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On This Day: 7 European countries join NATO

On March 29, 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined NATO.

By UPI Staff
President George Bush (C) welcomes seven new members to NATO during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on March 29, 2004. The prime ministers with Bush are, from left to right, Indulis Emsis of Latvia, Anton Rop of Slovenia, Algirdas Brazauskas of Lithuania, Mikulas Dzurinda of Slovakia, Adrian Nastase of Romania, Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha of Bulgaria, Juhan Parts of Estonia, and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI
1 of 7 | President George Bush (C) welcomes seven new members to NATO during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on March 29, 2004. The prime ministers with Bush are, from left to right, Indulis Emsis of Latvia, Anton Rop of Slovenia, Algirdas Brazauskas of Lithuania, Mikulas Dzurinda of Slovakia, Adrian Nastase of Romania, Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha of Bulgaria, Juhan Parts of Estonia, and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI | License Photo

March 29 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1812, Lucy Payne Washington, sister-in-law of U.S. President James Madison, married Supreme Court Justice Thomas Dodd in the first wedding performed in the White House.

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In 1886, Coca-Cola was created by Dr. John Pemberton, who produced it in his backyard in Atlanta.

In 1951, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for passing atomic weapons information to the Soviet Union. They were executed in 1953.

In 1961, the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The amendment gave District of Columbia residents the right to vote in presidential elections.

In 1971, cult leader Charles Manson and three followers (Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel) were sentenced to death in the Tate-Labianca slayings in Los Angeles. The sentences and a fifth death sentence, for Charles "Tex" Watson, were later commuted to life in prison.

Susan Atkins. File Photo by Rich Lipski/UPI

In 1973, the last U.S. combat troops left South Vietnam (some advisers and others remained), ending the United States' direct military involvement in a war that didn't officially end until 1975.

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In 1991, six-time Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti quit, opening the way for the country's 50th government since World War II.

In 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined NATO.

In 2006, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima Party narrowly won the national election, taking 28 seats, forcing it into a coalition situation.

File Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI

In 2010, two suicide bombers killed 39 people in attacks on the Moscow subway system.

In 2011, small levels of radiation from Japan's earthquake-tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant were detected in at least 15 U.S. states, but the Environmental Protection Agency said they posed no threat to public health.

In 2021, work crews refloated the jammed container ship Ever Given in Egypt's Suez Canal. It had blocked traffic in the vital trade waterway for nearly a week.

In 2023, Britain's King Charles III traveled to Berlin in his first state visit as monarch.

File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI
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