UPI Almanac for Monday, March 25, 2024

Today is Monday, March 25, the 85th day of 2024 with 281 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aries. They include Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum in 1867; actor Ed Begley Sr. in 1901; 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; film critic Gene Shalit in 1926 (age 98); astronaut James Lovell in 1928 (age 96); feminist writer Gloria Steinem in 1934 (age 90); singer Aretha Franklin in 1942; actor/director Paul Michael Glaser in 1943 (age 81); pop star Elton John in 1947 (age 77); actor Bonnie Bedelia in 1948 (age 76); comedian Mary Gross in 1953 (age 71); musician Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) in 1960 (age 64); actor Marcia Cross in 1962 (age 62); actor Sarah Jessica Parker in 1965 (age 59); TV personality Ben Mankiewicz in 1967 (age 57); champion figure skater Debi Thomas in 1967 (age 57); three-time Olympic gold medalist in basketball Sheryl Swoopes in 1971 (age 53); actor Lark Voorhies in 1974 (age 50); actor Laz Alonso in 1974 (age 50); musician Melanie Blatt (All Saints) in 1975 (age 49); actor Domenick Lombardozzi in 1976 (age 48); actor Édgar Ramírez in 1977 (age 47); actor Lee Pace in 1979 (age 45); comedian Alex Moffat in 1982 (age 42); race car driver Danica Patrick in 1982 (age 42); actor Jenny Slate in 1982 (age 42); singer/actor Katharine McPhee in 1984 (age 40); comedian Chris Redd in 1985 (age 39); music producer Ryan Lewis in 1988 (age 36); rapper Big Sean, born Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, in 1988 (age 36); actor Aly Michalka in 1989 (age 35); actor Matthew Beard in 1989 (age 35); actor Kiowa Gordon in 1990 (age 34); actor Justin Prentice in 1994 (age 30); actor Mikey Madison in 1999 (age 25).

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.

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 2022, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins died of a drug overdose in Bogatá, Colombia, shortly before the band were scheduled to perform. He was 50 years old.

A thought for the day: " Leave the matter of religion to the family ... the church and the private school, supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate." -- U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant