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Today's featured article Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893) was the 19th President of the United States (1877–1881). Taking office as president on March 4, 1877, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution. Hayes was a reformer who began the efforts that would lead to civil service reform and attempted, unsuccessfully, to reconcile the divisions that had led to the American Civil War fifteen years earlier. When the Civil War began, Hayes left a successful political career to join the Union Army. Wounded five times, most seriously at the Battle of South Mountain, he earned a reputation for bravery in combat and was promoted to the rank of major general. After the war, he served in the U.S. Congress from 1865 to 1867 as a Republican. Hayes left Congress to run for Governor of Ohio and was elected to three terms, serving from 1867 to 1871 and 1876 to 1877. In 1876, Hayes was elected president in one of the most contentious elections in American history. Losing the popular vote to Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, Hayes narrowly won the presidency after the Compromise of 1877, in which a Congressional commission awarded him twenty disputed electoral votes. (more...) Recently featured: Kevin O'Halloran – Murder of Julia Martha Thomas – Warren County, Indiana Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the Engaña Tunnel (pictured) was once the longest railway tunnel in Spain, but was never used? ... that terror suspect Amine El Khalifi believed he was in touch with an al-Qaeda operative, but was actually communicating with an FBI agent? ... that the car of Los Angeles Clippers fan Clipper Darrell features the team's colors on the exterior and interior with the team's logo and autographs on the hood? ... that historian Charlotte Zeepvat's first book, published in 1998, was about Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, the haemophiliac youngest son of Queen Victoria? ... that Australian politician John Hart described William Bloomfield Douglas as a "fool" for wanting the job of Government Resident of the Northern Territory? ... that the Chuck Berry House is an unusual inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, in that it is associated with a living person?

In the news A tornado outbreak in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States causes at least 39 fatalities. English musician Davy Jones (pictured), a member of The Monkees, dies at the age of 66. North Korea agrees to suspend uranium enrichment in exchange for humanitarian aid. Construction of the Tokyo Sky Tree, the world's second-tallest freestanding structure, is completed. Chinese architect Wang Shu wins the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The Artist, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, wins five Oscars, including Best Picture, at the 84th Academy Awards. On this day... March 4 1386 – Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila was crowned Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland, beginning the Jagiellon dynasty. 1769 – French astronomer Charles Messier first noted the Orion Nebula (pictured), a bright nebula visible to the naked eye in the night sky situated south of Orion's Belt, later cataloguing it as Messier 42 in his list of Messier objects. 1877 – Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake debuted at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. 1918 – The United States Navy collier USS Cyclops set sail from Barbados to Baltimore, and was never seen again, presumably disappearing in the Bermuda Triangle. 1987 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan made a nationally televised address in which he accepted full responsibility for illegal actions in the Iran–Contra affair. More anniversaries: March 3 – March 4 – March 5 It is now March 4, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture The skyline of Chicago, the third most populous city in the United States. Chicago was incorporated on March 4, 1837, near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. This panorama of the Near South Side, Loop and Near North Side community areas, taken from the Museum Campus, includes some of the tallest buildings in the city and the world. Photo: Daniel Schwen Recently featured: Mount Rushmore – Diatomaceous earth – Eastern Barred Bandicoot

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