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March History |
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March History, Trivia and Fun Facts |
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March Is... American Dietetic Association National Nutrition Month American Red Cross Month Caffeine Awareness Month National Craft Month Epilepsy Awareness Month Flour Month Fresh Celery Month Frozen Food Month Irish-American Month Music in our Schools Month Noodle Month National Nutrition Month Flour Month Nutrition Month Peanut Month Professional Social Work Month Sauce Month Women's History Month Youth Art Month March 1 Trivia 1692 - In Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an Indian slave from Barbados, were accused of witchcraft, beginning the Salem Witchcraft Trials. Assuming those convicted were not practicing the dark arts, 19 innocent women and men were killed as a result of the trials. 1783 (Earthquake) Calabria, Italy 1790 - The first United States census was authorized. 1868 - The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity was founded at the University of Virginia. 1872 - Congress made 1,221,773 acres of public land in the area of what were later the states of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho as America's first national park - Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles. 1910 - An avalanche in Wellington, Washington took The Great Northern Railroad's westbound Spokane Express and the Wellington Train Station. 96 people were killed. 1921 - Harry Houdini earned a US Patent (#1,370,31) for a safety Diver Suit for his underwater magic escape tricks. 1932 - The Lindbergh Kidnapping - Charles Lindbergh III, the 20-month-old son of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, was kidnapped from the family's new mansion in Hopewell, New Jersey. 1954 - At Bikini Atoll, US hydrogen bomb code-named Bravo exploded. 1961 - President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order establishing the Peace Corps. 1971 - A bomb exploded in the Capitol building in Washington, DC, but hurt no one. A group callied the "Weather Underground" claimed credit for the bombing, which was done in protest of the ongoing US supported Laos invasion. 1971 - James Taylor made the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, spotlighting 'The New Rock: Bittersweet and Low.' 1983 - Swatch watches were introduced. I'm still looking to replace my wife's black face, black band, black hands edition. 1989 - Iceland had prohibition until March 1, 1989. The ban had originally prohibited all alcohol, but from 1935 onward only applied to "strong" beer (with an alcohol content of 2.25% or more). Today, Icelanders celebrate Beer Day on March 1 annually. 1991- Clarissa Explains It All debuted on Nickelodeon. 1995 - Yahoo! was incorporated. 1996 - The news was revealed that 1 billion households worldwide owned a television set. 1998 - Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide. 2007 - Chiller debuted on cable television March 2 Trivia 1657 - The Great Fire of Meireki in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, caused more than 100,000 deaths, and lasted three days 1807 - The US Congress passed an act to "prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country." 1863 - The US Congress authorized a track width of 4-feet, 8-1/2 inches as the standard for the Union Pacific Railroad, which became the standard width for most of the world. 1937 - King Kong (film) opened at New York's Radio City Music Hall. 1944 - Train #8017 stopped in a tunnel near Salerno, Italy, and more than 500 people on board suffocated and died. In the midst of WW II, the story was very much covered up by the Italian government. 1949 - The first round the world nonstop airplane flight was completed in a US Air Force B-50 Superfortress bomber, the Lucky Lady II headed by Captain James Gallagher. They landed back at Carswell Air Force base, Fort Worth, Texas, which they had left on February 26, about 94 hours earlier. 1960 - Lucille Ball filed for divorce from Desi Arnaz, ending their marriage as well as the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show franchise on CBS. 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a single basketball game against the New York Knicks. Final score: 169-147, at the Hershey Arena. Although there were only about 6,000 tickets sold, guesstimates are that almost 50% of male sports fans born in the Philadelphia area between 1925 and 1958 claim to have been at the event. 1969 - The Concorde SST Supersonic jet aircraft, prototype 001, made its first flight from Toulouse airport in France. 1972 - US spacecraft Pioneer 10 was launched. 1983 - Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. (They had previously been available only in Japan.) 1978 - Charlie Chaplin's body was stolen from a cemetery in the Swiss village of Corsier-sur-Vevey, near Lausanne, Switzerland. The grave robbers (and the re-buried body) were found a few weeks later. 