Today in History

Today is Thursday, March 17, the 76th day of 2022. There are 289 days left in the year. This is St. Patrick's Day.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 17, 1969, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel.

On this date:

In 1762, New York held its first St. Patrick's Day parade.

In 1776, the Revolutionary War Siege of Boston ended as British forces evacuated the city.

In 1905, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt married Franklin Delano Roosevelt in New York.

In 1941, the National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C.

In 1942, six days after departing the Philippines during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia to become supreme commander of Allied forces in the southwest Pacific theater.

In 1950, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley announced they had created a new radioactive element, "californium."

In 1966, a U.S. Navy midget submarine located a missing hydrogen bomb that had fallen from a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber into the Mediterranean off Spain. (It took several more weeks to actually recover the bomb.)

In 1970, the United States cast its first veto in the U.N. Security Council, killing a resolution that would have condemned Britain for failing to use force to overthrow the white-ruled government of Rhodesia.

In 2003, edging to the brink of war, President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave his country. Iraq rejected Bush's ultimatum, saying that a U.S. attack to force Saddam from power would be "a grave mistake."

In 2010, Michael Jordan became the first ex-player to become a majority owner in the NBA as the league's Board of Governors unanimously approved Jordan's $275 million bid to buy the Charlotte Bobcats from Bob Johnson.

In 2016, finally bowing to years of public pressure, SeaWorld Entertainment said it would no longer breed killer whales or make them perform crowd-pleasing tricks.

In 2020, the Kentucky Derby and the French Open were each postponed from May to September because of the coronavirus.

Ten years ago: Twin suicide car bombings killed at least 27 people near intelligence and security buildings in the Syrian capital of Damascus. John Demjanjuk, 91, convicted of being a low-ranking guard at the Sobibor death camp as he maintained his innocence, died in Bad Feilnbach, Germany.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to sidestep their differences in a meeting at the White House, but their first public appearance was punctuated by some awkward moments (during a photo op in the Oval Office, the two did not shake hands before reporters). Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited the world's most heavily armed border, greeting U.S. soldiers on guard near the tense buffer zone between rivals North and South Korea.

One year ago: In an unclassified intelligence report, U.S. officials warned that violent extremists motivated by political grievances and racial biases posed an "elevated threat" to the United States. President Joe Biden told ABC that senators who wanted to oppose his legislative agenda through a filibuster should have to actually stand and talk for hours, rather than simply signaling their objection. Ford Motor Company told about 30,000 employees worldwide who had worked from home during the pandemic that they could continue to do so indefinitely, with flexible hours approved by their managers.

Today's Birthdays: The former national chairwoman of the NAACP, Myrlie Evers-Williams, is 89. Former astronaut Ken Mattingly is 86. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful) is 78. Former NSA Director and former CIA Director Michael Hayden is 77. Rock musician Harold Brown (War; Lowrider Band) is 76. Actor Patrick Duffy is 73. Actor Kurt Russell is 71. Country singer Susie Allanson is 70. Actor Lesley-Anne Down is 68. Actor Mark Boone Jr. is 67. Country singer Paul Overstreet is 67. Actor Gary Sinise is 67. Actor Christian Clemenson is 64. Former basketball and baseball player Danny Ainge is 63. Actor Arye Gross is 62. Actor Vicki Lewis is 62. Actor Casey Siemaszko is 61. Writer-director Rob Sitch is 60. Actor Rob Lowe is 58. Rock singer Billy Corgan is 55. Rock musician Van Conner (Screaming Trees) is 55. Actor Mathew St. Patrick is 54. Actor Yanic Truesdale is 53. Rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur is 50. Olympic gold medal soccer player Mia Hamm is 50. Rock musician Caroline Corr (The Corrs) is 49. Actor Amelia Heinle is 49. Country singer Keifer Thompson (Thompson Square) is 49. Actor Marisa Coughlan is 48. Actor Natalie Zea (zee) is 47. Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson is 47. Actor Brittany Daniel is 46. Singer and TV personality Tamar Braxton is 45. Country musician Geoff Sprung (Old Dominion) is 44. Reggaeton singer Nicky Jam is 41. TV personality Rob Kardashian (TV: "Keeping Up With the Kardashians") is 35. Pop/rock singer-songwriter Hozier is 32. Actor Eliza Hope Bennett is 30. Actor John Boyega is 30. Olympic gold medal swimmer Katie Ledecky is 25. Actor Flynn Morrison is 17.