TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – MARCH 2
1797 The Directory of Great Britain authorizes vessels of war to board and seize neutral vessels, particularly if the ships are American.
1799 Congress standardizes US weights & measures
1807 US Congress bans the slave trade within the US, effective January 1, 1808
1819 Territory of Arkansas organized
1836 Texas declares independence from Mexico on Sam Houston’s 43rd birthday
1853 The Territory of Washington is organized.
1861 US Congress creates Dakota & Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah territories
1865 President Abraham Lincoln rejects Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s plea for peace talks, demanding unconditional surrender.
1877 Rutherford B. Hayes is declared president by one vote the day before the inauguration.
1889 Congress passes the Indian Appropriations Bill, proclaiming unassigned lands in the public domain; the first step toward the famous Oklahoma Land Rush.
1917 Congress passes the Jones Act making Puerto Rico a territory of the United States and makes the inhabitants U.S. citizens.
1923 The first issue of Henry Luce’s TIME magazine appeared on newsstands.
1950 Silly Putty invented
1955 Claudette Colvin refuses to give up her seat in Montgomery, Alabama, nine months before Rosa Parks’ famous arrest for the same offense.
1970 Supreme Court ruled draft evaders can not be penalized after 5 years
1973 Federal forces surround Wounded Knee, South Dakota, which is occupied by members of the militant American Indian Movement who are holding at least 10 hostages.
1973 “Black September” terrorists occupy Saudi Embassy in Khartoum
1985 US approves screening test for AIDS
1994 Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender if taped statement is broadcast; it is, but he doesn’t
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.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
