Americans Should Be Weary of the Trump White House’s Apparent Belief in American Military Invincibility

For a long time, hubris has been a widespread sin among the American people. When it is drilled into your head that you are a unique, special country with a mission to save the world, for all intents and purposes, it will get increasingly difficult to think differently than most have been conditioned to think. 

One of the most dangerous superiority complexes which Americans have is this seeming sense of military invincibility. It felt particularly egregious in the eighties and nineties, and leading up to the fateful Iraq invasion in 2003. You remember, when George W. Bush and his administration promised a quick and decisive victory in Iraq? We waged a war based on lies, on the idea that Iraq had this massive stockpile of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD's) and we could not afford to wait a minute longer. It was time to go to war against Iraq.

Which we did. While we were simultaneously already fighting a war in Afghanistan. 

It seemed at first that both conflicts had ended in quick victories for the United States. Within weeks, even days, the Taliban had been ousted in Afghanistan, for the most part. And in Iraq, Saddam's regime fell, and the United States proclaimed victory. George W. Bush infamously went to an aircraft carrier to give a speech under a gigantic banner reading "Mission Accomplished!"

But those proclamations of glorious victory turned out to be premature. The wars were not over. In fact, they had only begun. We were involved in both wars for well over a decade and a half. In fact, Afghanistan turned out to be the longest war in American history, surpassing Vietnam, which Iraq eventually did as well. 

And yet, we hardly seemed to learn much in the way of lessons from that, have we? We elected someone into the White House who is notoriously unstable. And all this guy seems to want to do is create hostility with the entire rest of the world. Both economic warfare - again, seemingly against the entire rest of the world, and all at once - as well as actual warfare. Very shortly after getting elected, King Con Don began to talk about militarily taking over Greenland, taking over Panama, taking over Gaza. He repeatedly, relentlessly referred to Canada as the "51st state" and talked about how wonderful it would be if Canada became part of the United States. Then Trump actually invaded Venezuela, and referred to himself as "President of Venezuela." When the Colombian president protested, Trump declared that Colombia might just be next, and also hinted that Cuba was ready to fall, as well. Then he turned his attention back to Greenland, seemingly preparing the way for a military takeover, until the NATO countries (of which the United States was a member in good standing before Trump) stood up and found a way to force Trump to back down.

But it was not over. Weeks later, Trump launched an attack on Iran. Another conflict in the Middle East. You know, those have been going just so well for us, that we were all itching for another war there, right? Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth even call it a war, even while they went around Congress in order to launch this war. They still are avoiding Congress, although it is clear that we are now very much in a war. 

If you listen to Trump and his White House, the United States has unbelievable military capabilities. Which, of course, they do.

However, I remember reading a book from American General Andrew Bacevich, where he criticized this mindset, which he felt had it's origins during the Reagan years. Americans got the impression that the American military could do anything and everything. That there were no limits. Before long, we began to grow hungry for war. If you're an American and remember those times honestly and with objectivity, you will have to admit this was the case. We were tired of "mini" or limited military engagements like Grenada and Panama. We were ready for a big conflict. And we finally got it after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

It was an American-led war, and it was a clear and decisive military victory. The whole country celebrated. The military had a parade down the Canyon of Heroes in New York City. The President's approval rating reached record highs. I remember some people - journalists among them - saying that now, finally, we could put the quagmire of Vietnam behind us. America was back, baby!

All of which led, inevitably, to third for another war, another decisive victory. And a little over a decade later, we got that other war. And it was a familiar opponent: Saddam's Iraq. Indeed, the regime collapsed.

Yet the war raged on. Americans won every battle, much as they did in Vietnam. And in Afghanistan.

But since the war raged on, and our objectives seemed...well, unclear, the war grew increasingly unpopular back home. Eventually, we were the ones who backed out of both Iraq and Afghanistan, compromised. In Afghanistan, our original enemies, the Taliban, outright took over the country again, which sure smacks of defeat to most. 

You might think that we would really hesitate to get into another war. And indeed, at least polls show that this war with Iran was unpopular right at the outset.

Still, we voted someone into the Oval Office who loves war like no other president before. He invaded Venezuela in January, and then Iran in February. He threatened to invade Greenland in between, then backed off. But who knows for how long? Or for that matter, which country is next on his list?

Which brings me back to Bacevich. Again, he is a military expert, a former American General. And he stated blatantly that this perception that the American military in invincible, untouchable, and thus can do anything, anywhere in the world, is wrong. That this belief will likely lead to disaster.

Yet, quite clearly, this belief of American military invincibility is something that the Trump regime has faith in. And they are putting it all into practice. 

Once again, multiple wars at once. I suspect that Venezuela is not completely done. And Iran certainly is not. Nor does it seem like Trump wants to slow down with his possible invasion targets. 

And I cannot help but think that this is how a superpower undoes it's own privileged status. This is how the United States might wind up responsible for it's own undoing. 

Donald Trump Has Lit a Global Match by Jordan Michael Smith/March 6, 2026:

Trump and his aides think the United States has global leverage that his predecessors refused to use. He seems to forget that other countries have leverage, too—and they’re intent on using it to stop him.

https://newrepublic.com/article/207218/donald-trump-global-leverage-foreign-policy?utm_campaign=SF_TNR&utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwY2xjawQYr-RleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe6WX5AeP3VGOKPq0CnmJtSwEj2yGkcYeUd2cK9z8BaIupHBSgrvLB3LT5Gqw_aem_JLSgNmLOgH35XMmbNE8UzA

Donald Trump Has Lit a Global Match | The New Republic

A Couple of Pictures of Our Fluffy Cat

Yesterday, my girlfriend and I enjoyed a relatively lazy day. Fridays are her day off, and so we try to enjoy some time together.

To that end, we went out for lunch and then came home and watched a movie. That despite my having to take care of some medical stuff early on in the morning. Also, having to prepare for the overnight shift at night.

Just after the movie, I saw our fluffy cat prone in this position. And it was really cute, so I took some pictures. They seemed worth sharing here.

Enjoy.

March 7th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 161, Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius died and was succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, an unprecedented political arrangement in the Roman Empire. In 321 on this day, Roman Emperor Constantine I decreed that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire. Conrad II von Hohenstaufen was re-elected German King on this day in 1138. Emperor Napoleon I of France was victorious at the Battle of Craonne on this day in 1814. On this day in 1876, 29-year-old Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his then revolutionary new invention--the telephone. On this day in 1900 during the Second Anglo-Boer War, the Battle at Poplar Grove was fought in what is now modern day South Africa as the British moved to take Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State. Transvaal President Kruger fled. On this day in 1902 during the Second Anglo-Boer War, the Boers defeated the British troops in the Battle of Tweebosch, in the Transvaal. In 1904 on this day, the Japanese bombed the Russian town of Vladivostok. On this day in 1923, Robert Frost's iconic poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" was published in The New Republic. On this day in 1936, as perhaps the first real sign of the impending arrival of World War II in Europe, Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by sending German military forces into the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany. In 1945 on this day during the latter stages of World War II in Europe, U.S. troops of the 9th Armoured Division crossed the bridge at Remagen, the first incursion into Germany by Allied forces in the West. On that same day, the city of Cologne, Germany, was also taken by the Allies. In 1947 on this day, shortly after the end of World War II, the Kuomintang and Communist Party of China resumed full-fledged Civil War. The Beatles made their broadcasting debut on BBC radio on this day in 1962. On this day in 1965 during a peaceful civil rights demonstration, people marching from Selma, Alabama, hundreds of protestors were brutally attacked with billy clubs and tear gas by Alabama State troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The event later came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.” On this day in 1973, Bangladesh's first democratically elected leader Sheikh Mujib Rahman, a leader of the Bangladeshi independence movement Awami League and first Prime Minister of Bangladesh, won a landslide victory in the country's first general elections. On this day in 1986 in South Africa during white-minority apartheid rule, the emergency crisis in Brabant & Limburg ended. In 1987 on this day, "Iron" Mike Tyson unified the WBA and WBC heavyweight boxing titles after defeating James "Bonecrusher" Smith in 12 rounds. In 1989 on this day, Iran dropped diplomatic relations with Great Britain over the controversy regarding Salman Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses." In 1994 on this day, African National Congress icon and anti-apartheid activist - and soon to be South African President - Nelson Mandela rejected a demand by white right-wingers for separate Afrikaner homeland in South Africa.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 161, Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius died and was succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, an unprecedented political arrangement in the Roman Empire.

• In 321 on this day, Roman Emperor Constantine I decreed that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire.

• 1138 - Conrad II von Hohenstaufen was re-elected German King on this day in 1138. 

• 1277 - Condemnation of 219 philosophical and theological theses by Stephen Tempier, Bishop of Paris.

• 1530 - King Henry VIII's divorce request is denied by the Pope Henry then declares that he, not the Pope, is supreme head of England's church

• 1560 - Christian fleet under Gian Andrea lands at Djerba, N Africa

• 1573 - Turkey & Venice signs peace treaty

• 1621 - John Pieterszoon Coen's troops land on Lontor, East Indies

• 1633 - Prince Frederik Henry appoints himself viceroy of Limburg

• 1644 - Massachusetts establishes 1st 2-chamber legislature in colonies

• 1696 - English king Willem III departs Netherlands

• 1774 - British close port of Boston to all commerce

Picture of a statue of British explorer Captain James Cook

• 1778 - Capt James Cook 1st sights Oregon coast, at Yaquina Bay

• 1798 - The French army enters Rome: the birth of the Roman Republic.

