March 2
is the 61st day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (62nd in
leap years). There are 304 days remaining.
*
986 -
Louis V becomes King of the
Franks.
*
1127 -
Assassination of
Charles the Good,
Count of
Flanders.
*
1717 -
The Loves of Mars and Venus becomes the first
ballet performed in
England.
*
1791 - Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a
semaphore machine in
Paris.
*
1807 - The
U.S. Congress passes an act to "prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the
United States ... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country."
*
1836 -
Texas Revolution:
Declaration of independence of the
Republic of Texas from
Mexico.
*
1855 -
Alexander II becomes
Tsar of
Russia.
*
1861 -
Nevada Territory and
Dakota Territory are organized as
political divisions of the United States.
* 1861 -
Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia:
Tsar Alexander II signed the
emancipation reform into law, abolishing
Russian serfdom.
*
1865 -
Second Taranaki War: The
Volkner Incident in
New Zealand.
*
1877 -
U.S. presidential election, 1876: The
U.S. Congress declares
Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though
Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on
November 7,
1876 (
Reconstruction ends).
*
1888 - The
Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the
Suez Canal during war and peace.
*
1896 -
Ethiopia defeats
Italy in the
Battle of Adwa, marking the first victory of an
African nation over a
colonial power.
*
1899 - In
Washington State,
USA,
Mount Rainier National Park is established.
*
1901 - The
U.S. Congress passes the
Platt amendment, limiting the autonomy of
Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of
American troops.
*
1903 - In
New York City the
Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first
hotel exclusively for
women.
*
1917 - The enactment of the
Jones-Shafroth Act grants
Puerto Ricans,
United States citizenship.
* 1917 - (
Old Style) -
Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the throne in favor of his brother
Michael II of Russia.
*
1919 - The first
Communist International meets in
Moscow.
*
1933 -
King Kong premieres in
New York City.
*
1939 -
Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected
Pope and takes the name
Pius XII.
*
1943 -
World War II:
Battle of the Bismarck Sea -
United States and
Australian forces sink
Japanese convoy ships.
*
1946 -
Ho Chi Minh is elected the
President of
North Vietnam.
*
1949 -
Captain James Gallagher lands his
B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in
Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world
airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
*
1955 -
King Norodom Sihanouk of
Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King
Norodom Suramarit.
*
1956 -
Morocco declares its independence from
France.
*
1959 -
Miles Davis holds the first recording session for
Kind of Blue at
Columbia 30th Street Studio in
New York, NY.
*
1962 - In
Hershey, Pennsylvania,
Wilt Chamberlain of the
Philadelphia Warriors scores 100 points against the
New York Knicks, breaking several
National Basketball Association records.
* 1962 - In
Burma, the army led by
General Ne Win seizes power in a
coup.
*
1963 - Release of
Please Please Me in the
United Kingdom, the first
LP from
The Beatles.
*
1969 - In
Toulouse,
France the first test flight of the
Concorde is conducted.
* 1969 -
Soviet and
Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the
Ussuri River.
*
1970 -
Rhodesia declares itself a
republic, breaking its last links with the
British crown.
*
1972 - The
Pioneer 10 spaceprobe is launched from
Cape Canaveral,
Florida with a mission to explore the outer
planets.
*
1978 -
Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-
Russian or non-
American to go into
space, when he is launched aboard
Soyuz 28.
*
1987 -
Chrysler acquires
American Motors.
*
1989 - Twelve
European Community nations agree to ban the production of all
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
*
1990 -
Nelson Mandela elected deputy
President of the
African National Congress.
*
1991 - Battle at
Rumaila Oil Field brings end to the
1991 Gulf War.
*
1992 -
Uzbekistan joins the
UN.
* 1992 -
Moldova joins the
UN.
*
1995 -
Nick Leeson is arrested for his role in the collapse of
Barings Bank.
* 1995 -
Yahoo! is incorporated, establishing the
Internet Portal as a model.
*
1996 -
John Howard is appointed as
Prime Minister of Australia.
*
1998 - Data sent from the
Galileo spaceprobe indicates that
Jupiter's moon
Europa has a liquid
ocean under a thick crust of
ice.
*
2002 -
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan:
Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on
March 19 after killing 500
Taliban and
al Qaeda fighters, with 11 allied troop fatalities).
*
2003 - The first
International Symposium on
Taiwan Sign Language Linguistics is held at
Chung Cheng University.
