Today in History

Today is Monday, March 25, the 84th day of 2019. There are 281 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 25, 1911, 146 people, mostly young female immigrants, were killed when fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. in New York.

On this date:

In 1634, English colonists sent by Lord Baltimore arrived in present-day Maryland.

In 1865, during the Civil War, Confederate forces attacked Fort Stedman in Virginia but were forced to withdraw because of counterattacking Union troops.

In 1894, Jacob S. Coxey began leading an "army" of unemployed from Massillon (MA'-sih-luhn), Ohio, to Washington D.C., to demand help from the federal government.

In 1915, the U.S. Navy lost its first commissioned submarine as the USS F-4 sank off Hawaii, claiming the lives of all 21 crew members.

In 1931, in the so-called "Scottsboro Boys" case, nine young black men were taken off a train in Alabama, accused of raping two white women; after years of convictions, death sentences and imprisonment, the nine were eventually vindicated.

In 1947, a coal-dust explosion inside the Centralia Coal Co. Mine No. 5 in Washington County, Illinois, claimed 111 lives; 31 men survived.

In 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 people to the Alabama state capitol in Montgomery after a five-day march from Selma to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks. Later that day, civil rights activist Viola Liuzzo, a white Detroit homemaker, was shot and killed by Ku Klux Klansmen.

In 1975, King Faisal (FY'-suhl) of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness. (The nephew was beheaded in June 1975.)

In 1988, in New York City's so-called "Preppie Killer" case, Robert Chambers Jr. pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin. (Chambers received 5 to 15 years in prison; he was released in 2003 after serving the full sentence.)

In 1990, 87 people, most of them Honduran and Dominican immigrants, were killed when fire raced through an illegal social club in New York City.

In 1991, "Dances with Wolves" won seven Oscars, including best picture in a category that also included "Goodfellas," at the 63rd annual Academy Awards; Kathy Bates won best actress for "Misery" while Jeremy Irons received best actor for "Reversal of Fortune."

In 2006, In Los Angeles, half a million people marched to protest federal legislation to make illegal immigration a felony and build more walls along the border.

Ten years ago: Pirates seized the Panama-registered, Greek-owned Nipayia with 18 Filipino crew members and a Russian captain off the Somali coastline. (The ship and crew were released in May 2009.) John Hope Franklin, a towering scholar of African-American studies, died in Durham, N.C. at age 94. Dan Seals, half of the pop duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, later a top country singer ("You Still Move Me"), died in Nashville at age 61.

Five years ago: Following a two-day security summit in The Netherlands, President Barack Obama declared that the gathering had taken "concrete steps" to prevent nuclear material falling into the hands of terrorists even though Russia and China failed to sign an agreement to beef up inspections.

One year ago: In an interview with "60 Minutes," adult film star Stormy Daniels said she had been threatened and warned to keep silent about an alleged sexual encounter with Donald Trump in 2006. A fire at a shopping mall in a Siberian city in Russia killed more than 60 people, including 41 children. Former Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum told CNN that students who have rallied for gun control should instead learn CPR or find their own way to prevent a school shooting. Gun manufacturer Remington filed for bankruptcy reorganization amid years of slumping sales and legal and financial pressure from the Sandy Hook school massacre in Connecticut. Linda Brown, who as a young girl in Kansas became embroiled in a landmark 1954 Supreme Court case that challenged segregation in public schools, died at the age of 75.

Today's Birthdays: Movie reviewer Gene Shalit is 93. Former astronaut James Lovell is 91. Feminist activist and author Gloria Steinem is 85. Singer Anita Bryant is 79. Actor Paul Michael Glaser is 76. Singer Sir Elton John is 72. Actress Bonnie Bedelia is 71. Actress-comedian Mary Gross is 66. Actor James McDaniel is 61. Former Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is 61. Movie producer Amy Pascal is 61. Rock musician Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) is 59. Actress Brenda Strong is 59. Actor Fred Goss is 58. Actor-writer-director John Stockwell is 58. Actress Marcia Cross is 57. Author Kate DiCamillo is 55. Actress Lisa Gay Hamilton is 55. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is 54. Baseball Hall of Famer Tom Glavine is 53. TV personality Ben Mankiewicz is 52. Olympic bronze medal figure skater Debi Thomas is 52. Actor Laz Alonso is 48. Singer Melanie Blatt (All Saints) is 44. Actor Domenick Lombardozzi is 43. Actor Lee Pace is 40. Actor Sean Faris is 37. Comedian-actor Alex Moffat (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 37. Former auto racer Danica Patrick is 37. Actress-singer Katharine McPhee is 35. Comedian-actor Chris Redd (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 34. Singer Jason Castro is 32. Rapper Big Sean is 31. Rap DJ-producer Ryan Lewis is 31. Actor Matthew Beard is 30. Actress-singer Aly (AKA Alyson) Michalka (mish-AL'-kah) is 30. Actor Kiowa Gordon is 29. Actress Seychelle Gabriel is 28.

Thought for Today: "Scratch a pessimist, and you find often a defender of privilege." — Lord Beveridge, British economist (1879-1963).