By The Associated Press
           - Today is Wednesday, March 17, the 76th day of 1999. There are 289
             days left in the year.

           - On March 17, A.D. 461, according to tradition, St. Patrick, the
             patron saint of Ireland, died in Saul.
           - In 1776, British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary
             War.
           - In 1870, the Massachusetts legislature authorized the incorporation
             of Wellesley Female Seminary. It later became Wellesley College.
           - In 1905, Eleanor Roosevelt married Franklin D. Roosevelt in New
             York.
           - In 1910, the Camp Fire Girls organization was formed. It was
             formally presented to the public exactly two years later.
           - In 1941, the National Gallery of Art opened in Washington, D.C.
           - In 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Australia to become
             supreme commander of Allied forces in the southwest Pacific theater
             during World War II.
           - In 1950, scientists at the University of California at Berkeley
             announced they had created a new radioactive element, which they
             named "californium."
           - In 1966, a U.S. midget submarine located a missing hydrogen bomb
             that had fallen from an American bomber into the Mediterranean off
             Spain.
           - In 1969, Golda Meir became prime minister of Israel.
           - In 1993, Helen Hayes, the "First Lady of the American Theater," died
             in Nyack, N.Y., at age 92.
           - Ten years ago: The Senate unanimously confirmed Wyoming Congressman
             Dick Cheney to be secretary of defense, following the failed
             nomination of former Sen. John Tower.
           - Five years ago: Secretary of State Warren Christopher, just back
             from China, told a House subcommittee that reports the trip was a
             failure were "rather misleading," and said Beijing had made "solid
             improvements" in areas of prison labor and immigration.
           - One year ago: Washington Mutual announced it had agreed to buy H.F.
             Ahmanson and Co. for $9.9 billion dollars, creating the nation's
             seventh-largest banking company.

           *Happy Birthday*
           ----------------
           - Actress Mercedes McCambridge is 81.
           - Myrlie Evers-Williams, former NAACP chairwoman, is 66.
           - Rock musician Paul Kantner is 58.
           - Singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly is 56.
           - Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin' Spoonful) is 55.
           - Rock musician Harold Brown (War) is 53.
           - Actor Patrick Duffy is 50.
           - Actor Kurt Russell is 48.
           - Country singer Susie Allanson is 47.
           - Actress Lesley-Anne Down is 45.
           - Country singer Paul Overstreet is 44.
           - Actor Gary Sinise is 44.
           - Actor Rob Lowe is 35.
           - Rock singer Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) is 32.
           - Rock musician Van Connor (Screaming Trees) is 32.
           - Rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur (Hole) is 27.