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1850 – Senator Daniel Webster gives his “Seventh of March” speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850 in order to prevent a possible civil war.
1862 – American Civil War: Union forces defeat Confederate troops at Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas.
1876 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the telephone beating Antonio Meucci by just 4 hours.
1950 – Cold War: The Soviet Union issues a statement denying that Klaus Fuchs served as a Soviet spy.
1965 – Bloody Sunday: A group of 600 civil rights marchers are forcefully broken up in Selma, Alabama.
1985 – The song We Are the World had its international release.
1986 – Challenger Disaster: Divers from the USS Preserver locate the crew cabin of Challenger on the ocean floor.
1989 – Iran and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations after a row over Salman Rushdie and his controversial novel.
1994 – Copyright Law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.
2007 – British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected.
Born on March 7:
1765 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor of photography (d. 1833)
1792 – John Herschel, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1871)
1925 – Rene Gagnon, American Marine shown in photograph of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima (d. 1979)
1958 – Alan Hale, American astronomer
1964 – Wanda Sykes, American actress and comedienne
1974 – Jenna Fischer, American actress
Today in Alaskan history:
1959 The Alaska State House approved a bill to pay the governor, then killed it in free conference.
1988 Vern Tejas completed the first solo ascent of Mt. McKinley.
1496 – King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorizing them to explore unknown lands.
 Boston Massacre
1770 – Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including a black man named Crispus Attucks, and a boy, are killed by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War five years later.
1836 – Samuel Colt makes the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber.
1868 – A court of impeachment is organized in the United States Senate to hear charges against President Andrew Johnson.
1904 – Nikola Tesla, in Electrical World and Engineer, describes the process of the ball lightning formation.
1912 – Italian forces are the first to use airships for military purposes, employing them for reconnaissance behind Turkish lines.
1933 – Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a “bank holiday”, closing all U.S. banks and freezing all financial transactions.
1946 – Winston Churchill uses the phrase “Iron Curtain” in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
1958 – The Explorer 2 spacecraft launches and fails to reach Earth orbit.
1960 – Alister Hardy publicly announces his idea that ape-human divergence may have been due to a coastal phase, giving rise to the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis.
1970 – The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
1979 – Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the American solar satellite Helios 2 all are hit by “off the scale” gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.
1979 – America’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has its closest approach to Jupiter, 172,000 miles.
1982 – The Soviet probe Venera 14 arrives at the planet Venus.
2001 – In Mecca, 35 Muslim pilgrims are crushed to death during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
Born on March 5:
1133 – King Henry II of England (d. 1189)
1324 – King David II of Scotland (d. 1371)
1326 – Louis I of Hungary (d. 1382)
1946 – Murray Head, British actor and singer
1955 – Penn Jillette, American magician and comedian
1970 – John Frusciante, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Today in Alaskan history:
1959 15 Vehicles and 50-plus families leave Detroit, Michigan towards Alaska to homestead on the Kenai Peninsula, travelling as the “Detroit ‘59′ers .”
1969 Rep. Stan Cornelius (R-Anch) submitted a resolution which requested the governor to proclaim October “Country Music Month” in Alaska.
51 – Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what is now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
1629 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
1778 – The Continental Congress votes to ratify both the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance with France. The two treaties are the first entered into by the United States government.
1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect.
1791 – Vermont is admitted as the 14th U.S. state.
1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
1797 – In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington.
1814 – Americans defeat the British at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
1861 – First national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.
1865 – Third (and last) national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
1911 – Victor Berger (Wisconsin) becomes the first socialist congressman in U.S..
1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
1925 – Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to have his inauguration broadcast on radio.
1929 – Charles Curtis becomes the first native-American Vice President of the United States.
1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
1962 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission announces that the first atomic power plant at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is in operation.
1976 – The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico.
1997 – U.S. President Bill Clinton bans federally funded human cloning research.
1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
2002 – Canada bans human cloning but permits government-funded scientists to use embryos left over from fertility treatment or abortions.
2006 – No response is received in the final attempt to contact Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network.
Born on March 4:
1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer
1948 – Chris Squire, English bassist (Yes)
Today in Alaskan history:
1895 The S.S. Willapa sailed from Seattle to begin Alaska Steamship Company service to Alaska.
1909 James Wickersham was seated as the third delegate in the U.S. Congress from Alaska.
1939 The Territorial Senate killed a bill appropriating $14,000 to subsidize radio stations in the Territory of Alaska to “disseminate facts and information.”
1960 A demonstration run of three “Iron Dogs” – gas powered ski-equipped sleds – began in Bethel enroute to Fairbanks .
1776 – The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.
1820 – The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.
