Today in History - March 20

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March 20
1413 - England's King Henry IV died; he was succeeded by Henry V.

1602 - The Dutch East India Company was established. During its 196-year history, it became one of the world's most powerful companies.

1727 - English physicist and astronomer Sir Isaac Newton died in London at age 84.

1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris after escaping his exile on Elba, beginning his "Hundred Days" rule.

1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published.

1854 - The Republican Party of the United States was founded by slavery opponents at a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin.

1922 - The decommissioned USS Jupiter, converted into the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, was recommissioned as the USS Langley.

1952 - The U.S. Senate ratified, 66-10, a Security Treaty with Japan.

1969 - John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar.

1976 - Kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was convicted of armed robbery for her part in a San Francisco bank holdup carried out by the Symbionese Liberation Army. (Hearst was sentenced to seven years in prison; she was released after serving 22 months, and was pardoned in 2001 by President Bill Clinton.)

1985 - Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod.

1990 - Namibia becomes an independent nation.

1995 - Two members of the Japanese cult Aum Sinrikyo released poisonous gas in a Tokyo subway stop during rush hour, killing 12 people and sending over 5,000 to the hospital for treatment.

1996 - A jury in Los Angeles convicted Erik and Lyle Menendez of first-degree murder in the shotgun slayings of their wealthy parents. (The were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)

1999 - Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones became the first to fly a hot-air balloon nonstop around the world.

2003 - Ground troops entered Iraq and a second round of air strikes against Baghdad was launched.

2017 - U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch pledged to be independent or “hang up the robe” as the Senate began confirmation hearings on President Donald Trump’s conservative pick for the nation’s highest bench.

2018 - In a phone call to Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump offered congratulations on Putin’s re-election victory; a senior official said Trump had been warned in briefing materials that he should not congratulate Putin.

2020 - The governor of Illinois ordered residents to remain in their homes except for essential needs, joining similar efforts in California and New York to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Stocks tumbled again on Wall Street, ending their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis; the Dow fell more than 900 points to end the week with a 17% loss.

2023 - Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin, sending a powerful message to Western leaders that their efforts to isolate Moscow over the fighting in Ukraine have fallen short.

Birthdays
35 - Barrett Doss (actor)
38 - Ruby Rose (actress)
40 - Christy Carlson Romano (actress/singer)
41 - Michael Cassidy (actor)
42 - Nick Blood (actor)
44 - Mikey Day (actor/comedian)
45 - Bianca Lawson (actress)
50 - Paula Garces (actress)
51 - Cedric Yarbrough (actor)
53 - Alexander Chaplin (actor)
54 - Michael Rapaport (actor)
56 - Liza Snyder (actress)
58 - Jessica Lundy (actress)
61 - Kathy Ireland (actress/model)
65 - Sting (professional wrestler)
66 - Holly Hunter (actress)
67 - Vanessa Bell Calloway (actress)
67 - Theresa Russell (actress)
67 - Spike Lee (director)
67 - Amy Aquino (actress)
76 - Bobby Orr (hockey player)
79 - Pat Riley (basketball coach)
93 - Hal Linden (actor)

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Today in Sports History - March 20
1954 - La Salle defeats Bradley 92-76 to win the NCAA Tournament.

1965 - UCLA defeats Michigan 91-80 to win the NCAA Tournament.

1973 - Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame 11 weeks after his death in a plane crash.

1988 - Mike Tyson defeats Tony Tubbs by TKO in the second round in Tokyo for the undisputed heavyweight boxing title.

1989 - Major League Baseball announces Pete Rose is under investigation.

1990 - The Los Angeles Lakers retire Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's #33.

2020 - After 20 years with the New England Patriots, six-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady officially signs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a 2-year, $50 million guaranteed contract.
 
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