| On March 16, Magellan reached the island of Homonhon in the Philippines, with 150 crewmen left. Magellan was able to communicate with the native peoples because his Malay interpreter could understand their language. |  |
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| On March 16, Magellan reached the island of Homonhon in the Philippines, with 150 crewmen left. Magellan was able to communicate with the native peoples because his Malay interpreter could understand their language. | |
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| Squanto, a member of the Wampanoag tribe, helped the starving Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony to survive by teaching them both fishing and the planting of corn. He developed a friendship with the Massachusetts settlers and acted as interpreter at the Treaty of Plymouth, signed in 1621 between the Native American chief Massasoit and Governor William Bradford. |  |
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| A corps of Engineers for the United States was authorized by the Congress on March 11, 1779 so that an engineer and two assistants could prepare fortifications for the Battle of Bunker Hill. Engineers were further organized in 1779, but it was not until after the Revolutionary War that the Corps was permanently established, in 1802. The Corps of Engineers as it is known today came into being on March 16, 1802, when President Thomas Jefferson was authorized to "organize and establish a Corps of Engineers ... that the said Corps ... shall be stationed at West Point in the State of New York and shall constitute a Military Academy." |
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| London reorganized its police force into the famous Scotland Yard. The establishment of the agency is a response to the utter lawlessness of London and the inefficiency of a disorganized and untrained group of "petty bobbies" (police officers), who must often be bribed in order to make an arrest. |
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| "The Scarlet Letter: A Romance", was published in Boston by Ticknor and Fields in 1850, has come to be considered among the most important works in American literature, and indeed among the most important novels written in English. “The Scarlet Letter” is set in Boston of the mid-1600s and tells the story of Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery and must wear a scarlet "A" publicly as punishment. When her husband, whom she believed to be lost at sea, suddenly reappears, he resolves to discover the identity of the father of Hester's child, but Hester steadfastly refuses to identify her lover. |
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| After the start of the American Civil War, support for the Confederacy was strong in the southern part of the New Mexico Territory, largely due to its neglect by the United States government. In March, 1861, the citizens of Mesilla, New Mexico convened a secession convention to separate themselves from the United States and join the Confederate States of America. On March 16th the convention adopted a secession ordinance citing the region's common interests and geography with the Confederacy, the need of frontier protection, and the loss of postal service routes under the United States government as reasons for their separation. The ordinance proposed the question of secession to the western portions of the territory, and on March 28th a second convention in present day Tucson, Arizona also met and ratified the ordinance. |
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| At an American League meeting in Chicago Ban Johnson announced that an AL team will be placed in the Windy City, ensuring the stability of the league. Other franchises are in Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo. In an agreement with Chicago National League officials, the AL club will be situated on the south side of the city and will be permitted to use the nickname "White Stockings," formerly used by the NL team. However, the White Stockings will not be able to use the word "Chicago" in their official name. |
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| Sir Arthur Evans discovered elaborate ruins he believed to be from the Minoan Empire, and so he dubbed them Minoan ruins. Evans unearthed a magnificent stone throne, which was at the heart of a 4,000 year old palace complex as big as four football fields. This palace had four floors, 1,300+ rooms (ten times as many rooms as the White House in Washington DC), and was connected by miles of passageways. In addition, the advanced Minoan plumbing system had hot and cold running water (hot water from geothermal sources), as well as drainage/waste disposal, all of which predated the mainland Greek and Roman sophisticated plumbing systems by over 1,000 years. |
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| Oldfield set a speed record of 131.275 mph over a measured mile at Daytona, Florida, in a German Blitzen Benz on March 16, 1910. He used the car to break the existing mile, two mile, and kilometer records at the Daytona Beach Road Course at Ormond, Florida. He was able to charge $4000 U.S. dollars for each appearance after that. He was suspended by the AAA for his "outlaw" racing activities and was unable to race at sanctioned events for much of the prime of his career. Speed records, match races and exhibitions made up most of Oldfield's career. |
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| The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the U.S. government established in 1915 and charged with keeping American business competition free and fair. The FTC has no jurisdiction over banks and common carriers, which are under the supervision of other governmental agencies. It has five members, not more than three of whom may be members of the same political party, appointed by the President, with the consent of the Senate, for seven-year terms. The act was part of the program of President Wilson to check the growth of monopoly and preserve competition as an effective regulator of business. |
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| In 1916, the United States of America entered into a treaty with the United Kingdom, acting on behalf of Canada, to protect migratory birds from unrestrained killing. Two years later, Congress enacted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) to give effect to this convention. The United States subsequently entered into similar agreements with Mexico in 1936, Japan in 1972, and the Soviet Union in 1976, which were thereafter incorporated into the provisions of the MBTA. |
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| There are conflicting stories of how "K-K-K-Katy" came to be written. O'Hara himself, writing in Maclean's magazine in 1921, said he wrote the melody while stationed at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, teaching the American troops patriotic songs. However, the family of the Katy of the song's title (Katherine Craig Richardson) remembers it as being written in their living room in Kingston, Ontario, in 1917, and indeed this version of events is the best known. Yet another version of events has O'Hara writing the song while visiting his grandfather in Kingston. In any case, "K-K-K-Katy" became an instant wartime hit and one that is still associated with Kingston. It was especially popular with American, Canadian and British servicemen and their families, so much so that the sheet music sold over one million copies. |
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| In 1926, the first US liquid-fuel rocket flight was launched by Robert Goddard in a field in Auburn, MA. He thought stable flight could be obtained by mounting the rocket ahead of the fuel tank. The tank was shielded from the flame by a metal cone and was pulled behind the rocket by the lines for gasoline fuel and oxygen. The design worked, but did not produce the hoped-for stability. The rocket burned about 20 seconds before reaching sufficient thrust (or sufficiently lightening the fuel tank) for taking off. During that time it melted part of the nozzle. It took off to a height of 41-ft, leveled off and within 2.5 seconds hit the ground 184 feet away, averaging about 60 mph. |
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| With the restoration half completed and little money coming from the campaign, Congress appropriated the remaining monies. USS Constitution floated out of dry dock in March 1930, restored as close to her original configuration as possible. In order to thank the Nation for funding the restoration, USS Constitution embarked on a 3-coast tour (1931-1934), visiting 76 ports and hosting 4.6 million patriotic citizens. |
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| The dedication of the National Gallery of Art took place on March 17, 1941. Paul Mellon presented the museum and his father's collection, and President Franklin Roosevelt accepted the gift on behalf of the nation. |  |
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| “The Jitterbug Waltz” was composed by Waller in response to one of his son’s piano exercises, has become one of the best-known jazz waltzes. Waller also pioneered the use of the pipe organ and Hammond organ in jazz -- he called the pipe organ the "God box" -- adapting his irresistible sense of swing to the pedals and a staccato right hand while making imaginative changes of the registration. As a composer and improviser, his melodic invention rarely flagged, and he contributed fistfuls of joyous yet paradoxically winsome songs like "Honeysuckle Rose," "Ain't Misbehavin,'" "Keepin' Out of Mischief Now," "Blue Turning Grey Over You" and the extraordinary "Jitterbug Waltz" to the jazz repertoire. |
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| One of the most successful families of American Civil aircraft, the Convair-Liner, was an attempt to produce an aircraft to replace the Douglas DC-3. The first aircraft was built on production jigs and tooling and made it’s first flight on March 16, 1947 in the hands of Sam Shannon and Russ Rodgers, Following a sixteen-week test programme the aircraft was approved for operation at a maximum take-off weight of 18,900kg. The first customer delivery was made on February 23, 1948 to American Airlines and entered service on June 1. |
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| When Truman was 16 years old, she began taking voice lessons in Independence from Mrs. Thomas J. Strickler, a family friend. On March 16, 1947, she made her concert debut signing over a nationwide radio hookup with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Dr. Karl Krueger. She made her first outdoor appearance as a singer on August 23, 1947 in the Hollywood Bowl before a crowd of approximately 20,000 people with Eugene Ormandy conducting the orchestra. |
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| As a result of shortages of dairy products caused by a combination of World War II and price controls, considerable consumer dissatisfaction with the laws regulating margarine (which by now was made with vegetable oil) developed. Because of pressure by various consumer groups, margarine manufactures, the League of Women Voters, and to help gain the support of organized labor the Democrats promised to repeal the taxes on oleomargarine during the 1948 election campaign. The national taxes on margarine were repealed by a bill signed by President Truman in March 1950. |
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| A lead singing/stooge role in Olsen & Johnson's zany burlesque revue "Funzapoppin'" in 1949 led to him joining the pair on their short-lived TV show and, ultimately, his resident crooning on "Your Show of Shows" (1950) starring Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. In the meantime he also performed in vaudeville and broke into films with a supporting role in Stop, You're Killing Me (1952). Bill also happened to record "The Ballad of Davey Crockett," which became a surprise #1 Billboard hit and sold over three million copies. Luck and talent played a part when he was hired to join the cast of "Days of Our Lives" (1965) playing the role of Doug Williams. |
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| Said President Eisenhower: “Yes, of course they would be used. In any combat where these things can be used on strictly military targets and for strictly military purposes, I see no reason why they shouldn't be used just exactly as you would use a bullet or anything else.” |  |
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| Hunter was signed to a contract at Warner Brothers and re-named "Tab Hunter" by his first agent, Henry Willson. His good looks got him pegged as a teen idol. He landed a role in the film “Island of Desire” opposite Linda Darnell. Although he believed that he had a mediocre singing voice, he had a 1957 hit record with a cover of the Sonny James song, "Young Love," which was #1 for Hunter for over a month. Hunter's success led Warner Brothers to form Warner Bros Records. |
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| The Air Force successfully launched a Titan II intercontinental ballistic missile. This was the first full-scale test of the vehicle; it flew 8000 km out over the Atlantic Ocean. |  |
