ritchie is 48. Actor Jolene Blalock is 47. Model Niki Taylor is 47. Actor Kimberly McCullough is 44. Actor Karolina Wydra is 41. Singer-songwriter Amanda Shires is 40. Actor Dominique McElligott is 36. Actor Sterling Knight is 33. Actor Jake Lloyd is 33. Actor Micah Fowler is 24.