WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2009

Today is Wednesday, March 11, the 70th day of 2009. There are 295 days left in the year.

1302 _ Romeo & Juliet's wedding day, according to Shakespeare

1669 _ Volcano Etna in Italy erupts killing 15,000

1702 _ First English daily newspaper, ``Daily Courant," is published

1851 _ Giuseppe Verdi's opera ``Rigoletto" premieres in Venice

1918 _ Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia

1966 _ Military coup led by Indonesian General Suharto breaks out

1968 _ Otis Redding posthumously receives gold record for ``(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

1981 _ Chile constitution takes effect, Augusto Pinochet's second term begins

1985 _ Mikhail S. Gorbachev replaces Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet leader

1997 _ Beatle Paul McCartney knighted Sir. Paul by Queen Elizabeth II