A Blast From The Past

Today is March 3.

It was on this date in 1991 that a man, trying out a camcorder, captured on home video the beating of black motorist Rodney King by white Los Angeles police officers. Four of the officers would be tried in Simi Valley, Calif., on criminal charges in the spring of 1992 -- and acquitted, triggering several days of rioting in L.A. that spread to several other U.S. cities. Two of the officers would later be convicted on federal charges.

Women didn't have the vote yet in 1879, but they could become attorneys. It was on this date in that year that Belva Ann Lockwood became the first woman lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Senate adopted a bill designating "The Star Spangled Banner" as the national anthem of the United States on this date in 1931. It was sent to President Herbert Hoover, who signed it the same day. The words to "The Star Spangled Banner" were written by Francis Scott Key in 1814, but the tune is that of an old drinking song.

And on this date in 1955, Elvis Presley made his first-ever television appearance -- on a regional country show known as the "Louisiana Hayride."

We now return you to the present, already in progress.