THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2013

Today is Thursday, March 21, the 80th day of 2013. There are 285 days left in the year.

1697 ― Czar Peter the Great begins tour through Western Europe

1804 ― French Civil Code of Napoleon adopted

1857 ― Earthquake hits Tokyo; about 107,000 die

1935 ― Persia officially renamed Iran

1947 ― President Truman signs Executive Order 9835 requiring all federal employees to have allegiance to the United States

1951 ― 290,000 U.S. soldiers in Korea

1961 ― Beatles' first appearance at the Cavern Club

1965 ― Martin Luther King Jr. begins march from Selma to Montgomery, Al.

1975 ― Ethiopia ends monarchy after 3,000 years

1984 ― Soviet sub crashes into USS aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk off Japan