TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2009

Today is Tuesday, March 17, the 76th day of 2009. 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

1755 _ Transylvania Land Co. buys Kentucky for $50,000 from a Cherokee chief

1845 _ Rubber band patented by Stephen Perry of London

1861 _ Italy declares independence; Kingdom of Italy proclaimed

1917 _ Czar Nicolas II of Russia abdicates the throne

1959 _ Dalai Lama flees Tibet for India

1988 _ Iran says Iraq uses poison gas