From The Daily:

March 30, 1976:

In an article called “Student pedestrians have ‘blasé attitudes,’” UWPD chief Mike Shanahan said, “People just can’t walk into the street as if the campus were one giant crosswalk. A person can be killed just as assuredly by a car travelling 15 mph as by a freeway collision. I’ve seen people crossing the street reading a book.” If you’ve driven across campus recently, you probably know what he means.

April 2, 1968:

The ASUW Ad Hoc Committee on Marijuana held its first open hearing. They heard testimony from doctors, professors and an ACLU lawyer on marijuana use, its effects and its legality. The committee was meant to help determine university policy on drug use in the dorms and on Greek Row.

April 4, 1990:

The Daily reported that John Cramer, a UW physics professor, had been nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. The award was for the best new science fiction or fantasy writer from the previous two years. Cramer was nominated for his 1989 novel Twistor.

Source: The Daily archives

Around the World:

March 30, 1867:

If you can believe it, the entirety of Alaska was purchased by the U.S. government from Russia for $7.2 million. That’s roughly 2 cents per acre. Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with Russia for the purchase after the Senate ratified the treaty by a margin of only one vote.

March 31, 1889:

The Eiffel Tower was dedicated in Paris. Architect Gustave Eiffel was on hand to deliver the dedication speech, and French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard was in attendance. The tower remained the tallest man-made structure until the completion of New York’s Chrysler Tower in 1930. Interestingly, Eiffel was the same man who designed that other great pillar of the New York skyline, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French presented to the United States in 1886.

April 1, 1924:

Adolf Hitler is sentenced to jail for his role in the attempted Beer Hall Putsch. As the leader of the Nazi Party, the major group behind the coup attempt, Hitler was charged with high treason. Already a political force, Hitler used the time in prison (a pittance, really, since he was out within a year) to write his Mein Kampf and work on his public-speaking skills. After his release, Hitler’s honed skills allowed him to take over the German government within eight years. And we all know what happened after that.

April 2, 1513:

Ponce de Leon is credited with being the first European to land on and explore the Florida coast. He was searching for the Fountain of Youth, which may make it seem like he was not the most sensible person, but he did manage to cross the Pacific in a wooden ship, so he must have had some kind of sense, right?

April 3, 1882:

Famed bandit Jesse James is betrayed and killed by fellow criminal Bob Ford. James was famous throughout the Midwest for robberies, murders and being an all-around nasty dude. Ford killed James for reward money, shooting him several times in the back.

April 4, 1968:

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on this day, while standing on the balcony of a Memphis, Tenn. hotel. King was hit in the neck by a single bullet fired by James Earl Ray, and the civil rights leader died an hour later, after being taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital. The assassination sparked riots in black communities across the United States.

April 5, 1614:

Matoaka, more commonly known as Pocahontas, a Powhatan woman from the area around the Jamestown colony, married John Rolfe, an English tobacco planter living at the colony. Pocahontas’ father, Chief Wahunsonacock (also known as Powhatan) allowed a peace between his people and the English that lasted for several years because of this union. And here you were, thinking she was some singing, dancing, English-speaking babe from a Disney movie.

Source: history.com/

this-day-in-history

Reach features editor Randy Ferreiro at features@dailyuw.com.