On This Day in History - March 10th - Almanac

Today is Friday, March 10, the 69th day of 2017 with 296 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Venus. Evening stars are Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Mars.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include actor Barry Fitzgerald in 1888; French composer Arthur Honegger in 1892; poet Margaret Fishback in 1900; jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke in 1903; James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., in 1928; playwright David Rabe in 1940 (age 77); actor Chuck Norris in 1940 (age 76); college basketball Coach Jim Valvano in 1946; Kim Campbell, the first female prime minister of Canada, in 1947 (age 69); journalist Bob Greene in 1947 (age 70); al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden in 1957; actor Sharon Stone in 1958 (age 59); Olympic gold medal gymnast Mitch Gaylord in 1961 (age 55); Britain's Prince Edward in 1964 (age 53); actor Jasmine Guy in 1964 (age 53); singer Edie Brickell in 1966 (age 51); actor Jon Hamm in 1971 (age 46); rapper Timbaland (born Timothy Zachery Mosley) in 1971 (age 46); singer Robin Thicke in 1977 (age 40); Olympic gold medal gymnast Shannon Miller in 1977 (age 40); singer Carrie Underwood in 1983 (age 34); actor Olivia Wilde in 1984 (age 33).

On this date in history:

In 1862, the U.S. Treasury issued "legal tender notes" in denominations from $5 to $1,000, the first U.S. paper money.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first telephone message to his assistant in the next room: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you."

In 1880, the Salvation Army of the United States was founded in New York City.

In 1933, Harry W. Frantz, a correspondent for United Press, penned an editorial on the current financial situation, arguing that the history of the United States "strongly suggests the possibility of a prompt recuperation from the present banking and money crisis."

In 1959, more than 300,000 Tibetans, fearing the Chinese were plotting to abduct the Dalai Lama, surround his home in Lhasa, the Potala Palace, marking the beginning of the Tibetan uprising.

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Ray died in prison in 1998.

In 1977, astronomers discovered rings around the planet Uranus.

In 1987, the Vatican condemned human artificial fertilization or generation of human life outside the womb and said all reproduction must result from the "act of conjugal love."

In 2004, Lee Boyd Malvo, 19, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his role in 10 Washington-area sniper killings in 2002. His partner, John Allen Muhammad, considered the mastermind, was executed in 2009.

In 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to planning the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

In 2011, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, signed a bill ending or sharply restricting bargaining rights for most government workers in the state.

In 2014, author Joe McGinniss (Fatal Vision, The Selling of the President 1968) died in Worcester, Mass., at age 71.

A thought for the day: "Climate change is happening now ... I have seen the impacts of climate change first-hand. I have met families whose crops have been withered by droughts. I have seen children left homeless by floods and storms. I have seen burning forests and melting glaciers." -- Ban Ki-moon in 2009