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March 2nd
0537 - Byzantine general Belisarius defended Rome against the Goths, led by king Vittigis, beating overwhelming odds by deploying a new weapon - the composite bow. 1629 - Commons Speaker Sir John Finch was forcibly held in his chair by MPs after Charles I had ordered him to adjourn Parliament. 1717 - The first ballet was performed in England, The Loves of Mars and Venus, was staged at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. 1793 - Born this day, Sam Houston, President of Republic of Texas, US Senator, Texas governor. Died in 1863. 1801 - The War of the Oranges between Spain and Portugal began; French troops fought alongside the Spanish after Portugal refused Napoleon's demand to cede much of the country to him. 1810 - Born this day, Pope Leo XIII [Giocchino Vincenzo Pecci], 256th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Died in 1903. 1829 - Born this day, Carl Schurz, journalist, political reformer, army officer. Died in 1906. 1836 - Texas adopted the Declaration of Independence from Mexico. 1866 - Excelsior Needle Company, of Wolcottville, Connecticut, began making sewing machine needles. 1876 - Born this day, Pope Pius XII [Eugenio Maria Giovanni Pacelli], 260th pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Died in 1958. 1877 - A US electoral commission declared Rutherford B. Hayes president, the only American president to be elected this way. The original result had been too close to call, with several disputed ballots. 1882 - Roderick Maclean made an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria at Windsor; he was later declared insane. 1887 - The American Trotting Association was organised in Detroit, Michigan. 1899 - Mount Rainier National Park, located in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, was established. 1900 - Born this day, Kurt Weill, German composer who worked with Bertolt Brecht. 1903 - The Martha Washington Hotel opened for business in New York City. The hotel featured 416 rooms and was the first hotel exclusively for women. 1904 - Born this day, Dr. Seuss [Theodor Seuss Geisel], Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Died in 1991. 1909 - Born this day, Mel Ott, baseball. Died in 1958. 1914 - Born this day, Martin Ritt, director. Died in 1990. 
1917 - Born this day, Desi Arnez [Desiderio Alberto Arnez y de Acha III], bandleader, singer, actor. Died in 1986. 1917 - Nicholas II, the Tsar of Russia, abdicated. His family had ruled Russia for nearly three hundred years. A provisional government under Georgy Lvov was formed. 1917 - The Jones Act, establishing Puerto Rico as an American territory, was passed by the US Congress. (Another source says - Peace loving US president Woodrow Wilson thwarted Puerto Rican independence by taking over the island and drafting 20,000 inhabitants into World War I (WWI) trenches). 1919 - Born this day, Jennifer Jones [Phyllis Isley], Academy Award-winning actress. 1923 - Born this day, Doc Watson, Grammy Award-winning singer, musician. 1925 - On this date in 1925, the first American nationwide highway numbering system was instituted by the joint board of state and federal highway officials appointed by the secretary of agriculture. In order to minimize confusion caused by the array of multiform state-appointed highway signs, the board created the shield-shaped highway number markers that have become a comforting sight to lost travelers in times since. Later, interstate highway numbering would be improved by coloured signs and the odd-even demarcation that distinguishes between north-south and east-west travel respectively. As America got its kicks on Route 66, it did so under the aegis of the trusty shield. 1927 - Babe Ruth signed a 3-year contract with the New York Yankees for a guarantee of $70,000 a year, thus becoming baseball's highest paid player. 1930 - Died this day, D.H. Lawrence [David Herbert], controversial novelist and poet, of tuberculosis in Venice aged 45. 1930 - Harry Kuchins made the first, indoor-glider flight inside the St. Louis, Missouri, Terminal Building. 1930 - Born this day, John Cullum, singer, actor. 