Today in History

Today is Sunday, March 17, the 77th day of 2024. 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 took power in Israel, beginning a stint as prime minister that would last through five crucial years in the nation’s history.

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 2013, two members of Steubenville, Ohio’s celebrated high school football team were found guilty of raping a drunken 16-year-old girl and sentenced to at least a year in juvenile prison in a case that rocked the Rust Belt city of 18,000 people.

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.

In 2023, the International Criminal Court said it issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine.

Today’s Birthdays: The former national chairwoman of the NAACP, Myrlie Evers-Williams, is 91. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin’ Spoonful) is 80. Former NSA Director and former CIA Director Michael Hayden is 79. Rock musician Harold Brown (War; Lowrider Band) is 78. Actor Patrick Duffy is 75. Actor Kurt Russell is 73. Country singer Susie Allanson is 72. Actor Lesley-Anne Down is 70. Actor Mark Boone Jr. is 69. Country singer Paul Overstreet is 69. Actor Gary Sinise is 69. Actor Christian Clemenson is 66. Former basketball and baseball player Danny Ainge is 65. Actor Arye Gross is 64. Actor Vicki Lewis is 64. Actor Casey Siemaszko (sheh-MA’-zshko) is 63. Writer-director Rob Sitch is 62. Actor Rob Lowe is 60. Rock singer Billy Corgan is 57. Actor Mathew St. Patrick is 56. Actor Yanic (YAH’-neek) Truesdale is 55. Rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur is 52. Olympic gold medal soccer player Mia Hamm is 52. Rock musician Caroline Corr (The Corrs) is 51. Actor Amelia Heinle is 51. Country singer Keifer Thompson (Thompson Square) is 51. Actor Marisa Coughlan is 50. Actor Natalie Zea is 49. Sports reporter Tracy Wolfson is 49. Actor Brittany Daniel is 48. Singer and TV personality Tamar Braxton is 47. Country musician Geoff Sprung (Old Dominion) is 46. Reggaeton singer Nicky Jam is 43. TV personality Rob Kardashian is 37. Pop/rock singer-songwriter Hozier is 34. Actor Eliza Hope Bennett is 32. Actor John Boyega is 32. Olympic gold medal swimmer Katie Ledecky is 27. Actor Flynn Morrison is 19.