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In memory … Albert Einstein March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955


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Albert Einstein famously said that “politics is more difficult than physics.”

  • Did You Know?: Einstein was asked to be the president of Israel, but he declined: After Chaim Weizmann, Israel’s first president, died in 1952, the country’s prime minister offered the job to Einstein.
  • Did You Know?: Einstein died after refusing surgery, saying, “I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly.”
  • EDUCATION: Luitpold Gymnasium, Eidgenössische Polytechnische Schule (Swiss Federal Polytechnic School)
  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Ulm, Württemberg, Germany BIRTH DATE: March 14, 1879
  • PLACE OF DEATH: Princeton, New Jersey

Resources: bio.com   history.com

~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture, ~ pop culture

History~ the month of March


 

The History Place - This Month in History

March 1

1781 – Formal ratification of the Articles of Confederation was announced by Congress. Under the Articles, Congress was the sole governing body of the new American national government, consisting of the 13 original states. The Articles remained in effect through the Revolutionary War until 1789, when the current U.S. Constitution was adopted.

March 30

1855 – About 5,000 “Border Ruffians” from western Missouri invaded the territory of Kansas and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. It was the first election in Kansas.

1958 – The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gave its initial performance.

 1981 – Newly elected President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest while walking toward his limousine in Washington, D.C., following a speech inside a hotel. The president was then rushed into surgery to remove a 22-caliber bullet from his left lung. “I should have ducked,” Reagan joked. Three others were also hit including Reagan’s Press Secretary, James Brady, who was shot in the forehead but survived. The president soon recovered from the surgery and returned to his duties.

1909 – In Oklahoma, Seminole Indians revolted against meager pay for government jobs.

1939 – The comic book “Detective Comics #27” appeared on newstands. This comic introduced Batman.

1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington, DC, by John W. Hinckley Jr. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady were also wounded.

Birthday – Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was born in Groot Zundert, Holland. He was a Postimpressionist painter, generally considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt. During his short (10-year) painting career he produced over 800 oil paintings and 700 drawings, but sold only one during his lifetime. In 1987, the sale of his painting Irises brought $53.9 million, the highest price ever paid for a work of art up to that time. During his life, Van Gogh suffered from despair and bouts of mental illness, at one point cutting off part of his own left ear. He committed suicide in 1890 by gunshot.

March 31

1945 – “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams opened on Broadway.

1776 – Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John that women were “determined to foment a rebellion” if the new Declaration of Independence failed to guarantee their rights.

 1933 – The Civilian Conservation Corps, the CCC, was founded. Unemployed men and youths were organized into quasi-military formations and worked outdoors in national parks and forests.

 1968 – President Lyndon Johnson made a surprise announcement that he would not seek re-election as a result of the Vietnam conflict.

1885 – Binney & Smith Company was founded in New York City. The company later became Crayola, LLC.

1889 – In Paris, the Eiffel Tower officially opened.

1870 – In Perth Amboy, NJ, Thomas Munday Peterson became the first black to vote in the U.S.

1902 – In Tennessee, 22 coal miners were killed by an explosion.

1904 – In India, hundreds of Tibetans were slaughtered by the British.

1908 – 250,000 coal miners in Indianapolis, IN, went on strike to await a wage adjustment.

1900 – In France, the National Assembly passed a law reducing the workday for women and children to 11 hours.

 1991 – The Soviet Republic of Georgia, birthplace of Josef Stalin, voted to declare its independence from Soviet Russia, after similar votes by Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Following the vote in Georgia, Russian troops were dispatched from Moscow under a state of emergency.

Birthday – Boxing champion Jack Johnson (1878-1946) was born in Galveston, Texas. He was the first African American to win the heavyweight boxing title.

(Photo and picture credits: Library of Congress and U.S. National Archives)

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

1855 – Violence disrupts first Kansas election


In territorial Kansas’ first election, some 5,000 so-called “Border Ruffians” invade the territory from western Missouri and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. Although the number of votes cast exceeded the number of eligible voters in the territory, Kansas Governor …read more

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

on this day … 3/30


1533 – Henry VIII divorced his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.

1814 – The allied European nations against Napoleon marched into Paris.

1822 – Florida became a U.S. territory.

1842 – Dr. Crawford W. Long performed the first operation while his patient was anesthetized by ether.

1855 – About 5,000 “Border Ruffians” from western Missouri invaded the territory of Kansas and forced the election of a pro-slavery legislature. It was the first election in Kansas.

1858 – Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patented the pencil.

1867 – The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million dollars.

1870 – The 15th amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race, was passed by the U.S. Congress.

1870 – Texas was readmitted to the Union.

1903 – Revolutionary activity in the Dominican Republic brought U.S. troops to Santo Domingo to protect American interests.

1905 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to mediate in the Russo-Japanese peace talks.

1909 – The Queensboro bridge in New York opened linking Manhattan and Queens. It was the first double decker bridge.

1909 – In Oklahoma, Seminole Indians revolted against meager pay for government jobs.

1916 – Pancho Villa killed 172 at the Guerrero garrison in Mexico.

1936 – Britain announced a naval construction program of 38 warships.

1939 – The comic book “Detective Comics #27” appeared on newstands. This comic introduced Batman.

1940 – The Japanese set up a puppet government called Manchuko in Nanking, China.

1941 – The German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel began its first offensive against British forces in Libya.

1944 – The U.S. fleet attacked Palau, near the Philippines.

1945 – The U.S.S.R. invaded Austria during World War II.

1946 – The Allies seized 1,000 Nazis attempting to revive the Nazi party in Frankfurt.

1947 – Lord Mountbatten arrived in India as the new Viceroy.

1950 – The invention of the phototransistor was announced.

1950 – U.S. President Truman denounced Senator Joe McCarthy as a saboteur of U.S. foreign policy.

1957 – Tunisia and Morocco signed a friendship treaty in Rabat.

1958 – The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gave its initial performance.

1964 – “Jeopardy” debuted on NBC-TV.

1964 – John Glenn withdrew from the Ohio race for U.S. Senate because of injuries suffered in a fall.

1970 – “Applause” opened on Broadway.

1970 – “Another World – Somerset” debuted on NBC-TV.

1972 – The British government assumed direct rule over Northern Ireland.

1972 – The Eastertide Offensive began when North Vietnamese troops crossed into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the northern portion of South Vietnam.

1975 – As the North Vietnamese forces moved toward Saigon South Vietnamese soldiers mob rescue jets in desperation.

1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in Washington, DC, by John W. Hinckley Jr. Two police officers and Press Secretary James Brady were also wounded.

1982 – The space shuttle Columbia completed its third and its longest test flight after 8 days in space.

1984 – The U.S. ended its participation in the multinational peace force in Lebanon.

1987 – Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” was bought for $39.85 million.

1993 – In Sarajevo, two Serb militiamen were sentenced to death for war crimes committed in Bosnia.

1993 – In the Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown hit his first home run.

1994 – Serbs and Croats signed a cease-fire to end their war in Croatia while Bosnian Muslims and Serbs continued to fight each other.

1998 – Rolls-Royce was purchased by BMW in a $570 million deal.

2002 – An unmanned U.S. spy plan crashed at sea in the Southern Philippines.

2002 – Suspected Islamic militants set off several grenades at a temple in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Four civilians, four policemen and two attackers were killed and 20 people were injured.

2009 – The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the new World Trade Center building would be officially known by its legal name of “One World Trade Center.”