Sunday, March 14, 2010

14 March: Einstein Born, Marx Dies

Today is Sunday, March 14, the 73rd day of 2010. There are 292 days left in the year. The UPI Almanac.Today's Highlight in History:
On March 14, 1794, Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin, an invention that revolutionized America's cotton industry.
On this date:
In 1743, a memorial service was held at Faneuil Hall in Boston honoring Peter Faneuil, who had donated the building bearing his name.
In 1794, Eli Whitney received a patent for the cotton gin.
In 1812, the U.S. government authorized issue of America's first war bonds, to pay for military equipment for use against the British.
AP Highlight in History:
On March 14, 1879, physicist Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany.
In 1883, German political philosopher Karl Marx died in London at age 64.
In 1900, Congress ratified the Gold Standard Act.
In 1923, President Warren G. Harding became the first chief executive to file an income tax report.
In 1939, the republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved, opening the way for Nazi occupation of Czech areas and the separation of Slovakia.
In 1950, the FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" list made its debut.
In 1951, during the Korean War, United Nations forces recaptured Seoul.
In 1964, a jury in Dallas found Jack Ruby guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, and sentenced him to death. (Both the conviction and death sentence were later overturned, but Ruby died before he could be retried.)
In 1967, the body of President John F. Kennedy was moved from a temporary grave to a permanent memorial site at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1980, a Polish airliner crashed while making an emergency landing near Warsaw, killing all 87 people aboard, including 22 members of a U.S. amateur boxing team.
In 1985, the United States evacuated U.S. officials from Lebanon, leaving a small diplomatic presence in war-torn Beirut.
In 1989, the Bush administration announced it would ban imports of semi-automatic assault rifles indefinitely.
In 1990, the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies held a secret ballot that elected Mikhail S. Gorbachev to a new, powerful presidency.
In 1991, a British court overturned the convictions of the Birmingham Six, who had spent 16 years in prison for an Irish Republican Army bombing, and ordered them released. Scientists from around the world reported the discovery of the gene that triggers colon cancer. Also in 1991, the emir of Kuwait returned to his country for the first time since the Iraq invasion.
In 1992, a U.S. aircraft carrier was sent to the Persian Gulf as U.N. officials pressed Iraq on the destruction of weapons in compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions.
In 1997, U.S. President Bill Clinton underwent knee surgery at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland after injuring himself while visiting golfer Greg Norman in Palm Beach, Fla.
In 1999, the Clinton administration said the government had responded decisively to allegations that China had benefited from technology stolen from the Los Alamos nuclear weapons laboratory in New Mexico; Republicans disagreed and pressed for a comprehensive review of U.S. policy toward China.
In 2000, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore clinched their presidential nominations in a sweep of Southern primaries. Defending champion Doug Swingley drove his dog team to victory in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
In 2001, British Prime Minister Tony Blair ordered a step-up in the slaughter of livestock as the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak continued.
In 2002, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the accounting firm Arthur Andersen had been indicted for destroying thousands of documents related to the investigation into the collapse of Enron, the energy-trading company.
In 2003, Philippine military officials said almost 200 separatist militants had been killed in three days of fighting on Mindanao. Also in 2003, Hu Jintao was chosen to replace Jiang Zemin as president of China.
In 2004, opposition Socialists scored a dramatic upset win in Spain's general election, unseating conservatives stung by charges they'd provoked the Madrid terror bombings by supporting the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Russian President Vladimir Putin captured more than 70 percent of the vote to win a second term in an election that European observers said fell short of democratic standards. Two Palestinian suicide bombers killed eleven Israelis in the port of Ashdod.
In 2005, a judge in San Francisco ruled that California's ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional (a state appeals court later reversed the decision). China's parliament enacted a law authorizing force to stop rival Taiwan from pursuing formal independence. About 1 million people rallied in Beirut, Lebanon, demanding Syrian withdrawal and the arrest of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's killers. Spanish police were reported to have broken Europe's largest money-laundering ring with the arrest of seven lawyers and three notaries.
In 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush's approval rating fell to a record low of 33 percent in a Pew survey. It was 36 percent in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. Also in 2006, Israeli soldiers and special police surrounded a Jericho prison in the Gaza Strip to reclaim prisoners the Palestinians were planning to release. Five of the men had been jailed for the 2001 assassination of the Israeli tourism minister.
In 2007, a massive explosion in a Kabul, Afghanistan, bazaar where guns and ammunition are sold killed at least 13 people and injured 15 others. Authorities said the blast wasn't terror-related.
In 2008, Tibet's bitter resentment of Chinese dominance turned violent as rioters in Lhasa attacked ethnic Chinese residents and burned and looted Chinese and Muslim owned shops while battling Chinese forces. The death toll stood officially at 10 but Tibetan sources said more than 100 were killed. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama denounced inflammatory remarks from his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. A tornado ripped into the Georgia Dome during the Southeastern Conference tournament, sending debris tumbling from the ceiling and prompting fans to flee. Lindsey Vonn won the overall World Cup skiing to complete the first American sweep of the men's and women's titles in 25 years.
In 2009, President Barack Obama met at the White House with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; afterward, Obama downplayed divisions between the U.S. and Europe over how to tackle the world's financial crisis. Finance officials from rich and developing countries, meeting in Horsham, England, pledged to do "whatever is necessary" to fix the global economy. Australian authorities say a 230-ton oil spill from a Hong-Kong registered freighter caused an environmental disaster along nearly 40 miles of beach off the Queensland coast.
Today's Birthdays: Former astronaut Frank Borman is 82. Singer Phil Phillips is 79. Actor Michael Caine is 77. Composer-conductor Quincy Jones is 77. Former astronaut Eugene Cernan is 76. Actor Raymond J. Barry is 71. Movie director Wolfgang Petersen is 69. Country singer Michael Martin Murphey is 65. Rock musician Walt Parazaider (Chicago) is 65. Actor Steve Kanaly is 64. Comedian Billy Crystal is 62. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) is 62. Country singer Jann Browne is 56. Actor Adrian Zmed is 56. Prince Albert II, the ruler of Monaco, is 52. Actress Laila Robins is 51. Actress Tamara Tunie is 51. Actress Penny Johnson Jerald is 49. Producer-director-writer Kevin Williamson is 45. Actor Gary Anthony Williams is 44. Actress Megan Follows is 42. Rock musician Michael Bland is 41. Country singer Kristian Bush is 40. Rock musician Derrick (Jimmie's Chicken Shack) is 38. (Stations: "Derrick," one name only, is correct) Actress Grace Park is 36.
Late Birthdays: Thomas Marshall, U.S. vice president under Woodrow Wilson (1854); John Luther Jones, railroad engineer and hero of the ballad Casey Jones (1863); bandleader Les Brown (1912); cartoonist Hank ("Dennis the Menace") Ketcham (1920); and Baseball Hall of Fame member Kirby Puckett (1960).
March 14 In Entertainment
In 1943, Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" premiered in New York.
In 1972, Carole King won the album of the year Grammy for "Tapestry," record of the year for "It's Too Late" and song of the year for "You've Got A Friend." She also won a fourth Grammy that year, for female pop vocal performance for "Tapestry."
In 1980, producer Quincy Jones got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was his 47th birthday.
In 1981, Eric Clapton was hospitalized in St. Paul, Minn., for an attack of bleeding ulcers. He had to cancel a 60-date US tour.
In 2005, U2, The Pretenders, The O'Jays, Percy Sledge and blues legend Buddy Guy were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Thought for Today: "There are only two kinds of people in the world that really count. One kind's wheat and the other kind's emeralds." — Edna Ferber, American author (1887-1968).

No comments: