Today in History: March 7

Today is Tuesday, March 7, the 66th day of 2017. There are 299 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight: On March 7, 1967, the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” based on the “Peanuts” comic strips by Charles M. Schulz with Gary Burghoff in the title role, opened in New York’s Greenwich Village, beginning an off-Broadway run of 1,597 performances.

On this date:

In 1793, during the French Revolutionary Wars, France declared war on Spain.

In 1850, in a three-hour speech to the U.S. Senate, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts endorsed the Compromise of 1850 as a means of preserving the Union.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a U.S. patent for his telephone.

In 1916, Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) had its beginnings in Munich, Germany, as an airplane engine manufacturer.

In 1926, the first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversations took place between New York and London.

In 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered his troops to march into the Rhineland, thereby breaking the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

In 1945, during World War II, U.S. forces crossed the Rhine at Remagen, Germany, using the damaged but still usable Ludendorff Bridge.

In 1955, the first TV production of the musical “Peter Pan” starring Mary Martin aired on NBC.

In 1965, a march by civil rights demonstrators was violently broken up at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, by state troopers and a sheriff’s posse in what came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.”

In 1975, the U.S. Senate revised its filibuster rule, allowing 60 senators to limit debate in most cases, instead of the previously required two-thirds of senators present.

In 1981, anti-government guerrillas in Colombia executed kidnapped American Bible translator Chester Bitterman, whom they’d accused of being a CIA agent.

In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a parody that pokes fun at an original work can be considered “fair use.” (The ruling concerned a parody of the Roy Orbison song “Oh, Pretty Woman” by the rap group 2 Live Crew.)

Ten years ago: A sex offender was found guilty in Miami of kidnapping, raping and murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who was buried alive. (John Evander Couey was sentenced to death, but died of natural causes in September 2009.) Ten people, most of them children, were killed in The Bronx, New York, when fire tore through their home. A suicide attacker blew himself up in a cafe northeast of Baghdad, killing 30 people.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama, speaking at a Daimler truck plant in Mount Holly, North Carolina, made his most urgent appeal to date for the nation to wean itself from oil, calling it a “fuel of the past” and demanding that the United States broaden its approach to energy. The Indianapolis Colts released injured quarterback Peyton Manning, who went on to play for the Denver Broncos.

One year ago: Peyton Manning announced his retirement after 18 seasons in the National Football League. A jury in Nashville, Tennessee, awarded sports reporter Erin Andrews $55 million in her lawsuit against a stalker who rented a hotel room next to hers and secretly recorded her, finding that the hotel companies and the stalker shared in the blame. Stephen Curry scored 41 points and became the first player in NBA history to make 300 3-pointers in a season as the Golden State Warriors held off the Orlando Magic 119-113 for their 45th straight home victory.

Today’s birthdays: TV personality Willard Scott is 83. International Motorsports Hall of Famer Janet Guthrie is 79. Actor Daniel J. Travanti is 77. Entertainment executive Michael Eisner is 75. Rock musician Chris White (The Zombies) is 74. Actor John Heard is 71. Rock singer Peter Wolf is 71. Rock musician Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum) is 71. Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Franco Harris is 67. Pro and College Football Hall-of-Famer Lynn Swann is 65. Rhythm-and-blues singer-musician Ernie Isley (The Isley Brothers) is 65. Rock musician Kenny Aronoff (BoDeans, John Mellencamp) is 64. Actor Bryan Cranston is 61. Actress Donna Murphy is 58. Actor Nick Searcy is 58. Golfer Tom Lehman is 58. International Tennis Hall-of-Famer Ivan Lendl is 57. Actress Mary Beth Evans is 56. Singer-actress Taylor Dayne is 55. Actor Bill Brochtrup is 54. Author E.L. James (“Fifty Shades of Grey”) is 54. Author Bret Easton Ellis (“American Psycho”) is 53. Opera singer Denyce Graves is 53. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 53. Actor Jonathan Del Arco is 51. Rock musician Randy Guss (Toad the Wet Sprocket) is 50. Actress Rachel Weisz is 47. Actor Peter Sarsgaard is 46. Actor Jay Duplass is 44. Classical singer Sebastien Izambard (Il Divo) is 44. Rock singer Hugo Ferreira (Tantric) is 43. Actress Jenna Fischer is 43. Actor Tobias Menzies is 43. Actress Sarayu Rao is 42. Actress Audrey Marie Anderson is 42. Actor TJ Thyne is 42. Bluegrass singer-musician Frank Solivan is 40. Actress Laura Prepon is 37. Actress Bel Powley is 25.

