Today in History – Wilmington News Journal

Today is Wednesday, March 29, the 88th day of 2023. There are 277 days left in the year.

Significant moment in today’s history: On March 29, 2004, President George W. Bush welcomed seven former Soviet bloc countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Latvia and Estonia) to the during a ceremony at the White House.

To this date :

In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln ordered plans for a relief expedition to sail to Fort Sumter in South Carolina, which was still in the hands of Union forces despite repeated requests from the Confederacy that it be turned over. .

In 1867, the British Parliament passed and Queen Victoria signed the British North America Act creating the Dominion of Canada, which came into existence the following July.

In 1943, World War II meat, fat and cheese rationing began, limiting consumers to in-store purchases of an average of about two pounds per week for beef, pork, lamb and mutton using a coupon system.

In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted in New York of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. (They were executed in June 1953.)

In 1971, Army Lieutenant William L. Calley Jr. was convicted of murdering 22 Vietnamese civilians in the 1968 My Lai (mee ly) massacre. (Calley ended up serving three years of house arrest.) A Los Angeles jury recommended the death sentence for Charles Manson and three women for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. (The sentences were commuted when the California State Supreme Court overturned the death penalty in 1972.)

In 1973, the last US combat troops left South Vietnam, ending America’s direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.

In 1974, eight Ohio National Guardsmen were indicted on federal charges stemming from the shooting deaths of four Kent State University students. (The charges were later dismissed.)

In 1984, under the cover of morning darkness, the Baltimore Colts football team left their hometown of three decades and moved to Indianapolis.

In 2002, Israeli troops stormed Yasser Arafat’s headquarters compound in the West Bank in a raid launched in response to anti-Israeli attacks that killed 30 people in three days.

In 2010, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in a double bombing of crowded Moscow metro stations during rush hour, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 100.

In 2020, country singer Joe Diffie, who enjoyed a string of hits in the 1990s, died aged 61 from what a spokesperson said were complications from COVID-19.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama promoted a plan to create construction and other jobs by attracting private funds to help rebuild roads, bridges and other public works projects during of a visit to a Miami port that was undergoing $2 billion in upgrades paid for by the government and private dollar. A 16-story building that was about to be completed collapsed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 36 people, mostly workers or bystanders.

Five years ago: Russia announced the expulsion of more than 150 diplomats, including 60 Americans, and said it was closing a US consulate in retaliation for Western expulsions of Russian diplomats following the poisoning of an ex -spy and his daughter in Britain. Malala Yousafzai has returned to Pakistan for a four-day visit, the first for the 20-year-old Nobel laureate since she was shot dead by the Taliban five years earlier for speaking out in favor of education for children. girls. The 2018 baseball season started with a home run by Ian Happ of the Chicago Cubs on the first pitch of the season, while Giancarlo Stanton hit two homers in his debut for the New York Yankees.

A year ago: Russia announced it would drastically reduce military operations near the Ukrainian capital and a northern town as the possibility of a deal to end the bitter war emerged. (The talks would not lead to an agreement and the war would continue). President Joe Biden has signed a bill making lynching a federal hate crime, more than 100 years after such legislation was first proposed. The Foo Fighters have canceled all upcoming concert dates four days after the death of the band’s drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

Today’s birthdays: Author Judith Guest turns 87. Former British Prime Minister Sir John Major is 80 years old. Comedian Eric Idle is 80 years old. Basketball Hall of Famer Walt Frazier is 78 years old. Singer Bobby Kimball (Toto) is 76 years old. Actor Bud Cort is 75 years old. Brendan Gleeson is 68 years old. Earl Campbell, a member of the Professional and College Football Hall of Fame, is 68. Actor Marina Sirtis is 68 years old. Actor Christopher Lambert is 66 years old. Rock singer Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction) is 64 years old. Comedian-actress Amy Sedaris is 62 years old. MacPherson is 60 years old. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., is 59. Actress Annabella Sciorra is 59 years old. Director Michel Hazanavicius (mee-SHEHL’ ah-zah-nah-VEE’-see-oos) is 56 years old. Singer-musician John Popper (Blues Traveler) is 56 years old. Actress Lucy Lawless is 55. Country singer Brady Seals is 54. Actor Sam Hazeldine is 51 years old. International Tennis Hall of Famer Jennifer Capriati is 47. R&B singer PJ Morton is 42 years old. Actor Megan Hilty is 42 years old. Pop singer Kelly Sweet is 35 years old.