1845 – Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
1845 – For the first time, the U.S. Congress passes legislation overriding a presidential veto.
1849 – The United States Department of the Interior is established.
1849 – The U.S. Congress passes the Gold Coinage Act allowing the minting of gold coins.
1865 – The U.S. Congress authorizes the formation of the Freedmen’s Bureau.
1873 – Censorship: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any “obscene, lewd, or lascivious” books through the mail.
1875 – The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Canada as recorded in The Montreal Gazette.
1877 – Rutherford B. Hayes is privately inaugurated as the 19th President of the United States (his public inauguration coming on March 5).
1879 – The United States Geological Survey is created.
1904 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison’s cylinder.
1910 – Rockefeller Foundation: J.D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote full time to being a philanthropist.
1915 – NACA, the predecessor of NASA, is founded.
1923 – TIME magazine is published for the first time.
1931 – The United States officially adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem.
1939 – In Mumbai, Mohandas Gandhi begins to fast in protest at the autocratic rule in India.
1969 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
1980 – The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken.
2005 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.
2009 – The Sri Lankan cricket team is attacked by terrorists while on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore for a Test match against Pakistan.
Born on March 3:
1831 – George Pullman, American inventor and industrialist (d. 1897)
1847 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-Canadian inventor (d. 1922)
1937 – Bobby Driscoll, American actor (d. 1968)
1948 – Snowy White, British guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd)
1959 – Ira Glass, American radio host
1962 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American athlete
1966 – Tone Lōc, American rapper and actor
1968 – Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
Today in Alaskan history:
1891 The Trade and Manufacturing Act was extended to Alaska.
1913 The first Alaska Territorial Legislature convened in the Elks Hall in Juneau. The first House bill approved suffrage to women.
1973 The first Iditarod Sled Dog Race was held, from Anchorage to Nome.
1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
1807 – The U.S. Congress passes 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.”
1836 – Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1861 – The Nevada Territory and Dakota Territory are organized as political divisions of the United States.
1861 – Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia: Tsar Alexander II signs the emancipation reform into law, abolishing Russian serfdom.
1863 – The U.S. Congress authorizes track width of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) for Union Pacific Railroad
1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act
1877 – U.S. presidential election, 1876: Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876.
1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops.
1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
1917 – The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a surprise collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
1946 – Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
1949 – The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Conn..
1953 – The Academy Awards are first broadcast on television by NBC.
1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
 Artist's Concept of Jupiter Encounter 1989 – Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
1991 – Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter’s moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
2004 – War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
Born on March 2:
1793 – Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1863)
1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
1904 – Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), American author (d. 1991)
1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor and bandleader (d. 1986)
1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union and Nobel laureate
1942 – Lou Reed, American singer and guitarist
1953 – Russ Feingold, American politician
1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American musician (Bon Jovi)
1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
1793 – Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1863)
1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
1904 – Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), American author (d. 1991)
1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor and bandleader (d. 1986)
1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union and Nobel laureate
1942 – Lou Reed, American singer and guitarist
1953 – Russ Feingold, American politician
1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American musician (Bon Jovi)
1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
Today in Alaskan history:
1906 Wilford B. Hoggatt took office as Governor of the Territory of Alaska, appointed by President Teddy Roosevelt.
1942 Construction began on the Alaska-Canadian Highway.
1959 Alaska officially received the “official versions” of the pound, ounce, yard, foot, and gallon.
1975 Two people in New Stoyahok died of botulism after eating fermented beaver tail.
It’s the year 2010, and today marks the 318th anniversary of the beginning of the Salem Witch trials. While — for the most part – the United States has moved passed superstition of such a degree, unfortunately the rest of the World hasn’t. Some countries on this planet still go on as if we were still in the Middle Ages.
“People accused me of sorcery and my mother believed them,” he says.
“Look, here on my stomach. She tried to kill me with a knife. It really hurt and I cannot understand why my mother did it.”
Henri, who is now being given help by a children’s charity, had been playing outside his home in Goma, eastern Congo, when the accusations began.
12-year-old Henri (not his real name), from Eastern Congo, is just but one of a number of children who have been accused of sorcery.
Unicef’s latest available statistics show that around one hundred cases of child sorcery allegations were referred to them in 2008 in the North Kivu province of Eastern Congo alone.
That number increased nearly fivefold to 450 in the same area last year.
Superstition kills.
On March 1, 752 BC – Romulus, first king of Rome, celebrates the first Roman triumph after his victory over the Caeninenses, following the Rape of the Sabine Women.
On March 1, 286 – Roman Emperor Diocletian raises Maximian to the rank of Caesar.
