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UPI Almanac for Saturday, March 25, 2017

On March 25, 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City killed 146 people, mostly female immigrant workers. The tragedy led to the eventual enactment of many state and national workplace safety laws.

By United Press International
Women protest after the Triangle Shirtwasit Factory fire which occurred on March 25, 1911. They hold signs advocating for fire drills in every shop, an end to political graft, no more long days spent working in "fire traps”" and the importance of unions. UPI/Cornell University
1 of 4 | Women protest after the Triangle Shirtwasit Factory fire which occurred on March 25, 1911. They hold signs advocating for fire drills in every shop, an end to political graft, no more long days spent working in "fire traps”" and the importance of unions. UPI/Cornell University | License Photo

Today is Saturday, March 25, the 84th day of 2017 with 281 to follow.

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

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include conductor Arturo Toscanini in 1867; Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum in 1867; composer Bela Bartok in 1881; actor Ed Begley Sr. in 1901; film director/producer/writer David Lean (The Bridge On The River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago) in 1908; Jack Ruby, who killed presumed John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, in 1911; sports commentator Howard Cosell in 1918; actor Simone Signoret in 1921; writer Flannery O'Connor in 1925; astronaut James Lovell in 1928 (age 89); feminist writer Gloria Steinem in 1934 (age 83); singer-songwriter Hoyt Axton in 1938; singer Anita Bryant in 1940 (age 77); soul singer Aretha Franklin in 1942 (age 75); actor/director Paul Michael Glaser in 1943 (age 74); pop star Elton John in 1947 (age 70); actor Bonnie Bedelia in 1948 (age 69); actor Sarah Jessica Parker in 1965 (age 52); champion figure skater Debi Thomas in 1967 (age 50); three-time Olympic gold medalist in basketball Sheryl Swoopes in 1971 (age 46); race car driver Danica Patrick in 1982 (age 35).

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On this date in history:

In 1807, the English Parliament abolished the slave trade.

In 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City killed 146 people, mostly female immigrant workers. The tragedy led to the eventual enactment of many state and national workplace safety laws.

In 1947, a mine explosion in Centralia, Ill., killed 111 men, most of them asphyxiated by gas.

In 1954, the Radio Corporation of America began commercial production of color television sets.

In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and West Germany signed a treaty in Rome establishing the European Economic Community, also known as the common market.

In 1965, white civil rights worker Viola Liuzzo of Detroit, 39, was killed on a road near Selma, Ala. Three Ku Klux Klansmen were convicted of violating Liuzzo's civil rights, but not for murder.

In 1975, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death at his palace in Riyadh by a "mentally deranged" nephew (who was later executed).

In 1990, an arson fire swept an overcrowded social club, the Happy Land, in the Bronx borough of New York City, killing 87 people. Cuban refugee Julio Gonzalez, the arsonist -- whose former girlfriend worked at the club and survived the fire -- was convicted on multiple counts of arson and murder. He died in prison in September 2016.

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In 1994, U.S. forces completed a withdrawal from Mogadishu, Somalia, except for a small number of soldiers left behind to provide support for U.N. peacekeepers.

In 2006, an estimated 500,000 people protested in Los Angeles against U.S. House-approved bill that would make it a felony to be in the United States illegally. The legislation, which also led to protests in other cities during this period, did not pass in the Senate.

In 2010, an explosion sank a South Korean warship on patrol in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 sailors. North Korea denied accusations it had torpedoed the ship.

In 2013, Michel Djotodia, leader of the rebel Seleka alliance, declared himself president of the embattled Central African Republic. He resigned in early 2014.

In 2014, Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buffalo Bills, died at the age of 95. Wilson purchased the NFL club -- then a member of the old American Football League -- for $25,000 more than a half-century earlier.


A thought for the day: Mahatma Gandhi said, "It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings."

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