• 1799 - The Royal Institution of Great Britain founded; dedicated to scientific research and education.

• 1801 - Massachusetts enacts 1st state voter registration law

• 1808 - Portugal's regent Dom Juan IV arrives in Rio De Janeiro

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

• Emperor Napoleon I of France was victorious at the Battle of Craonne on this day in 1814.

1824 - Meyerbeers opera "Il Crociati in Egitto," premieres in Venice

Captain/Explorer James CookCaptain/Explorer James Cook 1827 - Shrigley Abduction: Ellen Turner, a wealthy heiress in Cheshire, England is abducted by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a future politician in colonial New Zealand.

British Botanist Charles Darwin

• 1835 - HMS Beagle returns from Concepcion to Valparaiso

• 1843 - 1st Catholic governor in US, Edward Kavanagh of Maine, takes office

• 1847 - US General Scott occupies Vera Cruz Mexico

• 1848 - In Hawaii, Great Mahele (division of lands) signed

• 1850 - Daniel Webster endorses Compromise of 1850

• 1851 - Poll tax levied on Russo-Polish Jews entering Austrian Galicia ends

1852 - Dutch telegraph traffic regulated by law

1854 - Charles Miller patents 1st US sewing machine to stitch buttonholes

1857 - Baseball decides 9 innings constitutes an official game, not 9 runs

1862 - Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, Day 2, Gens McCulloch & McIntosh killed

1865 - -10] Battles round Kinston NC

1870 - Cin Red Stockings, 1st pro BB team, begin 8-mo tour of Midwest & East

1872 - -8°F in Boston, MA

• On this day in 1876, 29-year-old Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his then revolutionary new invention--the telephone.    The Scottish-born Bell worked in London with his father, Melville Bell, who developed Visible Speech, a written system used to teach speaking to the deaf. In the 1870s, the Bells moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where the younger Bell found work as a teacher at the Pemberton Avenue School for the Deaf. He later married one of his students, Mabel Hubbard.    While in Boston, Bell became very interested in the possibility of transmitting speech over wires. Samuel F.B. Morse's invention of the telegraph in 1843 had made nearly instantaneous communication possible between two distant points. The drawback of the telegraph, however, was that it still required hand-delivery of messages between telegraph stations and recipients, and only one message could be transmitted at a time. Bell wanted to improve on this by creating a "harmonic telegraph," a device that combined aspects of the telegraph and record player to allow individuals to speak to each other from a distance.    With the help of Thomas A. Watson, a Boston machine shop employee, Bell developed a prototype. In this first telephone, sound waves caused an electric current to vary in intensity and frequency, causing a thin, soft iron plate--called the diaphragm--to vibrate. These vibrations were transferred magnetically to another wire connected to a diaphragm in another, distant instrument. When that diaphragm vibrated, the original sound would be replicated in the ear of the receiving instrument. Three days after filing the patent, the telephone carried its first intelligible message--the famous "Mr. Watson, come here, I need you"--from Bell to his assistant.    Bell's patent filing beat a similar claim by Elisha Gray by only two hours. Not wanting to be shut out of the communications market, Western Union Telegraph Company employed Gray and fellow inventor Thomas A. Edison to develop their own telephone technology. Bell sued, and the case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld Bell's patent rights. In the years to come, the Bell Company withstood repeated legal challenges to emerge as the massive American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T) and form the foundation of the modern telecommunications industry.

1876 - Battle at Gura: Ethiopian emperor Yohannes beats Egyptians

1887 - North Carolina State University is founded by the North Carolina General Assembly.

1896 - Gilbert & Sullivan's last operette "Grand Duke," premieres in London

Statue of the most famous Boer leader and president of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger, located at Church Square in Pretoria, the capital of the old Transvaal Republic, and now still the executive capital of modern day South Africa.

• On this day in 1900 during the Second Anglo-Boer War, the Battle at Poplar Grove was fought in what is now modern day South Africa as the British moved to take Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State. Transvaal President Kruger fled.

The Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria, South Africa.

• On this day in 1902 during the Second Anglo-Boer War, the Boers defeated the British troops in the Battle of Tweebosch, in the Transvaal.

• In 1904 on this day, the Japanese bombed the Russian town of Vladivostok.

• 1906 - Finnish Senate accepts universal suffrage, except for poor

1908 - Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before city council & announces that, "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles"

1911 - US sent 20,000 troops to Mexican border

1911 - Willis Farnsworth, Petaluma, CA, patents coin-operated locker

1912 - Roald Amundsen announces discovery of the South Pole

1914 - Prince Wilhelm von Wied becomes King of Albania

1917 - 1st jazz record "Dixie Jazz Band One Step," recorded by Nick LaRocca Original Dixieland Jazz Band, released by RCA Victor in Camden NJ

1918 - H Carroll & J McCarthy's musical "Oh, Look!," premieres in NYC

• 1918 - Pres Wilson authorizes US Army's Distinguished Service Medal

• 1918 - World War I: Finland forms an alliance with Germany.

Russian Revolutionary Leon TrotskyRussian Revolutionary Leon Trotsky 1921 - Red Army under Trotsky attack sailors of Kronstadt

1922 - US Ladies Figure Skating championship won by Theresa Weld Blanchard

1922 - US Mens Figure Skating championship won by Sherwin Badger

• On this day in 1923, Robert Frost's iconic poem "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" was published in The New Republic. The poem, beginning with the famous line "Whose woods these are, I think I know. His house is in the village though," has introduced millions of American students to poetry.    Like most of Frost's poetry, "Stopping by Woods" adopts the tone of a simple New England farmer contemplating an everyday site. But Robert Frost was very different from the narrators he created. Long associated with New England and farming, Frost was actually born in California in 1874, where he lived until his father, a journalist, died when he was 11. His mother brought him to Massachusetts, where he graduated as co-valedictorian of his high school class. He attended Dartmouth and Harvard but didn't complete a degree at either school. Three years after high school, he married his fellow high school valedictorian, Elinor White.    Frost tried unsuccessfully to run a New England farm, and the family, which soon included four children, struggled with poverty for two decades. Frost became more and more depressed, perhaps even suicidal, and in 1912 he moved his family to England to make a fresh start. There he concentrated on his poetry and published a collection called A Boy's Will in 1913, which won praise from English critics and helped him win a U.S. publishing contract for his second book, North of Boston (1914). The American public took a liking to the 40-year-old Frost, who returned to the U.S. when World War I broke out and bought another farm in New Hampshire. He continued to publish books and taught and lectured at Amherst, University of Michigan, Harvard, and Dartmouth, and read his poetry at the inauguration of President Kennedy. He also endured personal tragedy when a son committed suicide and a daughter had a mental breakdown.  Although Frost never graduated from a university, he had collected 44 honorary degrees before he died in 1963.

1925 - American Negro Congress organizes

1926 - 1st transatlantic telephone call (London-NY)

1927 - Earthquake measuring 8 on Richter scale strikes Tango, Japan

1930 - Georgetown High of Chicago defeats Homer 1-0 in basketball

1932 - Riots at Ford-factory Dearborn Michigan, kills 4

1933 - Game of "Monopoly" invented

1935 - Saar incorporated into Germany

• On this day in 1936, as perhaps the first real sign of the impending arrival of World War II in Europe, Nazi Germany leader Adolf Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by sending German military forces into the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany.    The Treaty of Versailles, signed in July 1919--eight months after the guns fell silent in World War I--called for stiff war reparation payments and other punishing peace terms for defeated Germany. Having been forced to sign the treaty, the German delegation to the peace conference indicated its attitude by breaking the ceremonial pen. As dictated by the Treaty of Versailles, Germany's military forces were reduced to insignificance and the Rhineland was to be demilitarized.    In 1925, at the conclusion of a European peace conference held in Switzerland, the Locarno Pact was signed, reaffirming the national boundaries decided by the Treaty of Versailles and approving the German entry into the League of Nations. The so-called "spirit of Locarno" symbolized hopes for an era of European peace and goodwill, and by 1930 German Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann had negotiated the removal of the last Allied troops in the demilitarized Rhineland.    However, just four years later, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party seized full power in Germany, promising vengeance against the Allied nations that had forced the Treaty of Versailles on the German people. In 1935, Hitler unilaterally canceled the military clauses of the treaty and in March 1936 denounced the Locarno Pact and began remilitarizing of the Rhineland. Two years later, Nazi Germany burst out of its territories, absorbing Austria and portions of Czechoslovakia. In 1939, Hitler invaded Poland, leading to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

• 1937 - Bucharin, Jagoda & Rykov pushed out of CPSU in USSR

1939 - Glamour magazine begins publishing

• 1939 - Guy Lombardo & Royal Canadians 1st record "Auld Lang Syne"

1940 - Mont Canadiens lose record tying NHL 15th straight game at home

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1940 - Ray Steele beats B Nagurski in St Louis, to become wrestling champ

1941 - 3rd largest snowfall in NYC history (18.1")

1941 - 50,000 British soldiers lands in Greece

• 1941 - British troops invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia)

1942 - 15 Mk-VB Spitfires reach Malta

1942 - 1st cadets graduated from flying school at Tuskegee

1943 - Gen-major Patton arrives in Djebel Kouif Tunisia

1944 - Japans begins offensive in Burma

1945 - Cologne taken by allied armies

Statue of an American Soldier at the World War II Memorial in Trenton, New Jersey

• In 1945 on this day during the latter stages of World War II in Europe, U.S. troops of the 9th Armoured Division crossed the bridge at Remagen, the first incursion into Germany by Allied forces in the West. On that same day, the city of Cologne, Germany, was also taken by the Allies.