1985 - Sheena Easton the first and still only recording artist to score top-10 singles on all five major Billboard singles charts: Pop, Country, Dance, Adult Contemporary and R&B with her hit 'Sugar Walls.' 1990 - Nelson Mandela was elected deputy President of the African National Congress. 2009 - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon premiered on NBC. March 3 Trivia 1845 - Florida joined the United States. 1873 - US Congress passed the 'Comstock Law', making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail. 1885 - American Telephone and Telegraph Company was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of American Bell. 1901 - The office of Standards, Weights and Measures was created by an act of the US Congress. 1915 - Birth of a Nation made it's east coast debut in NYC. 1915 - NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), the predecessor of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), was founded. 1919 -The first US international airmail service began, between Seattle, Washington and Victoria, B.C., Canada. 1923 - TIME magazine published the first issue. 1931 - President Herbert Hoover made Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner" the official national anthem of the United States. 1938 - Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia. 1951 - Watch Mr. Wizard debuted on NBC. 1951 - Jackie Brenston recorded 'Rocket 88' at Sam Phillips' recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee. 1952 - In a 6-3 decision, the US Supreme Court upheld a New York state law that prohibited communists from teaching in public schools. 1985 - Moonlighting premiered on ABC 1991 - Rodney King was severely beaten by police officers in Los Angeles, CA. The footage was filmed by observers and then broadcast on television in the US The incident led to massive riots by African-Americans in the city of Los Angeles. 1997 - Daria premiered on MTV 2005 - After 67 hours, the first solo non-stop and fastest flight around the world without refueling ended when Steve Fossett landed at the Salina Municipal Airport, which he had left on February 28, 2005. March 4 Trivia 1519 - Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth. 1791 - Vermont joined the United States. 1789 - The federal government under the US Constitution began, replacing the Articles of Confederation. 1826 - The first chartered railroad in the US was chartered as the Granite Railway in Quincy, Massachusetts. 1837 - The city of Chicago was incorporated. 1849 - President pro tempore of the Senate David Rice Atchison was President of the United States for one day because Zachary Taylor did not want to be sworn in on a Sunday. 1853 - Franklin Pierce was the first US President to recite his inauguration address entirely from memory. The speech was 3,329 words long. 1930 - The Coolidge Dam on Gila River in Arizona was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge. 1944 - Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, the head of Murder, Inc., was executed by electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in New York. 1966 - John Lennon was quoted as saying "Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink... We're more popular than Jesus now," in reference to religion fading in the western world. 1975 - The first People's Choice Awards was shown on CBS. 1975 - People magazine was published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly. 1982 - Police Squad! premiered on ABC, lasting 6 episodes, but the concept was made into several very successful "Naked Gun" feature films 1985 - Robotech premiered, in syndication March 5 Trivia 1223 BC - The oldest recorded eclipse occurred, in modern day Syria. 1558 - The tobacco plant was introduced into Spain by Francisco Fernandes, as a healing herb. 1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared a bank holiday' - closing all US banks and freezing all financial transactions. 1946 - Winston Churchill coined the phrase 'Iron Curtain' in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri. 1955 - Elvis Presley appeared on Louisiana Hayride on local television (Shreveport, Louisiana) 1963 - Invented in 1958 by Arthur K. Melin and Richard Knerr, the Hula Hoop was patented (#3,079,728) 1969 - In Florida, the Dade County Sheriff's Office issued an arrest warrant for Doors' lead singer Jim Morrison charging him with a single felony count and three misdemeanors for his performance at a Miami concert a few days earlier. Specifically, "lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent exposure, profanity, and drunkenness." 2002 - The Osbournes debuted on MTV March 6 Trivia 1836 - The Battle of the Alamo took place 1857 - The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case. It stated that anyone brought into the United States as a slave, or their descendants, could never be a United States citizen. The court of public opinion disagreed very vocally a few years later. 