MONDAY, MARCH 17, 2008

Today is Monday, March 17, the 77th day of 2008. There are 289 days left in the year.

0455 _ Roman senator Petronius Maximus becomes Emperor

1521 _ Ferdinand Magellan discovers the Philippines

1580 _ Prince Willem of Orange welcomed in Amsterdam

1753 _ First official St Patrick's Day

1804 _ Johann von Schiller's ``Wilhelm Tell" premieres

1861 _ Italy declares independence; Kingdom of Italy proclaimed

1894 _ U.S. and China sign treaty preventing Chinese laborers from entering U.S.

1917 _ Tsar Nicolas II of Russia abdicates the throne

1932 _ German police raid Hitler's Nazi-headquarter

1959 _ Dalai Lama flees Tibet for India