25 YEARS AGO

March 20, 1976 Patricia Hearst, the daughter of the publishing magnate Randolph Hearst, is convicted of participating in a 1974 armed robbery after being kidnapped by terrorists.

March 29, 1976 By a vote of 6 to 3, the U.S. Supreme Court declines to prohibit states from making homosexual acts illegal.

50 YEARS AGO

February 26, 1951 The Twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is approved. It bars anyone from serving more than two complete terms as President.

March 14, 1951 United Nations forces recapture Seoul, Korea, from the communists.

March 29, 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of espionage for passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. They will be electrocuted in June 1953.

100 YEARS AGO

February 25, 1901 A number of smaller companies are merged to form U.S. Steel, America’s first billion-dollar corporation. The new company, controlled by J. P. Morgan, absorbs the steel holdings of Andrew Carnegie, who retires to devote himself to philanthropy.

March 23, 1901 Gen. Frederick Funston and his troops capture Emilio Aguinaldo, the leader of the Philippine independence movement, on the island of Luzon.

125 YEARS AGO

March 10, 1876 Alexander Graham Bell transmits to his assistant the world’s first message by telephone: “Mr. Watson—Come here—I want to see you.”

150 YEARS AGO

March 3, 1851 Congress authorizes the minting of perhaps the most useless American coin ever, the silver three-cent piece.

200 YEARS AGO

February 17, 1801 On the thirty-sixth ballot, the House of Representatives elects Thomas Jefferson as President. On March 4, he becomes the first President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.

225 YEARS AGO

March 4, 1776 Patriots seize Orchestra Heights, in Boston, from the redcoats. On March 17, British troops evacuate Boston, never to return. Meanwhile, the city of Charleston, South Carolina, establishes a provisional independent government until a new agreement with Britain can be negotiated.