1899 - Bayer registered Aspirin as a trademark. Aspirin is considered by many to be the first wonder drug. 1930 - General Foods put the first individually packaged frozen foods - "Birds Eye Frosted Foods" on sale in Springfield, Massachusetts 1943 - Norman Rockwell published Freedom from Want in The Saturday Evening Post with a matching essay by Carlos Bulosan as part of the 'Four Freedoms Series.' 1950 - Silly Putty was introduced as a toy by Peter Hodgson. It was invented in 1943 by James Wright in an effort to make synthetic rubber. 1953 - James Watson and Francis Crick submitted to 'Nature' magazine their first article on the structure of DNA. It was published in the April 25th 1953 issue. 1964 - Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad officially gave boxing champion Cassius Clay the name of Muhammad Ali. 1981 - Walter Cronkite resigned as main anchorman of The CBS Evening News 1983 - Country Music Television (CMT) began. 1985 - The song We Are the World was released. 1992 - The Michelangelo computer virus began to affect computers. 1994 - Liquid Television on MTV ended 2000 - Mobile Suit Gundam Wing debuted on The Cartoon Network 2001 - Napster began to block the transfer of copyrighted material over its peer-to-peer network. In July 2001, Napster shut down its entire network. March 7 Trivia 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell received his patent for (#174,465) the telephone. 1897 - Dr. John Kellogg served the world's first cornflakes to his patients at a mental hospital in Battle Creek, Michigan. 1911 - Willis S. Farnsworth Patented (#985,990) the first coin-operated locker. 1933 The board game Monopoly was created and trademarked by Charles Darrow in Atlantic City. 1987 - Mike Tyson defeated James "Bonecrusher" Smith to unify the WBA and WBC heavyweight titles. 2009 - The Kepler space observatory was launched. 2011 - Charlie Sheen was officially fired from Two and a Half Men. March 8 Trivia 1618 - Johannes Kepler formulated his Third Law of Planetary Motion. 1669 - Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily, began erupting and over the next several weeks killed over 20,000 people. 1755 - Thomas Paine, published African Slavery in America - the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery. 1817 - The New York Stock Exchange was founded. 1950 - The 'Volkswagen Type 2', known as the VW Bus, was produced for the first time. 1968 - Bill Graham's Fillmore East opened in New York City. 1971 - Muhammad Ali lost to Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier in the "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden in New York City. 1978 - The first radio episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, was broadcast. 1983 - President Ronald Reagan labels the Soviet Union an 'evil empire.' 1993- Beavis and Butt-Head premiered on MTV. 2006 - Top Chef debuted on Bravo March 9 Trivia 1611 - Johannes Fabricius, a Dutch astronomer, discovered sunspots. 1822 - Charles M. Graham of NY was issued the first US Patent (#X03472) for artificial teeth. 1841 - The US Supreme Court ruled that the African slaves who seized control of the Amistad slave ship had been illegally forced into slavery, and thus were free under American law. 1858 - The first US Patent (#19,578) for a street postal mailbox was patented by Albert Potts, of Philadelphia. 1957 (Earthquake) Andreanof Islands, Alaska 1959 - Barbie debuted. Barbie's appearance was modeled on a doll named Lilli, which was based on a racy German comic strip character. 1985 - The Tyler Civitan Club was the first to partake in the Adopt-a-Highway Sign Program, erected on Texas's Highway 69. 1989 - A Geomagnetic Storm affected Quebec's electrical transmission system 1997 - Christopher Wallace, AKA Biggie Smalls, AKA the Notorious B.I.G., was shot to death at a stoplight in Los Angeles. Rapper Suge Knight has been eyed as the killer. Suge was also accused of running over (and killing) Terry Carter in January, 2015. 2009 - Castle premiered on ABC March 10 Trivia 1804 - In St. Louis, Missouri, a formal ceremony was conducted to transfer ownership of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States, via the Louisiana Purchase. 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell spoke into his just-completed invention, the telephone. "Mr. Watson, come here. I want to see you." It worked. 1906 - An underground fire sparked a massive explosion that virtually destroyed a vast maze of mines in Courrieres, France, that killed over 1,000 workers. 1926 - Lolly Willowes, or The Loving Huntsman, was the first Book-of-the-Month Club selection, published by Viking Press. 1955 - A US Patent (#2,704,172) was issued to Aaron S. Lapin for his invention of "Dispensing Valves for Gas Pressure Containers". That may sound boring until you find out it was for his Reddi-Wip cream topping. 