• 1945 - Yugoslavia government of Tito forms

1946 - "Three to Make Ready" opens at Adelphi Theater NYC for 323 perfs

1946 - Max Frisch' "Santa Cruz," premieres in Zurich

• In 1947 on this day, shortly after the end of World War II, the Kuomintang and Communist Party of China resumed full-fledged Civil War.

1948 - The Dodecanese islands officially become part of Greece again, ending the Italian rule.

US General George S. PattonUS General George S. Patton 1950 - Ice Pairs Championship at London won by K Kennedy & P Kennedy (USA)

1950 - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in London won by Alena Vrzanova CZE

1950 - Men Figure Skating Championship in London won by Richard Button (USA)

1951 - Ezzard Charles beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for hw boxing title

1951 - Lillian Hellman's "Autumn Garden," premieres in NYC

Flag of the United Nations

• 1951 - U.N. forces in Korea under General Matthew Ridgeway launched Operation Ripper against the Chinese. 

1953 - Jackie McGlew scores 255* v NZ at Wellington

1954 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open

1954 - Russia wins title in their 1st international ice hockey competition

1955 - 7th Emmy Awards: Make Room for Daddy, Danny Thomas & Loretta Young

1955 - Baseball Commish Ford Frick says he favors legalization of spitter

1955 - Mary Martin as "Peter Pan" televised

1958 - Chicago Cardinals announce they will play their 1958 opener in Buffalo

1959 - "Bells Are Ringing" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 925 perfs

1959 - 1st aviator to fly a million miles (1.61 M km) in a jet (MC Garlow)

1959 - West Indies all out 76 v Pakistan at Dacca, Fazal Mahmood 6-34

Actress Mary MartinActress Mary Martin 1960 - Dutch Builders strike for CLA

   

    

• The Beatles made their broadcasting debut on BBC radio on this day in 1962.

1962 - Launch of OSO 1, 1st astronomy satellite (solar flare data)

1965 - Alabama state troopers & 600 black protestors clash in Selma

• On this day in 1965 during a peaceful civil rights demonstration, people marching from Selma, Alabama, hundreds of protestors were brutally attacked with billy clubs and tear gas by Alabama State troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The event later came to be known as “Bloody Sunday.” 

1965 - Bruce Taylor takes 5-86 in debut innings for NZ after ton

1965 - Christian-democrats win parliament in Chile

1966 - "Wait A Minim!" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 457 performances

1966 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1967 - Clark Gesner's musical "You're a Good Man, premieres in NYC

1967 - Teamster pres Jimmy Hoffa begins 8-year jail sentence for defrauding the union & jury tampering (commuted Dec 23, 1971)

• 1968 - The BBC broadcasts the news for the first time in color on television.

1969 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1970 - Ice Dance Championship at Ljubljana won by Pakhomova & Gorshkov (URS)

1970 - Ice Pairs Championship at Ljubljana won by Rodnina & Ulanov (URS)

1970 - Ladies Figure Skating Champ in Ljubljana won by Gabriele Seyfert (GDR)

1970 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Ljubljana won by Tim Wood (USA)

1970 - WXOW TV channel 19 in La Crosse, WI (ABC) begins broadcasting

• 1971 - Egypt refuses to renew the Suez cease fire

• 1973 - Comet (Lubos) Kohoutek discovered at Hamburg Observatory

• On this day in 1973, Bangladesh's first democratically elected leader Sheikh Mujib Rahman, a leader of the Bangladeshi independence movement Awami League and first Prime Minister of Bangladesh, won a landslide victory in the country's first general elections.    At the end of British rule in the Indian subcontinent in 1947, East Pakistan was declared a possession of Pakistan to the west, despite the fact that the two regions were separated by over 1,000 miles of Indian territory. Although the two Pakistans shared the Islamic religion, significant cultural and racial differences existed between the regions, and by the late 1960s East Pakistan began to call for greater autonomy from West Pakistan. In March 1971, the independent state of Bangladesh was proclaimed and West Pakistani forces were called in to suppress the revolt. An estimated one million Bengalis--the largest ethnic group in Bangladesh--were killed by the Pakistani forces during the next several months, while more than 10 million took refuge in India.    In December 1971, India, which had provided substantial clandestine aid to the East Pakistani independence movement, launched a massive invasion of the region and routed the West Pakistani occupation forces. A few weeks later, Sheikh Mujib was released from a yearlong imprisonment in West Pakistan and returned to Bangladesh to assume the post of prime minister. In March 1973, the Bangladeshi people overwhelmingly confirmed his government in democratic elections, and in the next year Pakistan agreed to recognize the independence of Bangladesh.

1974 - "Monitor" (US Civil War Ship) restored at Cape Hatteras NC

1974 - 1st general striking in Ethiopia

1975 - Senate revises filibuster rule, allows 60 senators to limit debate

1975 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1976 - Morocco & Mauretania break diplomatic relations with Algeria

1977 - Ali Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party wins elections

American President Jimmy Carter

• On this day in 1977, American President Jimmy Carter met with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

1978 - Belgian baron Charles Bracht kidnapped

1978 - Canuck's Ron Sedlbauer fails on 5th penalty shot against Islanders

1978 - Dutch 2nd Chamber votes against neutron bomb

1979 - Baseball exhibition season opens with semipro & amateur umpires

1979 - Warren Giles & Hack Wilson selected to baseball Hall of Fame

1981 - "Bring Back Birdie" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 4 perfs

1981 - 1st homicide at Disneyland, 18 year old is stabbed to death

1982 - Beth Daniel wins LPGA American Express Sun City Golf Classic

1982 - Jarmilla Kratochvilova run world record 400 m indoor (49.59 sec)

1982 - NCAA Tournament Selection televised live for 1st time

1983 - TNN (The Nashville Network) begins on Cable TV

1984 - The United States attacks San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.

1985 - IBM-PC DOS Version 3.1 (update) released

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

• On this day in 1986 in South Africa during white-minority apartheid rule, the emergency crisis in Brabant & Limburg ended.

NHL all-time top scorer Wayne GretzkyNHL all-time top scorer Wayne Gretzky 1986 - Wayne Gretzky breaks own NHL season record with 136th assist

1987 - Gavaskar becomes 1st cricket batsman to score 10,000 Test runs

• In 1987 on this day, "Iron" Mike Tyson unified the WBA and WBC heavyweight boxing titles after defeating James "Bonecrusher" Smith in 12 rounds. Already the youngest-ever heavyweight champion after winning the title at just 19 years old the year before, Tyson became the youngest undisputed heavyweight champion in boxing history.    Mike Tyson was born on June 30, 1986, in Brooklyn, New York. He had a troubled childhood in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood, an area known for its poverty and high crime. As a child he often skipped school, spending his time on Brownsville’s streets engaging in petty crimes. Tyson responded violently to his peers’ teasing about his high, lisping voice, which led to several stints in juvenile detention centers. After being expelled from junior high school, Tyson was sent to a reform school near Catskill, New York. It was there that he was discovered by legendary trainer Cus D’Amato, who had coached Floyd Patterson, a two-time heavyweight champion. D’Amato became a father figure to "Iron" Mike, whose own father left his family when Mike was just two years old. D’Amato was a stabilizing force in Tyson’s life: He took the young fighter into his home and dedicated himself to Tyson’s training. D’Amato helped Tyson to focus his aggression and develop the discipline to become a champion.    When Tyson entered the professional ranks at 18, he seemed unstoppable. He won his first 19 fights by knockout, 15 of those coming in the first round. It was during this run that D’Amato died, in November 1985, at the age of 77. D’Amato’s associate Kevin Rooney took over as Tyson’s trainer, and one year later, Tyson beat Trevor Berbick for the WBC heavyweight championship in his first title shot. In 1987, Tyson defeated "Bonecrusher" Smith, although he did not knock him out. This won Tyson the WBA championship, making him the undisputed heavyweight champion.    Over the course of the next year, Tyson defeated four other opponents to retain his title and, in 1988, he knocked out Larry Holmes, the only knockout of Holmes’ 76 fights as a pro. Later that year, Tyson fought Michael Spinks, who was thought to be his toughest competition. After Tyson knocked Spinks unconscious 91 seconds into the first round, boxing fans wondered if anyone could beat "Iron" Mike. By the end of the year, however, Tyson had begun his long downward spiral into sports infamy. His erratic behavior included marrying and divorcing actress Robin Givens (after being accused by her of domestic violence), firing and suing his manager, breaking his hand in an early morning street brawl and two car accidents, one of which was reportedly a suicide attempt. Tyson also fired Kevin Rooney, replacing him with notorious promoter Don King.    Unable to keep his focus on boxing, Tyson lost the heavyweight title after being knocked out by James "Buster" Douglas in a stunning upset on February 11, 1990.

