On This Day April 1

On April 1, 1974 a local prankster Oliver "Porky" Bickar took 70 tires to the top of Mt. Edgecumbe, a volcano located at the southern end of Kruzof Island, Alaska. and lit them on fire. The locals thought the 400-year dormant volcano was erupting and a helicopter was sent up to check it out. When the helicopter arrived, the pilot found the words "APRIL FOOL" spray painted on the snow.

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On This Day March 31

In 1886 the French government held a competition to design an “iron tower” to be erected at the entrance to the exhibition on the Champ-de-Mars, partly to create an impressive experience for visitors. One hundred and seven plans were submitted, and the winner was one by the engineer Gustav Eiffel. The Eiffel Tower, which took two years to build, opened to the public on March 31, 1889.

Eiffel Tower in 1888.

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On This Day March 30

Built by the old Pennsylvania Railroad, the Rockville Bridge in Harrisburg opened on March 30, 1902. It is the longest longest stone masonry arch railroad viaduct in the world. The bridge is considered an icon of railroad engineering—it is 3,820 feet long, composed of 220,000 tons of stone, and took 800 laborers two years to build.

Rockville Bridge By Don Kasak from St. Louis, MO, US 

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On This Day March 29

The Terracotta Army at the tomb of Qin Shi Huang Emperor of China contains numerous life-like soldiers and horses. The vast collection of terracotta statues, depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, was discovered by a group of farmers in Shaanxi province, China, on March 29, 1974. It is estimated that the three pits containing the statutes held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. The tomb area covers about 38 square miles.

Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, Hall 1. By Zossolino 

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On This Day March 28

French aviator Henri Fabre became the first person to fly a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion. He successfully took off from a water runway near Martigues, France on March 28, 1910 and flew the plane for a distance of about half a kilometer (a third of a mile). Remarkably, Fabre had no flying experience before that day.

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On This Day March 27

In April 1632 Charles I of England granted a charter for the territory between Pennsylvania and Virginia About 250 set off for this new haven from Cowes on the Isle of Wight. They arrived in the new colony on March 27, 1634. The settlers made their first permanent settlement at St. Mary's City in what is now St. Mary's County. The new "Maryland Colony" was named in honor of Charles I's Catholic queen Henrietta Maria.

The Founding of Maryland, 1634. 

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On This Day March 26

Dr. Jonas Salk, the associate professor of bacteriology and head of the Virus Research Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine began working on the polio vaccine in 1948.After several years of research, which involved controversially injecting children with test versions, Dr. Jonas Salk announced on a national radio show on March 26, 1953, that he had successfully tested a vaccine against poliomyelitis on a small group of adults and children..

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On This Day March 25

The city of Venice was originally populated by refugees from mainland cities sacked by the Huns. According to legend, it was founded exactly at the stroke of noon with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo at the islet of Rialto on March 25, 421 (the Feast of the Annunciation).

Venice By Didier Descouens 

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On This Day March 24

On March 24, 1656, the great French mathematician Blaise Pascal's 10-year-old niece, Marguerite Périer, was healed of a painful incurable eye affliction by a Jansenist. The healing made a great impression on the public and all Catholic Paris acclaimed a miracle. Pascal regarded the event as confirming his belief in miracles, a belief that would later be incorporated his great apologetic work the Pensées.

Marguerite Périer 

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On This Day March 23

American attorney, planter and politician Patrick Henry made his "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech on March 23, 1775. During his address to the House of Burgesses of Virginia at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia, Henry urged military action against the British Empire. He is credited with having swung the balance in convincing the undecided convention to pass a resolution delivering Virginian troops for the Revolutionary War.

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On This Day March 22

Cosmonaut Valeriy Polyakov returned to Earth on March 22, 1995 after setting a record of 438 days in space. He spent his days aboard the Mir space station conducting experiments and performing scientific research. It was revealed that Polyakov did not suffer from any prolonged performance impairments as a result of his long period in space.

