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!
On this day in 871, the Battle at Marton was fought, as Ethelred van Wessex defeated the Danish invasion army. Louis V became the King of the Franks on this day in 986. In 1121 on this day, Dirk VI became the Count of Holland. The assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, occurred on this day in 1127. On this day in 1458, Hussite George van Podiebrad was chosen King of Bohemia. Vasco da Gama's fleet visited Mozambique Island on this day in 1498. In 1629 on this day, English King Charles I le the House of Commons. On this day in 1675, Prince William III was installed as Governor of Overijssel. The Loves of Mars and Venus became the first ballet performed in England on this day in 1717. On this day in 1776, Americans forces were ordered by General George Washington to begin the Siege of Boston with shelling of that city. On this day in 1867, the first Reconstruction Act following the end of the American Civil War was passed by US Congress. In 1867 on this day, the US Congress abolished the practice of peonage in New Mexico. On this day in 1904, Theodor Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Seuss, the author and illustrator of such beloved children's books as "The Cat in the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham," was born on this day in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1907 on this day, General Louis Botha was named premier of Transvaal, in modern day South Africa. In 1964 on this day, the Beatles began filming "Hard Days Night," and George Harrison met Patti Boyd. On this day in 1967, Senator and Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy (D-New York) proposed a three-point plan to help end the war. The plan included suspension of the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam and the gradual withdrawal of U.S. and North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam with replacement by an international force. Pioneer 10, the world's first outer-planetary probe, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to Jupiter on this day in 1972. On this day in 2000 in Great Britain, Chile's former President/Dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was freed from house arrest and allowed to return to Chile. Britain's Home Secretary Jack Straw had concluded that Pinochet was mentally and physically unfit to stand trial, and so he would not be extradited on charges of torture. Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland had sought the former Chilean leader on human-rights violations. On this day in 2003 over the Sea of Japan, there was a confrontation between four armed North Korean fighter jets and a U.S. RC-135S Cobra Ball. No shots were fired in the encounter in international airspace about 150 miles off North Korea's coast. The U.S. Air Force announced that it would resume reconnaissance flights on March 12th. NASA announced that the Mars rover Opportunity had discovered evidence that water had existed on Mars in the past on this day in 2004. On this day in 2008, Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former aide to Russian president Vladimir Putin who had never held elected office, won the Russian presidential election in a landslide. Putin remained in a position of power, serving as Medvedev's prime minister. Many believed that Putin was the real man in charge, a suspicion which seemed to be confirmed when Medvedev did not seek another term in office, and was outright succeeded by Putin.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
• On this day in 871, the Battle at Marton was fought, as Ethelred van Wessex defeated the Danish invasion army.
• Louis V became the King of the Franks on this day in 986.
• In 1121 on this day, Dirk VI became the Count of Holland.
• The assassination of Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, occurred on this day in 1127.
• On this day in 1458, Hussite George van Podiebrad was chosen King of Bohemia
• Vasco da Gama's fleet visited Mozambique Island on this day in 1498.
• In 1629 on this day, English King Charles I le the House of Commons
• On this day in 1675, Prince William III was installed as Governor of Overijssel
• 1717 - The Loves of Mars and Venus became the first ballet performed in England pn this day in 1717.
Equestrian statue of George Washington near his headquarters at Morristown, New Jersey.
• On this day in 1776, Americans forces were ordered by General George Washington to begin the Siege of Boston with shelling of that city. In advance of the Continental Army's occupation of Dorchester Heights, Massachusetts, General George Washington orders American artillery forces to begin bombarding Boston from their positions at Lechmere Point, northwest of the city center, on this day in 1776. After two straight days of bombardment, American Brigadier General John Thomas slipped 2,000 troops, cannons and artillery into position just south of Boston at Dorchester Heights. The 56 cannon involved in the move were those taken at Ticonderoga, New York, by Lieutenant Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen with his Green Mountain Boys, which had then been transported to Boston by Colonel of Artillery Henry Knox the previous winter. By March 5, 1776, the Continental Army had artillery troops in position around Boston, including the elevated position at Dorchester Heights, overlooking the city. British General William Howe realized Boston was indefensible to the American positions and decided, on March 7, 1776, to leave the city. Ten days later, on March 17, 1776, the eight-year British occupation of Boston ended when British troops evacuated the city and sailed to the safety of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The victory at Boston resulted in John Thomas' promotion to major general; soon after, he was assigned to replace General Richard Montgomery, who was killed in action as he and Benedict Arnold attempted to take Quebec. Thomas arrived at Quebec on May 1 and soon lost his own life. Although a physician by profession, he died of smallpox on June 2, as the Patriots retreated up the Richelieu River from their failed siege of the city.
1789 - Pennsylvania ends prohibition of theatrical performances
1791 - Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
1799 - Congress standardizes US weights & measures
1807 - Congress bans slave trade effective January 1, 1808
1808 - The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, was held in Edinburgh.
1815 - Signing of Kandyan treaty by British invaders and Sri Lankan King.
1817 - 1st Evangelical church building dedicated, New Berlin, Penn
1819 - Territory of Arkansas organized
1819 - US passed its 1st immigration law
King Charles IKing Charles I 1824 - Interstate commerce comes under federal control
1825 - 1st grand opera in US sung in English, NYC
1829 - New England Asylum for the Blind, 1st in US, incorporated, Boston
1831 - John Frazee becomes 1st US sculptor to receive a federal commission
1836 - Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico
1842 - The Grand National steeplechase at Aintree near Liverpool England is won by Gaylad, ridden by Tom Olliver.
1853 - Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Ter
1855 - Aleksandr Romanov becomes tsar of Russia
1858 - Frederick Cook, New Orleans, patents a cotton-bale metallic tie
1861 - Government Printing Office purchases 1st printing plant, Washington
1861 - US creates Dakota & Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah ter
1865 - British newspaper "Morning Chronicle" begins publishing
1865 - Freedman's Bureau founded for Black Education, 1865
1865 - Gen Early's army is defeated at Waynesborough
1865 - Battle of Waynesboro VA
1865 - Second Taranaki War: The Volkner Incident in New Zealand.
1866 - 1st US company to make sewing needles by machine incorporated, Conn
• On this day in 1867, the first Reconstruction Act following the end of the American Civil War was passed by US Congress.
• In 1867 on this day, the US Congress abolished the practice of peonage in New Mexico.
1867 - US Congress created the Department of Education
Outlaw Jesse JamesOutlaw Jesse James 1867 - Jesse James gang robs bank in Savannah Missouri, 1 dead
1867 - US Congress creates the Department of Education
1868 - University of Illinois opens
1874 - Baseball batter's box is officially adopted
1877 - Rutherford B Hayes (R) declared president despite Samuel J Tilden (D) winning the popular vote, but is 1 electoral vote shy of victory
1887 - American Trotting Association organized in Detroit
1888 - The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
1889 - Kansas passes 1st US antitrust
1890 - Oscar Fredriksen skates world record 5 km (9:19)
1893 - 1st federal railroad legislation passed; required safety features
1896 - George Lohmann takes 9-28 v South Africa at Johannesburg
1898 - Australia complete a 4-1 series annihilation of England
1899 - Pres McKinley signs bill creating Mt Rainier Natl Park (5th in US)
1901 - Hawaii's 1st telegraph company opens
1901 - The United States Congress passes the Platt amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops.
1902 - Jimmy Collins, leaves Boston Beaneaters (NL) club to manage AL's new Boston Somersets
1903 - Martha Washington Hotel, catering to women only, opens in NYC
1904 - "Official Playing Rules of Professional Base Ball Clubs" adopted
1904 - Gabriele d'Annunzio's "La figlia di Iorio," premieres in Milan
The Voortrekker Monument on top of a hill in Pretoria, the old capital city of Transvaal, and the executive capital of modern South Africa.
• In 1907 on this day, General Louis Botha was named premier of Transvaal, in modern day South Africa.
• On this day in 1904, Theodor Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Seuss, the author and illustrator of such beloved children's books as "The Cat in the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham," was born on this day in 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Geisel, who used his middle name (which was also his mother's maiden name) as his pen name, wrote 48 books--including some for adults--that have sold well over 200 million copies and been translated into multiple languages. Dr. Seuss books are known for their whimsical rhymes and quirky characters, which have names like the Lorax and the Sneetches and live in places like Hooterville. Geisel, who was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts, graduated from Dartmouth College, where he was editor of the school's humor magazine, and studied at Oxford University. There he met Helen Palmer, his first wife and the person who encouraged him to become a professional illustrator. Back in America, Geisel worked as a cartoonist for a variety of magazines and in advertising. The first children's book that Geisel wrote and illustrated, "And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street," was rejected by over two dozen publishers before making it into print in 1937. Geisel's first bestseller, "The Cat in the Hat," was published in 1957. The story of a mischievous cat in a tall striped hat came about after his publisher asked him to produce a book using 220 new-reader vocabulary words that could serve as an entertaining alternative to the school reading primers children found boring. Other Dr. Seuss classics include "Yertle the Turtle," "If I Ran the Circus," "Fox in Socks" and "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish." Some Dr. Seuss books tackled serious themes. "The Butter Battle Book" (1984) was about the arms buildup and nuclear war threat during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. "Lorax" (1971) dealt with the environment. Many Dr. Seuss books have been adapted for television and film, including "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" and "Horton Hears a Who!" In 1990, Geisel published a book for adults titled "Oh, the Places You'll Go" that became a hugely popular graduation gift for high school and college students. Geisel, who lived and worked in an old observatory in La Jolla, California, known as "The Tower," died September 24, 1991, at age 87.
1907 - Georges Feydeaus' "La Puce à l'Oreille," premieres in Paris
1909 - Gr Brit, France, Germ & It asks Serbia to set no territorial demands
1910 - 2 trains crash in snow storm in Wellington Washington, 118 die
1915 - British vice adm Carden begins bombing of Dardanelles forts
1915 - Vladmir Jabotinsky forms a Jewish military force to fight in Palestine
1917 - Jones Act: Puerto Rico territory created, US citizenship granted
1918 - NY Yankees purchase 1st baseman George Burns from Detroit Tigers & immediately trades him to Phila A's
1919 - 1st congress of Communist International opens at the Kremlin
1920 - Karel Capék's "Loupeznik," premieres in Prague
1922 - WBAP-AM, Fort Worth Texas, begins broadcasting
1922 - WLW-AM in Cincinnati OH begins radio transmissions
1923 - Time magazine debuts
1925 - Dutch Socialists demand drastic disarmament
1925 - Japan's House of Representatives recognizes male suffrage
1925 - Nationwide road numbering system & US shield marker adopted
1925 - SDAP-Second-Faction of parliament demands drastic disarmament
Baseball Great Babe RuthBaseball Great Babe Ruth 1927 - Babe Ruth becomes highest paid baseball player ($70,000 per year)
1929 - Chicago Black Hawks shut-out for NHL record 8th straight game
1929 - Congress creates Court of Customs & Patent Appeals
1930 - 1st US indoor glider flight, St Louis Terminal Building
1933 - "King Kong," premieres at Radio City Music Hall & RKO Roxy NYC
1933 - Most powerful earthquake in 180 years hit Japan
1934 - Union Pacific tests light-weight high-speed passenger train, Omaha
1936 - Bradman scores 369 in 253 mins, SA v Tasmania, 46 fours 4 sixes
1937 - Mexico nationalizes oil
1938 - Landslides & floods cause over 200 deaths (Los Angeles California)
1938 - Trials of Soviet leaders begins in the Soviet Union
1939 - Eugenio Pacelli chosen as Pope Pius XII
1939 - Mass Legislature votea to ratify the Bill of Rights - 147 years late
1940 - 1st intercollegiate track meet telecast, Madison Square Garden, NYC
1940 - Soviet armies conquer Tuppura Island Finland
1941 - World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joined the Axis Pact.
1942 - 14th Academy Awards - "How Green was My Valley," Cooper & Fontaine win
1942 - Admiral Helfrich departs Java for Ceylon
1943 - 1st transport from Westerbork Neth to Sobibor concentration camp
1944 - 16th Academy Awards - "Casablanca," Jennifer Jones & Paul Lukas win
1944 - Fumes from locomotive stalled in a tunnel suffocates 521 in Italy
1945 - 8th Air Force bombs Dresden
1945 - King Michael of Romania gives in to Communist government
1946 - Dutch troops land on East Bali
Vietnamese Communist Revolutionary Ho Chi MinhVietnamese Communist Revolutionary Ho Chi Minh 1946 - Ho Chi Minh elected president of North Vietnam
1946 - Kingman Douglass, becomes deputy director of CIA
1949 - 1st automatic street light (New Milford, Ct)
1949 - Lucky Lady II (USAF B-50 Superfortress), completes 1st nonstop round- the-world flight at Fort Worth, Tx, covering 23,452-mis in 94 hrs
1951 - 1st NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 111-94 at Boston
1952 - Marlene Hagge wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Open
1953 - The Academy Awards are first broadcast on television by NBC.
1955 - King Norodom Sihanukh of Cambodia succeeded by his father
1955 - William Inge's "Bus Stop," premieres in NYC
1956 - Morocco tears up the Treaty of Fez, declares independence from France
1958 - 1st surface crossing of Antarctic continent is completed in 99 days
1958 - Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Jacksonville Golf Open
1958 - Yemen announces it would join the United Arab Republic
1961 - "13 Daughters" opens at 54th St Theater NYC for 28 performances
1962 - JFK announces US will resume above ground nuclear testing
US President John F. KennedyUS President John F. Kennedy 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain scores incredible 100 points in an NBA game
1962 - In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup.
Image courtesy of niteprowl3r Flickr page - beatles: https://www.flickr.com/photos/snouty/5494369894/in/photolist-9nw5Kq-aRwNez-aR9uw4-aR9u4B-aR9nqB-aR9jhx-aR9nbV-aR9jVx-aR9o46-aR9nE4-aR9jyD-aR9nR4-aR9org-aR9rHR-aR9jJ2-aR9umZ-aR9ogv-aR9oJr-aR9ueT-aR9kSt-aR9k3X-aR9rpz-aR9kaK-aR9m2T-aR9kGD-aR9ku8-aR9rg2-aR9kiM-6Kk94T-aRvkDn-aRvkm8-aRv85M-aRv7Qk-aRv8t2-aRv8hK-aRvkSp-aR9wok-aR9wyp-91hv7a-aRvB94-aR9tKr-aRvADV-aR9tTi-aRvBsp-aRvAPr-aRwVba-aRwVjF-nNusiV-aRwVt2-aRwV36
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• In 1964 on this day, the Beatles began filming "Hard Days Night," and George Harrison met Patti Boyd.
1965 - "Sound Of Music" opens
1965 - Montcalm Community College in Sidney Mich, founded
1966 - 215,000 US soldiers in Vietnam
1967 - 9th Grammy Awards: Strangers in Night, Michele wins
1967 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• On this day in 1967, Senator and Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy (D-New York) proposed a three-point plan to help end the war. The plan included suspension of the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam and the gradual withdrawal of U.S. and North Vietnamese troops from South Vietnam with replacement by an international force. Secretary of State Dean Rusk rejected Kennedy's proposal because he believed that the North Vietnamese would never agree to withdraw their troops. Kennedy had been Attorney General under his brother, President John F. Kennedy. When the elder Kennedy was assassinated, Robert stayed on to serve his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, but resigned his post in 1964 to run for the Senate. In the Senate, Kennedy initially continued to support U.S. efforts in Vietnam despite his growing apprehension about the war, especially the massive bombing of North Vietnam, because he was reluctant to disagree with the Johnson administration and its handling of the war. As racial strife and urban violence intensified along with mounting antiwar sentiment, however, Kennedy found it increasingly difficult to remain silent. The presidential campaign of 1968 opened the door for him to act on his concern. When President Johnson announced that he would not seek re-election, Kennedy entered the race, quickly emerging as a serious contender for the presidency. On June 4, 1968, he won the all-important California primary, thereby becoming his party's front-runner. That night, after addressing his supporters at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, he was shot by Sirhan Sirhan. He died the following day at the age of 42.
1968 - Ice Dance Championship at Geneva won by Towler & Ford (GRB)
1968 - Ice Pairs Championship at Geneva won by Belousova & Protopopov (USSR)
1968 - Men's Figure Skating Champions in Geneva won by Emmerich Danzer (AUT)
1968 - USAF displays Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, biggest plane in the world
1968 - USSR launches space probe Zond 4; fails to leave Earth orbit
1968 - Worlds Ladies Figure Skating Champ in Geneva won by Peggy Fleming (US)
1969 - 1st test flight of the supersonic Concorde
1969 - Chinese-Russian borders fight (approx 70 die)
1969 - Dmitri Shostakovitch completes his 14th Symphony
1969 - Phil Esposito becomes 1st NHL Player to score 100 points in a season
1970 - American Airlines' 1st flight of a Boeing 747
1970 - Rhodesia becomes independent republic
1970 - Supreme Court ruled draft evaders can not be penalized after 5 years
1972 - Jean-Bédell Bokassa appoints himself pres for life of Cent African Rep
1972 - Pioneer 10 launched for Jupiter flyby
• Pioneer 10, the world's first outer-planetary probe, was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to Jupiter on this day in 1972. In December 1973, after successfully negotiating the asteroid belt and a distance of 620 million miles, Pioneer 10 reached Jupiter and sent back to Earth the first close-up images of the spectacular gas giant. In June 1983, the NASA spacecraft left the solar system and the next day radioed back the first scientific data on interstellar space. NASA officially ended the Pioneer 10 project on March 31, 1997, with the spacecraft having traveled a distance of some six billion miles. Headed in the direction of the Taurus constellation, Pioneer 10 will pass within three light years of another star--Ross 246--in the year 34,600 A.D. Bolted to the probe's exterior wall is a gold-anodized plaque, 6 by 9 inches in area, that displays a drawing of a human man and woman, a star map marked with the location of the sun, and another map showing the flight path of Pioneer 10. The plaque, intended for intelligent life forms elsewhere in the galaxy, was designed by astronomer Carl Sagan.
1973 - "Black September" terrorists occupy Saudi Embassy in Khartoum
Actress/Singer Bette MidlerActress/Singer Bette Midler 1974 - 16th Grammy Awards: Killing Me Softly, Bette Midler wins
1974 - 1st class postage raised to 10 cents from 8 cents
1974 - Grand jury concludes Pres Nixon is involved in Watergate cover-up
1974 - Greg Chappell makes 247* v NZ, 410 minutes, 29 fours 1 six
1976 - "Bubbling Brown Sugar" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 766 performances
1976 - Bob Lurie becomes CEO of SF Giants
1976 - Holgate, Kemp & Lopez' musical premieres in NYC
1976 - Walt Disney World logged its 50 millionth guest
1977 - 1st time Jay Leno appears on Tonight Show
1977 - Bette Davis is 1st woman to receive American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award
1977 - Future Tonight Show host Jay Leno debuts with host Johnny Carson
1977 - Libya amends constitution
1978 - 1st broadcast of "Dallas" on CBS TV
1978 - Soyuz 28 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Czechoslovakian) to Salyut 6
1980 - 3rd Islander scoreless tie-Penguins in Pitts
Actress Bette DavisActress Bette Davis 1980 - Jan Stephenson wins LPGA Sun City Golf Classic
1980 - Mike Bratz (Phoenix) ends NBA free throw streak of 57 games
1981 - Aircraft hijacked by 3 Pakistani terrorists
1981 - Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWDC in Wash DC
1982 - 60th hat trick in Islander history-Bryan Trottier
1982 - Terror group "The Illuminated Path" frees 260 prisoners in Peru
1983 - Compact Disc recordings developed by Phillips & Sony introduced
1983 - Final episode of M*A*S*H; 125,000,000 viewers
1983 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
1984 - Iran offensive against Iraq fails
1984 - John Long (Detroit) begins NBA free throw streak of 51 games
1985 - US approves screening test for AIDS
1986 - 1st million-dollar purse for a handicap race won at Santa Anita
1986 - Mary Beth Zimmerman wins Uniden LPGA Golf Invitational
1986 - Protesters try to stop Land Rover motor company being sold to US
1988 - 30th Grammy Awards: Graceland, Joshua Tree, Jody Watley
1988 - Dutch Liberal Party merged with SDP
1989 - 12 European nations agree to ban chlorofluorocarbon production by 2000
1989 - Exxon Houston runs aground in Hawaii, spills 117,000 gallons of oil
Pop Star MadonnaPop Star Madonna 1989 - Madonna's "Like a Prayer" premieres on worldwide Pepsi commercial
1989 - NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers win 22nd straight home game
1989 - NY Met Darryl Strawberry swings at teammate Keith Hernandez
1990 - Greyhound Bus goes on strike
1990 - Mark Tewsksbury swims world record 50m backstroke (25.06 sec)
1991 - "Aspects of Love" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 377 perfs
1991 - "La Bete" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 24 performances
1991 - Deb Richard wins LPGA Women's Kemper Golf Open
1991 - Del Ballard Jr throws most famous gutter ball in PBA Tour history
1991 - NC State Chris Corchiani becomes 1st NCAAer to get 1,000 assists
1991 - UN votes in favor of US resolutions for cease fire with Iraq
1991 - Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brings end to the 1991 Gulf War.
1992 - Anita Hall swims female world record 200m freestyle (2:25.35)
1992 - Moldova joins the United Nations.
1993 - Claudette Colbert, suffers a stroke at 89
Baseball Player Darryl StrawberryBaseball Player Darryl Strawberry 1993 - Salman Rushdie divorces Marianne Wiggins
1994 - Miami begins a latin walk of fame, 1st star for Gloria Estefan
1994 - William Natcher, (Rep-D-Ky), casts his 18,401 & last consecutive vote
1994 - Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender if taped statement is broadcasted, it is, but he doesn't
1995 - "Smokey Joe's Cafe," opens at Virginia Theater NYC
1995 - British trader Nick Leeson arrested for collapse of Barings Bank PLC
1995 - Ferry boat sinks off Sumbe Angola, 42+ killed
1995 - Space shuttle STS-67 (Endeavour 8), launches
1996 - Copeland swimming pool re-opened by Gladiator
1996 - Tendulkar scores 137 for Ind v SL in Cricket World Cup, but still lose
1997 - Gail Graham wins LPGA Alpine Australian Ladies Masters
1997 - Nick Faldo wins Nissan Golf Open
1997 - Saudi Arab billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talal aquires 5% of Apple
1997 - Soyuz TM-24 returns to Earth (Russia)
1998 - Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
• On this day in 2000 in Great Britain, Chile's former President/Dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was freed from house arrest and allowed to return to Chile. Britain's Home Secretary Jack Straw had concluded that Pinochet was mentally and physically unfit to stand trial, and so he would not be extradited on charges of torture. Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland had sought the former Chilean leader on human-rights violations.
2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
2003 - The first International Symposium on Taiwan Sign Language Linguistics is held at Chung Cheng University.
• On this day in 2003 over the Sea of Japan, there was a confrontation between four armed North Korean fighter jets and a U.S. RC-135S Cobra Ball. No shots were fired in the encounter in international airspace about 150 miles off North Korea's coast. The U.S. Air Force announced that it would resume reconnaissance flights on March 12th.
• NASA announced that the Mars rover Opportunity had discovered evidence that water had existed on Mars in the past on this day in 2004.
2004 - Voters in the U.S. state of Georgia vote on a referendum concerning its Confederacy-derived flag.
2004 - War in Iraq: Al Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
• On this day in 2008, Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former aide to Russian president Vladimir Putin who had never held elected office, won the Russian presidential election in a landslide. Putin remained in a position of power, serving as Medvedev's prime minister. Many believed that Putin was the real man in charge, a suspicion which seemed to be confirmed when Medvedev did not seek another term in office, and was outright succeeded by Putin.
2008 - Riots in Yerevan, Armenia concerning the Armenian presidential election, 2008 come to a fatal end, with police forces clashing with civilians in their peaceful protest, resulting in 8 deaths.
2012 - Tornadoes kill at least 27 people in the American states of Indiana and Kentucky
2012 - The Red Cross is denied access to provide relief to the Baba Amr district in Homs by the Syrian army
2012 - New fiscal compact to prevent excessive debt is signed by 25 out of 27 European Union members
1807 - The U.S. Congress passed an act to "prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country." 1836 - Texas declared its independence from Mexico and an ad interim government was formed. 1861 - The U.S. Congress created the Territory of Nevada. 1866 - Excelsior Needle Company began making sewing machine needles. 1877 - In the U.S., Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election by the U.S. Congress. Samuel J. Tilden, however, had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876. 1887 - The American Trotting Association was organized in Detroit, MI. 1897 - U.S. President Cleveland vetoed legislation that would have required a literacy test for immigrants entering the country. 1899 - Mount Rainier National Park in Washington was established by the U.S. Congress. 1899 - U.S. President McKinley signed a measure that created the rank of Admiral for the U.S. Navy. The first admiral was George Dewey. 1900 - The U.S. Congress voted to give $2 million in aid to Puerto Rico. 1901 - The first telegraph company in Hawaii opened. 1901 - The U.S. Congress passed the Platt amendment, which limited Cuban autonomy as a condition for withdrawal of U.S. troops. 1903 - The Martha Washington Hotel opened for business in New York City. The hotel had 416 rooms and was the first hotel exclusively for women. 1906 - A tornado in Mississippi killed 33 and did $5 million in damage. 1907 - In Hamburg, Germany, dock workers went on strike after the end of the night shift. British strike breakers were brought in. The issue was settled on April 22, 1907. 1908 - In New York, the Committee of the Russian Republican Administration was founded. 1908 - In Paris, Gabriel Lippmann introduced three-dimensional color photography at the Academy of Sciences. 1911 - Maurice Maeterlinck's "The Bluebird" opened in Paris. 1917 - The Russian Revolution began with Czar Nicholas II abdicating. 1917 - Citizens of Puerto Rico were granted U.S. citizenship with the enactment of the Jones Act. 1925 - State and federal highway officials developed a nationwide route-numbering system and adopted the familiar U.S. shield-shaped, numbered marker. 1929 - The U.S. Court of Customs & Patent Appeals was created by the U.S. Congress. 1933 - The motion picture King Kong had its world premiere in New York. 1939 - The Massachusetts legislature voted to ratify the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution. These first ten amendments had gone into effect 147 years before. 1946 - Ho Chi Minh was elected President of Vietnam. 1949 - The B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II landed in Fort Worth, TX. The American plane had completed the first non-stop around-the-world flight. 1962 - Wilt 'The Stilt' Chamberlain scored 100 points against the New York Knicks 169-147. Chamberlain broke several NBA records in the game. 1969 - In Toulouse, France, the supersonic transport Concorde made its first test flight. 1974 - Postage stamps jumped from 8 to 10 cents for first-class mail. 1983 - The U.S.S.R. performed an underground nuclear test. 1984 - The first McDonald's franchise was closed. A new location was opened across the street from the old location in Des Plaines, IL. 1985 - The U.S. government approved a screening test for AIDS that detected antibodies to the virus that allowed possibly contaminated blood to be kept out of the blood supply. 1986 - Corazon Aquino was sworn into office as president of the Philippines. Her first public declaration was to restore the civil rights of the citizens of her country. 1987 - The U.S. government reported that the median price for a new home had gone over $100,000 for the first time. 1989 - Representatives from the 12 European Community nations all agreed to ban all production of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) by the end of the 20th century. 1995 - Russian anti-corruption journalist Vladislav Listyev was killed by a gunman in Moscow. 1995 - Nick Leeson was arrested for his role in the collapse of Britain's Barings Bank. 1998 - The U.N. Security Council endorsed U.N. chief Kofi Annan's deal to open Iraq's presidential palaces to arms inspectors. 1998 - Images from the American spacecraft Galileo indicated that the Jupiter moon Europa has a liquid ocean and a source of interior heat. 2000 - In Great Britain, Chile's former President Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was freed from house arrest and allowed to return to Chile. Britain's Home Secretary Jack Straw had concluded that Pinochet was mentally and physically unable to stand trial. Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland had sought the former Chilean leader on human-rights violations. 2003 - Over the Sea of Japan, there was a confrontation between four armed North Korean fighter jets and a U.S. RC-135S Cobra Ball. No shots were fired in the encounter in international airspace about 150 miles off North Korea's coast. The U.S. Air Force announced that it would resume reconnaissance flights on March 12. 2004 - NASA announced that the Mars rover Opportunity had discovered evidence that water had existed on Mars in the past. 2011 - Steve Jobs unveiled Apple's iPad 2.
1836 Texas declared its independence from Mexico. 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes was declared president by a U.S. electoral commission since the original result was too close to call. He was the only president elected this way. 1917 Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory and Puerto Ricans gained American citizenship. 1923 The first issue of Henry Luce's TIME magazine appeared on newsstands. 1933 King Kong, starring Fay Wray, premiered in New York City. 1949 Captain James Gallagher completed the first non-stop around the world flight. He completed the 23,452-mile journey in 94 hours, 1 minute. 1956 Morocco gained independence from France. 1962 Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain scored an NBA-record 100 points in a basketball game. 2001 The Taliban began the destruction of ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan. 2008 Dmitri A. Medvedev, a former aide to Russian president Vladimir Putin who has never held elected office, won the Russian presidential election in a landslide. Putin remained in a position of power, serving as Medvedev's prime minister.
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/mar02.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
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