Today in History

Today is Thursday, March 22, the 82nd day of 2012. There are 284 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act of 1765 to raise money from the American colonies, which fiercely resisted the tax. (The Stamp Act was repealed a year later.)

On this date:

In 1312, Pope Clement V issued a papal bull ordering the dissolution of the Order of the Knights Templar.

In 1638, religious dissident Anne Hutchinson was expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for defying Puritan orthodoxy.

In 1820, U.S. naval hero Stephen Decatur was killed in a duel with Commodore James Barron near Washington, D.C.

In 1894, hockey's first Stanley Cup championship game was played; home team Montreal defeated Ottawa, 3-1.

In 1912, Academy Award-winning actor Karl Malden was born Mladen George Sekulovich in Chicago.

In 1933, during Prohibition, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a measure to make wine and beer containing up to 3.2 percent alcohol legal.

In 1941, the Grand Coulee hydroelectric dam in Washington state went into operation.

In 1958, movie producer Mike Todd, the husband of actress Elizabeth Taylor, and three other people were killed in the crash of Todd's private plane near Grants, N.M.

In 1962, the musical "I Can Get It for You Wholesale," featuring the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, opened at the Shubert Theater.

In 1978, Karl Wallenda, the 73-year-old patriarch of "The Flying Wallendas" high-wire act, fell to his death while attempting to walk a cable strung between two hotel towers in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In 1992, 27 people were killed when a USAir jetliner crashed on takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport; 24 people survived.

In 1997, Tara Lipinski, at age 14 years and 10 months, became the youngest ladies' world figure skating champion in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush joined a U.N. poverty summit in Monterrey, Mexico, where he urged world leaders to demand political reform from poor countries in exchange for increased aid and warned that unchecked poverty can foster terrorism. The Postal Rate Commission announced approval of higher postal rates, including a three-cent boost for first-class letters, to 37 cents.

Five years ago: John and Elizabeth Edwards announced that her cancer had returned, but that the North Carolina Democrat planned to continue his presidential campaign. A rocket exploded 50 yards from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a news conference in Baghdad's Green Zone just minutes after Iraq's prime minister said the visit showed the city was "on the road to stability." Brian Joubert (zhoo-BEHR') became the first Frenchman in 42 years to win the world title by taking the men's event at the World Figure Skating Championships in Tokyo.

One year ago: Yemen's U.S.-backed president, Ali Abdullah Saleh (AH'-lee ahb-DUH'-luh sah-LEH'), his support crumbling among political allies and the army, warned that the country could slide into civil war as the opposition rejected his offer to step down by the end of the year. NFL owners meeting in New Orleans voted to make all scoring plays reviewable by the replay official and referee; also, kickoffs would be moved up 5 yards to the 35-yard line.

Today's Birthdays: USA Today founder Allen H. Neuharth is 88. Composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim is 82. Evangelist broadcaster Pat Robertson is 82. Actor William Shatner is 81. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is 78. Actor M. Emmet Walsh is 77. Actor-singer Jeremy Clyde is 71. Singer-guitarist George Benson is 69. Writer James Patterson is 65. CNN newscaster Wolf Blitzer is 64. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is 64. Actress Fanny Ardant is 63. Sportscaster Bob Costas is 60. Country singer James House is 57. Actress Lena Olin is 57. Singer-actress Stephanie Mills is 55. Actor Matthew Modine is 53. Country musician Tim Beeler (Flynnville Train) is 44. Actress Anne Dudek is 37. Actor Cole Hauser is 37. Actress Kellie Williams is 36. Actress Reese Witherspoon is 36. Rock musician John Otto (Limp Bizkit) is 35. Rapper Mims is 31. Rock musician Lincoln Parish (Cage the Elephant) is 22.

Thought for Today: "Happiness does not lie in happiness, but in the achievement of it." ? Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian author (1821-1881).

(Above Advance for Use Thursday, March 22)

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/today-history-050206767.html

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