*
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.
* 2004 -
War in Iraq: A
United Nations report from the weapons inspection teams states that
Iraq had no
weapons of mass destruction of any significance after
1994, despite
President George W. Bush's and Prime Minister Blair's objection to the contrary before the invasion.
*
2006 -
Sir Menzies Campbell is elected the new leader of the
UK Liberal Democrat Party.
*
2006 - The newest version of the
United States ten-dollar bill enters circulation.
*
1316 - King
Robert II of Scotland, (d.
1390)
*
1409 -
John II of Alençon, French soldier (d.
1476)
*
1459 -
Pope Adrian VI (d.
1523)
*
1545 -
Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (d.
1613)
*
1578 -
George Sandys, English colonist and poet (d.
1644)
*
1705 -
William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (d.
1793)
*
1770 -
Louis Gabriel Suchet, French marshal (d.
1826)
*
1779 -
Joel Roberts Poinsett, American statesman and botanist (d.
1851)
*
1793 -
Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas (d.
1863)
*
1800 -
Evgeny Baratynsky, Russian poet (d.
1844)
*
1810 -
Pope Leo XIII, (d.
1903)
*
1820 -
Multatuli, Dutch writer (d.
1887)
*
1824 -
Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (d.
1884)
*
1829 -
Carl Schurz, German revolutionary and American statesman (d.
1906)
*
1849 -
Robert Means Thompson, U.S. naval officer (d.
1930)
*
1859 -
Sholom Aleichem, Russian Yiddish novelist (d.
1916)
*
1860 -
Susanna M. Salter, Mayor of Argonia, Kansas (d.
1961)
*
1862 -
Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (d.
1916)
*
1876 -
Pope Pius XII, (d.
1958)
*
1900 -
Kurt Weill, German composer (d.
1950)
*
1902 -
Moe Berg, baseball player and spy (d.
1972)
*
1904 -
Dr. Seuss, American author (d.
1991)
*
1908 -
Walter Bruch, German engineer (d.
1990)
*
1909 -
Mel Ott, baseball player (d.
1958)
*
1913 -
Godfried Bomans, Dutch author and television personality (d.
1971)
* 1913 -
Mort Cooper, baseball player (d.
1958)
*
1914 -
Martin Ritt, American director (d.
1990)
*
1917 -
Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor, bandleader, and musician (d.
1986)
* 1917 -
Jim Konstanty, baseball player (d.
1976)
*
1919 -
Jennifer Jones, American actress
*
1923 -
Robert H. Michel, American politician
*
1926 -
Murray Rothbard, American economist (d.
1995)
*
1927 -
Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist
*
1930 -
John Cullum, American actor and singer
*
1931 -
Mikhail Gorbachev, Leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991,
President of the Soviet Union, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize* 1931 -
Tom Wolfe, American author
*
1935 -
Al Waxman, Canadian actor (d.
2001)
*
1937 -
Abdelaziz Bouteflika,
President of Algeria*
1938 -
Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile
*
1940 -
Tony Croatto, Italian-born singer and composer (d.
2005)
*
1942 -
John Irving, American author
* 1942 -
Lou Reed, American singer and guitarist
*
1943 -
Peter Straub, American author
* 1943 -
Zygfryd Blaut, Polish football player
*
1944 -
Uschi Glas, German actress
*
1948 -
Rory Gallagher, Irish guitarist (d.
1995)
* 1948 -
Jeff Kennett, Australian politician
*
1949 -
Eddie Money, New York police officer and singer
* 1949 -
JPR Williams, Welsh rugby player
* 1949 -
Gates McFadden, American actress
*
1950 -
Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (d.
1983)
*
1952 -
Mark Evanier, American writer
* 1952 -
Laraine Newman, American actress and comedian
*
1953 -
Russ Feingold, American politician
*
1955 -
Shoko Asahara, Japanese religious leader
*
1956 -
Mark Evans, Australian bassist (
AC/DC)
*
1958 -
Ian Woosnam, Welsh golfer
*
1961 -
Simone Young, Australian conductor
*
1962 -
Morioka Hiroyuki, Japanese writer
* 1962 -
Jon Bon Jovi, American singer, songwriter, and actor
*
1963 -
Tuff Hedeman, 4-Time PRCA World Champion Bull Rider
*
1964 -
Megan Leigh, American pornstar (d.
