Today is Monday, March 17, the 77th day of 2008. There are 289 days left in the year. This is St. Patrick’s Day.

Today’s Highlight in History:

Fifty years ago, on March 17, 1958, the U.S. Navy launched the Vanguard 1 satellite.

On this date:

n In A.D. 461 (or A.D. 493, according to other authorities), St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, died in Saul.

n In 1776, British forces evacuated Boston during the Revolutionary War.

n In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt first likened crusading journalists to a man with “the muckrake in his hand” in a speech to the Gridiron Club in Washington.

n In 1968, a peaceful anti-Vietnam War protest in London was followed by a riot outside the U.S. Embassy; more than 80 people were reported injured.

Five years ago: Edging to the brink of war, President Bush gave Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave his country. Iraq rejected Bush’s ultimatum, saying that a U.S. attack to force Saddam from power would be “a grave mistake.”

One year ago: Denouncing a conflict entering its fifth year, protesters across the country raised their voices against U.S. policy in Iraq and marched by the thousands to the Pentagon. John Backus, the developer of Fortran, a programming language that changed how people interacted with computers, died in Ashland, Ore., at age 82.

Today’s Birthdays: The former national chairwoman of the NAACP, Myrlie Evers-Williams, is 75. Rock musician Paul Kantner is 67. Singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly is 65. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin’ Spoonful) is 64. Rock musician Harold Brown (War; Lowrider Band) is 62. Actor Patrick Duffy is 59. Actor Kurt Russell is 57. Country singer Susie Allanson is 56. Actress Lesley-Anne Down is 54. Country singer Paul Overstreet is 53. Actor Gary Sinise is 53. Actress Vicki Lewis is 48. Actor Casey Siemaszko is 47. Writer-director Rob Sitch is 46. Actor Rob Lowe is 44. Rock singer Billy Corgan is 41. Rock musician Van Conner (Screaming Trees) is 41. Actor Mathew St. Patrick is 40. Actor Yanic Truesdale is 39. Rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur is 36. Rock musician Caroline Corr (The Corrs) is 35. Actress Marisa Coughlan is 34. Rapper Swifty (D12) is 33.

Thought for Today: “It is my rule never to lose me temper till it would be detrimental to keep it.” — Sean O’Casey, Irish playwright (1880-1964).

—Associated Press