March 20
1413 - England's King Henry IV died and was succeeded by Henry V.
1602 - The Dutch East India Company was established. During its 196-year history, it became one of the world's most powerful companies.
1727 - English physicist/astronomer Sir Isaac Newton died in London at age 84.
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris, beginning his Hundred Days rule.
1816 - The Supreme Court affirmed its right to review state court decisions.
1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published.
1854 - The Republican Party was founded by slavery opponents at a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin.
1922 - The decommissioned USS Jupiter, converted into the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, was re-commissioned as the USS Langley.
1933 - The state of Florida electrocuted Giuseppe Zangara for shooting to death Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak at a Miami event attended by President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, the presumed target, the previous February.
1952 - The U.S. Senate ratified, 66-10, a Security Treaty with Japan.
1969 - John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar.
1976 - Kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was convicted of armed robbery for her part in a San Francisco bank holdup carried out by the Symbionese Liberation Army. (Hearst was sentenced to seven years in prison; she was released after serving 22 months, and was pardoned in 2001 by President Bill Clinton.)
1987 - The Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of AZT, a drug shown to prolong the lives of some AIDS patients.
1990 - Namibia becomes an independent nation.
1995 - Two members of the Japanese cult Aum Sinrikyo released poisonous gas in a Tokyo subway stop during rush hour, killing 12 people and sending over 5,000 to the hospital for treatment.
1996 - A jury in Los Angeles convicted Erik and Lyle Menendez of first-degree murder in the shotgun slayings of their millionaire parents. (They are serving life without parole.)
1997 - Liggett Group settled 22 state lawsuits by admitting the industry markets cigarettes to teenagers and agreeing to warn on every pack that smoking is addictive.
1999 - Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to fly a hot-air balloon nonstop around the world.
2003 - Ground troops entered Iraq and a second round of air strikes against Baghdad was launched.
2004 - The U.S. military charged six soldiers with abusing inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
2011 - As Japanese officials reported progress in their battle to gain control over a leaking, tsunami-stricken nuclear complex, the discovery of more radiation-tainted vegetables and tap water added to public fears about contaminated food and drink.
2011 - AT&T Inc. announced it would buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion. (AT&T later dropped its bid following fierce government antitrust objections.)
2016 - President Barack Obama opened a historic visit to Cuba, eager to push decades of acrimony deeper into the past.
2020 - The governor of Illinois ordered residents to remain in their homes except for essential needs, joining similar efforts in California and New York to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Stocks tumbled again on Wall Street, ending their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis; the Dow fell more than 900 points to end the week with a 17% loss. At a White House briefing, President Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, were openly divided on the possible effectiveness of drugs being explored to treat the virus. Trump announced the closing of the Mexican border to most travel but not trade. Starbucks said it was temporarily closing access to its stores in the U.S. and reducing services to drive thru and delivery only.
Birthdays
32 - Barrett Doss (actor)
35 - Ruby Rose (actress)
37 - Christy Carlson Romano (actress/singer)
38 - Michael Cassidy (actor)
39 - Nick Blood (actor)
41 - Mikey Day (actor/comedian)
42 - Bianca Lawson (actress)
43 - Michael Genadry (actor)
45 - Emma Willis (actress)
47 - Paula Garces (actress)
48 - Cedric Yarbrough (actor)
50 - Alexander Chaplin (actor)
51 - Michael Rapaport (actor)
53 - Liza Snyder (actress)
55 - Jessica Lundy (actress)
58 - David Thewlis (actor)
58 - Kathy Ireland (actress/model)
62 - Sting (professional wrestler)
63 - Holly Hunter (actress)
64 - Vanessa Bell Calloway (actress)
64 - Theresa Russell (actress)
64 - Spike Lee (director)
64 - Amy Aquino (actress)
71 - William Hurt (actor)
73 - Bobby Orr (hockey player)
76 - Pat Riley (basketball coach)
90 - Hal Lindgren (actor)
============================
Today in Sports History - March 20
1887 - The first intercollegiate basketball game that used five players per team was held. The contest was Yale versus Pennsylvania. Yale won by a score of 32-10.
1914 - The first international figure skating championship was held in New Haven, Connecticut.
1918 - The Toronto Arenas defeated the Vancouver Millionaires to become the first NHL team to compete in the Stanley Cup finals.
1948 - Michigan defeated Dartmouth to win the first NCAA hockey championship.
1954 - La Salle defeats Bradley 92-76 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1965 - UCLA defeats Michigan 91-80 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1968 - Wilt Chamberlain became the first center in NBA history to lead the league with assists. He ended the season with 702 for an average of 8.6.
1971 - For the first time in NHL history two brothers faced each other in goal. Ken Dryden (Montreal Canadiens) beat Dave Dryden (Buffalo Sabres) 5-2.
1973 - Roberto Clemente is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame 11 weeks after his death in a plane crash.
1981 - NFL owners adopted a disaster plan for re-stocking a team should a club be involved in a fatal accident.
1985 - Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the Iditarod.
1988 - Mike Tyson defats Tony Tubbs by TKO in the second round at the Tokyo Dome for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
1989 - It was announced that Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose was under investigation.
1990 - The Los Angeles Lakers retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's #33.
1992 - Kenny Bernstein became the first drag racer to break the 300mph barrier. He averaged 301.7mph in a qualifying run at the National Hot Rod Association's Gatornationals.
2005 - LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) became the youngest, at age 20 years and 80 days, NBA player to score 50 points in a game (56). The Cavaliers lost the game to the Toronto Raptors 105-98. The 56-point performance by James was a franchise record.
2005 - Major league baseball players and owners agreed to remove fines a possible discipline for positive testing of steroids. This left suspensions as the only punishment.
2016 - The United States won 13 golds out of a possible 26 events and 23 medals in all, making it the biggest haul in the history of the world indoor track and field championships which were held in Portland, Oregon.
2020 - Six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady announced he had signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
1413 - England's King Henry IV died and was succeeded by Henry V.
1602 - The Dutch East India Company was established. During its 196-year history, it became one of the world's most powerful companies.
1727 - English physicist/astronomer Sir Isaac Newton died in London at age 84.
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris, beginning his Hundred Days rule.
1816 - The Supreme Court affirmed its right to review state court decisions.
1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published.
1854 - The Republican Party was founded by slavery opponents at a schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin.
1922 - The decommissioned USS Jupiter, converted into the first U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, was re-commissioned as the USS Langley.
1933 - The state of Florida electrocuted Giuseppe Zangara for shooting to death Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak at a Miami event attended by President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, the presumed target, the previous February.
1952 - The U.S. Senate ratified, 66-10, a Security Treaty with Japan.
1969 - John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar.
1976 - Kidnapped newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was convicted of armed robbery for her part in a San Francisco bank holdup carried out by the Symbionese Liberation Army. (Hearst was sentenced to seven years in prison; she was released after serving 22 months, and was pardoned in 2001 by President Bill Clinton.)
1987 - The Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of AZT, a drug shown to prolong the lives of some AIDS patients.
1990 - Namibia becomes an independent nation.
1995 - Two members of the Japanese cult Aum Sinrikyo released poisonous gas in a Tokyo subway stop during rush hour, killing 12 people and sending over 5,000 to the hospital for treatment.
1996 - A jury in Los Angeles convicted Erik and Lyle Menendez of first-degree murder in the shotgun slayings of their millionaire parents. (They are serving life without parole.)
1997 - Liggett Group settled 22 state lawsuits by admitting the industry markets cigarettes to teenagers and agreeing to warn on every pack that smoking is addictive.
1999 - Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to fly a hot-air balloon nonstop around the world.
2003 - Ground troops entered Iraq and a second round of air strikes against Baghdad was launched.
2004 - The U.S. military charged six soldiers with abusing inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
2011 - As Japanese officials reported progress in their battle to gain control over a leaking, tsunami-stricken nuclear complex, the discovery of more radiation-tainted vegetables and tap water added to public fears about contaminated food and drink.
