Today’s Highlights

On March 29, 1974, a group of Chinese farmers digging a well struck fragments of terra-cotta buried underground; archaeologists would ultimately discover terra-cotta sculptures of more than 8,000 soldiers and other figures. The “Terra-cotta Army” would become one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

On this date

1943: World War II rationing of meat, fats and cheese began, limiting American consumers to store purchases of an average of about 2 pounds a week for beef, pork, lamb and mutton using a coupon system.

1951: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted in New York of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union. (They were executed in June 1953.)

1961: The 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.

1971: A jury in Los Angeles recommended the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. (The sentences were commuted when the California state Supreme Court struck down the death penalty in 1972.)

1973: The last United States combat troops left South Vietnam, ending America’s direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.

2004: President George W. Bush welcomed seven former Soviet-bloc nations (Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Slovenia) into NATO during a White House ceremony.

Today’s birthdays

Comedian Eric Idle is 82. Former British Prime Minister John Major is 82.