THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2011

Today is Thursday, March 17, the 76th day of 2011. There are 289 days left in the year.

455 ― Roman senator Petronius Maximus first official St Patrick's Day

1756 ― St. Patrick's Day first celebrated in NYC at Crown & Thistle Tavern

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

1845 ― Rubber band patented by Stephen Perry of London

1898 ― First practical submarine first submerges, New York City (for 1 hour 40 minutes)

1917 ― Tsar Nicolas II of Russia abdicates the throne

1921 ― Lenin proclaims New Economic Politics

1929 ― General Motors acquires German auto manufacturer Adam Opel

1959 ― Dalai Lama flees Tibet for India

1988 ― Iran says Iraq uses poison gas