By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Thursday, March 16, the 75th day of 2017. There are 290 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On March 16, 1802, President Thomas Jefferson signed a measure authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.

On this date:

In A.D. 37, Roman emperor Tiberius died; he was succeeded by Caligula.

In 1517, the 12th and final session of the Fifth Lateran Council of the Catholic Church took place in Rome, almost five years after the council began.

In 1751, James Madison, fourth president of the United States, was born in Port Conway, Virginia.

In 1792, Sweden’s King Gustav III was shot and mortally wounded during a masquerade party by a former member of his regiment (he died 13 days later). In 1926, rocket science pioneer Robert H. Goddard successfully tested the first liquid-fueled rocket at his Aunt Effie’s farm in Auburn, Massachusetts.

In 1935, Adolf Hitler decided to break the military terms set by the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY’) by ordering the rearming of Germany.

In 1945, during World War II, American forces declared they had secured Iwo Jima, although pockets of Japanese resistance remained.

In 1968, during the Vietnam War, the My Lai (mee ly) Massacre of Vietnamese civilians was carried out by U.S. Army troops; estimates of the death toll vary between 347 and 504.

In 1974, the Grand Ole Opry House opened in Nashville with a concert attended by President Richard Nixon and his wife, Pat.

In 1987, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Thought for Today: “Until we lose ourselves there is no hope of finding ourselves.” — Henry Miller, American author (1891-1980).