1988 - Howard Stern's 1st pay-per-view "Underpants & Negligee Party"

1988 - Jim Abbott, 1-handed pitcher, wins 58th James E Sullivan Award

1988 - Colombia becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.

Salman Rushdie's controversial novel, "The Satanic Verses

• In 1989 on this day, Iran dropped diplomatic relations with Great Britain over the controversy regarding Salman Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses."

1989 - Partial eclipse of the Sun (Hawaii, NW North America, Greenland)

1990 - 3 passengers killed & 162 injured as subway train derails (Phila)

1990 - H Wayne Huizenga buys ½ of Joe Robbie Stadium and 15% of Dolphins for $30m

1991 - Iraq continues to explode oil fields in Kuwait

1992 - Nicole Stevenson swims world record 200m backstroke (2:06.78)

1993 - 23rd Easter Seal Telethon raises

1993 - Diff'rent Stroke actor Todd Bridges arrested for stabbing a tenant

1994 - 8th American Comedy Award: Carrot Top wins

Radio shock jock Howard SternRadio shock jock Howard Stern 1994 - Charles Taylor resigns as pres of Liberia

1994 - David Platt appointed captain of English football team

1994 - US Navy issues 1st permanent order assigning women on combat ship

Statue of Nelson Mandela at Cape Town City Hall, which portrays him giving his famous speech from that same spot on this day in 1990, shortly after he was released from prison:

Statue of Nelson Mandela in State Parliament Square, London, UK

• In 1994 on this day, African National Congress icon and anti-apartheid activist - and soon to be South African President - Nelson Mandela rejected a demand by white right-wingers for separate Afrikaner homeland in South Africa.

• 1994 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.

1995 - Dollar worth 1.5330 Dutch guilder (record)

1995 - NY becomes 38th state to have the death penalty

1996 - 1st surface photos of Pluto (photographed by Hubble Space Telescope)

• 1996 - British Steel in Workington wins Lithuanian multi-million pound order

1996 - Magic Johnson is 2nd NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists

1996 - The first democratically elected Palestinian parliament is formed.

1997 - 11th Soul Train Music Awards

Flag of the Olympics

• 1997 - Athens, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Rome & Stockholm are finalists for 2004 Olympics site

1997 - 5 sue Japanese PM Ryutaro Hashimoto, because his smoking has violated the country's constitution guaranteeing a wholesome life

2004 - New Democracy wins the national elections in Greece.

Anti-apartheid activist and South African President Nelson MandelaAnti-apartheid activist and South African President Nelson Mandela 

2005 - Mass protest outside the National Assembly of Kuwait building for women's voting rights in Kuwait.

2007 - British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected.

2013 - Hilary Mantel is awarded the 2013 David Cohen Prize for literature

2013 - UN Security Council approves further North Korean sanctions for its nuclear testing

0322 BC - Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, died.   1774 - The British closed the port of Boston to all commerce.   1799 - In Palestine, Napoleon captured Jaffa and his men massacred more than 2,000 Albanian prisoners.   1848 - In Hawaii, the Great Mahele was signed.   1849 - The Austrian Reichstag was dissolved.   1850 - U.S. Senator Daniel Webster endorsed the Compromise of 1850 as a method of preserving the Union.   1854 - Charles Miller received a patent for the sewing machine.   1876 - Alexander Graham Bell received a patent (U.S. Patent No. 174,465) for his telephone.   1901 - It was announced that blacks had been found enslaved in parts of South Carolina.      1904 - In Springfield, OH, a mob broke into a jail and shot a black man accused of murder.   1906 - Finland granted women the right to vote.   1908 - Cincinnati's mayor, Mark Breith announced before the city council that, "Women are not physically fit to operate automobiles."   1911 - Willis Farnworth patented the coin-operated locker.   1911 - In the wake of the Mexican Revolution, the U.S. sent 20,000 troops to the border of Mexico.   1918 - Finland signed an alliance treaty with Germany.   1925 - The Soviet Red Army occupied Outer Mongolia.   1927 - A Texas law that banned Negroes from voting was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.   1933 - CBS radio debuted "Marie The Little French Princess." It was the first daytime radio serial.   1933 - The board game Monopoly was invented.   1935 - Malcolm Campbell set an auto speed record of 276.8 mph in Florida.   1936 - Hitler sent German troops into the Rhineland in violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles.   1942 - Japanese troops landed on New Guinea.   1945 - During World War II, U.S. forces crossed the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany.   1947 - John L. Lewis declared that only a totalitarian regime could prevent strikes.   1951 - U.N. forces in Korea under General Matthew Ridgeway launched Operation Ripper against the Chinese.   1954 - Russia appeared for the first time in ice-hockey competition. Russia defeated Canada 7-2 to win the world ice-hockey title in Stockholm, Sweden.   1955 - "Peter Pan" was presented as a television special for the first time.   1955 - Baseball commissioner Ford Frick said that he was in favor of legalizing the spitball.   1955 - Phyllis Diller made her debut at the Purple Onion in San Francisco, CA.   1959 - Melvin C. Garlow became the first pilot to fly over a million miles in jet airplanes.   1965 - State troopers and a sheriff's posse broke up a march by civil rights demonstrators in Selma, AL.   1968 - The Battle of Saigon came to an end.   1971 - A thousand U.S. planes bombed Cambodia and Laos.   1975 - The U.S. Senate revised the filibuster rule. The new rule allowed 60 senators to limit debate instead of the previous two-thirds.   1981 - Anti-government guerrillas in Colombia executed the kidnapped American Bible translator Chester Allen Bitterman. The guerrillas accused Bitterman of being a CIA agent.   1983 - TNN (The Nashville Network) began broadcasting.   1985 - "Commonwealth" magazine ceased publication after five decades.   1985 - The first AIDS antibody test, an ELISA-type test, was released.   1987 - Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight titleholder when he beat James Smith in a decision during a 12-round fight in Las Vegas, NV.   1989 - Poland accused the Soviet Union of a World War II massacre in Katyn.   1994 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parodies that poke fun at an original work can be considered "fair use" that does not require permission from the copyright holder.   1994 - In Moldova, a referendum was rejected by 90% of voters to form a union with Rumania.   1999 - In El Salvador, Francisco Flores Pérez of the ruling Nationalist Republican Alliance (Arena) was elected president.   2002 - A federal judge awarded Anna Nicole Smith more than $88 million in damages. The ruling was the latest in a legal battle over the estate of Smith's late husband, J. Howard Marshall II.   2003 - Scientists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center announced that they had transferred 6.7 gigabytes of uncompressed data from Sunnvale, CA, to Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 58 seconds. The data was sent via fiber-optic cables and traveled 6,800 miles.   2009 - NASA's Kepler Mission, a space photometer for searching for extrasolar planets in the Milky Way galaxy, was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.   2012 - The successor to Apple's iPad2 was unveiled.

1850 Daniel Webster gave a three-hour speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850. 1876 Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone. 1936 Adolf Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact when he ordered troops to march into the Rhineland. 2004 V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire was invested as the first openly gay Episcopal Church bishop. 2005 John R. Bolton was nominated by President Bush to be U.S. ambassador to the UN.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar07.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Scientist Carl Sagan Warned About the Absolutist Ideology of Those Who Believe in Literal Interpretations of the Bible

Bust of Carl Sagan

Again, apologies for not being able to post Youtube videos here. It is an unfortunate trend, but I hope that they do change it someday. Frankly, it's a bit annoying that they impose such limitations to begin with.

That said, it's not something I can control, so let's move on.

Carl Sagan was a great scientist. Every time see him in video clips and hear his distinctive voice, it brings me back to comforting moments in childhood. I would not say that he was exactly a hero of mine, because I never got to see him all that much. However, when I did see him, there was always a good feeling. Instinctively, I had the impression that this was a good and decent man. Someone I could trust, if you will.

If anything, that feeling has strengthened now, all these years later, even though he is gone, and I am now an adult (and far more cynical, at that). A lot of what he said back then feels very true still. Plus, this guy quite accurately predicted what the world would look like decades from when he made these predictions, back in the nineties.

All of which added to his credibility, in my opinion.

In this short video clip, Sagan explains that a small but highly influential group of religious zealots, who interpret the Bible literally, are effectively trying to block scientific truth. They are absolute in their determination that they are right, and that their viewpoint is the one and only truth, or should be interpreted as such. And they can be dangerous with this power, which Sagan seems clearly to believe they should not be entrusted with.

For that matter, the more I have seen of the influence of religious fanatics in the United States over the decades, the more inclined I am to believe Sagan's warnings.

Anyway, below is the link to the short Youtube clip that I am referring to. 

