Thursday, March 4, 2010

On This Date In History

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Today is Thursday, March 04th
The 063rd day of 2010.
There are 302 days left in the year.

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Today's Highlights in History

On March 4, 1933, the start of President Roosevelt's first administration brought with it the first woman to serve in the Cabinet: Labor Secretary Frances Perkins.

On March 4, 1888, Knute Rockne, who changed the strategy of football as coach at Notre Dame, was born.

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On this date in:

1681 - England's King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn for an area of land that later became Pennsylvania.


1789 - The Constitution went into effect as the first Congress met in New York City.


1791 - Vermont became the 14th state.


1837 - The Illinois state legislature granted a city charter to Chicago.


1861 - Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office as the 16th president.


1902 - The American Automobile Association was founded in Chicago.


1909 - William Howard Taft took the oath of office as the 27th president of the United Sates.


1913 - Woodrow Wilson was sworn as the 28th president of the United States.


1917 - Republican Jeanette Rankin of Montana took her seat as the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.


1933 - Frances Perkins became the first woman to serve in the Cabinet when she took over as secretary of labor.


1952 - Actors Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married in North Hollywood, Calif.


1987 - President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, acknowledging his overtures to Iran had "deteriorated" into an arms-for-hostages deal.


1989 - Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. announced plans to merge.


1993 - Authorities announced the arrest of Mohammad Salameh, who was later convicted of playing a key role in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City.


1997 - President Bill Clinton barred spending federal money on human cloning.


1999 - Retired Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun died at age 90.


2005 - Martha Stewart left federal prison after serving five months for her role in a stock scandal.