2011 - AT&T Inc. announced it would buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom AG in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $39 billion. (AT&T later dropped its bid following fierce government antitrust objections.)
2016 - President Barack Obama opened a historic visit to Cuba, eager to push decades of acrimony deeper into the past.
2020 - The governor of Illinois ordered residents to remain in their homes except for essential needs, joining similar efforts in California and New York to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Stocks tumbled again on Wall Street, ending their worst week since the 2008 financial crisis; the Dow fell more than 900 points to end the week with a 17% loss. At a White House briefing, President Donald Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, were openly divided on the possible effectiveness of drugs being explored to treat the virus. Trump announced the closing of the Mexican border to most travel but not trade. Starbucks said it was temporarily closing access to its stores in the U.S. and reducing services to drive thru and delivery only.
Birthdays
32 - Barrett Doss (actor)
35 - Ruby Rose (actress)
37 - Christy Carlson Romano (actress/singer)
38 - Michael Cassidy (actor)
39 - Nick Blood (actor)
41 - Mikey Day (actor/comedian)
42 - Bianca Lawson (actress)
43 - Michael Genadry (actor)
45 - Emma Willis (actress)
47 - Paula Garces (actress)
48 - Cedric Yarbrough (actor)
50 - Alexander Chaplin (actor)
51 - Michael Rapaport (actor)
53 - Liza Snyder (actress)
55 - Jessica Lundy (actress)
58 - David Thewlis (actor)
58 - Kathy Ireland (actress/model)
62 - Sting (professional wrestler)
63 - Holly Hunter (actress)
64 - Vanessa Bell Calloway (actress)
64 - Theresa Russell (actress)
64 - Spike Lee (director)
64 - Amy Aquino (actress)
71 - William Hurt (actor)
73 - Bobby Orr (hockey player)
76 - Pat Riley (basketball coach)
90 - Hal Lindgren (actor)
============================
Today in Sports History - March 20
1887 - The first intercollegiate basketball game that used five players per team was held. The contest was Yale versus Pennsylvania. Yale won by a score of 32-10.
1914 - The first international figure skating championship was held in New Haven, Connecticut.
1918 - The Toronto Arenas defeated the Vancouver Millionaires to become the first NHL team to compete in the Stanley Cup finals.
1948 - Michigan defeated Dartmouth to win the first NCAA hockey championship.
1954 - La Salle defeats Bradley 92-76 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1965 - UCLA defeats Michigan 91-80 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1968 - Wilt Chamberlain became the first center in NBA history to lead the league with assists. He ended the season with 702 for an average of 8.6.
1971 - For the first time in NHL history two brothers faced each other in goal. Ken Dryden (Montreal Canadiens) beat Dave Dryden (Buffalo Sabres) 5-2.
1973 - Roberto Clemente is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame 11 weeks after his death in a plane crash.
1981 - NFL owners adopted a disaster plan for re-stocking a team should a club be involved in a fatal accident.
1985 - Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the Iditarod.
1988 - Mike Tyson defats Tony Tubbs by TKO in the second round at the Tokyo Dome for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
1989 - It was announced that Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose was under investigation.
1990 - The Los Angeles Lakers retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's #33.
1992 - Kenny Bernstein became the first drag racer to break the 300mph barrier. He averaged 301.7mph in a qualifying run at the National Hot Rod Association's Gatornationals.
2005 - LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) became the youngest, at age 20 years and 80 days, NBA player to score 50 points in a game (56). The Cavaliers lost the game to the Toronto Raptors 105-98. The 56-point performance by James was a franchise record.
2005 - Major league baseball players and owners agreed to remove fines a possible discipline for positive testing of steroids. This left suspensions as the only punishment.
2016 - The United States won 13 golds out of a possible 26 events and 23 medals in all, making it the biggest haul in the history of the world indoor track and field championships which were held in Portland, Oregon.
2020 - Six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady announced he had signed a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.