Take a look and enjoy:

Carl Sagan "Where Religion Gets Into Trouble" (Charlie Rose Interview 1996)    

In his final interview with Charlie Rose on May 27, 1996, astronomer Carl Sagan warned that a society relying on advanced technology while its citizens remain scientifically illiterate is headed for disaster. He emphasized that science is a "way of thinking"—characterized by skepticism and inquiry—rather than just a body of knowledge

https://youtube.com/shorts/mTNa5ZNESUw?si=tGYSn3Neqdb0xAg8

Carl Sagan On Religion Pretending To Know About Science

Famous Family Member & Iconic Critic of Donald Trump 'Knows Real Reason' He Launched This War on Iran

Mary Trump, niece of President Donald Trump, understands and knows her famous uncle much better than almost anyone on the planet. She has taken a refreshingly honest outlook on him. Not surprisingly,  she has been highly critical of him, one of his most vocal opponents. The fact that her last name is Trump frankly feels like it adds considerable clout and validity.

Mary Trump feels like her infamous uncle launched "Operation Fury" for only one reason really.

What is that reason?

Not surprisingly, it's not liberating the people. Mary Trump made clear that King Con Don has no real interest in the Iranian people, or even in the regime change which he now champions.

She says:

"The Iranian people have suffered long and horribly under the cruel and repressive authoritarian theocracy currently in power. They deserve to be free, and they deserve the ability to determine their own system of governance.  

"But the man who is bombing their country has no interest in them, and he has no plan to create the conditions in which they can become free, or support the efforts to create an alternative to the current regime."

Mary Trump says that this strategy to save himself and serve his own narrow interests has worked brilliantly to this point. After all, he has never had to pay any real consequences for his actions, no matter how illegal or immoral they were. And no matter how many people were hurt by those actions of his. It seems like this has become a pattern of behavior for him. 

Yes, it's as simple as that. Trump has launched an illegal war - he calls it a war, as does his head of the Department of Defense Pete Hegseth, Not for America's safety or because Iran was about to attack the United States - a claim that feels like it has about as much validity as George W. Bush's claims tat Saddam Hussein's Iraq was about to launch attacks on the United States prior to the 2003 American-led invasion. It's not even about regime change.

Simply stated, it's about distraction from bad news domestically. Or, to put it in other words, a "Wag the Dog" strategy. Trump himself showed familiarity with this concept when he claimed (inaccurately) that then President Obama was about to launch a war against Iran.

Again, she explained:

"For Donald, there is one reason and one reason alone. He's in trouble, and he knows it. This isn't simply about changing the subject. That, of course, would be bad enough. This is to keep himself and the world from knowing what an inept, depraved, compromised fraud he is.

"This is about his unfathomable desperation to avoid being humiliated. Donald Trump has taken us to war at the behest of Saudi Arabia and Israel. But that wouldn't have been enough of a reason if doing so didn't also coincide with his own self-interest."

Look, Trump's first year of his second term has been anything but smooth sailing. His popularity has generally gone downward ever since he assumed office again. He never followed up on his promise to quickly improve the situation with inflation, and what he claims were triumphs regarding lowering the price of gas - which never were anywhere near as significant as he claimed - are being unraveled by this war, which of course he started. His ICE secret police force is quite unpopular, and has also compromised his popularity. And of course, let's not forget the Epstein List, which he promised to release as a candidate, but has done everything possible not to release (certainly not fully) since he once again assumed the Oval Office. That, plus his overreach of power both domestically (ignoring Congress with this was, and ignoring court rulings - including the Supreme Court - against him.

Indeed, he looks increasingly like what his critics worst feared: an out of control tyrant. Apparently, most Americans do not approve of that. And so his poll numbers began to tank, pressure on him keeps building.

In short, fertile grounds for him to do something extreme - like start a very risky war which could very quickly escalate - in order to distract everyone from all of the bad news which he himself cannot seem to get under control. 

Indeed, it does feel like Mary Trump has called out her famous uncle with quite a degree of accuracy and reason yet again. 

Below are the links to the two article used in writing this blog entry, and from which I obtained all of the quotes used above:

'I'm Donald Trump's niece and know real reason he's attacked Iran' As questions linger over the motive behind the US and Israel's offensive, Mary Trump has claimed that there's "one reason alone" behind Trump's decision, and it's not regime change Comments 107 News Matt Davies Trendswatch Reporter 12:50, 04 Mar 2026 Updated 13:27, 04 Mar 2026

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/im-donald-trumps-niece-know-36813992

'I'm Donald Trump's niece and know real reason he's attacked Iran' - The Mirror

Family member of Donald Trump 'knows real reason' he attacked Iran Story by Matthew Davies • 3 March, 2026 • 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/family-member-of-donald-trump-knows-real-reason-he-attacked-iran/ar-AA1XwUtn?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=69a9046d794d48f6898ae0c256f5bfd0&ei=12

Family member of Donald Trump 'knows real reason' he attacked Iran

March 6th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti (usually best known simply as Michelangelo), the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in the small village of Caprese. The Treaty of Alcaçovas was signed on this day in 1479 to end the War of the Castilian Succession. It was signed in the Portuguese city of Alcáçovas, which is now part of Viana do Alentej. Portugal gave the Canary Islands to Castile in exchange for claims in West Africa. On this day in 1521, explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the first to circumnavigate the globe, reached Guam. In 1664 on this day, King Louis XIV & Emperor of Brandenburg signed a covenant. Napoleon captured Jaffa in Palestine on this day in 1799. On this day in 1820, American President James Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, also known as the Compromise Bill of 1820, into law. On this day in 1857, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the Dred Scott case, affirming the right of slave owners to take their slaves into the Western territories, thereby negating the doctrine of popular sovereignty and severely undermining the platform of the newly created Republican Party. On this day in 1902, the Madrid Foot Ball Club was founded by a group of fans in Madrid, Spain. They later popularly came to be known as Real Madrid, the club which would become the most successful European football (soccer) franchise of the 20th century. On this day in 1945, Dutch Resistance ambushed an SS officer—unwittingly - as members of the Dutch Resistance, who had been attempting to hijack a truck in Apeldoorn, Holland, ambushed Lt. Gen. Hanns Rauter, an SS officer. The Beatles released "Let it Be" in the United Kingdom on this day in 1970. On this day in 1983, Helmut Kohl was elected to be the new West German chancellor after his CDU/CSU won the West German parliament elections. In 1990 on this day in Afghanistan, an attempted coup to remove President Najibullah from office failed. On this day in 1990, the Russian Parliament passed a law that sanctioned the ownership of private property, a clear signal that the end of communism and the Soviet Union itself was nearing. 

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• 1079 - Omar ibn Ibrahim al-Chajjam completes Jalali-calendar

• 1205 - Aken, [Philips van Zwaben], crowned Roman-Catholic German King

• 1323 - Treaty of Paris

• 1447 - Tommaso Parentucelli succeeds Pope Eugene IV as Nicolas V

• 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to Casimir IV of Poland, and the Polish king agrees to help in their struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights.

