Today in History

Brazil's Silva denounces detention in corruption probe

Today is Saturday, March 5, the 65th day of 2016. There are 301 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill delivered his "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in which he said: "From Stettin in the Baltic, to Trieste in the Adriatic, an 'iron curtain' has descended across the continent, allowing police governments to rule Eastern Europe." On this date: In 1766, Antonio de Ulloa arrived in New Orleans to assume his duties as the first Spanish governor of the Louisiana Territory, where he encountered resistance from the French residents. In 1770, the Boston Massacre took place as British soldiers who'd been taunted by a crowd of colonists opened fire, killing five people. In 1868, the U.S. Senate was organized into a Court of Impeachment to decide charges against President Andrew Johnson, who was later acquitted. In 1933, in German parliamentary elections, the Nazi Party won 44 percent of the vote; the Nazis joined with a conservative nationalist party to gain a slender majority in the Reichstag. In 1953, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin died after three decades in power. Composer Sergei Prokofiev died in Moscow at age 61. In 1963, country music performers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins died in the crash of their plane, a Piper Comanche, near Camden, Tennessee, along with pilot Randy Hughes (Cline's manager). In 1966, BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707, crashed into Japan's Mount Fuji after breaking up in severe turbulence; all 124 people on board were killed. (Most of the passengers were executives and dealers of the Thermo King Corp. of Bloomington, Minnesota, as well as some of their spouses.) In 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons went into effect after 43 nations ratified it. In 1979, NASA's Voyager 1 space probe flew past Jupiter, sending back photographs of the planet and its moons. In 1982, comedian John Belushi was found dead of a drug overdose in a rented bungalow in Hollywood; he was 33. In 1986, in Lebanon, Islamic Jihad issued a statement saying it had "executed" French hostage Michel Seurat, who had been abducted almost a year earlier. (Other hostages who were later freed said Seurat had died of either hepatitis or cancer.) In 1994, a jury in Pensacola, Florida, convicted anti-abortion activist Michael F. Griffin of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Dr. David Gunn; Griffin was immediately sentenced to life in prison. Ten years ago: AT&T announced it was buying BellSouth Corp., a big step toward resurrecting the old Ma Bell telephone system. "Crash" won the Best Picture Academy Award in an upset over "Brokeback Mountain"; Philip Seymour Hoffman won Best Actor for "Capote" and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for "Walk the Line." Five years ago: Egyptians turned their anger toward ousted President Hosni Mubarak's internal security apparatus, storming the agency's main headquarters and other offices. Alberto Granado, 88, who'd accompanied Ernesto "Che" Guevara on a journey of discovery across Latin America described in "The Motorcycle Diaries," died in Havana. One year ago: The U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was slashed in the face and arm by an assailant in Seoul (sohl). Actor Harrison Ford crash-landed his vintage plane on a golf course in Los Angeles after reporting engine failure shortly after takeoff. Convicted murderer Jodi Arias was spared the death penalty as a jury in Phoenix voted 11-1 in favor of execution — not enough to send Arias to death row for the slaying of her lover, Travis Alexander. Islamic State militants continued their campaign targeting cultural heritage sites in territories they controlled in northern Iraq, bulldozing the historic city of Nimrud. Cardinal Edward Egan, 82, the former Archbishop of New York, died. Today's Birthdays: Actor James Noble is 94. Actor Paul Sand is 84. Actor James B. Sikking is 82. Actor Dean Stockwell is 80. Actor Fred Williamson is 78. Actress Samantha Eggar is 77. Actor Michael Warren is 70. Actor Eddie Hodges is 69. Singer Eddy Grant is 68. Rock musician Alan Clark (Dire Straits) is 64. Actress-comedian Marsha Warfield is 62. Magician Penn Jillette is 61. Actress Adriana Barraza is 60. Rock singers Charlie and Craig Reid (The Proclaimers) are 54. Rock musician John Frusciante (froo-SHAN'-tee) is 46. Singer Rome is 46. Actor Kevin Connolly is 42. Actress Jill Ritchie is 42. Actress Jolene Blalock is 41. Actress Eva Mendes is 41. Model Niki Taylor is 41. Actress Kimberly McCullough is 38. Actress Dominique McElligott is 30. Actor Sterling Knight is 27. Actor Jake Lloyd is 27. Thought for Today: "Tomorrow is a thief of pleasure." — Sir Rex Harrison, British actor (1908-1990).