1978 - The Incredible Hulk premiered on CBS. 1980 - Jean Harris shot and killed Scarsdale diet doctor Herman Tarnower. 1983 - MTV broadcasted the video of Michael Jackson's song "Billie Jean" for the first time 1997 - Buffy, The Vampire Slayer premiered on The WB, based on the 1992 movie. March 11 Trivia 105 - Ts'ai Lun invented paper, in China. 1818 - Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by 21-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was published. It is recognized as world's first science fiction novel. 1864 - The Great Sheffield Flood killed 238 people in Sheffield, England. 1888 - Great Blizzard of 1888, east coast, USA, killed more than 400 people. 1916 - USS Nevada (BB-36) was commissioned as the first US Navy 'super-dreadnought'. 1918 - The influenza epidemic of 1918 began in Fort Riley, Kansas. 20 million people world-wide died from the disease. 1927 - Samuel Roxy Rothafel opened the Roxy Theatre in NYC. 1933 - 42nd Street was released in theaters. 1960 - Pioneer V was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida 1974 - The children's special Free to Be... You and Me, produced by Marlo Thomas, aired on ABC. 1989 - COPS debuted on FOX. It was one of the earliest 'reality TV" shows. 1997 - 'Sir' Paul McCartney was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his "services to music." 2011 (Earthquake) Coastal Honshu, Japan 2011 - Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster, Japan March 12 Trivia 1894 - Coca-Cola bottles were sold to the public for the first time, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. 1912 - The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) were founded in the United States. 1923 - Phonofilm, the first motion picture with a sound-on-film track was demonstrated at a press conference by Dr. Lee De Forest, who was also the inventor of the radio tube in 1907. 1928 - St. Francis Dam collapsed San Francisquito Canyon, California 1933 - New resident Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first national radio address or "fireside chat," from the White House. 1993 - '93 Superstorm stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the northeastern US. 318 were killed. 1994 - The Church of England ordained its first female priests. 1999 - Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization). 2003 - 15-year-old Elizabeth Smart was found in Sandy, Utah, nine months after being abducted from her Salt Lake City home. 2003 - The Dixie Chicks' lead singer, Natalie Maines said, in an interview with The Gaurdian "Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence. And we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." That lead to a revolt from many of their fans. 2008 - Hulu opened online. March 13 Trivia 1639 - Formerly 'New College," Harvard College was renamed after clergyman John Harvard. 1781 - German-born English astronomer William Hershel discovered Uranus. 1862 - The US government forbade all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation. 1868 - Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson began. He was found 'not guilty.' 1877 - The first US Patent (#188,292) for earmuffs was issued to teen-aged Chester Greenwood of Farmington, Maine. 1930 - The discovery of a ninth planet, named Pluto, was announced by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory. Pluto was later degraded to a 'Dwarf Planet.' 1969 - Disney's The Love Bug opened in theaters. 2013 - Pope Francis was elected in the papal conclave as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church. March 14 Trivia Pi Day - Although 22/7 is the best-known rational approximation of pi, there are better ones, for example, 333/106, and 355/113. The latter differs from actual pi by only about 0.0000003. 44 BC - Casca and Cassius decided that Mark Antony should stay alive durng the Caesar assassination the next day. 1794 - Eli Whitney was issued a US Patent (#X0072) for his cotton gin. 1839 - Sir John Herschel referred to 'photography'- his new word - in a lecture to the Royal Society 1899 - Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was issued a US Patent (#621,195) for the invention of his "Navigable Balloon," the rigid airship, known as the Zeppelin. 1900 - The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing United States currency on the gold standard. No country uses it today (2016). 1936 - The first all-sound film version of Show Boat opened at Radio City Music Hall. 1950 - The Federal Bureau of Investigation instituted the "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" list (List) 1958 - The Recording Industry Association of America awarded the first Gold Record (500,000 sold) to Perry Como for 'Catch A Falling Star.' 2011 - Aflac Insurance fired Gilbert Gottfried, the voice of the Aflac Spokesduck, for an offensive online tweet about the Japan earthquake March 15 Trivia 44 BC - Gaius Julius Caesar was stabbed to death in the Roman Senate house, by 60 conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. #bewaretheidesofmarch 1545 - First meeting of the Council of Trent, the 'Counter-Reformation'. 