Today in History

Today is Saturday, March 25, the 84th day of 2023. There are 281 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 25, 1931, in the so-called "Scottsboro Boys" case, nine young Black men were taken off a train in Alabama, accused of raping two white women; after years of convictions, death sentences and imprisonment, the nine were eventually vindicated.

On this date:

In 1634, English colonists sent by Lord Baltimore arrived in present-day Maryland.

In 1894, Jacob S. Coxey began leading an "army" of unemployed from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington D.C., to demand help from the federal government.

In 1911, 146 people, mostly young female immigrants, were killed when fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. in New York.

In 1915, the U.S. Navy lost its first commissioned submarine as the USS F-4 sank off Hawaii, claiming the lives of all 21 crew members.

In 1947, a coal-dust explosion inside the Centralia Coal Co. Mine No. 5 in Washington County, Illinois, claimed 111 lives; 31 men survived.

In 1954, RCA announced it had begun producing color television sets at its plant in Bloomington, Indiana.

In 1960, Ray Charles recorded "Georgia on My Mind" as part of his "The Genius Hits the Road" album in New York.

In 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 people to the Alabama state capitol in Montgomery after a five-day march from Selma to protest the denial of voting rights to Blacks. Later that day, civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo, a white Detroit homemaker, was shot and killed by Ku Klux Klansmen.

In 1987, the Supreme Court, in Johnson v. Transportation Agency, ruled 6-3 that an employer could promote a woman over an arguably more-qualified man to help get women into higher-ranking jobs.

In 1990, 87 people, most of them Honduran and Dominican immigrants, were killed when fire raced through an illegal social club in New York City. (An arsonist set the fire after being thrown out of the club following an argument with his girlfriend; Julio Gonzalez died in prison in 2016.)

In 1996, an 81-day standoff by the anti-government Freemen began at a ranch near Jordan, Montana.

Ten years ago: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a show of unusual unity between their two nations in Kabul as the U.S. military ceded control of its last detention facility in Afghanistan, ending a long-standing irritant in relations.

Five years ago: In an interview with "60 Minutes," adult film star Stormy Daniels said she had been threatened and warned to keep silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006. A fire at a shopping mall in a Siberian city in Russia killed more than 60 people, including 41 children. Gun manufacturer Remington filed for bankruptcy reorganization amid years of slumping sales and legal and financial pressure from the Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut. Linda Brown, who as a young girl in Kansas became embroiled in a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that challenged segregation in public schools, died at the age of 75.

One year ago: Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin announced his intention to support the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Supreme Court, pushing her one step closer to confirmation. Sheriff's officials in Florida said a 14-year-old boy fell to his death from a ride at an Orlando amusement park. New Orleans' school board unanimously reversed a little known but century-old ban on jazz.

Today's Birthdays: Film critic Gene Shalit is 97. Former astronaut James Lovell is 95. Feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem is 89. Singer Anita Bryant is 83. Actor Paul Michael Glaser is 80. Singer Sir Elton John is 76. Actor Bonnie Bedelia is 75. Actor-comedian Mary Gross is 70. Actor James McDaniel is 65. Movie producer Amy Pascal is 65. Rock musician Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) is 63. Actor Brenda Strong is 63. Actor Fred Goss is 62. Actor-writer-director John Stockwell is 62. Actor Marcia Cross is 61. Author Kate DiCamillo is 59. Actor Lisa Gay Hamilton is 59. Actor Sarah Jessica Parker is 58. Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Glavine is 57. TV personality Ben Mankiewicz is 56. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Debi Thomas is 56. Actor Laz Alonso is 52. Singer Melanie Blatt (All Saints) is 48. Actor Domenick Lombardozzi is 47. Actor Lee Pace is 44. Actor Sean Faris is 41. Comedian-actor Alex Moffat (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 41. Former auto racer Danica Patrick is 41. Actor-singer Katharine McPhee is 39. Comedian-actor Chris Redd (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 38. Singer Jason Castro is 36. Rapper Big Sean is 35. Rap DJ-producer Ryan Lewis is 35. Actor Matthew Beard is 34. Actor-singer Aly (AKA Alyson) Michalka (mish-AL'-kah) is 34. Actor Kiowa Gordon is 33. Actor Seychelle Gabriel is 32.