March 19 (UPI) -- On this date in history:
In 1909, financier J.P. Morgan, during a meeting with King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy in Rome, pledged to help wipe out the black hand and similar criminal societies in the United States through education.
In 1916, eight Curtiss JN-3 "Jenny" airplanes with the First Aero Squadron took off from Columbus, N.M., to aid troops that had invaded Mexico in pursuit of the bandit Pancho Villa. It was the first U.S. air combat mission in history.
In 1918, the U.S. Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish standard time zones and daylight saving time.
In 1931, the Nevada Legislature voted to legalize gambling.
In 1942, with World War II underway, all U.S. men between the ages of 45 and 64, about 13 million, were ordered to register with draft boards in what was sometimes called the "old man's draft."
In 1953, legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille won the only Academy Award of his career when The Greatest Show on Earth, a big-budget extravaganza about circus life, was acclaimed the Best Picture.
In 1962, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan releases his debut album, Bob Dylan, on Columbia Records.
In 1987, South Carolina televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as head of the PTL Club, saying he was blackmailed after a sexual encounter with a former church secretary.
In 1991, the NFL voted to revoke the plan for Phoenix to host the 1993 Super Bowl because the city did not observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In 2005, Pakistan successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 1,250 miles.
In 2008, U.S. President George W. Bush marked the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by calling it a fight the United States "can and must win." He said removing Saddam Hussein from power "was the right decision."
In 2011, former U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher died of cancer at the age of 85.
In 2013, U.S. researchers said the Iraq War killed 190,000 people, including 134,000 civilians, and cost the U.S. taxpayer $2.2 trillion.
In 2014, the U.S. Justice Department announced that Toyota Motor Corp. admitted to deceiving regulators about automobile safety defects and agreed to pay $1.2 billion, the largest penalty ever imposed on an automaker.