Peek at the Past: Today in the nation's history

Tuesday, March 9, 2004

Today is the 69th day of 2004 and the 79th day of winter.

TODAY'S HISTORY

In 1847, American forces invaded Mexico under Gen. Winfield Scott.

In 1862, Civil War ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia battled to a draw near Hampton Roads, Va.

In 1990, Dr. Antonia Novello became the first female and first Hispanic surgeon general of the United States.

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS

Samuel Barber (1910-1981), composer; Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968), cosmonaut/first person in space; Mickey Spillane (1918-), author, is 86; Walter Kohn (1923-), physicist/Nobel laureate, is 81; Bobby Fischer (1943-), world chess champion, is 61; Jeffrey Osborne (1948-), singer, is 56; Juliette Binoche (1964-), actress, is 40.

TODAY'S SPORTS

In 1958, the NBA's George Yardley became the first player to score 2,000 points in a season.

TODAY'S QUOTE

"I could have gone on flying through space forever." -- Yuri Gagarin

TODAY'S FACT

In 2002, Hispanics became the largest minority community in the United States, at 13.5 percent of the population.

TODAY'S NUMBER

660,000 -- number of workdays lost in the United States in 2002 as a result of major work stoppages.

TODAY'S MOON

Between full moon (March 6) and last quarter (March 13).

Casey Ressler

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