| The earliest recorded lunar eclipse occurred onMarch 19, 721 BC, as described in Ptolemy's Almagest, based on Babylonian sources. |
Close this window |
| In 1628, a group of distinguished Puritan businessmen formed a venture named the Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay, which was initially conceived as a profit-making endeavor in the New World. A land grant was received from the Council of New England, the successor to the ineffective Virginia Company of Plymouth, providing rights to the area between the Charles and Merrimack rivers and westward to the Pacific Ocean. Preliminary voyages were made in 1628 and 1629, and resulted in the establishment of a small colony on Cape Ann and later at Salem. |
Close this window |
| Tradionally, this is the day that those little birds known as swallows traditionally return to the Mission San Juan Capistrano in California. Every March 19th since 1776 (with very few exceptions), the birds have come back to usher in spring in this Southern California seaside town. |  |
Close this window | |
| Boston is the state capital, the seat of Suffolk County, and the largest city in Massachusetts. It is located in the eastern part of the state on Massachusetts Bay. It was incorporated as a city in 1822. No city in the U.S. is richer in historical associations than Boston, and no city has retained more of its original buildings as memorials to America's past. |
Close this window |
| The robbery which occurred on March 19, 1831, and was committed by Edward Smith who stole $245,000 from the City Bank on Wall Street in New York City. He was eventually arrested, convicted, and sentenced to five years in Sing Sing prison. |
Close this window |
| Quimby was a watch and clockmaker by trade and held several patents, including a patent issued on March 19, 1850 for a "steering machine." Two of his patents were signed by President Andrew Jackson. Among other things, he invented a band-saw, and he was one of the early makers of daguerrotypes, a style of portrait picture. |  |
Close this window | |
| Because no one could believe that anyone could create a machine which could duplicate the work of expert lasters, the patent office dispatched a representative to Lynn, Massachusetts to see the device in action. In March 1883, the United States Patent Office issued a patent to Jan Matzeliger for his "Lasting Machine." Within two years, Matzeliger had perfected the machine to that point that it could produce up to 700 pairs of shoes each day (as compared to 50 per day for a hand laster.) |
 |
Close this window |
| In 1905, Percival Lowell, an American astronomer, found that the force of gravity of some unknown object seemed to be affecting the orbits of Neptune and Uranus. In 1915, he predicted the location of a new planet and began searching for it from his observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. He used a telescope to photograph the area of the sky where he thought the planet would be found. He died in 1916 without finding it. In 1929, Clyde W. Tombaugh, an assistant at the Lowell Observatory, used predictions made by Lowell and other astronomers and photographed the sky with a more powerful, wide-angle telescope. In 1930, Tombaugh found Pluto's image on three photographs. |
 |
Close this window |
| The Adamson Act was a United States law passed in 1916 that established an eight-hour workday, with additional pay for overtime work, for railroad workers. This was the first federal law that regulated the hours of workers in private companies. The United States Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Act in 1917. |
Close this window |
| The use of standard time gradually increased because of its obvious practical advantages for communication and travel. Standard time in time zones was established by U.S. law with the Standard Time Act of 1918, enacted on March 19. Congress adopted standard time zones based on those set up by the railroads, and gave the responsibility to make any changes in the time zones to the Interstate Commerce Commission, the only federal transportation regulatory agency at the time. |
Close this window |
| The show moved to WMAQ, another Chicago station that believed in its potential. Amos 'n' Andy (renamed because WGN owned the name Sam n' Henry) began in March, 1928 over WMAQ and thirty-eight affiliates stretching from the East Coast to San Francisco. By distributing the series in this method, they invented the syndication market. |  |
Close this window | |
| The Nevada Legislature was motivated to build on the tourism boom that was expected in the wake of the completion of Boulder, now Hoover, Dam. Nevada had a flourishing, albeit illegal, gambling industry prior to the legalization. The move for making gambling legal also grew out of concerns that the flourishing illegal gambling was corrupting law enforcement and prohibition was unenforceable. Gaming in Nevada struggled from its inception until after World War II, when the prosperity of post-war America started a boom in the fledgling industry. |
Close this window |
| Helen O'Connell had a hit rendition of "All of Me," which was followed by popular recordings of "Embraceable You," "Brazil," "Jim." and "When the Sun Comes Out" (which she introduced). However, it was in December 1940, when she started sharing recordings with ballad singer Bob Eberly, that O'Connell for a time became a household name. Eberly generally took a slow chorus, Jimmy Dorsey would have a brief instrumental interlude, and then O'Connell would finish up the record with a swinging chorus. This combination worked very well on hit versions of "Amapola," "Yours," "Green Eyes" and "Tangerine." |
 |
Close this window |
| In 1949, The American Museum of Atomic Energy, the first U.S. museum devoted exclusively to the history of atomic energy opened to the public in a building that was an old wartime cafeteria in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. During WW II, this city had been the site for processing uranium-235 for the atomic bombs dropped on Japan. Guided tours through the museum showed visitors the peaceful uses of atomic energy. |
 |
Close this window |
| Following the success of its 1938 RCA hit "At a Perfume Counter," the Barron band became a New York ballroom mainstay and spent much of the 1940s headlining the Edison Hotel, headquarters of its coast-to-coast radio broadcasts. Soon after, Barron was drafted to serve with the U.S. Army Airborne Division during World War II, naming singer Tommy Ryan to assume bandleader duties until his return. Following Barron's return from duty, in 1949 he scored his biggest hit with the chart-topping "Cruisin' Down the River." However, the big-band era was by now drawing to a close, although he kept the orchestra afloat until 1956. |
