Today's Highlight in History:
On March fourth, 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York. (The lawmakers then adjourned¹ for the lack of a quorum².)
On this date:
In 1791, Vermont became the 14th state.

In 1829, an unruly crowd mobbed the White House during the inaugural³ reception for President Jackson.

In 1837, the Illinois state legislature granted a city charter to Chicago.

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated president.

In 1902, the American Automobile⁴ Association was founded in Chicago.

In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge's inauguration⁵ was broadcast live on 21 radio stations coast-to-coast.

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated president, pledging to lead the country out of the Great Depression.

In 1933, the start of President Roosevelt's first administration brought with it the first woman to serve in the Cabinet: Labor⁶ Secretary Frances Perkins.

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

In 1989, Time Incorporated and Warner Communications Incorporated announced plans to merge⁷ into the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerate⁸.

Ten years ago: Voters in the Soviet⁹ republics of Russia, Byelorussia and the Ukraine participated in local and legislative¹⁰ elections, resulting in notable gains for reformists and nationalists.

Five years ago: President Clinton, in his weekly radio address, said spending cuts proposed by congressional Republicans would gut¹¹ safe-school and anti-drug programs needed to protect children.

One year ago: Outraging¹² Italian authorities, a military jury in North Carolina cleared a Marine¹³ pilot of charges he was flying recklessly when his jet sliced through a ski gondola¹⁴ cable in the Alps, sending 20 people plunging¹⁵ to their deaths. Retired¹⁶ Supreme¹⁷ Court Justice Harry¹⁸ A. Blackmun, who wrote the 1973 decision that legalized abortion¹⁹ nationwide, died in Arlington, Virginia, at age 90.