Daily Archives: March 25, 2015

White civil rights activist murdered by Ku Klux Klan 50 years ago tonight (Mar 25 1965)


Video: 'Eyes on the Prize (VI) — Bridge to Freedom, 1965 [with English subtitles]' (Mar. 25, 1965, at 54:24)

(Sunday, March 25, 1965, evening; during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)) — Viola Liuzzo, a white mother of five from Detroit who had come to Alabama to support voting rights for blacks, was shot and killed by Ku Klux Klan members tonight as she drove a black volunteer who took part in the Selma to Montgomery march that ended today to the airport.

‘Amadeus’ wins Best Picture at 57th Academy Awards 30 years ago this hour (Mar 25 1985)


Video: '1985 Oscars' (25 videos)

(Monday, March 25, 1985, 6:00 p.m. PST)Amadeus, a period drama film about the 18th century composer Salieri who confesses to a deadly rivalry with Mozart, won eight Oscars tonight at the 57th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Miloš Forman for Best Director and F. Murray Abraham for Best Actor. Continue reading ‘Amadeus’ wins Best Picture at 57th Academy Awards 30 years ago this hour (Mar 25 1985)

Iwo Jima officially declared ‘secured’ 70 years ago this hour (Mar 26 1945)


Video: 'The World At War 1973(World War II Documentary)Episode-23 Pacific (February 1942 – July 1945)' (Mar. 26, 1945, at 42:00)

(Monday, March 26, 1945, 9:00 a.m. JST; during the Battle of Iwo Jima, part of the Pacific Theatre of World War II) — The Japanese island of Iwo Jima was officially declared “secured” this morning, ending five weeks of some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the War in the Pacific of World War II with an American victory and a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands.

King leads 25,000 civil rights activists to Alabama state capitol 50 years ago this afternoon (Mar 25 1965)


Video: 'Eyes on the Prize (VI) — Bridge to Freedom, 1965 [with English subtitles]' (Mar. 21, 1965, at 51:25)

(Sunday, March 25, 1965, shortly afternoon; during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1954–68)) — Martin Luther King, Jr. and 25,000 civil rights activists successfully ended a 5-day march to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks from Selma, Alabama, to the capitol in Montgomery today, declaring: Continue reading King leads 25,000 civil rights activists to Alabama state capitol 50 years ago this afternoon (Mar 25 1965)

Confederates attack Federals at Fort Stedman but forced to withdraw 150 years ago this hour (Mar 25 1865)


Video: 'Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 8 - War Is All Hell (1865) | Ken Burns Documentary' (Mar. 25, 1865, 36:26)

(Saturday, March 25, 1865, 4:15 a.m. local time; during the American Civil War) — The Battle of Fort Stedman was fought today as the Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pre-dawn Confederate assault by troops led by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon.

The attack was the last serious attempt by Confederate troops to break the Siege of Petersburg. After an initial success, Gordon’s men were driven back by Union troops of the IX Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke.