Today in History: March 4

Published 1:30 am Saturday, March 4, 2017

Today is Saturday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2017. There are 302 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight: On March 4, 1917, Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana took her seat as the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, the same day President Woodrow Wilson took his oath of office for a second term (it being a Sunday, a private ceremony was held inside the U.S. Capitol; a second, public swearing-in took place the next day).

On this date:

In 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York. (The lawmakers then adjourned for lack of a quorum.)

In 1837, the Illinois town of Chicago was incorporated as a city with a population of 4,170.

In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge’s inauguration was broadcast live on 21 radio stations coast-to-coast.

In 1952, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis were married in San Fernando Valley, California.

In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sexual harassment at work can be illegal even when the offender and victim are of the same gender.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Paula Prentiss is 79. Movie director Adrian Lyne is 76. Author James Ellroy is 69. Energy Secretary Rick Perry is 67. Actress Kay Lenz is 64. Actress Catherine O’Hara is 63. Actor Mykelti Williamson is 60. Actress Patsy Kensit is 49. Gay rights activist Chaz Bono is 48.

Thought for Today: “It is almost impossible to state what one in fact believes, because it is almost impossible to hold a belief and to define it at the same time.” — William Carlos Williams, American poet (born 1883, died this date in 1963).