1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida. He had sighted the land the day before.

1776 – George Washington received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Harvard College .

1829 – James Carrington patented the coffee mill.

1860 – The first Pony Express riders left St. Joseph, MO and Sacramento, CA. The trip across country took about 10 days. The Pony Express only lasted about a year and a half.

1865 – Union forces occupy Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

1866 – Rudolph Eickemeyer and G. Osterheld patented a blocking and shaping machine for hats.

1882 – The American outlaw Jesse James was shot in the back and killed by Robert Ford for a $5,000 reward. There was later controversy over whether it was actually Jesse James that had been killed.

1910 – Alaska’s Mt. McKinley, the highest mountain in North America was climbed.

1933 – First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt informed newspaper reporters that beer would be served at the White House. This followed the March 22 legislation that legalized “3.2” beer.

1936 – Richard Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the kidnapping and death of the son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh.

1942 – The Japanese began their all-out assault on the U.S. and Filipino troops at Bataan.

1946 – Lt. General Masaharu Homma, the Japanese commander responsible for the Bataan Death March, was executed in the Philippines.

1948 – U.S. President Harry Truman signed the Marshall Plan to revive war-torn Europe. It was $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.

1949 – Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis debuted on radio on the “Martin and Lewis Show”. The NBC program ran until 1952.

1953 – “TV Guide” was published for the first time.

1967 – The U.S. State Department said that Hanoi might be brainwashing American prisoners.

1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “mountaintop” speech just 24 hours before he was assassinated.

1968 – North Vietnam agreed to meet with U.S. representatives to set up preliminary peace talks.

1972 – Charlie Chaplin returned to the U.S. after a twenty-year absence.

1979 – Jane Byrne became the first female mayor in Chicago.

1982 – John Chancellor stepped down as anchor of the “The NBC Nightly News.” Roger Mudd and Tom Brokaw became the co-anchors of the show.

1983 – It was reported that Vietnamese occupation forces had overrun a key insurgent base in western Cambodia.

1984 – Sikh terrorists killed a member of the Indian Parliament in his home.

1984 – Col. Lansana Konte became the new president of Guinea when the armed forces seized power after the death of Sekou Toure.

1985 – The U.S. charged that Israel violated the Geneva Convention by deporting Shiite prisoners.

1986 – The U.S. national debt hit $2 trillion.

1987 – Riots disrupted mass during the Pope’s visit to Santiago, Chili.

1993 – The Norman Rockwell Museum opened in Stockbridge, MA.

1996 – An Air Force jetliner carrying Commerce Secretary Ron Brown crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 people aboard.

1996 – Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski was arrested. He pled guilty in January 1998 to five Unabomber attacks in exchange for a life sentence without chance for parole.

1998 – The Dow Jones industrial average climbed above 9,000 for the first time.

2000 – A U.S. federal judge ruled that Microsoft had violated U.S. antitrust laws by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors. Microsoft said that they would appeal the ruling.

2000 – The Nasdaq set a one-day record when it lost 349.15 points to close at 4,233.68.

2010 – The first Apple iPad was released.

on-this-day.com

AN INSPIRATION TO ALL OF US

Katherine Johnson, Hampton, Virginia Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, Gift of Annie Leibovitz, © Annie Leibovitz March is Women’s History Month. And the National Museum of African American History and Culture is putting a special focus on the stories of remarkable African American women who overcame the twin barriers of racism and sexism to make their mark on our nation’s history. Three of the notable women we’re celebrating this month are Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, NASA scientists who — as they toiled in relative obscurity and battled discrimination — helped to ensure the safety of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts, and the success of John Glenn’s historic Friendship 7 mission in 1962. Their amazing story is recounted in the hit film Hidden Figures, based on the book of the same name by African American author Margot Lee Shetterly, whose father was also a NASA scientist. Shortly before Hidden Figures opened in theaters, the producers chose our Museum for a special, private screening of the film. In attendance that evening were Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe — who portrayed Johnson, Vaughn and Jackson, respectively — in addition to costar Kevin Costner, director Ted Melfi and musical superstar Pharrell Williams, who produced the movie. The event also featured remarks from former NASA Administrator Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., as well as the unveiling of a portrait of Katherine Johnson by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz. That portrait is now part of the Museum’s collection. With the opening of Museum, trailblazing African American women like Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson are finally receiving the recognition they so richly deserve — inspiring girls and young women everywhere to pursue their dreams. And as a supporter, you can take pride in knowing that you help bring the stories of these African American heroes — and many more — out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Thank you for helping the National Museum of African American History and Culture elevate the African American experience to its rightful place at the center of our nation’s story! All the best, Lonnie G. Bunch III Founding Director