1767 - US President Andrew Jackson, born March 15, 1767 in Waxhaws, No./So. Carolina, died on June 8, 1845 in Nashville, Tennessee. 1806 - A chondrite meteorite, carrying carbon-based, organic chemicals, was identified for the first time. Found outside Alais, France, the organic chemicals it carried suggested the possibility of life on whatever body was the source, somewhere out in space. 1820 - Maine joined the United States. 1906 - Rolls-Royce Limited was incorporated. 1956 - My Fair Lady debuted on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. 1922 - Fuad I became King of Egypt. 1977 - Eight Is Enough & Three's Company debuted on ABC. 1985 - The first Internet domain name was registered - symbolics.com. March 16 Trivia 1751 - US President James Madison, born March 16, 1751 in Port Conway, Virginia, died on June 28, 1836 in Orange County, Virginia. 1850 - Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter was published. 1926 - American Robert H. Goddard launched the world's first liquid-fueled rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts. It reached a height of 41 feet. 1942 - The first V-2 rocket test launched. It exploded at lift-off. 1945 - Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only individual who witnessed and survived both atom bombs in Japan, Hiroshima on August 6th, and Nagasaki on August 9. 1958 - The Ford Motor Company produced its 50 millionth automobile, a Thunderbird, 1961 - Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, MD, was formally dedicated. 1968 - General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, an Oldsmobile Toronado. 1978 - The Amoco Cadiz wrecked off the coast of Portsall, France, spilling 68 million gallons of oil. 1985 - Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson was taken hostage in Beirut. He was released on December 4, 1991. 2005 - Robert Blake, star of the 1970s television detective show Baretta, was acquitted of the murder of his 44-year-old wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. March 17 Trivia 461 - Saint Patrick died in Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland. 1762 - The first parade Saint Patrick (the patron saint of Ireland) was held by Irish soldiers serving in the British army in New York City. 1885 - The medical report of the deformities of Joseph Carey Merrick - The 'Elephant Man' - was presented to the Pathological Society of London by Dr. Frederick Treves. 1947 - First flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber. 1958 - The United States launched the Vanguard 1 satellite. 1980 - The Supreme Court concerning whether a patent could be issued for a genetically-engineered bacterium in the case of Diamond vs. Chakrabarty. On June 16th, they decided yes, it could be patented. 1901 - 11 years after his suicide, 71 paintings by Vincent van Gogh were shown at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery in Paris. 1958 - The US launched the Vanguard I satellite, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. 1992 - A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa was passed 68.7% to 31.2%. March 18 Trivia 37 - Caligula was declared emperor of Rome. 1834 - The first US railroad tunnel was completed between Hollidaysburg and Johnstown, Pennsylvania. 1837 - US President Grover Cleveland, born March 18, 1837 in Caldwell, New Jersey, died on June 24, 1908 in Princeton, New Jersey. 1850 - American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo. They were very successful in banking. 1852 - Henry Wells and William G. Fargo founded Wells, Fargo and Company. 1911 - Irving Berlin copyrighted the first mega-pop hit, 'Alexander's Ragtime Band.' 1922 - Mohandas Gandhi was sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience (he served only two). 1925 - Tri-State Tornado (Missouri-Illinois-Indiana) killed 695 people. 1968 - The US Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve (the Gold Standard) to back US currency. 1975 - McLean Stevenson's character (Lt. Colonel Henry Blake) died in the M*A*S*H episode "Abyssinia, Henry", its third season finale 1981 - The Greatest American Hero debuted on NBC 1984 - Miss America, Vanessa Williams became even more well-known when she became the first Miss America to resign after old nude photos of her appeared in "Penthouse" magazine. She has gone on to prove herself as a first class actress and singer. That particular issue is also noted for being the first issue with a man on the cover (George Burns), and an underage Traci Lords is the nude centerfold. It is illegal to own, or even look inside, this issue in most countries, including the United States. 1990 - In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth over $300 million, were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. 