Valeri Polyakov By Mil.ru, Wikipedia

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On This Day March 21

The Protestant Archbishop Thomas Cranmer was accused of high treason by the Catholic Queen "Bloody" Mary I. He was brought to trial, found guilty and condemned to death. Cranmer made several recantations of his Protestant beliefs. However as he was being burnt at the stake on March 21, 1556, he thrust his right hand which he signed the form and watched the fire shrivel it crying, “This hand hath offended.” Cranmer's death was immortalized in Foxe's Book of Martyrs.

Cranmer's martyrdom, from John Foxe's book (1563)

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On This Day March 20

On March 20, 1987 the US Food and Drug Administration approved the antiretroviral drug zidovudine (AZT), the first antiviral medication approved for use against HIV and AIDS. The paucity of alternatives for treating HIV/AIDS at that time meant the drug's side-effect of transient anemia and malaise outweighed the slow, disfiguring, and painful death from HIV. AZT was subsequently approved unanimously for infants and children three years later.

AZT in oral, injectable, and suppository form

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On This Day March 19

At age 17, French inventor Louis Lumière invented a new process for film development using a dry plate Thirteen years later, he and his brother August patented their combination movie camera and projector, the Cinématographe. They recorded their first footage using their newly patented cinematograph on March 19, 1895. It showed mainly female workers leaving the Lumière factory on the outskirts of Lyon, France, as if they had just finished a day's work.

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On This Day March 18

On March 18, 1965 Russian cosmonaut Alexey Leonov became the first person to walk in space. Leonov went outside the Soviet spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes. He was tethered to the airlock with a 5m-long “umbilical cord” that prevented him from drifting into space. During his space walk, Alexei Leonov perspired so much that the sweat was sloshing around in his suit. Leonov said of the first space walk in human history: "My feeling was that I was a grain of sand."

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On This Day March 17

The 22 year old Franklin D Roosevelt married the gauche, garrulous charming but plain 20 year old Eleanor Roosevelt in New York on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1905. In total, the couple had six children in eleven years; however, the third, Franklin Jr., died in infancy. Franklin took several mistresses including a personal secretary, named Lucy Mercy. When Roosevelt became president they remained in a marriage of convenience with separate bedrooms in the White House.

Eleanor and Franklin with their first two children, 1908

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On This Day March 16

Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket on March 16, 1926 in Auburn, Massachusetts. Pioneer rocket scientist and New England physics professor Robert H. Goddard patented liquid rocket fuel in 1914, though he didn't get a rocket off the ground for another twelve years. The rocket engine used gasoline for fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer. It rose 41 feet and went 184 feet, in 2.5 seconds.

Goddard with a liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket (1926)

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On This Day March 15

Julius Caesar was killed at the senate house by a republican group during the Ides of March (March 15, 44 BC.) The 60 people involved in the plot included Brutus the son of his mistress. They feared Caesar was going to make himself King of Rome. 23 daggers in total were thrust into Caesar and he struggled until he saw his supposedly faithful friend, Brutus. After the murder Brutus and the other murderers had their homes set on fire by angry crowds.

The Death of Caesar (1798) by Vincenzo Camuccini

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On This Day March 14

Gilbert & Sullivan's two-act operetta The Mikado opened on March 14, 1885, in London, where it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 672 performances, which was the second longest run for any work of musical theater and one of the longest runs of any theater piece up to that time. Before the end of 1885, it was estimated that, in Europe and America, at least 150 companies were producing the opera.

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On This Day March 13

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope on March 13, 2013. Bergoglio chose his name to be called Pope Francis in order to pay tribute to St. Francis of Assisi. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first ever from the Americas and the first from the Southern Hemisphere. He is the first non-European pontiff since the Syrian Pope Gregory III in the 8th century.

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On This Day March 12

Coca-Cola was sold only as a fountain drink until 1894 when Vicksburg, Mississippi confectioner Joseph Biedenharn thought of bottling the beverage in the same manner he had been bottling soda water and offering it for sale to those who could not always make it to town to visit one of his three soda fountains. Bottled Coca-Cola was sold by him for the first time on March 12, 1894.

