Today in History

Today is Saturday, March 30, the 89th day of 2024. There are 276 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr.; also wounded were White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and a District of Columbia police officer, Thomas Delahanty.

On this date:

In 1822, Florida became a United States territory.

In 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long of Jefferson, Georgia, first used ether as an anesthetic during an operation to remove a patient's neck tumor.

In 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase the territory of Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal ridiculed by critics as "Seward's Folly."

In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited denying citizens the right to vote and hold office on the basis of race, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.

In 1923, the Cunard liner RMS Laconia became the first passenger ship to circle the globe as it arrived in New York.

In 1945, during World War II, the Soviet Union invaded Austria with the goal of taking Vienna, which it accomplished two weeks later.

In 1959, a narrowly divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Bartkus v. Illinois, ruled that a conviction in state court following an acquittal in federal court for the same crime did not constitute double jeopardy.

In 1975, as the Vietnam War neared its end, Communist forces occupied the city of Da Nang.

In 1987, at the 59th Academy Awards, "Platoon" was named best picture; Marlee Matlin received best actress for "Children of a Lesser God" and Paul Newman was honored as best actor for "The Color of Money."

In 2010, President Barack Obama signed a single measure sealing his health care overhaul and making the government the primary lender to students by cutting banks out of the process.

In 2015, Comedy Central announced that Trevor Noah, a 31-year-old comedian from South Africa, would succeed Jon Stewart as host of "The Daily Show."

In 2018, thousands of Palestinians marched to Gaza's border with Israel and Palestinian health officials said 15 of the protesters were killed by Israeli fire on the first day of what Hamas organizers said would be six weeks of daily protests against a border blockade; it was the area's deadliest violence in four years.

In 2020, Florida authorities arrested a megachurch pastor after they said he held two Sunday services with hundreds in attendance in violation of coronavirus restrictions. (The charges were later dropped.)

In 2022, Russian forces bombarded areas around Kyiv and another city just hours after pledging to scale back military operations in those places to help negotiations with Ukraine.

In 2023, a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict Donald Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter, the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president.

Today's Birthdays: Game show host Peter Marshall is 98. Actor John Astin is 94. Actor-director Warren Beatty is 87. Rock musician Eric Clapton is 79. Actor Justin Deas is 76. Actor Paul Reiser is 68. Rap artist MC Hammer is 62. Singer Tracy Chapman is 60. Actor Ian Ziering is 60. TV personality Piers Morgan is 59. Rock musician Joey Castillo is 58. Actor Donna D'Errico is 56. Singer Celine Dion is 56. TV personality/producer Richard Rawlings is 55. Actor Mark Consuelos is 53. Actor Bahar Soomekh is 49. Actor Jessica Cauffiel is 48. Singer Norah Jones is 45. Actor Fiona Gubelmann is 44. Actor Katy Mixon is 43. Actor Jason Dohring is 42. Country singer Justin Moore is 40. Actor Tessa Ferrer is 38. Country singer Thomas Rhett is 34. Rapper NF is 33.