Today is Thursday, March 4, the 63rd day of 2010. There are 302 days left in the year.

On this date:

In 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York. (The lawmakers then adjourned for lack of a quorum.)

In 1791, Vermont became the 14th state.

In 1858, Sen. James Henry Hammond of South Carolina declared "Cotton is king" in a speech to the U.S. Senate.

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States.

In 1908, a fire at Lake View School in Collinwood, Ohio, claimed the lives of 172 children and three adults.

In 1930, Coolidge Dam in Arizona was dedicated by its namesake, former President Calvin Coolidge.

In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt took office as America's 32nd president.

In 1940, Kings Canyon National Park in California was established.

In 1960, baritone Leonard Warren, 50, collapsed and died while performing in Verdi's "La forza del destino" (The Force of Destiny) at New York's Metropolitan Opera. An explosives-laden French freighter, La Coubre, exploded in Havana's harbor, killing at least 75 people.

In 1977, some 1,500 people were killed in an earthquake that shook southern and eastern Europe.

In 1989, Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. announced plans for a huge media merger.

Thought for Today:

"Beauty is whatever gives joy." — Edna St. Vincent Millay, American author and poet (1892-1950).