On March 1, 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesares, thus beginning the Tetrarchy.
On March 1, 317 – Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, are made Caesars.
On March 1, 1562 – 23 Huguenots are massacred by Catholics in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.
On March 1, 1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine) becomes the first incorporated city in the USA.
On March 1, 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
On March 1, 1700 – Sweden introduces its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar, reverts to the Julian calendar on this date in 1712, and introduces the Gregorian Calendar on this date in 1753.
On March 1, 1781 – The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation.
On March 1, 1790 – The first United States census is authorized.
On March 1, 1803 – Ohio is admitted as the 17th U.S. state.
On March 1, 1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate.
On March 1, 1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.
On March 1, 1845 – President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.
On March 1, 1847 – The state of Michigan formally abolishes capital punishment.
On March 1, 1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.
On March 1, 1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world’s first national park.
On March 1, 1893 – Nikola Tesla makes the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri.
On March 1, 1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity.
On March 1, 1912 – Albert Berry makes the first parachute jump from a moving airplane.
On March 1, 1932 – The son of Charles Lindbergh, Charles Augustus Lindbergh III, is kidnapped.
On March 1, 1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.
On March 1, 1936 – A strike occurs aboard the S.S. California, leading to the demise of the International Seamen’s Union and the creation of the National Maritime Union.
On March 1, 1941 – W47NV (now known as WSM-FM) begins operations in Nashville, Tennessee becoming the first FM radio station in the U.S..
On March 1, 1953 – Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.
On March 1, 1954 – Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
On March 1, 1954 – Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
On March 1, 1961 – President of the United States John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
On March 1, 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet’s surface.
On March 1, 1966 – The Ba’ath Party takes power in Syria.
On March 1, 1971 – A bomb explodes in a men’s room in the United States Capitol: the Weather Underground claims responsibility.
On March 1, 1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
On March 1, 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
On March 1, 2005 – Death penalty for juveniles revoked in United States of America.
On March 1, 2006 – English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.
Born on March 1:
1445 – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (d. 1510)
1611 – John Pell, English mathematician (d. 1685)
1810 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer (d. 1849)
1947 – Alan Thicke, Canadian actor and songwriter
1954 – Ron Howard, American actor and director
1956 – Timothy Daly, American actor
1958 – Bertrand Piccard, Swiss balloonist and psychiatrist
Today in Alaskan history:
1917 George Grigsby took office as the first Attorney General of the Territory of Alaska.
1979 A major earthquake measuring between 7.5 and 8.0 on the Richter scale occurred beneath the St. Elias mountains.
1582 – Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
1803 – In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
1831 – The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.
1839 – William Otis receives a patent for the steam shovel.
1848 – King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.
1863 – Arizona is organized as a United States territory.
1868 – The first parade to have floats is staged at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1868 – Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.
1875 – The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high profile civil servants and dignitaries.
1890 – Chicago is selected to host the Columbian Exposition
1893 – The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America.
1899 – Western Washington University is established.
1909 – The Hudson Motor Car Company is founded.
1920 – The Nazi Party is founded.
1942 – Battle of Los Angeles: a UFO flying over wartime Los Angeles causes a blackout order at 2:25 a.m. and attracts a barrage of anti-aircraft fire, ultimately killing 3 civilians.
1970 – National Public Radio is founded in the United States.
1976 – Cuba: national Constitution is proclaimed.
1981 – Buckingham Palace announces the engagement of The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer.
1981 – An earthquake registering 6.7 on the Richter scale hits Athens, killing 16 people and destroying buildings in several towns west of the city.
1983 – A special commission of the U.S. Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.
1989 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a USD $3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.
2008 – Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years.
 Matt Skiba Born on February 24:
1786 – Martin W. Bates. U.S. Senator from Delaware (d. 1869)
1921 – Abe Vigoda, American actor
1942 – Joe Lieberman, American politician
1950 – George Thorogood, American singer and guitarist
1955 – Steve Jobs, American computer pioneer
1963 – Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player
1968 – Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (d. 2005)
1976 – Matt Skiba, American musician (Alkaline Trio, Heavens)*Honorable mention for my dear friend, Michelle*
Today in Alaskan history:
1913 Legislators in Juneau for the first Alaska Territorial Legislature decided to meet in the Elks Hall rather than the Odd Fellows Hall.
1939 Delegate Anthony Dimond said that the Wage and Hour Administration would devise some means to exempt placer miners from certain provisions of the Wage and Hour Act.
1957 The first commercial airline flight from Europe to the Orient landed in Anchorage for a stopover.
1979 The Alaska Paperwork and Simplification Act became law.
1979 Alaska Airlines opened up its service to Portland, Oregon.
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