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| "Walk Like a Man" was recorded under extraordinary circumstances - they recorded it in a burning building! According to guitarist Vinne Bell, their producer, Bob Crewe, locked the door to the studio (a standard practice on recording day), then after a while - and a couple of bad takes - the musicians smelled smoke and there was a pounding on the studio door. Crewe refused to unlock it, even though plaster was falling from the ceiling, because he wanted one more take to perfect the song. The musicians were afraid of electrocution as water leaked into the studio. The session ended when firemen axed open the studio door and knocked Crewe to the floor in the process. |
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| Through the years, controversy continually surrounded the song. It was banned by several radio stations whose management figured that the song was about the elicit joys of smoking marijuana. The group denied this startling assumption. |  |
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| Paul Hornung, the Green Bay Packers running back who had scored an NFL record 176 points in 1960 and been named MVP in 1961, and Alex Karras, the Detroit Lions All-Pro defensive tackle, were suspended by Pete Rozelle for betting on NFL games and associating with gamblers. Hornung, said Rozelle, had bet up to $500 on NFL games, and Karras, he said, had placed at least a half dozen $50-$100 bets. Both players sat out for a full season, before being reinstated. Five other Detroit players were fined for betting on the 1962 championship game. | |
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| In 1966, the first US manned docking of two spacecraft was accomplished by the Gemini VIII. The Gemini space vehicle with command pilot was Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong and pilot Astronaut David R. Scott, was launched at 10:41 a.m. The primary objective of the scheduled three-day mission was to rendezvous and dock with the Gemini Agena target vehicle and to conduct extravehicular activities. Though this was accomplished, some problems developed that required the mission and its other planed objectives and experiments to be terminated early. |
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| Redding wrote the first verse of the song, under the abbreviated title "Dock of the Bay", at a houseboat in Sausalito, California. He had just come off his famed performance at the Monterey Pop Festival, just days earlier in June 1967. While touring in support of the LPs King & Queen (collaborations with female vocalist Carla Thomas) and his live set Live in Europe, he continued to scribble lines of the song on napkins and hotel paper. In December of that year he joined producer and guitarist Steve Cropper at a recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Together, they completed the music and melancholy lyrics of "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay". |
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| Kennedy declared his candidacy on March 16 stating, "I do not run for the Presidency merely to oppose any man but to propose new policies. I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course and because I have such strong feelings about what must be done, and I feel that I'm obliged to do all I can." |  |
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| 1776 tells the story of what happened at the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1776 leading up to the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and it accurately portrays the serious personal and political issues at stake frequently in the characters' own words, written by them at the time. |  |
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| Canadian singer Terry Jacks was in the duo The Poppy Family with his wife, Susan. After their divorce,Terry worked on a session with the Beach Boys, where he suggested this song. The Beach Boys recorded it but decided not to release it. Terry released this on his own label, Goldfish Records, and was amazed when it became the largest-selling single in Canadian history -- more than 285,000 copies sold in a matter of weeks. Worldwide, the figure is over six million. |
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| Mariner 10 flew by Mercury a third and final time. Passing 327 kilometers (203 miles) above the planet, its mapping mission is complete. By mapping about half the planet, the mission shows a cratered surface and a faint, mostly helium atmosphere. |  |
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| "A Chorus Line" was based on several taped sessions with Broadway dancers, aka "gypsies," including eight of the actors/actresses of the original Broadway cast. The show was conceived, directed and choreographed by Michael Bennett, with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Edward Kleban. |  |
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| On March 16, 1985, Anderson had just finished a tennis game when he was abducted from the street in Beirut, placed in the trunk of a car and taken to a secret location where he was imprisoned. For the next six years and nine months he was held captive. |
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| When the band had difficulty coming up with songs for their Wheels Are Turnin' album, they took time off so each member could write alone. Kevin Cronin went to Molokai, Hawaii, during his "time off." There he played around with a song that he wrote 10 years earlier but never finished. When he stopped tinkering with his composition, it had become a song about a person's fear of change -- even though he knows that he MUST change. It was the second of two #1 hits for REO Speedwagon (after "Keep on Lovin' You"). |
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| Denny McLain, winner of the American League Cy Young Award in 1968, is convicted of racketeering, extortion, and cocaine possession in Tampa, Florida. |  |
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| Angels P Matt Keough is hit in the head by a batted ball during an exhibition game in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is taken to the hospital and undergoes emergency surgery to remove a blood clot. |  |
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| On February 1, 1994, Harding's ex-husband accepted a plea bargain in exchange for his testimony against Harding. Harding avoided further prosecution and a possible jail sentence by pleading guilty on March 16 to hindering the investigation of the attack. She received three years probation, 500 hours of community service and a $160,000 fine. |  |
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| Stocks surged to record highs, with the Dow Jones industrial average climbing 30.78 points, to 4,069.15. The gains came despite new signs of an economic slowdown. |
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1521 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand
Magellan reaches Philippines
More ...
