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By The Associated Press
Today is Wednesday, March 10, the 69th day of 2021. There are 296 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On March 10, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln assigned Ulysses S. Grant, who had just received his commission as lieutenant-general, to the command of the Armies of the United States.
On this date:
In 1785, Thomas Jefferson was appointed America’s minister to France, succeeding Benjamin Franklin.
In 1848, the U.S. Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War.
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant, Thomas Watson, heard Bell say over his experimental telephone: “Mr. Watson — come here — I want to see you” from the next room of Bell’s Boston laboratory.
In 1906, about 1,100 miners in northern France were killed by a coal-dust explosion.
In 1913, former slave, abolitionist and Underground Railroad “conductor” Harriet Tubman died in Auburn, N.Y.; she was in her 90s.
In 1914, the Rokeby Venus, a 17th century painting by Diego Velazquez on display at the National Gallery in London, was slashed multiple times by Mary Richardson, who was protesting the arrest of fellow suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst. (The painting was repaired.)
In 1927, the Sinclair Lewis novel “Elmer Gantry” was published by Harcourt, Brace & Co.
In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in Memphis, Tenn. (on his 41st birthday) to assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (Ray later repudiated that plea, maintaining his innocence until his death.)
In 1985, Konstantin U. Chernenko, who was the Soviet Union’s leader for 13 months, died at age 73; he was succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev.
In 1988, pop singer Andy Gibb died in Oxford, England, at age 30 of heart inflammation.
In 2000, Pope John Paul II approved sainthood for Katharine Drexel, a Philadelphia socialite who had taken a vow of poverty and devoted her fortune to helping poor Blacks and American Indians. (Drexel, who died in 1955, was canonized in October 2000.)
In 2015, breaking her silence in the face of a growing controversy over her use of a private email address and server, Hillary Rodham Clinton conceded that she should have used government email as secretary of state but insisted she had not violated any federal laws or Obama administration rules.
Ten years ago: The House Homeland Security Committee examined Muslim extremism in America during a hearing punctuated by tearful testimony and angry recriminations. (Chairman Peter King, R-N.Y., accused U.S. Muslims of doing too little to help fight terror in America; Democrats warned of inflaming anti-Muslim sentiment.)
Five years ago: Donald Trump and his Republican rivals turned their presidential debate in Miami into a mostly respectful but still pointed discussion of Social Security, Islam, trade and more. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an official visit to the White House.
One year ago: Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden canceled primary-night rallies in Cleveland amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. Biden won primaries in the battleground state of Michigan and three other states, dealing a serious blow to Sanders. Clusters of the coronavirus swelled on both U.S. coasts, with more than 70 cases linked to a biotech conference in Boston and infections turning up at 10 nursing homes in the Seattle area. Infections in Italy topped the 10,000 mark, as authorities enforced a sweeping nationwide lockdown. Stocks recouped most of their historic losses from a day earlier, amid fluctuating hopes on Wall Street that the government would try to cushion the economic pain from the coronavirus.
Today’s Birthdays: Talk show host Ralph Emery is 88. Bluegrass/country singer-musician Norman Blake is 83. Actor Chuck Norris is 81. Playwright David Rabe is 81. Singer Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean) is 81. Actor Katharine Houghton (Film: “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?”) is 79. Actor Richard Gant is 77. Rock musician Tom Scholz (Boston) is 74. Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell is 74. TV personality/businesswoman Barbara Corcoran (TV: “Shark Tank”) is 72. Actor Aloma Wright is 71. Blues musician Ronnie Earl (Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters) is 68. Producer-director-writer Paul Haggis is 68. Alt-country/rock musician Gary Louris is 66. Actor Shannon Tweed is 64. Pop/jazz singer Jeanie Bryson is 63. Actor Sharon Stone is 63. Rock musician Gail Greenwood is 61. Magician Lance Burton is 61. Movie producer Scott Gardenhour is 60. Actor Jasmine Guy is 59. Rock musician Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) is 58. Music producer Rick Rubin is 58. Britain’s Prince Edward is 57. Rock singer Edie Brickell is 55. Actor Stephen Mailer is 55. Actor Philip Anthony-Rodriguez is 53. Actor Paget Brewster is 52. Actor Jon Hamm is 50. Rapper-producer Timbaland is 49. Actor Cristian de la Fuente is 47. Rock musician Jerry Horton (Papa Roach) is 46. Actor Jeff Branson is 44. Singer Robin Thicke is 44. Actor Bree Turner is 44. Olympic gold medal gymnast Shannon Miller is 44. Contemporary Christian singer Michael Barnes (Red) is 42. Actor Edi Gathegi is 42. Actor Thomas Middleditch is 39. Country singer Carrie Underwood is 38. Actor Olivia Wilde is 37. R&B singer Emeli Sande is 34. Country singer Rachel Reinert is 32. Country musician Jared Hampton (LANCO) is 30. Actor Emily Osment is 29.