On this date in . . .

1617: While on a goodwill trip with husband John Rolphe, America's best-known princess, Pocahontas, died in Gravesend, England, of either smallpox or pneumonia. She was believed to be 22.

1747: During a violent storm at sea, 22-year-old English slave ship captain John Newton dramatically became a Christian. He abandoned the slave trade and became an Anglican minister for 43 years. He composed the song "Amazing Grace."

1790: Thomas Jefferson reported to President Washington in New York as the new secretary of state.

1939: Singer Kate Smith recorded "God Bless America."

1964: The Beatles released "Can't Buy Me Love." The record already had sold 2.1 million copies, the largest worldwide advance record sale.

1965: Some 3,000 civil rights demonstrators led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. began their march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery.

1977: Mrs. James Duck of Memphis became history's fastest mother. Her triplets were born naturally in under two minutes.

1980: The TV show Dallas left viewers wondering, "Who Shot J.R.?" When the series resumed in the fall, 300-million viewers in 57 countries tuned in to see Kristin pull the trigger.

1989: Dick Clark announced he would leave American Bandstand after hosting the TV show for 33 years. His replacement was 26-year-old David Hirsh.

1990: In a sermon Tammy Faye Bakker said, "Love has no nose ... poor people sometimes don=t smell too good, so love can have no nose."

1991: Leo Fender died at age 82. He built the first solid-body electric guitar to be mass-produced, the Fender Broadcaster, in 1948. Renamed the Telecaster in 1950, Fender's guitar became the mainstay of both country and rock musicians. The Fender Precision, introduced in 1950, was the first electric bass.

1994: The Chicago White Sox cut former NBA star Michael Jordan and sent him to the minor leagues.

1994: "Schindler's List" won best picture at the 66th Academy Awards; Holly Hunter was named best actress for "The Piano" and Tom Hanks won best actor for "Philadelphia."

1995: New Jersey dedicated the Howard Stern Rest Area along Route 295.

1999: Sheriff Tom Jones in Colby, Kansas, told reporters some prisoners liked their new black-and-white striped uniforms with the old-fashioned round convict caps because they made them "look professional." Other prisoners thought the uniforms were demeaning, but the sheriff felt that jail "ought to be a little demeaning."

2000: A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled the government lacked authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug.

2002: Caught red-handed with a duffel bag full of liquor, cigarettes and cigars stolen from a convenience store, a Louisiana man blamed his "evil twin brother" after being shown surveillance video of him breaking into the store. Franklinton police said the suspect did indeed have a brother, but he was neither a twin nor evil.

2005: The Pew Hispanic Center reported the number of undocumented residents in the United States totaled 11 million people.