1621 Native American chief visits colony of Plymouth
MA
More ...
1802 Law signed to establish US Military Academy
(West Point NY) and Corps of Engineers
More ...
1830 London's re-organised police force (Scotland
Yard) forms
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1830 New York Stock Exchange slowest day ever
(31 shares traded)
1850 "The Scarlet Letter," by Nathaniel
Hawthorne was published
More ...
1861 Confederate Territory of Arizona is formed
More ...
1871 First fertilizer law enacted - Delaware
1900 Ban Johnson announces the American League
franchises
More ...
1900 Sir Arthur Evans finds old city of Knossus
More ...
1910 Barney Oldfield sets land speed record of
131.7 mph at Daytona
More ...
1915 Federal Trade Commission organizes
More ...
1916 US & Canada sign Migratory bird treaty
More ...
1918 Geoffrey O'Hara's "K-K-K-Katy"
song published
More ...
1926 Robert Goddard launches first liquid fuel
rocket, goes 184' (56 meter)
More ...
1930 USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) floated
out to become a national shrine
More ...
1937 Former world champion hurdler, Percy Beard,
was hired by the Brooklyn Dodgers to teach the faltering baseball team how
to run
1939 NHL record 10 goals in 1 period-New York
Rangers (7), New York Americans (3) & a record 26 points in the 3rd period
1941 National Gallery of Art opens in Washington
DC
More ...
1942 Fats Waller recorded "The Jitterbug
Waltz" in New York
More ...
1947 Convair Liner, first US twin-engine pressurized
airplane, tested
More ...
1947 Margaret Truman appeared on Radio in her
professional radio debut
More ...
1950 Congress voted to remove federal taxes on
oleomargarine
More ...
1955 "The Ballad of Davy Crockett,"
by Bill Hayes topped the charts
More ...
1955 President Eisenhower upheld the use of atomic
weapons in case of war
More ...
1957 Teenage heartthrob Tab Hunter’s song
"Young Love" was number one in the U.S.
More ...
1962 First launching of Titan 2-rocket
More ...
1963 "Walk Like a Man" by the Four Seasons
topped the charts
More ...
1963 Peter, Paul and Mary released the single,
"Puff The Magic Dragon"
More ...
1964 Paul Hornung & Alex Karras reinstated
in NFL after 1 year suspension
More ...
1966 First US manned docking of two spacecraft
More ...
1968 (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay" by
Otis Redding topped the charts
More ...
1968 Robert F Kennedy announces Presidential campaign
More ...
1969 Boston Bruins scores a NHL record 8 goals
in 1 period
1969 Peter Stone & Sherman Edward's "1776"
premieres at 46th St Theater NYC for 1217 performances
More ...
1970 New English Bible published
1974 First performance at new Grand Ole Opry House
at Opryland in Nashville
1974 "Seasons in the Sun" by Terry Jacks
topped the charts
More ...
1975 US Mariner 10 makes 3rd & final fly-by
of Mercury
More ...
1983 Smallest crowd at Cleveland Coliseum (Cavs
vs Nets-1,814)
1985 "A Chorus Line" played performance
number 4,000 this night at NY's Shubert Theatre
More ...
1985 Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson
taken hostage in Beirut
More ...
1985 "Can't Fight This Feeling" by REO
Speedwagon topped the charts
More ...
1985 Denny McLain, pitcher; convicted of racketeering,
sentenced to 25 years
More ...
1992 Matt Keough, in the dugout, is hit flush
in the head by a batted ball
More ...
1994 Tonya Harding pleads guilty to felony attack
on Nancy Kerrigan
More ...
1995 Dow-Jones hits record 4069.15
More ...