1990)
* 1964 -
Mike Von Erich, Professional wrestler
*
1965 -
Ron Gant, baseball player
*
1968 -
Daniel Craig, English actor
*
1972 -
Amber Smith, American actress and model
*
1973 -
Trevor Sinclair, English footballer
*
1974 -
Monika Niederstätter, Italian athlete
*
1977 -
Chris Martin, British musician (
Coldplay)
* 1977 -
Heather McComb, American actress
* 1977 -
Andrew Strauss, English cricketer
*
1979 -
Damien Duff, Irish footballer
*
1980 -
Édson Nobre, Angolan footballer
*
1981 -
Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
* 1981 -
Lance Cade, Professional wrestler
*
1982 -
Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
* 1982 -
Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish hockey
* 1982 -
Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
* 1982 -
Corey Webster, American football player
*
1985 -
Robert Iler, American actor
* 1985 -
Reggie Bush, American football player
*
1989 -
Will Makar,
American Idol contestant
*
855 -
Lothair, King of the Franks and
Holy Roman Emperor (b.
795)
*
1316 -
Marjorie Bruce, daughter of
Robert I of Scotland (b.
1296)
*
1572 -
Mem de Sá, Portuguese Governor-General of Brazil
*
1589 -
Alessandro Cardinal Farnese, Italian cardinal (b.
1520)
*
1729 -
Francesco Bianchini, Italian philosopher and scientist (b.
1662)
*
1730 -
Pope Benedict XIII (b.
1649)
*
1755 -
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (b.
1675)
*
1758 -
Pierre Guérin de Tencin, French cardinal (b.
1679)
*
1791 -
John Wesley, English founder of Methodism (b.
1703)
*
1793 -
Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-born artist
*
1797 -
Horace Walpole, English politician and writer (b.
1717)
*
1830 -
Samuel Thomas von Sömmering, German physician (b.
1755)
*
1835 -
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (b.
1768)
*
1840 -
Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers, German astronomer (b.
1758)
*
1865 -
Carl Sylvius Völkner, German missionary to New Zealand
*
1880 - Sir
John MacNeill, Irish civil engineer (b.
1790)
*
1895 -
Berthe Morisot, French painter (b.
1841)
* 1895 -
Isma'il Pasha, Governor of Egypt (b.
1830)
*
1921 - King
Nicholas I of Montenegro (b.
1841)
*
1930 -
D. H. Lawrence, English writer (b.
1885)
*
1938 -
Ben Harney, American composer and pianist (b.
1871)
*
1939 -
Howard Carter, British archaeologist (b.
1874)
*
1953 -
Jim Lightbody, American runner (b.
1882)
*
1960 -
Stanisław Taczak, Polish general, commander-in-chief of the Greater Poland Uprising (b.
1874)
*
1962 -
Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician (b.
1866)
*
1973 -
Cleo A. Noel, Jr., US Chief of Mission to Sudan (b.
1918). See
Khartoum diplomatic assassinations.
*
1975 -
Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, Kenyan politician (b.
1929)
*
1982 -
Philip K. Dick, American author (b.
1928)
*
1987 -
Randolph Scott, American actor and director (b.
1898)
*
1991 -
Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (b.
1928)
*
1992 -
Sandy Dennis, American actress (b.
1937)
*
1999 -
Dusty Springfield, English singer (b.
1939)
*
2001 -
John Diamond, British journalist (b.
1953)
*
2003 -
Hank Ballard, American musician (b.
1927)
* 2003 -
Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer, (b.
1931)
*
2004 -
Cormac McAnallen, Northern Irish Gaelic footballer (b.
1980)
* 2004 -
Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (b.
1916)
* 2004 -
Marge Schott, baseball team owner (b.
1928)
*
2005 -
Rick Mahler, baseball player (b.
1953)
*
2006 -
Milton Katims, American violist and conductor (b.
1909)
*
Bahá'í Faith -
Feast of 'Alá (
Loftiness) - First day of the 19th month of the
Bahá'í Calendar.
*
Bahá'í Faith - Beginning of the Fast (sunrise to sunset fast for 19 days).
*
Texas Independence Day (
1836).
Liturgical feasts
*
Church of England -
Saint Chad's Day.
Catholic Church:
*
Saint Abdalon*
saint Jovinus*
Blessed Charles the Good, Count of Flanders (+Bruges 1127)
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in Canada-
March 1 -
March 3 -
February 2 -
April 2 -
listing of all days