Thought for today: “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.” — Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist (1922-2000).

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Photo courtesy of Kristi Nebel
Folk duo Steve and Kristi Nebel will be among the musical acts performing at the Edmonds Arts Festival, which takes place Friday through Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Kristi Nebel
Folk duo Steve and Kristi Nebel will be among the musical acts performing at the Edmonds Arts Festival, which takes place Friday through Sunday.
Coming events in Snohomish County

Send calendar submissions for print and online to features@heraldnet.com. To ensure your… Continue reading

Cascadia College Earth and Environmental Sciences Professor Midori Sakura looks in the surrounding trees for wildlife at the North Creek Wetlands on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Cascadia College ecology students teach about the importance of wetlands

To wrap up the term, students took family and friends on a guided tour of the North Creek wetlands.

Kim Crane talks about a handful of origami items on display inside her showroom on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Crease is the word: Origami fans flock to online paper store

Kim’s Crane in Snohomish has been supplying paper crafters with paper, books and kits since 1995.

A woman flips through a book at the Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Pop some tags at Good Cheer Thrift Store in Langley

$20 buys an outfit, a unicycle — or a little Macklemore magic. Sales support the food bank.

Audi SQ8 Wows In Motion Or At Rest. Photo provided by Audi America MediaCenter.
2025 Audi SQ8 Is A Luxury, Hot Rod, SUV

500 Horsepower and 4.0-Second, 0-To-60 MPH Speed

The Mukilteo Boulevard Homer on Monday, May 12, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘Homer Hedge’: A Simpsons meme takes root in Everett — D’oh!

Homer has been lurking in the bushes on West Mukilteo Boulevard since 2023. Stop by for a selfie.

Sarah and Cole Rinehardt, owners of In The Shadow Brewing, on Wednesday, March 12, 2025 in Arlington, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In The Shadow Brewing: From backyard brews to downtown cheers

Everything seems to have fallen into place at the new taproom location in downtown Arlington

Bar manager Faith Britton pours a beer for a customer at the Madison Avenue Pub in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burgers, brews and blues: Madison Avenue Pub has it all

Enjoy half-price burgers on Tuesday, prime rib specials and live music at the Everett mainstay.

Ellis Johnson, 16, left, and brother Garrett Johnson, 13, take a breather after trying to find enough water to skim board on without sinking into the sand during opening day of Jetty Island on Friday, July 5, 2019 in Everett, Wash. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Epic ways to spice up your summer

Your ultimate guide to adventure, fun and reader-approved favorites!

The 2025 Jeep Gladiator pickup, in one of its more outrageous colors (Provided by Jeep).
2025 Jeep Gladiator is a true truck

The only 4x4 pickup with open-air abilities, Gladiator is more than a Wrangler with a bed.

Ian Terry / The Herald

Rose Freeman (center) and Anastasia Allison play atop Sauk Mountain near Concrete on Thursday, Oct. 5. The pair play violin and piano together at sunrise across the Cascades under the name, The Musical Mountaineers.

Photo taken on 10052017
Adopt A Stream Foundation hosts summer concert on June 14

The concert is part of the nonprofit’s effort to raise $1.5 million for a new Sustainable Ecosystem Lab.

People walk during low tide at Picnic Point Park on Sunday, March 3, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Beach cleanup planned for Picnic Point in Edmonds

Snohomish Marine Resources Committee and Washington State University Beach Watchers host volunteer event at Picnic Point.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.