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• Today is Monday, March 10, the 69th day of 2014. There are 296 days left in the year.
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• Today's Highlights in History:
• On March 10, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed an order assigning Ulysses S. Grant, who had just received his commission as lieutenant-general, to the command of the Armies of the United States (Grant assumed his new command two days later, relieving General-in-Chief Henry Halleck). The song "Beautiful Dreamer" by the late Stephen Foster was copyrighted by Wm. A. Pond & Co. of New York.
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• On this date:
• In 1785, Thomas Jefferson was appointed America's minister to France, succeeding Benjamin Franklin.
• In 1814, the two-day Battle of Laon in France ended with a Prussian-led victory over the forces of Napoleon I.
• In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell's assistant, Thomas Watson, heard Bell say over his experimental telephone: "Mr. Watson - come here - I want to see you."
• In 1880, the Salvation Army arrived in the United States from England.
• In 1914, the Rokeby Venus, a 17th century painting by Diego Velazquez on display at the National Gallery in London, was slashed multiple times by Mary Richardson, who was protesting the arrest of fellow suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst. (The painting was repaired.)
• In 1933, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake centered off Long Beach, Calif., resulted in 120 deaths.
• In 1949, Nazi wartime broadcaster Mildred E. Gillars, also known as "Axis Sally," was convicted in Washington, D.C., of treason. (She served 12 years in prison.)
• In 1959, the Tennessee Williams play "Sweet Bird of Youth," starring Paul Newman and Geraldine Page, opened at Broadway's Martin Beck Theatre.
• In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in Memphis, Tenn., to assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (Ray later repudiated that plea, maintaining his innocence until his death.)
• In 1973, the Pink Floyd album "The Dark Side of the Moon" was first released in the U.S. by Capitol Records (the British release came nearly two weeks later).

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