2005 - The Suite Life of Zack & Cody premiered on The Disney Channel March 19 Trivia 1649 - The House of Commons of England abolished the House of Lords, declaring it 'useless and dangerous to the people of England'. 1842 - French writer Honore de Balzac's play Les Ressources de Quinola opened to an empty house due to a publicity stunt. He had earlier announced that the show had sold out, so nobody actually bought any tickets. 1918 - Congress established time zones and approved daylight saving time. 1931 - The Nevada state legislature voted to legalize gambling 1957 - Graceland was on 13.8 acre estate, and sold for $102,500 to Elvis Presley. 1962 - Bob Dylan released his first album, Bob Dylan. 1979 - C-Span was launched 1983 - First Lady Nancy Reagan made an appearance on an episode of Diff'rent Strokes, beginning her Just Say No anti-drug campaign 1987 - Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as the host of The PTL Club after involvement in a sex scandal. March 20 Trivia 1345 - According to scholars at the University of Paris, the Black Death was created today, from what they called "a triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in the 40th degree of Aquarius, occurring on the 20th of March 1345." Actually, the bubonic plague came from infected fleas from sickened and dead rats. 1602 - The Dutch East India Company was established. 1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, was published. 1854 - In Ripon, Wisconsin, former members of the Whig Party formed the Republican Party. 1900 - Nikola Tesla received a US Patent (#645,576) for the wireless transmission of electric power. 1916 - Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity was published in Annalen der Physik. 1982 - Rock Guitarist Randy Rhodes died in a plane crash. 1985 - Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. 1987 - The FDA approved the sale of AZT (azidothymidine) 1995 - The Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) cult released Sarin gas into the Tokyo subway system, killing a dozen people and sickening thousands. March 21 Trivia 1788 - The Great New Orleans Fire destroyed 80% of the city. 1859 - The first Zoological Society was incorporated in Philadelphia. PA, today simply called 'The Philadelphia Zoo.' 1871 - Otto von Bismarck was appointed Chancellor of the German Empire. 1925 - Butler Act became state law in Tennessee that prohibited "The teaching of the Evolution Theory in all the Universities, Normals and all other public schools of Tennessee, which are supported in whole or in part by the public school funds of the State, and to provide penalties for the violations thereof that it shall be unlawful to teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals." It was repealed on May 17, 1967. 1942 - A report was submitted suggesting the name "plutonium" for artificial element 94 since it followed neptunium and uranium (elements 93 and 92). 1952 - Hosted by Alan Freed, first major rock-and-roll show, the Moondog Coronation Ball, was held in Cleveland, Ohio. 1963 - Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay closed and transferred its remaining prisoners. 1965 - Martin Luther King Jr., and 3200 civil rights demonstrators began a historic march from Selma, Alabama to the state capitol at Montgomery. 1980 - "Who shot J.R.?" On the season finale of Dallas, J. R. Ewing was shot by an unseen assailant. The following season we found out that it was Kristin Shepard, J.R.'s mistress 1980 - President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would boycott the Olympic Games scheduled to take place in Moscow that summer. 1989 - Sports Illustrated reported allegations tying baseball player Pete Rose to baseball gambling. 2006 - Twitter was founded. March 22 Trivia 1630 - The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlawed the possession of cards, dice, and gaming tables. 1894 - The first championship series for Lord Stanley's Cup was played in Montreal, Canada. The Montreal HC (Montreal Hockey Club) won the first cup. 1933 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Beer and Wine Revenue Act, putting a federal tax on all alcoholic beverages, although prohibition was still in effect until December, 1933. 1945 - The Arab League was founded in Cairo, Egypt. 1960 - The first laser was patented (#2,929,922) by Arthur Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes under the title 'Masers and Maser Communications System.' 1963 - The Beatles' first album, Please Please Me, was released in the United Kingdom. 1972 - The Equal Rights Amendment was passed by the US Senate and sent to the states for ratification. It never gained the 38 states necessary to become part of the US Constitution. 1978 - The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash aired on NBC. 1978 - Karl Wallenda, aged 73, of The Flying Wallendas, died after falling off a tight-rope between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 1997 - Tara Lipinski, age 14 years and 10 months, became the youngest women's World Figure Skating Champion. March 23 Trivia 893 (Earthquake) Iran 1775 - Patrick Henry delivered his 'Give me liberty, or give me death!' speech at St. John's Episcopal Church, in Richmond, Virginia. 