Today in History

Today is Thursday, March 25, the 84th day of 2021. There are 281 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 25, 1911, 146 people, mostly young female immigrants, were killed when fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. in New York.

On this date:

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

In 1776, Gen. George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was awarded the first Congressional Gold Medal by the Continental Congress.

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 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.

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 1963, private pilot Ralph Flores and his 21-year-old passenger, Helen Klaben, were rescued after being stranded for seven weeks in brutally cold conditions in the Yukon after their plane crashed.

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 1985, "Amadeus" won eight Academy Awards, including best picture, best director for Milos Forman and best actor for F. Murray Abraham.

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 1988, in New York City's so-called "Preppie Killer" case, Robert Chambers Jr. pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin. (Chambers received 5 to 15 years in prison; he was released in 2003 after serving the full sentence.)

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.

Ten years ago: Canadian opposition parties brought down the Conservative government in a no-confidence vote, triggering an election that gave Prime Minister Stephen Harper a clear Conservative majority in Parliament.

Five years ago: A suicide bomber believed to be a teenager blew himself up in a soccer stadium south of the Iraqi capital, killing 29 people and wounding 60. The Rolling Stones unleashed two hours of thundering rock and roll on an ecstatic crowd of hundreds of thousands of Cubans and foreign visitors in Havana; the free concert came two days after President Barack Obama concluded his historic visit to Cuba.

One year ago: The Senate unanimously passed a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic; the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history included direct payments to most Americans, expanded unemployment benefits and $367 billion for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers were forced to stay home. The number of U.S. deaths from the pandemic topped 1,000. Spain's death toll rose past 3,400, eclipsing China's, after a one-day spike of 700 fatalities. Royal officials said Britain's Prince Charles had tested positive for the coronavirus. Pennsylvania lawmakers voted to delay the state's primary by five weeks to June 2. With Broadway theaters dark, the Tony Awards, set for June 7, were postponed.

Today's Birthdays: Film critic Gene Shalit is 95. Former astronaut James Lovell is 93. Feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem is 87. Singer Anita Bryant is 81. Actor Paul Michael Glaser is 78. Singer Sir Elton John is 74. Actor Bonnie Bedelia is 73. Actor-comedian Mary Gross is 68. Actor James McDaniel is 63. Movie producer Amy Pascal is 63. Rock musician Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) is 61. Actor Brenda Strong is 61. Actor Fred Goss is 60. Actor-writer-director John Stockwell is 60. Actor Marcia Cross is 59. Author Kate DiCamillo is 57. Actor Lisa Gay Hamilton is 57. Actor Sarah Jessica Parker is 56. Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Glavine is 55. TV personality Ben Mankiewicz is 54. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Debi Thomas is 54. Actor Laz Alonso is 50. Singer Melanie Blatt (All Saints) is 46. Actor Domenick Lombardozzi is 45. Actor Lee Pace is 42. Actor Sean Faris is 39. Comedian-actor Alex Moffat (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 39. Former auto racer Danica Patrick is 39. Actor-singer Katharine McPhee is 37. Comedian-actor Chris Redd (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 36. Singer Jason Castro is 34. Rapper Big Sean is 33. Rap DJ-producer Ryan Lewis is 33. Actor Matthew Beard is 32. Actor-singer Aly (AKA Alyson) Michalka is 32. Actor Kiowa Gordon is 31. Actor Seychelle Gabriel is 30.