Today in History

Today is Monday, March 25, the 84th day of 2013. There are 281 days left in the year. The Jewish holiday Passover begins at sunset.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 25, 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks.

On this date:

In 1306, Robert the Bruce was crowned the King of Scots.

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 1865, during the Civil War, Confederate forces attacked Fort Stedman in Virginia but were forced to withdraw because of counterattacking Union troops.

In 1894, Jacob S. Coxey began leading an "army" of unemployed from Massillon (MA'-sih-luhn), Ohio, to Washington D.C., to demand help from the federal government.

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

In 1947, a coal mine explosion in Centralia, Ill., claimed 111 lives.

In 1957, the Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community.

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 1975, King Faisal (FY'-suhl) of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness. (The nephew was beheaded in June 1975.)

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 a sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison; he was released in 2003.)

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: The Senate voted to slash President George W. Bush's proposed $726 billion tax-cutting package in half, handing the president a defeat on the foundation of his plan to awaken the nation's slumbering economy. Former Waterbury, Conn., mayor Philip Giordano was convicted by a federal jury of violating the civil rights of two preteen girls by sexually abusing them. (Giordano was later sentenced to 37 years in federal prison.)

Five years ago: The Defense Department said it had mistakenly shipped electrical fuses for an intercontinental ballistic missile to Taiwan. (Once the error was discovered, the military quickly recovered the four fuses.) Herb Peterson, the inventor of McDonald's Egg McMuffin, died in Santa Barbara, Calif., at age 89.

One year ago: President Barack Obama arrived in South Korea, where he visited the Demilitarized Zone separating the South from the communist North, telling American troops stationed nearby they were protectors of "freedom's frontier." Pope Benedict XVI, on his first trip to Latin America, urged Mexicans to wield their faith against drug violence, poverty and other ills, celebrating Mass before a sea of worshippers in Silao.

Today's Birthdays: Modeling agency founder Eileen Ford is 91. Movie reviewer Gene Shalit is 87. Former astronaut James Lovell is 85. Feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem is 79. Singer Anita Bryant is 73. Singer Aretha Franklin is 71. Actor Paul Michael Glaser is 70. Singer Elton John is 66. Actress Bonnie Bedelia is 65. Actress-comedian Mary Gross is 60. Actor James McDaniel is 55. Former Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is 55. Rock musician Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) is 53. Actress Brenda Strong is 53. Actor Fred Goss is 52. Actor-writer-director John Stockwell is 52. Actress Marcia Cross is 51. Author Kate DiCamillo is 49. Actress Lisa Gay Hamilton is 49. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is 48. Former MLB All-Star pitcher Tom Glavine is 47. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Debi Thomas, M.D., is 46. Singer Melanie Blatt (All Saints) is 38. Actor Lee Pace is 34. Actor Sean Faris is 31. Auto racer Danica Patrick is 31. Singer Katharine McPhee is 29. Singer Jason Castro ("American Idol") is 26. Actress-singer Aly (AKA Alyson) Michalka (mish-AL'-kah) is 24. Actor Kiowa Gordon is 23. Actress Seychelle Gabriel is 22.

Thought for Today: "In every person, even in such as appear most reckless, there is an inherent desire to attain balance." - Jakob (YAH'-kawb) Wassermann, German author (1873-1934).

(Above Advance for Use Monday, March 25)

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