1839 - The initials 'O.K.' were first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for 'oll correct,' a popular slang misspelling of 'all correct' at the time. 1840 - John William Draper took the first successful photo of the Moon. Actually, a daguerreotype, a precursor of the photograph. 1857 - Elisha Otis's first elevator was installed at 488 Broadway New York City. 1913 (Tornado) Omaha, Nebraska 1956 - Pakistan became the first Islamic republic in the world. 1982 - Joanie Loves Chachi premiered on ABC 1983 - President Ronald Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) now called "Star Wars" to the American discussion. 1983 - Dr. Barney C. Clark, the first recipient of a permanent artificial heart, died at the University of Utah's Medical Center after 112 days with the device. 1998 - James Cameron's Titanic won 11 Academy Awards. 2001 - The Russian space station, Mir, ended 15 years in orbit by burning up entering Earth's atmosphere, mostly burning up in the atmosphere, and splashing into the Pacific Ocean.. March 24 Trivia 1707 - The Acts of Union 1707 was signed, officially uniting the Kingdoms and parliaments of England and Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. 1765 - The Kingdom of Great Britain passed the Quartering Act, which required homes in the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops. 1882 - Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis. 1955 - Tennessee Williams' play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opened in New York, 1958 - Elvis Presley (serial number 53 310 761) was inducted into the US Army 1989 - The Exxon Valdez, captained by Joseph Jeffrey Hazelwood, hit Prince William Sound, spilling 11,000,000 gallons of Alaskan crude oil. 1993- Doogie Howser, M.D. aired its final episode 2005 - The Office premiered on NBC 2006 - Hannah Montana premiered on The Disney Channel March 25 Trivia 421 - The city of Venice was founded. 1655 - Saturn's largest moon, Titan, was discovered by Christiaan Huygens. 1807 - The Slave Trade Act became law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire. 1811 - Percy Bysshe Shelley was expelled from the University of Oxford for publishing the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism. 1911 - The Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory burned in New York City, killing 145 workers. The disaster helped bring forth more laws and regulations protecting employees. 1957 - United States Customs seized copies of Allen Ginsberg's poem 'Howl' on grounds of obscenity. 1982 - Cagney & Lacey premiered on CBS 1984 - Television Special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever introduced Michael Jackson's 'moonwalk' during his performance of "Billie Jean." 1990 - The Happy Land nightclub fire was an arson fire that killed 87 people in The Bronx, New York City. 1995 - WikiWikiWeb, the world's first wiki, and part of the Portland Pattern Repository, was published online by Ward Cunningham. 2001 - Bjork wore her now-famous 'swan dress' to the Oscars. 2002 - The Bachelor premiered on ABC March 26 Trivia 1169 - Saladin became the emir of Egypt. 1812 - A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coined the term "gerrymander" (named after Governor Elbridge Gerry) to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection. 1872 (Earthquake) Owens Valley, California killed 30 people. 1895 - The Phantoscope, an early motion picture projector that enlarged film images for viewing by large groups, was patented (#536,569) by Charles Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat. 1916 - Robert Stroud (The Birdman of Alcatraz) stabbed and killed a prison guard in Leavenworth Kansas. He was sentenced to Alcatraz for the murder. 1920 - This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published. 1930 - The Book of Mormon was published in Palmyra, New York. 1953 - Dr. Jonas Salk announced that he had successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis, the virus that causes polio. 1993 - The last new episode of The Family Feud with host Ray Combs aired 1997 - After the 1995 discovery of the comet Hale-Bopp, 39 members of the 'Heaven's Gate' cult committed suicide to more quickly join the aliens on the 'other side' of the comet. 1999 - The 'Melissa worm' infected Microsoft word processing and e-mail systems. March 27 Trivia 1886 - Apache warrior, Geronimo, surrendered to the US Army. 1899 - Guglielmo Marconi's radio transmitted across the English Channel from Boulogne, France, to Dover, England. 1915 - Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever ID'd in the United States, was put in quarantine. 