1931 - Born this day, Mikhail Sergeyvich Gorbachev, former Soviet Union leader, in Privolnoye, a village in southern Russia. 1931 - Born this day, Tom Wolfe, author. 1932 - Born this day, [Humberto] Chico Fernandez, baseball. 1934 - Born this day, Howard Cassady, football. 1934 - Born this day, Doug Watkins, jazz musician, bassist. 1934 - Born this day, Al Waxman, actor. 1935 - Born this day, Robert Conrad [Conrad Robert Falk], actor. 1938 - Born this day, Lawrence Payton, The Four Tops, 1965 US No.1 single I Can't Help Myself, 1967 UK No.6 single Standing In The Shadows of Love. Died 20 June 1997. 1940 - The first, televised, intercollegiate track meet was seen by TV viewers in New York City as W2XBS presented the action live from Madison Square Garden. New York University won the meet. 1941 - Photoplay magazine urged readers to forget the fox trot and learn the lindy hop. A diagram of the new dance step was featured. 1942 - Born this day, John Irving, author. 1943 - During the Battle of Bismarck Sea 137 American Flying Fortress and Liberator bombers attacked a Japanese convoy en route from its base at Rabaul to New Guinea. 102 of the 150 Japanese aircraft were shot down. The Battle of Bismarck Sea was a major victory for the Allies, ending efforts by Japan to send reinforcements to New Guinea. 1943 - Born this day, George Benson, guitartist, singer. 1943 - Born this day, Lou Reed [Louis Fairbanks], rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, Velvet Underground, 1968 White Light, White Heat, solo, 1973 UK No.10 and US No.16 single Walk On The Wild Side, plus 1997 UK No.1 single Perfect Day. 1943 - Born this day, Tony Meehan, The Shadows, 1963 UK No.1 single Foot Tapper plus 28 other UK top 40 singles. Also Jet Harris and Tony Meehan, 1963 UK No.1 single Diamonds, 1963 UK No.2 single Scarlett O'Hara, 1963 UK No.4 single Applejack, and solo, 1964 UK No.39 single Song of Mexico. 1944 - The Academy Awards presentation moved from a banquet hall to Graumann's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Twenty-four-year-old Jennifer Jones won an Oscar for Best Actress in the film, The Song of Bernadette. Jack Benny was the host. 1946 - Ho Chi Minh was elected president of North Vietnam. 1947 - Born this day, Harry Redknapp, football manager (Portsmouth). 1948 - Born this day, Larry Carlton, The Crusaders, 1979 UK No.5 and US No.36 single Street Life. 1948 - Born this day, Rory Gallagher, Irish Blues guitarist, solo and Taste, 1970 UK No.18 album On The Boards. Died 14 June 1995. 1949 - Captain James Gallagher completed the first non-stop round the world flight. He completed the 23,452-mile (37,742-km) flight in 94 hours 1 minute with his 13-man US airforce crew. 1949 - Born this day, Eddie Money [Mahoney], musician, singer (Two Tickets To Paradise). 1950 - Born this day, [Anne] Karen Carpenter, drummer, Grammy Award-winning singer, The Carpenters, 1973 UK No.2 single Yesterday Once More and 3 US No.1's including 1975 US No.1 single Please Mr Postman. Died 4 February 1983 from the effects of anorexia nervosa. 1952 - Born this day, Laraine Newman, comedienne, actress. 1952 - Born this day, John Altman, actor (Nick Cotton - Eastenders). 1953 - Born this day, Russell D. Feingold, US Senator. 1955 - Born this day, Jay Osmond, US pop singer, musician, The Osmonds, 1971 US No.1 single One Bad Apple, 1974 UK No.1 single Love Me For A Reason plus 9 other UK top 40 singles. 1955 - Floods in Australia claimed 400 lives, left 44,000 homeless and drowned 300,000 sheep in New South Wales. 1956 - Morocco's independence was recognised by France. 1956 - Born this day, John Cowsill, singer, The Cowsills, 1967 US No.2 single The Rain, The Park and Other Things, 1969 US No.2 single the theme from Hair. TV’s Partrige Family was based on the family. 1956 - Born this day, Mark Evans, musician, bassist, AC/DC, left in 1977 after becoming tired of touring. 1958 - Born this day, Ian Woosnam, golfer. 1958 - Dr. Vivian Fuchs completed the first crossing of Antarctica by land. 1960 - Elvis left Germany. After completing his national service and flying back to America, Elvis Presley set foot on British soil for the first and only time in his life when the plane carrying him stopped for refuelling at Prestwick Airport, Scotland. 
1961 - The Everly Brothers had their third UK No.1 single with Walk Right Back. 1962 - Born this day, Jon Bon Jovi [John Francis Bongiovi], singer, musician, songwriter, solo, 1990 UK No.13 single Blaze Of Glory and as Bon Jovi, vocals, 1987 US No.1 and UK No.4 single Livin' On A Prayer. 1962 - In Burma the army led by Ne Win seized power in a coup, ousting U Nu; military rule ended on the same date in 1974 and Ne Win became president under a new constitution. 1962 - In India, President Nehru's Congress Party won the general election. 1962 - On this night, Wilt Camberlain was unstoppable, making 36 field goals and 28 free throws for an even 100 points against the New York Knicks, at Hershey, Pennsylvania, to lead the Philadelphia Warriors to a 169-147 victory, and set a basketball world record. 1963 - The Four Seasons became the first group to have three consecutive No.1s in the US when Walk Like A Man, started a three week run at the top. It made No.12 in the UK. 1964 - Shooting began on The Beatles first feature film A Hard Day's Night at Marylebone train station, London. The film was a black-and-white semi-fictional account of 'a day in the life' of the Beatles, and included eight songs written specifically for the film. Richard Lester was director. George Harrison met model Patti Boyd on the film set. The filming took eight weeks. 1964 - Vee-Jay Records in Chicago created the Tollie label and releases Twist And Shout by the Beatles on it. 1965 - The Sound of Music opened in US theatres. 1965 - Born this day, Lembit Opik, Liberal Democrat MP. (For where?) 1966 - Donna Loren made her first appearance on Batman. 1967 - Engelbert Humperdinck started a six week run at No.1 in the UK with his single Release Me. 1967 - The Supremes recorded Reflections and The Happening. 1968 - Appearing at The Usher Hall, in Edinburgh, were Simon and Garfunkel. 1968 - In Geneva, Switzerland, US skater Peggy Fleming won the world figure skating championships. 1968 - In America, Lockheed presented the world's largest aircraft, the Galaxy. 1969 - The first of two prototype Concordes made its maiden flight from Toulouse. 1970 - Southern Rhodesia broke away from Great Britain and became a republic under Ian Smith, when a new constitution came into effect. 1972 - The US spacecraft Pioneer 10 was launched; it passed close by Jupiter and Neptune before leaving the solar system. 1974 - Postage stamps jumped from 8 cents to 10 cents for first class mail in the US. 1974 - At this years Grammy's Stevie Wonder won five awards winning Album of the year for Innervisions, Best R&B song and Best vocal for Superstition, Pop vocal performance for You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, and Best Album Innervisions. 1974 - Terry Jacks started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Seasons In The Sun. It was also a No.1 in the UK. 1975 - A Los Angeles policeman stopped a Lincoln Continental for running a red light and was surprised to find Paul McCartney at the wheel with his wife Linda. The policeman detected a smell of marijuana, and on searching the car found eight ounces. Linda was arrested. 1975 - Winners at this years Grammy Awards included Paul McCartney for Best pop vocal on Band On The Run, Oliva Newton-John won Record Of The Year for I Honestly Love You and Stevie Wonder won Album of the year for Fulfilling-ness First Finale. 1977 - Born this day, Chris Martin, piano, guitar, vocals, Coldplay, 2000 UK No.4 single Yellow, 2000 UK No.1 album Parachutes. 1977 - Appearing at The Apollo, Glasgow, Scotland, were Black Sabbath. AC/DC appeared at The Top Rank, in Swansea and David Bowie and Iggy Pop were at Newcastle City Hall. 1977 - The Jam who had just signed a four year recording contract with Polydor records played the first of a 5 week wednesday night run at The Red Cow, in Hammersmith, London. 1977 - The Barry Manilow Special aired on ABC-TV. 1981 - Michael Jackson guested on Diana Ross' third TV special, Diana, on CBS. 1981 - Al-Zulfiqar terrorists hijacked a Pakistani airliner with 148 passengers on board. All hostages were released on March 15 after Pakistan freed 55 political prisoners. 1983 - A new digital audio system, a five inch compact disc containing up to 1 hour of music was launched by Sony, Philips and Polygram. 1984 - Jerry Hall gave birth to Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger. 1984 - The first McDonald's franchise was closed, in Des Plaines, Illinois. After 30 years of selling burgers, McDonald's opened a new drive-in restaurant right across the McStreet. 1985 - Country singer, Gary Morris hit No.1 on the country charts for the first time with Baby Bye Bye from his album, Faded Blue. 1985 - Phil Collins started a five week run at No.1 on the UK chart with his third solo LP No Jacket Required. 1985 - The Smiths were at No.1 on the UK indie charts with How Soon Is Now, (Soho had a No.8 UK hit with Hippy Chick, song based on a guitar sample from the song). 1985 - Wham! started a three week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with Make It Big, which eventually went on the sell over 5 million copies in the US. 1986 - Queen Elizabeth II signed the Australia bill, formally severing the last constitutional ties with Britain. 1987 - Two sets of quintuplets were born, as Rosalind Helms delivered a basketball team of bouncing babies in Peoria, Illinois and Robin Jenkins became the mother of five in Las Vegas, Nevada. 1987 - Government officials reported that the median price for a new home had topped $100,000 for the first time. The new six-figure price: $110,700, actually, was up from $94,600. 1988 - In Britain, a new political party was born, as the Social Democrats and Liberals launched their new joint political party - the Social and Liberal Democrats. 1989 - The first Vietnamese boat people to volunteer to return home left Hong Kong. 1989 - Madonna started a $5 million sponsorship deal with Pepsi Cola. 1989 - Ray Charles received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award. 1990 - In South Africa, Nelson Mandela was elected deputy president of the African National Congress. 1991 - 21 years after it's first release, All Right Now by Free made No.2 in the UK singles chart, after being reissued to coincide with its use in a Wrigleys Chewing gum TV advert. 1991 - Died this day, Serge Gainsbourg, French singer, famous for his 1969 UK No.1 duet with Jane Birkin on Je T'aime...Moi Non Plus. 1991 - Madonna's Rescue Me entered the US hot 100 at No.15, making her the highest-debuting female artist in rock history. The record had been held by Joy Llayne whose 1957 single Your Wild Heart, entered the chart at No.30. (When?) 1991 - Mariah Carey started an 11 week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Mariah Carey. 1991 - Oleta Adams went to No.1 on the UK album chart with her debut LP Circle Of One. 1992 - Wet Wet Wet kick off their 'High On The Happy Side' UK tour, at the Manchester Apollo. 1994 - Kurt Kobain collapsed into a coma in a hotel room in Rome. 1995 - Seven-time Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti was ordered to stand trial on charges of having been a member of the Mafia. 1995 - Financial dealer Nick Leeson, whose multi-million pound dealings bankrupted Barings Bank, was arrested at Frankfurt Airport. 1996 - Paul Keating's Labor Party suffered a massive defeat in Australian elections, ending 13 years of rule. 1996 - Oasis scored their second UK No.1 single when Don't Look Back In Anger went to the top for 1 week. 1997 - LeAnn Rimes went to No.1 on the US album chart with Unchained Melody, The Early Years. 1997 - Mansun went to No.1 on the UK album chart with their debut album Attack Of The Grey Lantern. 1999 - Died this day, Dusty Springfield, the smoky-voiced, soulful singer of elegant 1960's pop songs Wishin' and Hopin' and The Look of Love, and her signature bluesy classic, Son of a Preacher Man, lost her long battle against breast cancer. She was 59. The British-born entertainer died at her London-area home, her agent Paul Fenn said. "She was one of the icons of the music industry," Fenn said. "She was one of the most talented female singers of this century." She was due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, alongside fellow Class of 1999 members Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney, in just 11 days. Springfield's catalogue of hits also included: Anyone Who Had a Heart, I Only Want to Be With You and You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. There were more, of course - notably 1987's comeback collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys, What Have I Done To Deserve This? A Springfield CD anthology, released in 1997, featured 77 songs. 2000 - Chilean General Augusto Pinochet left Britain after Home Secretary Jack Straw declared he would not be extradited to Spain to face charges of human rights abuses. 2001 - This date saw Harry Potter author J. K. (Joanne Katherine) Rowling receive an OBE from HRH Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace. 2002 - Bloody clashes between Hindus and Muslims in the Indian state of Gujarat continued to erupt after some Muslims were burned alive in their homes. 2002 - The New Musical Express (NME) published the winners from this years Carling Awards, band of the year, The Strokes, album of the year, The Strokes, Is This It, best live act, U2, single of the year, Ash, Burn Baby Burn, best solo artist, Ian Brown. 2003 - Died this day, Hank Ballard, singer, (Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go), of throat cancer. 2003 - 50 Cent started a nine week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with In Da Club. 2003 - Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted that he would never commit British troops to military action unless he believed it was morally right. 2003 - Christina Aguilera started a two week run at No.1 on the UK singles chart with Beautiful. It was the singer's fourth UK No.1. |
Trivia
Trivia - petty details or considerations, matters or things that are very unimportant, inconsequential, or nonessential; trifles; trivialities.
Trivial - of very little importance or value; insignificant: "Don't bother me with trivial matters." Trivially - unimportant, nugatory, slight, immaterial, inconsequential, frivolous, trifling.