Today in History
Today is Friday, March 25, the 84th day of 2022. There are 281 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On March 25, 1931, in the so-called “Scottsboro Boys” case, nine young Black men were taken off a train in Alabama, accused of raping two white women; after years of convictions, death sentences and imprisonment, the nine were eventually vindicated.
On this date:
In 1634, English colonists sent by Lord Baltimore arrived in present-day Maryland.
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 1915, the U.S. Navy lost its first commissioned submarine as the USS F-4 sank off Hawaii, claiming the lives of all 21 crew members.
In 1947, a coal-dust explosion inside the Centralia Coal Co. Mine No. 5 in Washington County, Illinois, claimed 111 lives; 31 men survived.
In 1954, RCA announced it had begun producing color television sets at its plant in Bloomington, Indiana.
In 1960, Ray Charles recorded “Georgia on My Mind” as part of his “The Genius Hits the Road” album in New York.
In 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 people to the Alabama state capitol in Montgomery after a five-day march from Selma to protest the denial of voting rights to Blacks. Later that day, civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo, a white Detroit homemaker, was shot and killed by Ku Klux Klansmen.
In 1987, the Supreme Court, in Johnson v. Transportation Agency, ruled 6-3 that an employer could promote a woman over an arguably more-qualified man to help get women into higher-ranking jobs.
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. (An arsonist set the fire after being thrown out of the club following an argument with his girlfriend; Julio Gonzalez died in prison in 2016.)
In 1996, an 81-day standoff by the anti-government Freemen began at a ranch near Jordan, Montana.
In 2020, the Senate unanimously passed a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic; the largest economic relief bill in U.S. history included direct payments to most Americans, expanded unemployment benefits and $367 billion for small businesses to keep making payroll while workers were forced to stay home.
Ten years 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.
Five years ago: A scuffle broke out at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Southern California where supporters of President Donald Trump were marching when counter-protesters doused organizers with pepper spray. Stars and fans gathered for a public memorial to honor the late mother-daughter film stars Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher.
One year ago: Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law a Republican-sponsored overhaul of state elections that included restrictions on voting by mail and greater legislative control over how elections are run. A final vote count from Israel’s election showed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and right-wing allies had fallen short of winning a parliamentary majority; Netanyahu would leave office and become opposition leader. Pulitzer Prize-winning Texas author Larry McMurtry died at 84; he’d won the prize for “Lonesome Dove” and also wrote “The Last Picture Show” and “Terms of Endearment,” which became Oscar-winning films. Children’s author Beverly Cleary, the writer behind the popular characters Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins, died at the age of 104 in Carmel Valley, California.
Today’s Birthdays: Film critic Gene Shalit is 96. Former astronaut James Lovell is 94. Feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem is 88. Singer Anita Bryant is 82. Actor Paul Michael Glaser is 79. Singer Sir Elton John is 75. Actor Bonnie Bedelia is 74. Actor-comedian Mary Gross is 69. Actor James McDaniel is 64. Movie producer Amy Pascal is 64. Rock musician Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) is 62. Actor Brenda Strong is 62. Actor Fred Goss is 61. Actor-writer-director John Stockwell is 61. Actor Marcia Cross is 60. Author Kate DiCamillo is 58. Actor Lisa Gay Hamilton is 58. Actor Sarah Jessica Parker is 57. Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Glavine is 56. TV personality Ben Mankiewicz is 55. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Debi Thomas is 55. Actor Laz Alonso is 51. Singer Melanie Blatt (All Saints) is 47. Actor Domenick Lombardozzi is 46. Actor Lee Pace is 43. Actor Sean Faris is 40. Comedian-actor Alex Moffat (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 40. Former auto racer Danica Patrick is 40. Actor-singer Katharine McPhee is 38. Comedian-actor Chris Redd (TV: “Saturday Night Live”) is 37. Singer Jason Castro is 35. Rapper Big Sean is 34. Rap DJ-producer Ryan Lewis is 34. Actor Matthew Beard is 33. Actor-singer Aly (AKA Alyson) Michalka (mish-AL’-kah) is 33. Actor Kiowa Gordon is 32. Actor Seychelle Gabriel is 31.
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