1964 (Earthquake) 'Good Friday Earthquake' - the most powerful earthquake in US history at a magnitude of 9.2, struck Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage. 1973 - Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather went to podium for Marlon Brando to decline his Best Actor Oscar for his performance in The Godfather. 1975 - Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System began. 1983 - The Thornbirds miniseries ran March 27-30 on ABC 1998 - The FDA approved Viagra. It seems like the commercials were running a lot longer than that. March 28 Trivia 1783 (Earthquake) Calabria, Italy 1920 - Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford got married; it was the first high profile celebrity wedding. 1949 - Fred Hoyle coined the term "Big Bang" in a radio interview. 1960 - Stanley Kramer was the first to get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame 1964 (Earthquake) Alaska - the 8.4 on the Richter scale quake killed 125 people. 1979 - Three Mile Island Nuclear Disaster happened when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island failed to close. 1990 - President George H. W. Bush posthumously awarded Olympic athlete Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal. 2005 (Earthquake) Nothern Sumatar, Indonesia March 29 Trivia 1638 - Swedish colonists established the first European settlement in Delaware, naming it New Sweden. 1790 - US President John Tyler, born March 29, 1790 in Charles City County, Virginia, died on January 18, 1862 in Richmond, Virginia. 1867 - Queen Victoria gave Royal Assent to the British North America Act which established the Dominion of Canada, effective on July 1. 1871 - The Royal Albert Hall was opened by Queen Victoria. 1882 - The 'Knights of Columbus' was established. 1951 - Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. 1998 - BBC America made its debut on digital cable. 2009 - In a very unusual political/business situation, Rick Wagoner, the chairman and chief executive of General Motors, resigned at the request of President Obama's administration. 2006 - Queen Elizabeth II pronounced the singer 'Sir' Tom Jones a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. 2010 - Fox Reality Channel was replaced with Nat Geo Wild on cable television. March 30 Trivia 1842 - Ether anesthesia was used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon, Dr. Crawford Long. 1867 - Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million ('Seward's Folly'), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward. 1910 - The Mississippi Legislature founded the University of Southern Mississippi. 1939 - Detective Comics #27 was released, introducing Batman. 1964 - Jeopardy!, hosted by Art Fleming, debuted. 1966 - The special Color Me Barbra, with Barbra Streisand, aired on CBS. 1981 - President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr. He later told his wife, Nancy, ''Honey, I forgot to duck." 1990 - In Belgium, several UFOs were seen on radar and were chased by two Belgian Air Force F-16's 2001 - The Fairly Odd Parents and Invader Zim premiered on Nickelodeon March 31 Trivia 1492 - Queen Isabella of Castille issued the Alhambra Decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion. 1822 - The massacre of tens of thousands of people living on the Greek island of Chios by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire following an attempted rebellion,. 1836 - The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, by Charles Dickens, was published under his pseudonym, Boz. 1889 - The Eiffel Tower, 986 feet tall, in Paris, France, was inaugurated 1918 - The US began daylight saving time (DST) on Easter Sunday, when clocks were set ahead by one hour. 1930 - The Motion Picture Production Code was instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the US. It was in place until 1968. 1943 - Formally called 'Away We Go' in the initial tryout runs, Oklahoma! opened on Broadway. 1957 - Julie Andrews starred in Cinderella, on CBS 1959 - The Dalai Lama, fled the Chinese suppression of a national uprising in Tibet and crossed the border into India, where he is granted political asylum. 1981 - A new single cell genetically engineered life form patent (#4,259,444) was issued to Ananda Chakrabarty. The Pseudomonas bacterium (now called Burkholderia cepacia) could be used to clean up toxic spills because it can break down crude oil into simpler substances that can potentially become food for aquatic life. 1985 - The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (WWF), took place in Madison Square Garden in New York. 1987 - Max Headroom premiered on ABC 1994- Madonna appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and stirred up controversy by going on a profanity-laden tirade. It marked the most censored event in television talk show history with 13 swear words being censored. 1995- Latina singer Selena was murdered and the live coverage of the crime drew in over 3.2 million views to CBS. |
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