March 17
1762
The first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held in New York City.
1776
British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary War.
1870
Wellesley Female Seminary (later Wellesley College) received its charter from the Massachusetts legislature.
1942
Gen. Douglas MacArthur became supreme commander of Allied forces in the southwest Pacific theater during World War II.
1963
Mount Agung on Bali erupted, killing 1,184 people.
1969
Golda Meir was sworn in as prime minister of Israel.
2003
President Bush delivered an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein: leave Iraq within 48 hours or face an attack.
Birthdays
Roger Taney
Pronunciation: [tô´nE]
1777–1864, American jurist, fifth Chief Justice of the United States (1836–64), b. Calvert co., Md., grad. Dickinson College, 1795.
James Bridger
mountain man (1804)
Kate Greenaway
illustrator and watercolorist (1846)
Gloria Swanson
actress (1899)
Bayard Rustin
civil rights activist (1912)
Nat “King” Cole
singer (1919)
Rudolf Nureyev
ballet dancer (1938)