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On This Day March 11

During his time serving in Antigua, Horatio Nelson met Frances "Fanny" Nisbet, a young widow from a plantation family on the nearby island of Nevis. They were married at Nevis' Montpelier Estate on March 11, 1787, shortly before the end of his tour of duty in the Caribbean.

Frances Nelson, a portrait of the British school, c. 1800

Fanny was a devoted wife, but in time Horatio met Lady Emma Hamilton while serving in the Mediterranean and the two embarked in a highly public affair.

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On This Day March 10

In the early 14th century Dante Aligheri was a leader of the Bianchi, who opposed of the Florence bankers who wanted to involve France in Papal ambitions. Dante was accused of misapplication of monies and on March 10, 1302, he was sentenced to permanent banishment from Florence, and the death penalty should he ever return. Dante never saw his wife again. He conceived The Divine Comedy, an imaginary journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, during his exile.

Dante exile

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On This Day March 9

The willowy Joséphine de Beauharnais was among the gayest of French women in her era. She was good-natured, with refined manners, grace and charm. Napoléon Bonaparte was attracted by Joséphine's grace and charm, her delicately turned up nose and her long lashed eyes. They married on March 9, 1796 in a civil marriage ceremony. Josephine did not have any children with Napoleon. Because of this he divorced her in 1810.

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On This Day March 8

French aviatrix Baroness Raymonde de Laroche was the first woman to receive a pilot's license. She received ticket No. 36 on March 8, 1910. soon after De Laroche participated in aviation meetings at Heliopolis in Egypt, Saint Petersburg, Budapest and Rouen. During the show in St. Petersburg, she was personally congratulated by Tsar Nicholas II.

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On This Day March 7

Peaceful civil rights marchers in Alabama were attacked by police and white vigilantes on March 7, 1965 in an event known as "Bloody Sunday." Led by Dr Martin Luther King, the marchers intended to walk from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama; 3,200 people eventually completed the march on March 21-25 protected by the federalized Alabama National Guard.

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On This Day March 6

The compound salicylic acid, which occurs naturally in willow bark gives pain relief. Unfortunately it is bitter tasting and can cause vomiting. By mixing acetylating salicylic acid with acetic acid, German Bayer AG chemist Felix Hoffman concocted a less acidic formula to ease his father’s arthritis on August 10, 1897. The new drug, formally acetylsalicylic acid, was named Aspirin by Bayer AG and trademarked on March 6, 1899.

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On This Day March 5

American George Westinghouse, patented the compressed-air brake on March 5, 1872.  Before Westinghouse's invention, there was no easy way to quickly stop the extremely heavy freight trains that transported goods over land. Brakemen scrambled over the tops of moving cars to activate hand brakes on each one. The system was unreliable, resulting in frequent derailments, and many brakemen were killed or maimed after falling from trains. The air brake solved all of those problems.

Control handle and valve for a Westinghouse Air Brake

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On This Day March 4

In May 1680, the Quaker William Penn petitioned Charles II of England for a grant of land in the New World in settlement of the monarch’s debts to his family. The monarch took up the offer and on March 4, 1681 he granted Penn a a land charter for the area between Maryland and present-day western New York together with the right to govern it. The new colony was named Pennsylvania and Penn supervised the building of Philadelphia, which means "brotherly love" as its capital.

The Birth of Pennsylvania, 1680, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

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On This Day March 3

On a trip to Spain during the Civil War in the 1930s, Forrest Mars Sr.  son of the founder of the Mars Company Frank C. Mars, encountered soldiers who were eating pellets of chocolate that were encased in a hard sugary coating to prevent them from melting. Inspired by this idea, Mr. Mars went back to his kitchen and came up with the recipe for M&M's. Forrest Mars Sr. received a patent for his manufacturing process of M&M's on March 3, 1941.

Plain/Milk Chocolate M&M's were introduced in 1941. Wikipedia

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On This Day March 2

Captain James Gallagher landed his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas on March 2, 1949 after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute. En route, the aircraft was refueled four times near Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores, Dhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia, Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, and Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, using the soon-to-be obsolete grappled-line looped-hose technique.

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