• 1460 - Treaty of Alcacovas-Portugal gives Castile Canary Is for W Africa

Michelangelo's Self-Portrait Bust

• On this day in 1475, Michelangelo Buonarroti (usually best known simply as Michelangelo), the greatest of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in the small village of Caprese. The son of a government administrator, he grew up in Florence, a center of the early Renaissance movement, and became an artist's apprentice at age 13. Demonstrating obvious talent, he was taken under the wing of Lorenzo de' Medici, the ruler of the Florentine republic and a great patron of the arts. For two years beginning in 1490, he lived in the Medici palace, where he was a student of the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni and studied the Medici art collection, which included ancient Roman statuary.    With the expulsion of the Medici family from Florence in 1494, Michelangelo traveled to Bologna and Rome, where he was commissioned to do several works. His most important early work was the Pieta (1498), a sculpture based on a traditional type of devotional image that showed the body of Christ in the lap of the Virgin Mary. Demonstrating masterful technical skill, he extracted the two perfectly balanced figures of the Pieta from a single block of marble.    With the success of the Pieta, the artist was commissioned to sculpt a monumental statue of the biblical character David for the Florence cathedral. The 17-foot statue, produced in the classical style, demonstrates the artist's exhaustive knowledge of human anatomy and form. In the work, David is shown watching the approach of his foe Goliath, with every muscle tensed and a pose suggesting impending movement. Upon the completion of David in 1504, Michelangelo's reputation was firmly established.    That year, he agreed to paint a mural for the Florence city hall to rest alongside one being painted by Leonardo da Vinci, another leading Renaissance artist and an influence on Michelangelo. These murals, which depicted military scenes, have not survived. In 1505, he began work on a planned group of 12 marble apostles for the Florence cathedral but abandoned the project when he was commissioned to design and sculpt a massive tomb for Pope Julius II in Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. There were to have been 40 sculptures made for the tomb, but the pope soon ran out of funds for the project, and Michelangelo left Rome.    In 1508, he was called back to Rome to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel--the chief consecrated space in the Vatican. Michelangelo's epic ceiling frescoes, which took several years to complete, are among his most memorable works. Central in a complex system of decoration featuring numerous figures are nine panels devoted to biblical world history. The most famous of these is The Creation of Adam, a painting in which the arms of God and Adam are outstretched toward each other.    In 1512, Michelangelo completed the Sistine Chapel ceiling and returned to his work on Pope Julius II's tomb. He eventually completed a total of just three statues for the tomb, which was eventually placed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli. The most notable of the three is Moses (1513-15), a majestic statue made from a block of marble regarded as unmalleable by other sculptors. In Moses, as in David, Michelangelo infused the stone with a powerful sense of tension and movement.    Having revolutionized European sculpture and painting, Michelangelo turned to architecture in the latter half of his life. His first major architectural achievement was the Medici chapel in the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence, built to house the tombs of the two young Medici family heirs who had recently died. The chapel, which he worked on until 1534, featured many innovative architectural forms based on classical models. The Laurentian Library, which he built as an annex to the same church, is notable for its stair-hall, known as the ricetto, which is regarded as the first instance of mannerism as an architectural style. Mannerism, a successor to the Renaissance artistic movement, subverted harmonious classical forms in favor of expressiveness.    In 1534, Michelangelo left Florence for the last time and traveled to Rome, where he would work and live for the rest of his life. That year saw his painting of the The Last Judgment on a wall above the altar in the Sistine Chapel for Pope Paul III. The massive painting depicts Christ's damnation of sinners and blessing of the virtuous, and is regarded as a masterpiece of early mannerism. During the last three decades of his life, Michelangelo lent his talents to the design of numerous monuments and buildings for Rome, which the pope and city leaders were determined to restore to the grandeur of its ancient past. The Capitoline Square and the dome of St. Peter's, designed by Michelangelo but not completed in his lifetime, remain two of Rome's most famous visual landmarks.    Michelangelo worked until his death in 1564 at the age of 88. In addition to his major artistic works, he produced numerous other sculptures, frescoes, architectural designs, and drawings, many of which are unfinished and some of which are lost. He was also an accomplished poet, and some 300 of his poems are preserved. In his lifetime, he was celebrated as Europe's greatest living artist, and today he is held up as one of the greatest artists of all time, as exalted in the visual arts as William Shakespeare is in literature or Ludwig van Beethoven is in music. 

•  The Treaty of Alcaçovas was signed on this day in 1479 to end the War of the Castilian Succession. It was signed in the Portuguese city of Alcáçovas, which is now part of Viana do Alentej. Portugal gave the Canary Islands to Castile in exchange for claims in West Africa. 

Bust of Ferdinand Magellan

• On this day in 1521, explorer Ferdinand Magellan, the first to circumnavigate the globe, reached Guam.

1579 - Veluwe joins Union of Utrecht

1590 - Earl Mauritius conquerors Breda "turfschip of Breda"

1628 - Emperor Ferdinand II delegates Restitutie-edict

1646 - Joseph Jenkes, MA, receives 1st colonial machine patent

King Louis XIV if France, also known as the "Sun King"

• In 1664 on this day, King Louis XIV & Emperor of Brandenburg signed a covenant.

1665 - Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society starts publishing

1714 - Peace of Rastatt - French emperor Charles VI of Habsburg

1728 - Spain & England sign (1st) Convention of Pardo

1775 - 1st Negro Mason in US initiated, Boston

1788 - The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island in order to found a convict settlement.

French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte

• Napoleon captured Jaffa in Palestine on this day in 1799.

1808 - 1st college orchestra in US founded, at Harvard

1810 - Illinois passes 1st state vaccination legislation in US

1816 - Jews are expelled from Free city of Lubeck Germany

• On this day in 1820, American President James Monroe signed the Missouri Compromise, also known as the Compromise Bill of 1820, into law. The bill attempted to equalize the number of slave-holding states and free states in the country, allowing Missouri into the Union as a slave state while Maine joined as a free state. Additionally, portions of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the 36-degrees-30-minutes latitude line were prohibited from engaging in slavery by the bill.    Monroe, who was born into the Virginia slave-holding planter class, favored strong states' rights, but stood back and let Congress argue over the issue of slavery in the new territories. Monroe then closely scrutinized any proposed legislation for its constitutionality. He realized that slavery conflicted with the values written into the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence but, like his fellow Virginians Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, feared abolition would split apart the nation they had fought so hard to establish.    Passage of the Missouri Compromise contributed to the Era of Good Feelings over which Monroe presided and facilitated his election to a second term. In his second inaugural address, Monroe optimistically pointed out that although the nation had struggled in its infancy, no serious conflict has arisen that was not solved peacefully between the federal and state governments. By steadily pursuing this course, he predicted, there is every reason to believe that our system will soon attain the highest degree of perfection of which human institutions are capable.    In the end, the Missouri Compromise failed to permanently ease the underlying tensions caused by the slavery issue. The conflict that flared up during the bill's drafting presaged how the nation would eventually divide along territorial, economic and ideological lines 40 years later during the Civil War.          

1831 - Edgar Allen Poe removed from West Point milt academy

1831 - Vincenzo Bellini's opera "La Sonnambula," premieres in Milan

1834 - Toronto incorporated with William Lyon Mackenzie as its 1st mayor

1836 - Battleof the Alamo: 3,000 Mexicans beat 182 Texans at the Alamo, after 13 day fight during Texas Revolution

British Botanist Charles Darwin

• 1836 - HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin reach King George's Sound, Australia

1838 - Franz Grillparzer's "Weh dem, der Lugt," premieres in Vienna

1851 - Dion Boucicault's "Love in a Maze," premieres in London

1853 - Giuseppe Verdi's Opera "La Traviata," premieres in Venice

1855 - Gustave Flaubert writes goodbye to Louise Colet

• On this day in 1857, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the Dred Scott case, affirming the right of slave owners to take their slaves into the Western territories, thereby negating the doctrine of popular sovereignty and severely undermining the platform of the newly created Republican Party.    At the heart of the case was the most important question of the 1850s: Should slavery be allowed in the West? As part of the Compromise of 1850, residents of newly created territories could decide the issue of slavery by vote, a process known as popular sovereignty. When popular sovereignty was applied in Kansas in 1854, however, violence erupted. Americans hoped that the Supreme Court could settle the issue that had eluded a congressional solution.    Dred Scott was a slave whose owner, an army doctor, had spent time in Illinois, a free state, and Wisconsin, a free territory at the time of Scott's residence. The Supreme Court was stacked in favor of the slave states. Five of the nine justices were from the South while another, Robert Grier of Pennsylvania, was staunchly pro-slavery. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the majority decision, which was issued on March 6, 1857. The court held that Scott was not free based on his residence in either Illinois or Wisconsin because he was not considered a person under the U.S. Constitution--in the opinion of the justices, black people were not considered citizens when the Constitution was drafted in 1787.   According to Taney, Dred Scott was the property of his owner, and property could not be taken from a person without due process of law.  In fact, there were free black citizens of the United States in 1787, but Taney and the other justices were attempting to halt further debate on the issue of slavery in the territories. The decision inflamed regional tensions, which burned for another four years before exploding into the Civil War.   

1861 - Provisionary Confederate Congress establishes Confederate Army

1862 - Battle of Pea Ridge, AR (Elkhorn Tavern)

US Slave Dred ScottUS Slave Dred Scott 1865 - Battle of Natural Bridge, Florida

1865 - President Lincolns 2nd Inaugural Ball

• 1869 - Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.

• 1882 - Monarch Milan Obrenovic of Serbia crowns himself king

• 1886 - 1st US alternating current power plant starts, Great Barrington, MA

• 1886 - 1st US nurses' magazine, The Nightingale, 1st appears, NYC

• 1896 - 1st auto in Detroit, Charles B King rides his "Horseless Carriage"

• 1899 - "Asprin" patented by Felix Hoffmann at German company Bayer

• 1901 - In Bremen an assassin attempts to kill Wilhelm II of Germany.

• 1902 - Census Bureau forms

• On this day in 1902, the Madrid Foot Ball Club was founded by a group of fans in Madrid, Spain. They later popularly came to be known as Real Madrid, the club which would become the most successful European football (soccer) franchise of the 20th century.    With its trademark blue-and-white uniforms (originally inspired by those of an English team), Madrid began to make a name for itself in Spain almost right away. From 1905 to 1907, under their first coach, Englishman Arthur Johnson, the team won three titles in a row in the Spanish League, known as La Liga. These were just the first of 29 La Liga championships through 2006 for Real Madrid, including an impressive five consecutive La Liga titles from 1986 to 1990.    Real Madrid’s legendary status internationally was solidified under the leadership of Santiago Bernabeu Yeste, who played for the team from 1912 to 1927 and served as club president from 1943 to 1978. In 1953, Bernabeu began to stock his roster with the best players he could find from around the world, instead of just the best in Spain, beginning with Madrid’s most famous soccer icon, Italian star Alfredo Di Stefano. The resulting team won the European Cup, Europe’s football championship, an unprecedented five times in a row, from 1956 through 1960. Bernabeu then switched course in the 1960s and built a team entirely of Spanish players. In 1966, Real Madrid won its sixth European cup with a team of Spanish "hippies" who rivaled the Beatles in popularity on the European continent.    In 2000, soccer’s international governing body, FIFA, selected Real Madrid the best football team of the 20th century. Two years later, the club celebrated its 100-year anniversary with yet another European club championship, behind the imported stars Luis Figo of Portugal, Zinedine Zhidane of France, Roberto Carlos of Brazil and Raul of Spain. Real Madrid has won a record nine European championships, seven Spanish Super Cups and three world championships. It is one of the few teams that is still owned and operated by its members.

1906 - Cubs sign 3rd baseman Harry Steinfeldt to complete Tinker-Evers-Chance

1906 - Heavy storm bursts dike flooding Vlissingen, Netherlands

1906 - Nora Blatch is 1st woman elected to American Soc of Civil Engineers

Author and Nobel Laureate Gerhart HauptmannAuthor and Nobel Laureate Gerhart Hauptmann 1909 - Gerhart Hauptmann's "Griselda," premieres in Vienna

1915 - Greek King Constantine I fires premier Venizelos

1918 - US naval boat "Cyclops" disappears in Bermuda Triangle

1919 - NHL Championship: Montreal Canadiens beat Ottawa Senators, 3 games to 1 with 1 tie

1921 - Police in Sunbury Penn issue an edict requiring Women to wear skirts at least 4 inches below the knee

1922 - Babe Ruth signs 3 years at $52,000 a year NY Yankee contract

1922 - GB Shaw's "Back to Methusaleh III/IV," premieres in NYC

1923 - Cards announce their players will wear numbers on their uniforms

1924 - British Labour government cuts military budget

Flag of Belgium

• 1925 - Belgium annexes Eupen, Malmö dy & Sankt Vith

• 1926 - China asks for a seat in the Security council

• 1929 - Turkey & Bulgaria sign friendship treaty

1930 - Bkln's Clarence Birdseye develops a method for quick freezing food

1933 - FDR declares a nationwide bank holiday

1933 - Maxwell Anderson's "Both your Houses," premieres in NYC

32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933 - Poland occupies free city Danzig (Gdansk)

1934 - Sidney Howard & Paul de Kruif's "Yellowjacket," premieres in NYC

1935 - Frank Bartell (Czech), cycles record 80.584 mph in LA

1936 - Belgium ends Locarno-pact

1940 - 1st US telecast from an airplane, NYC

1943 - Battle at Medenine, North-Africa: Rommels assault attack

1943 - Sukarno asks for cooperation with Japanese occupiers

1944 - USAF begins daylight bombing of Berlin

1945 - 117 SD-prisoners executed at Savage Farm

• On this day in 1945, Dutch Resistance ambushed an SS officer—unwittingly - as  members of the Dutch Resistance, who had been attempting to hijack a truck in Apeldoorn, Holland, ambushed Lt. Gen. Hanns Rauter, an SS officer. During the following week, the German SS executed 263 Dutch in retaliation.    The Dutch Resistance was one of the fiercest of all the underground movements in Nazi-occupied Europe. "The Dutch never accepted the German contention that... the war was over," wrote the Dutch foreign minister in a postwar account of life under Nazi occupation. "[T]heir acts of resistance and sabotage grew more audacious as time passed."    Those acts of resistance and sabotage included harboring Allied soldiers and pilots who either parachuted or crash-landed within Dutch territory, harboring Dutch Jews, and killing German troops. The Resistance was composed of representatives from all segments of Dutch society, ranging from the most conservative to communists.    Rauter was head of the SS in Holland and answered directly to Heinrich Himmler, the SS commander. In 1941, during a strike that broke out in Amsterdam among Dutch workers to protest the round-up of almost 400 Dutch Jews, Hauter ordered the SS and German troops to open fire on the strikers, killing 11. The Jews, whom the strikers were trying to protect, were deported to Buchenwald. All were dead by the fall.    Rauter was riding in an SS truck, filled with food destined for the Luftwaffe (the German air force) based near Apeldoorn on March 6, 1945, when some young members of the Dutch Resistance ambushed the truck. The closing days of the war had left much of occupied Holland close to famine conditions, and the guerrillas were determined to co-opt the food. They did not know Rauter was in the truck when it was attacked; Rauter was shot during the heist attempt but lived. In retaliation, the SS proceeded to round up and execute 263 Dutchmen, some of whom were Resistance fighters who were already being held in prison.    Rauter was tried for war crimes by the Dutch court Den Haag. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. He appealed the sentence at Nuremberg in 1949, but the sentence was upheld and he was executed that year.

• 1945 - Chinese 38th division occupies Lashio

1945 - Erich Honnecker & Erich Hanke flee nazis

1945 - Federico Garcia Lorca's "La Casa," premieres in Buenos Aires

• 1946 - France recognizes Vietnam statehood within Indo-Chinese federation 1946 - Ho Chi Minh, the President of Vietnam, struck an agreement with France that recognized his country as an autonomous state within the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.  

Statue of soldier, author and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Parliament Square, London

• 1947 - Winston Churchill announced that he opposed British troop withdrawals from India.  

1947 - XB-45, 1st US 4-engine jet bomber, makes 1st test flight, Muroc, CA

German WWII Field Marshal Erwin RommelGerman WWII Field Marshal Erwin Rommel 1950 - Silly Putty invented

1951 - Belgium extends conscription to 24 months

1953 - Malenkov becomes chairman of the USSR

1955 - Dutch premiere of Samuel Becketts' "Waiting for Godot"

1955 - Jackie Pung wins LPGA Jacksonville Golf Open

Flag of Ghana

1957 - Ghana (formerly Gold Coast) declares independence from UK  1957 - The British African colonies of the Gold Coast and Togoland became the independent state of Ghana.  

1959 - 11st Emmy Awards: Playhouse 90, Jack Benny Show, Raymond Burr

1959 - Farthest radio signal heard (Pioneer IV, 400,000 miles)

1960 - President Sukarno disbands Indonesia's parliament

1961 - 1st London minicabs introduced

1961 - Dutch Queen Juliana celebrates 12½ year government jubilee

1961 - Dutch guilder revalued 4.74%

1962 - St Louis vote to build a new downtown stadium for the Cardinals

1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1962 - US promise Thailand assistance against communist aggression

1964 - Constantine succeeds Paul I as king of Greece

1964 - Cassius Clay joins the Nation of Islam and its leader Elijah Muhammad renames him Muhammad Ali

1964 - Liz Taylor's 4th divorce (Eddie Fisher)

1964 - Tom O'Hara runs world record mile (3:56.4)

1965 - "How to Succeed in Business" closes at 46th St NYC after 1415 perfs

1965 - 1st nonstop helicopter crossing of North America, JR Willford

1965 - Bruce Taylor hits 105 for NZ v India in 1st Test Cricket innings

1966 - Barry Sadlers' "Ballad of the Green Berets" becomes #1 (13 weeks)

1967 - 2nd Academy of Country Music Awards

1967 - Jimmy Hoffa enters Lewisburg Federal Prison

1967 - Muhammad Ali is order by selective service to be inducted

1967 - Stalin's daughter Svetlana Allilujeva asks for political asylum in US

1967 - WACS TV channel 25 in Dawson, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting

   

    

• The Beatles released "Let it Be" in the United Kingdom on this day in 1970.

1971 - Test Cricket debut of Sunil Gavaskar, v West Indies at Port-of-Spain

Golfer Jack NicklausGolfer Jack Nicklaus 1972 - Jack Nicklaus, passes Arnold Palmer as golf's all-time money winner

1972 - Keswick to Penrith railway officially closes

1973 - In an exhibition game with the Pirates, Twins Larry Hisle becomes the 1st designated hitter (he hits 2 HRs & knocks in 7 RBIs)

1974 - "Over Here" opens at Shubert Theater NYC for 341 performances

1974 - An Italian loses a record $1,920,000 at roulette in Monte Carlo

1974 - Ian & Greg Chappell score cricket

• 1975 - Algiers Accord: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute.

1976 - Ice Dance Championship at Gothenburg won by Pakhomova & Gorshkov (URS)

1976 - Ice Pairs Championship at Gothenburg won by Rodnina & Zaitsev (URS)

1976 - Men's Fig Skating Championship in Gothenburg won by John Curry (GRB)

1976 - Worlds Ladies Fig Skating Champ in Gothenburg won by Dorothy Hamill

1978 - Hustler publisher Larry Flynt shot & crippled by a sniper in Ga

1980 - Emmy 7th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 1st time

1980 - Princess Theater (Latin Quarter, Cotton Club) opens at 200 W 48th NYC

1980 - French Academy, founded in 1635, elects it 1st woman novelist (Marguerita Youcenar)

Magazine Publisher Larry FlyntMagazine Publisher Larry Flynt 1981 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

• 1981 - Soyuz 39 returns to Earth

1981 - Walter Cronkite signs-off as anchorman of "CBS Evening News"

1981 - Worlds Ladies Fig Skating Champ in Hartford won by Denise Biellmann

1982 - NBA highest scoring game: San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 (3 OT)

1982 - Susan Birmingham makes loudest recorded human shout (120 dB)

1983 - "On Your Toes" opens at Virginia Theater NYC for 505 performances

1983 - Anne-Marie Palli wins LPGA Samaritan Turquoise Golf Classic

Flag of Germany (formerly West Germany during the Cold War)

• On this day in 1983, Helmut Kohl was elected to be the new West German chancellor after his CDU/CSU won the West German parliament elections. Helmut Kohl, the interim chancellor of West Germany since the fall of Helmut Schmidt's Social Democrat government in 1982, is elected German chancellor as his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party is voted back into power.    Elected as Rhine-Palatinate state premier in 1969, Kohl served the post until 1976, when he became federal chairman of the CDU and led the opposition to Chancellor Schmidt's government. In 1982, with Germany suffering under persistent economic difficulties, he organized a successful no-confidence vote in the West German Parliament against Schmidt and was subsequently named interim chancellor. In March 1983, the West German people confirmed him as chancellor, and in 1987 German economic recovery led to his reelection.    In the fall of 1989, the communist government of East Germany collapsed, and Kohl led the efforts to reunify the two Germanys. In March 1990, in the first all-German elections in six decades, Kohl was elected the first chancellor of a reunified Germany. During his third term as chancellor, Kohl oversaw the formidable task of absorbing East Germany's crippled economy into the West and was an advocate of the movement for a united Europe. In 1994, Kohl was elected to a fourth term, but increasing unemployment in Germany and his cuts to the country's welfare system led to his defeat by Gerhard Schroder and the Social Democrats in 1998.

1983 - New Bedford, Mass woman charges she was gang-raped atop a pool table

1983 - US Football League begins its 1st season

1984 - Twelve-month-long strike in British coal industry begins.

1985 - Enos Slaughter & Arky Vaughan are elected to baseball Hall of Fame

1985 - Mike Tyson KOs Hector Mercedes in 1 round in his 1st pro fight

1985 - Yul Brynner appears in his 4,500th performance of "King & I"

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike TysonHeavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson 

• 1985 - Atlantis (OV-104) rollout at Palmdale

1986 - Ken Ludwig's "Lend me a Tenor," premieres in London

1986 - USSR's Vega 1 flies by Halley's Comet at 8,889 km

1987 - 6.8 earthquake hits Ecuador, kills 100

1987 - Belgium ferry boat "Herald of Free Enterprise" capsizes/sinks; 192 die

1988 - 18th Easter Seal Telethon raises $35,200,000

1988 - 3 IRA suspects were shot dead in Gibraltar by SAS officers

1988 - Betsy King wins LPGA Women's Kemper Golf Open/Helene Curtis Pro-Am

1988 - Julie Krone becomes winningest female jockey (1205 victories)

1988 - Orville Moodey shoots 63 at Seniors golf tournament

1989 - Yanks beat Mets 6-4 in exhibition game (1st meeting since 1985)

1990 - SR-71 sets a transcontinental record, flying 2,404 miles in 1:08:17

• In 1990 on this day in Afghanistan, an attempted coup to remove President Najibullah from office failed.   

• On this day in 1990, the Russian Parliament passed a law that sanctioned the ownership of private property, a clear signal that the end of communism and the Soviet Union itself was nearing. 

• 1991 - Following Iraq's capitulation in the Persian Gulf conflict, President Bush told Congress that "aggression is defeated. The war is over"

1992 - The Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.

US President George H. W. BushUS President George H. W. Bush 

• 1992 - Founding of the Council of the Baltic Sea States.

1994 - Colin Jackson runs world record 60m hurdles indoor (7.30 sec)

1994 - United Arab Emirates beat Kenya by 2 wickets to win ICC Trophy

1994 - Referendum in Moldova results in the electorate voting against possible reunification with Romania.

1995 - 9th American Comedy Award: Rodney Dangerfield

1995 - American Express Travel begins charging for domestic air tickets

1995 - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Phoenix AZ on KEDJ 106.3/100.3 FM

1995 - US 4.5 cents equals 156.30 Dutch guilder (record)

1996 - 10th American Comedy Award

1996 - 2nd Blockbuster Entertainment Awards

1996 - Aravinda De Silva smashes 145 v Kenya in cricket World Cup at Kandy Sri Lanka score 5-398 in 50 overs in World Cup v Kenya

1997 - Picasso's painting Tête de Femme is stolen from a London gallery, and is recovered a week later.

1998 - 1st time the British flag is flown over Buckingham Palace

1998 - Matt Beck, an angry lottery accountant kills 4 at Conn state lottery

• 2006 - South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signs a bill into legislation that would ban most abortions in the state.

• 2007 - Former White House aide I. Lewis Libby, Jr. is found guilty on four of five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice trial.

• 2012 - 9,000 residents are evacuated from Wagga Wagga, Australia, as the Murrimbidgee River threatens to overflow

• 2012 - Francisco Xavier do Amaral, East Timorese President, dies at 75

• 2013 - Syrian rebels capture Ar-Raqqah, their first major city

• 2013 - Microsoft is fined €561 by the Euro Commission for not providing alternative web browsers

• 2013 - 9 people die after a plane crashes after being ensnared in power lines in Peru

1521 - Ferdinand Magellan discovered Guam.   1808 - At Harvard University, the first college orchestra was founded.   1820 - The Missouri Compromise was enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed by U.S. President James Monroe. The act admitted Missouri into the Union as a slave state, but prohibited slavery in the rest of the northern Louisiana Purchase territory.   1834 - The city of York in Upper Canada was incorporated as Toronto.   1836 - The thirteen-day siege of the Alamo by Santa Anna and his army ended. The Mexican army of three thousand men defeated the 189 Texas volunteers.   1854 - At the Washington Monument, several men stole the Pope's Stone from the lapidarium.   1857 - The U.S. Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision ruled that blacks could not sue in federal court to be citizens.   1886 - "The Nightingale" was first published. It was the first magazine for nurses.   1899 - Aspirin was patented by German researchers Felix Hoffman and Hermann Dreser.   1900 - In West Virginia, an explosion trapped 50 coal miners underground.   1901 - An assassin tried to kill Wilhelm II of Germany in Bremen.   1907 - British creditors of the Dominican Republic claimed that the U.S. had failed to collect debts.   1928 - A Communist attack on Peking, China resulted in 3,000 dead and 50,000 fled to Swatow.   1939 - In Spain, Jose Miaja took over the Madrid government after a military coup and vowed to seek "peace with honor."   1941 - Les Hite and his orchestra recorded "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise".   1944 - During World War II, U.S. heavy bombers began the first American raid on Berlin. Allied planes dropped 2000 tons of bombs.    1947 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the contempt conviction of John L. Lewis.    1947 - The first air-conditioned naval ship, "The Newport News," was launched from Newport News, VA.   1957 - The British African colonies of the Gold Coast and Togoland became the independent state of Ghana.   1960 - Switzerland granted women the right to vote in municipal elections.   1960 - The United States announced that it would send 3,500 troops to Vietnam.   1964 - Tom O’Hara set a new world indoor record when he ran the mile in 3 minutes, 56.4 seconds.   1967 - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his plan to establish a draft lottery.   1970 - Charles Manson released his album "Lies" to finance his defense against murder charges.   1973 - U.S. President Richard Nixon imposed price controls on oil and gas.   1975 - Iran and Iraq announced that they had settled their border dispute.   1980 - Islamic militants in Tehran said that they would turn over American hostages to the Revolutionary Council.   1981 - Walter Cronkite appeared on his last episode of "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite." He had been on the job 19 years.   1981 - U.S. President Reagan announced a plan to cut 37,000 federal jobs.   1982 - National Basketball Association history was made when San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 in three overtime periods to set the record for most points by two teams in a game. The record was beaten on December 13, 1983 by the Pistons and the Nuggets when they played to a final score of 186-184   1983 - The United States Football League began its first season of pro football competition.   1985 - Yul Brynner played his his 4,500th performance in the musical "The King and I."   1987 - The British ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in the Channel off the coast of Belgium. 189 people died.   1990 - In Afghanistan, an attempted coup to remove President Najibullah from office failed.   1990 - The Russian Parliament passed a law that sanctioned the ownership of private property.   1991 - In Paris, five men were jailed for plotting to smuggle Libyan arms to the Irish Republican Army.   1992 - The last episode of "The Cosby Show" aired. The show had been on since September of 1984.   1992 - The computer virus "Michelangelo" went into effect.   1997 - A gunman stole "Tete de Femme," a million-dollar Picasso portrait, from a London gallery. The painting was recovered a week later.   1997 - Britain's Queen Elizabeth II launched the first official royal Web site.   1998 - A Connecticut state lottery accountant gunned down three supervisors and the lottery chief before killing himself.

1836 The Alamo fell to Mexican forces. 1857 The Supreme Court ruled in Dred Scott v. Sandford that slaves were not citizens. 1930 Clarence Birdseye started to sell prepackaged frozen food for the first time, in Springfield, Massachusetts. 1957 The former British colonies of Togoland and the Gold Coast united to form independent Ghana. 1981 Walter Cronkite, "the most trusted man in America," retired from the CBS Evening News and was replaced by Dan Rather. 1997 Queen Elizabeth II launched the first royal website.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar06.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory