March 2
1807 - Congress outlawed the importation of slaves to the United States, effective the following year.
1836 - Texas declared its independence from Mexico.
1867 - Howard University, a historically Black school of higher learning in Washington, D.C., was founded.
1867 - Congress passed, over President Andrew Johnson's veto, the first of four Reconstruction Acts.
1877 - Rutherford B. Hayes was declared president over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden by a U.S. electoral commission since the original result was too close to call. He was the only U.S. president ever elected this way. (Tilden had won the popular vote.)
1917 - Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory and Puerto Ricans were granted American citizenship.
1923 - The first issue of "TIME" magazine appeared on newsstands.
1932 - The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which moved the date of the presidential inauguration from March 4 to January 20, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
1933 - "King Kong", starring Fay Wray, premiered in New York City.
1939 - Roman Catholic Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected pope and took the name Pius XII.
1939 - The Massachusetts legislature voted to ratify the Bill of Rights, 147 years after the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution had gone into effect. (Georgia and Connecticut soon followed.)
1943 - The three-day Battle of the Bismarck Sea began in the southwest Pacific during World War II; U.S. and Australian warplanes were able to inflict heavy damage on an Imperial Japanese convoy.
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.
1977 - The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a strict code of ethics.
1985 - The federal government approved a screening test for AIDS that detected antibodies to the virus, allowing possibly contaminated blood to be excluded from the blood supply.
1989 - Representatives from 12 European Community nations agreed to ban all production of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), the synthetic compounds blamed for destroying Earth's ozone layer, by the end of the 20th century.
1995 - The Internet search engine Yahoo! was incorporated by founders Jerry Yang and David Filo.
2001 - The Taliban began the destruction of ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan.
2004 - A series of coordinated blasts in Iraq killed 181 people at shrines in Karbala and Baghdad as thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims gathered for a religious festival.
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.
2011 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church have a First Amendment right to picket the funeral service of a U.S. Marine.
2016 - The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the toughest sanctions against North Korea in two decades, reflecting growing anger at Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test and rocket launch in defiance of a ban on all nuclear-related activity.
2020 - The director-general of the World Health Organization said there was still time to stop the COVID-19 epidemic, saying “containment is feasible.” Vice President Mike Pence said the coronavirus risk to Americans remained low, but that “we’re ready for anything.”
Birthdays
21 - Cailee Rae (singer)
23 - Tua Tagovailoa (football player)
24 - Becky G (singer/rapper/actress)
26 - Veronica Dunne (actress)
31 - Luke Combs (country singer)
32 - Nathalie Emmanuel (actress)
36 - Reggie Bush (football player)
36 - Robert Iler (actor)
37 - Trent Garrett (actor)
39 - Ben Roethlisberger (football player)
40 - Bryce Dallas Howard (actress)
41 - Rebel Wilson (actress)
44 - Heather McComb (actress)
49 - Richard Ruccolo (actor)
50 - Method Man (rapper)
53 - Daniel Craig (actor)
59 - Jon Bon Jovi (singer)
62 - Larry Stewart (country singer)
66 - Jay Osmond (singer)
69 - Laraine Newman (actress)
70 - Cassie Yates (actress)
79 - John Irving (author)
82 - Barbara Luna (actress)
90 - Mikhail S. Gorbachev (former leader of the Soviet Union)
91 - John Cullum (actor)
===========================================
Today in Sports History - March 2
1904 - The "Official Playing Rules of Professional Base Ball Clubs" were adopted.
1918 - Joe Malone (Toronto Arenas) became the first scoring leader in the NHL. He had scored 44 goals in 22 games in the first NHL season. His record stood until 1944-45 when 50 goals were scored by Maurice "The Rocket" Richard.
1922 - The Toronto St. Patricks and the Vancouver Millionaires played the final professional hockey game that featured seven players on each side.
1927 - Babe Ruth signs a record three-year contract with the New York Yankees worth $70,000 a year.
1962 - Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game NBA scoring record with 100 points in a 167-147 win over the New York Knicks.
1966 - Bobby Hull (Chicago Blackhawks) became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in two seasons.
1968 - Nineteen-year-old American Peggy Fleming wins her third consecutive World Ladies Figure Skating championship and announces her retirement to turn professional and eventually become a broadcaster.
1969 - Phil Esposito (Boston Bruins) became the first player in the NHL to score 100 points in a season. Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe also crossed the 100 mark during the same season.
1986 - Kenny Knox is the last player to score in the 80s (shooting an 80 in round 3) and still win a PGA Tour Event (Honda Classic at TPC Eagle Trace). His 287 is the highest winning score in PGA Tour history.
1991 - North Carolina State point guard Chris Corchiani become the first Division I basketball player to record 1,000 career assists.
1992 - Ryne Sandberg signed a 5-year contract with the Chicago Cubs worth $30.5 million.
1993 - Mario Lemieux undergoes his 22nd and final radiation treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, then later in the day joins the Pittsburgh Penguins and records a goal and an assist in a 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
2000 - Team New Zealand (Kiwis) retained yachting's America's Cup. It was the first time that a non-American syndicate had successfully defended the Cup.
2000 - St. Louis Blues become just the 2nd team in NHL history to win 10 straight games on the road, with a 5-2 victory in Atlanta; tie mark set by the Buffalo Sabres in 1983-84.
2004 - The Pittsburgh Penguins ended their NHL record 14-game home losing streak when they tied the New York Islanders 3-3.
2004 - The Indianapolis Colts signed Peyton Manning to a seven-year, $98 million contract which included a $34.5 million signing bonus, which was the largest contract to date in NFL history.
2004 - The St. Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team finish their regular season with a perfect 27-0 record.
2012 - Major League Baseball confirms the postseason will be expanded from 8 to 10 teams, with an extra wild card team in each league.
2012 - The NFL establishes existence of a bounty program at the New Orleans Saints 2009-11; players given incentives to injure opposition; coach Sean Payton is suspended for the entire 2012 season.
1807 - Congress outlawed the importation of slaves to the United States, effective the following year.
1836 - Texas declared its independence from Mexico.
1867 - Howard University, a historically Black school of higher learning in Washington, D.C., was founded.
1867 - Congress passed, over President Andrew Johnson's veto, the first of four Reconstruction Acts.
1877 - Rutherford B. Hayes was declared president over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden by a U.S. electoral commission since the original result was too close to call. He was the only U.S. president ever elected this way. (Tilden had won the popular vote.)
1917 - Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory and Puerto Ricans were granted American citizenship.
1923 - The first issue of "TIME" magazine appeared on newsstands.
1932 - The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which moved the date of the presidential inauguration from March 4 to January 20, was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
1933 - "King Kong", starring Fay Wray, premiered in New York City.
1939 - Roman Catholic Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected pope and took the name Pius XII.
1939 - The Massachusetts legislature voted to ratify the Bill of Rights, 147 years after the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution had gone into effect. (Georgia and Connecticut soon followed.)
1943 - The three-day Battle of the Bismarck Sea began in the southwest Pacific during World War II; U.S. and Australian warplanes were able to inflict heavy damage on an Imperial Japanese convoy.
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.
1977 - The U.S. House of Representatives adopted a strict code of ethics.
1985 - The federal government approved a screening test for AIDS that detected antibodies to the virus, allowing possibly contaminated blood to be excluded from the blood supply.
1989 - Representatives from 12 European Community nations agreed to ban all production of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), the synthetic compounds blamed for destroying Earth's ozone layer, by the end of the 20th century.
1995 - The Internet search engine Yahoo! was incorporated by founders Jerry Yang and David Filo.
2001 - The Taliban began the destruction of ancient Buddha statues in Afghanistan.
2004 - A series of coordinated blasts in Iraq killed 181 people at shrines in Karbala and Baghdad as thousands of Shiite Muslim pilgrims gathered for a religious festival.
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.
2011 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that members of the fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church have a First Amendment right to picket the funeral service of a U.S. Marine.
2016 - The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved the toughest sanctions against North Korea in two decades, reflecting growing anger at Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test and rocket launch in defiance of a ban on all nuclear-related activity.
2020 - The director-general of the World Health Organization said there was still time to stop the COVID-19 epidemic, saying “containment is feasible.” Vice President Mike Pence said the coronavirus risk to Americans remained low, but that “we’re ready for anything.”
Birthdays
21 - Cailee Rae (singer)
23 - Tua Tagovailoa (football player)
24 - Becky G (singer/rapper/actress)
26 - Veronica Dunne (actress)
31 - Luke Combs (country singer)
32 - Nathalie Emmanuel (actress)
36 - Reggie Bush (football player)
36 - Robert Iler (actor)
37 - Trent Garrett (actor)
39 - Ben Roethlisberger (football player)
40 - Bryce Dallas Howard (actress)
41 - Rebel Wilson (actress)
44 - Heather McComb (actress)
49 - Richard Ruccolo (actor)
50 - Method Man (rapper)
53 - Daniel Craig (actor)
59 - Jon Bon Jovi (singer)
62 - Larry Stewart (country singer)
66 - Jay Osmond (singer)
69 - Laraine Newman (actress)
70 - Cassie Yates (actress)
79 - John Irving (author)
82 - Barbara Luna (actress)
90 - Mikhail S. Gorbachev (former leader of the Soviet Union)
91 - John Cullum (actor)
===========================================
Today in Sports History - March 2
1904 - The "Official Playing Rules of Professional Base Ball Clubs" were adopted.
1918 - Joe Malone (Toronto Arenas) became the first scoring leader in the NHL. He had scored 44 goals in 22 games in the first NHL season. His record stood until 1944-45 when 50 goals were scored by Maurice "The Rocket" Richard.
1922 - The Toronto St. Patricks and the Vancouver Millionaires played the final professional hockey game that featured seven players on each side.
1927 - Babe Ruth signs a record three-year contract with the New York Yankees worth $70,000 a year.
1962 - Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game NBA scoring record with 100 points in a 167-147 win over the New York Knicks.
1966 - Bobby Hull (Chicago Blackhawks) became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in two seasons.
1968 - Nineteen-year-old American Peggy Fleming wins her third consecutive World Ladies Figure Skating championship and announces her retirement to turn professional and eventually become a broadcaster.
1969 - Phil Esposito (Boston Bruins) became the first player in the NHL to score 100 points in a season. Bobby Hull and Gordie Howe also crossed the 100 mark during the same season.
1986 - Kenny Knox is the last player to score in the 80s (shooting an 80 in round 3) and still win a PGA Tour Event (Honda Classic at TPC Eagle Trace). His 287 is the highest winning score in PGA Tour history.
1991 - North Carolina State point guard Chris Corchiani become the first Division I basketball player to record 1,000 career assists.
1992 - Ryne Sandberg signed a 5-year contract with the Chicago Cubs worth $30.5 million.
1993 - Mario Lemieux undergoes his 22nd and final radiation treatment for Hodgkin's Lymphoma, then later in the day joins the Pittsburgh Penguins and records a goal and an assist in a 5-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
2000 - Team New Zealand (Kiwis) retained yachting's America's Cup. It was the first time that a non-American syndicate had successfully defended the Cup.
2000 - St. Louis Blues become just the 2nd team in NHL history to win 10 straight games on the road, with a 5-2 victory in Atlanta; tie mark set by the Buffalo Sabres in 1983-84.
2004 - The Pittsburgh Penguins ended their NHL record 14-game home losing streak when they tied the New York Islanders 3-3.
2004 - The Indianapolis Colts signed Peyton Manning to a seven-year, $98 million contract which included a $34.5 million signing bonus, which was the largest contract to date in NFL history.
2004 - The St. Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team finish their regular season with a perfect 27-0 record.
2012 - Major League Baseball confirms the postseason will be expanded from 8 to 10 teams, with an extra wild card team in each league.
2012 - The NFL establishes existence of a bounty program at the New Orleans Saints 2009-11; players given incentives to injure opposition; coach Sean Payton is suspended for the entire 2012 season.
