Tidbits of History

March 19 is National Oatmeal Cookie Day

Swallows Day, the date on which the swallows traditionally return of San Juan Capistrano Mission in California.

Birthday of William Bradford (March 19, 1589), American Pilgrim Father, signer of the Mayflower Compact. He served as Plymouth Colony Governor five times.

Birthday of David Livingstone in 1813, Scotch doctor, explorer, and medical missionary.

Birthday of William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860), American lawyer and politician, known as the “Silver-Tongued Orator”.

Publication of Federalist Paper #72: The Duration in Office of the Executive and Re-Eligibility of the Executive Considered written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.

From www.teaparty911.com

This paper gives five reasons why there are no term limits for the President in the Constitution and gives a brief discussion to counter the arguments of those favoring limits. He begins by describing the importance of the functions of the chief magistrate which include foreign negotiations, plans of finance, application and disbursement of public money, the arrangement of the army and navy, and the direction of the operations of war. These functions require duration and stability in office and when another obtains the office by nature he will undo much of what has been done and will change the personnel filling the subordinate positions of the administration. If a chief magistrate can be re-elected without limit he will act his part well and give the community time to evaluate the merit of his measures and if they approve of his conduct they will continue him in his station to take advantage of his wise system of administration.

The 22nd amendment, enacted in 1951, limited presidents to a maximum of two terms in office.

Birthday of Earl Warren in 1891; 14th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and head of the Warren Commission which investigated the assassination of President John F Kennedy.

Birthday of Lou Henry Hoover (March 19, 1874), wife of Herbert Hoover; first lady 1929-1933. She was the first woman in America to receive a degree in geology. When Herbert Hoover was offered the position of chief engineer of China’s Bureau of Mines, he and Lou learned to speak Mandarin Chinese and used it for private conversations throughout their lives.

The U.S. Congress established time zones and approved daylight saving time in 1918.

U.S. Senate voted against membership in League of Nations on March 19, 1920. Also rejected Treaty of Versailles for 2nd time (maintaining isolation policy).

“Amos and Andy” debuted on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago) in 1928.

1931 – Gambling was legalized in Nevada.

On March 19, 1932 Sydney’s Harbour Bridge was opened.

Herman Wouk’s “Caine Mutiny,” was published in 1951.

March 19, 2003, was the start of the Gulf War II, the invasion of Iraq. Dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom by the United States, the invasion consisted of 21 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland invaded Iraq and deposed the Ba’athist government of Saddam Hussein. The invasion phase consisted primarily of a conventionally-fought war which concluded with the capture of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad by American forces.

March 18 is National Sloppy Joe Day

In 1541, Hernando de Soto observed first recorded flood in America (Mississippi River).

John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, sold his part of New Jersey to the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, on March 18, 1673.

Birthday of John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782), American statesman from South Carolina, 7th Vice-President of the U.S. in administrations of John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.

Publication of Federalist Paper #71: The Duration in Office of the Executive written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.

From www.teaparty911.com

This paper deals with DURATION the second requisite to the energy of the executive authority. Duration here has two objects, the personal firmness of the Executive Magistrate in carrying out his constitutional powers, and the stability of the administration which he has assembled. The idea here is that a person without duration acting as a chief magistrate aware that he will only occupy the office for a short time will be little interested in it and will not put in the necessary effort to ward off the ill humors that may appear in the society itself or in a predominant faction of the legislature.

Some say the President should be compliant to the prevailing current in the community or in the Legislature. But it is not said that in a republican government the representatives should bend to every whim of the public for at times the interest of the public is at a variance with their desires. At these times it is necessary for the people whom they have appointed to give the public time for cooler heads to prevail.

In 1818, Congress approved first pensions for government service.

Birthday of Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837), twenty-second and twenty-fourth President of the U.S. Cleveland is the only president married in the White House and his second daughter, Esther, is the only child of a President born at the White House. The Baby Ruth candy bar was named after Cleveland’s first daughter, Ruth.

In 1850 – American Express was founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo.

Birthday of Rudolph Diesel (March 18, 1858), German engineer and developer of the diesel internal-combustion engine.

Congress of Confederate States of American adjourned for last time in 1865.

Hawaii signed a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights in 1874.

Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledged to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best hockey team in Canada in 1892; originally presented to amateur champions, the Stanley Cup has been awarded to the top pro team since 1910, and since 1926, only to National Hockey League teams.

Mussolini joined Hitler in Germany’s war against France and Britain on March 18, 1940.

In 1961, Poppin’ Fresh Pillsbury Dough Boy was introduced. He was created by the Leo Burnett Advertising Agency’s copy writer, Rudy Perz, and originally drawn by Martin Nodell.

March 16 is celebrated by some as National Artichoke Heart Day

1621 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visited the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greeted them, “Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset.” He was the first native American to make contact with the Pilgrims. He had learned English from a group of English sailors who came to fish off Mohegan Island near present-day Portland, Maine.

Birthday of James Madison (March 16, 1751), fourth president of the U.S. Known as the “Father of the Constitution” for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Madison also wrote the “Virginia Plan” and authored some of the Federalist Papers. Physically Madison was short of stature and slight. He never weighed more than 100 pounds and about 5′ 4″ (the shortest of the Presidents).

Anniversary of the establishment of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1802

1861 – Edward Clark becomes Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who has been evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy. Houston was a slave owner and opposed abolition but he also opposed secession. When the Texas legislature upheld the secession of Texas to the Confederate States, Sam Houston resigned. President Lincoln offered Houston 50,000 troops to fight Texas secession which Houston declined. He made the following prediction:

“Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, you may win Southern independence if God be not against you, but I doubt it. I tell you that, while I believe with you in the doctrine of states’ rights, the North is determined to preserve this Union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates. But when they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche; and what I fear is, they will overwhelm the South.”

Birthday of Thelma “Pat” Nixon (1912), wife of Richard Nixon; first lady from 1969-1974. She was a typing teacher when she met Richard Nixon. He proposed the night they met but she refused him for two years.

Adolf Hitler ordered Germany to rearm herself in 1935 in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Conscription was reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Germany. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force).

1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ended, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persisted.
(Iwo Jima Day is Feb 23)

1988 – Halabjah poison gas attack: The Kurdish town of Halabjah in Iraq was attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5000 people and injuring about 10,000 people.

National Potato Chip Day

National Pi Day– Why today? Because today is 3.14, the value of π, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.

1629 – A Royal charter was granted to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

1757 – British Admiral John Byng was executed by a firing squad on board HMS Monarch for neglect of duty. Byng is best known for the loss of Minorca in 1756 at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War. His ships badly needed repair and he was relieved of his command before he could see to his ships or secure the extra forces he required. He was court-martialled and found guilty of failing to “do his utmost” to prevent Minorca falling to the French. The court martial sitting in judgement on Byng acquitted him of personal cowardice and disaffection, and convicted him only for not having done his utmost, since he chose not to pursue the superior French fleet, instead deciding to protect his own. Once the court determined that Byng had “failed to do his utmost”, it had no discretion over punishment under the Articles of War, and therefore condemned Byng to death.

Publication of Federalist Paper #69: The Real Character of the Executive written by Alexander Hamilton in 1788.

From www.gradesaver.com

Hamilton structures his argument around a three-way comparison of the office of the presidency under the proposed constitution, the king of England, and the governor of New York. Hamilton’s chief concern is to counter claims that the president would have powers commensurate to the English monarch against whom Americans fought a war. He does this in a very specific and methodical way, taking a variety of issues and comparing the powers of the president and the king.

In order to make the argument more relevant to the people of New York, who Hamilton is addressing, he introduces a comparison between the president and the governor of New York as well. Surely, the people of New York would not claim that the president under the proposed constitution is an elected monarch if his powers are roughly commensurate to their own governor.

1794 – Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin.

Birthday of Jonathan Luther “John” “Casey” Jones, (March 14, 1864), American railroad engineer

Birthday of Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879), German physicist, noted for his theory of relativity.

March 14, 1883 – Karl Marx died at the age of 64 years. Author of “The Communist Manifesto” recognized as one of the world’s most influential political documents. Now in the public domain, it can be found on many websites including ours: Nextdoor e-store.com

1885 – The Mikado, a light opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, received its first public performance in London.

1914 – Henry Ford announced the new continuous motion method to assemble cars. The process decreased the time to make a car from 12½ hours to 93 minutes.

1967 – The body of U.S. President John F. Kennedy was moved to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery. In the three years following the Kennedy assassination, over 16 million people visited the original gravesite. The vast number of visitors necessitated the erection of a larger memorial.

March 13 is celebrated as Ear Muff Day. If you live in a cold climate like Chester Greenwood did, and had large, protruding ears, like Chester Greenwood did, you might be thankful for his invention. National Earmuff Day honors the man who found a better way to keep his ears warm all winter long.

After a day of ice skating in the cold, 15-year-old Chester came up with an idea to keep his big ears warm. Partnering with his grandmother who sewed tufts of fur between loops of wire, Chester soon had a working model. Farmington, Maine is now the “Earmuff Capital of the World”

Anniversary of the Discovery of Uranus See 1781.
Jewel Day

Anniversary of the naming of Harvard University in 1639, oldest university in the U. S. Originally called “New College” or “the college at New Towne”, it was renamed Harvard after clergyman John Harvard bequeathed the school £779 pounds sterling and his library of some 400 books.

Birthday of Joseph Priestley (March 13, 1733), English discoverer of oxygen.

Birthday of Abigail Fillmore (March 13, 1798), wife of Millard Fillmore, First Lady 1850-1853. She caught a cold at the inauguration of Fillmore’s successor, Franklin Pierce, in 1853, developed pneumonia, and died a month later at age 55.

March 13, 1781 – William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus. Image is from Hubble telescope, 2006
According to Nasa:

• Uranus is known as the “sideways planet” because it rotates on its side. Uranus’ unique sideways rotation makes for weird seasons. The planet’s north pole experiences 21 years of nighttime in winter, 21 years of daytime in summer and 42 years of day and night in the spring and fall.
• Uranus was the first planet found using a telescope.
• Uranus is an Ice Giant planet and nearly four times larger than Earth.
• Uranus has 27 known moons, most of which are named after literary characters from the works of William Shakespeare and Alexander Pope.
• Like Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune, Uranus is a ringed planet.
• Like Venus, Uranus rotates east to west, the opposite direction as most other planets.
• Uranus is the 7th planet from the sun.

1901 – Death of Benjamin Harrison , the twenty-third President of the United States and grandson of the ninth President, William Henry Harrison. He died of complications from influenza at Indianapolis, Indiana at age 67.

1963 – Police in Phoenix, Arizona arrested Ernesto Miranda and charged him with kidnap and rape. His conviction is ultimately set aside by the United States Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona. The court found that statements made by a defendant are only admissible if the defendant was informed of the right to an attorney and of the right against self-incrimination prior to questioning by the police. Now known as “Miranda” rights.

1991 – The United States Department of Justice announced that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.