 |
Close this window |
| “The Caine Mutiny” is a 1951 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Herman Wouk. The novel grew out of Wouk's personal experiences aboard a destroyer-minesweeper in the Pacific in World War II and deals with the moral and ethical decisions made while at sea, secluded from a central government system. |  |
Close this window | |
| On March 19, 1953, the Academy Awards Presentation were televised from the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood and the NBC International Theatre, New York, New York. “The Greatest Show on Earth” won the best picture Oscar. |
Close this window |
| In 1954, a sled powered by six rockets with a human rider reached 421 mph, running 3,550-ft on heavy rails mounted in concrete at rails at Holloman Air Force Base, Alamogordo, NM. It was the effects of braking from such speed that was being studied. Known as the "abrupt deceleration vehicle," it was built by the Northrup Aircraft, Inc., to simulate the effects on pilots bailing out of airplanes travelling at supersonic speeds. It was braked rapidly by water scooped in vents in the bottom of the sled from a trough five feet wide and 18 inches deep. Riding on the sled to test the effect of sudden deceleration was Lt. Col. John Paul Stapp, chief of the Aero Medical Field Laboratory at the base. |
 |
Close this window |
| Signed to the Coral label, they had their first minor hit in 1954 with "Pine Tree, Pine Over Me," in collaboration with Johnny Desmond and Eileen Barton. During the rest of that year they had further successes with their version of the Spaniels' R&B hit "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight", followed by "Muskrat Ramble", "Lonesome Polecat" and "Christmas Alphabet". In 1955 the sisters had their first million-seller with another cover version, "Sincerely', originally recorded by the Moonglows. The McGuires" version stayed at number 1 in the USA for 10 weeks, and accelerated their breakthrough into the big time in clubs, theatres and on television. |
 |
Close this window |
| The Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75 in Game 2 of the Western Division Finals, the largest margin of victory (58 points) in NBA Playoff history. |
Close this window |
| In 1958, Britain's first planetarium, the London Planetarium, opened in the west wing of Madame Tussaud's. It is one of the world's largest. The site used was that of the former Cinema and Restaurant added in 1929, that had been destroyed by a German bomb in 1940. |  |
Close this window | |
| This was part of the score for the 1959 movie "A Summer Place," which stared Troy Donahue and was set on an island in Maine. It was written by Austrian film composer Max Steiner, who also wrote the score for Casablanca. In the US, this was the top selling single of 1960. It won the 1960 Grammy for Record Of The Year. |  |
Close this window | |
| Sadler wrote this song to idolize the troops in Vietnam when public opinion was low. He was injured by a punji stick (a type of booby trap) and while laid up in the hospital released the rights to this song so it could be heard. Sadler was a member of the Green Berets, the US Army's elite Special Forces unit. He was serving as a medic and he nearly had to have his leg amputated after he was injured. While he was recuperating, he wrote songs for other wounded soldiers. A TV news crew filmed him singing this at the hospital, and when the footage aired in the US, it became a huge hit very quickly. |
 |
Close this window |
| The Los Angeles Lakers defeated Golden State in what was then the most lopsided victory in NBA history, 162-99, at the Forum. That 63-point margin lasted as a record for nearly 19 years, until Cleveland beat Miami by 68 points, 148-80, on December 17, 1991. |
Close this window |
| The film cost around six million dollars to produce, and was a substantial hit, ultimately grossing more than 70 million dollars worldwide. Its soundtrack album was also an international success. It featured the ballad "Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star is Born)", which became one of the biggest hits of Streisand's career, spending three weeks at number one in the United States, and peaking at number three in the United Kingdom. |
 |
Close this window |
| "Billie Jean" was the second of 7 US top 10 hits from the Thriller album. "The Girl Is Mine" was released before this. Quincy Jones produced this. He wanted to change the title to "Not My Lover" because he thought it would be confused with tennis star Billie Jean King. |  |
Close this window | |
| Kate and Allie, which ran on CBS from March 19, 1984 to May 22, 1989, was the brainchild of Sherry Coben who came up with the idea for the series while attending a high school reunion. There she noticed that a couple of divorcees who seemed unhappy and dissatisfied found comfort in sharing with each other. |  |
Close this window | |
| The machine had been expected to dominate the home computer market but didn’t quite live up to those expectations. In the 16 months that the PCjr was on the market, only 240,000 units were sold. |  |
Close this window | |
| "Never Gonna Give You Up" was written by the British production team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman. It was inspired by a woman Pete Waterman had been seeing for 3 years. Rick Astley was staying with Waterman at the time, and after a 3-hour phone call with the woman, Astley said, "You're never gonna give her up." Aitken and Waterman then changed the story a bit and made him the one who was vulnerable. |
 |
Close this window |
| The V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multi-mission military aircraft with vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capability. It is designed to perform missions like a conventional helicopter with the long-range, high-speed cruise performance of a turboprop aircraft. |  |
Close this window | |
| While in St. Louis, Hull developed into a prolific goal scorer with linemate Adam Oates and the duo were dubbed "Hull and Oates" (a pun on the well-known musical duo of Hall & Oates). In Hull’s best season, 1990-91, he scored 86 goals, the third highest mark ever recorded in one season, also setting a new record for right wingers in goals. That year he was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player. |
 |
Close this window |
| Using 160,000 eggs, representatives of the Swatch company made the world's largest omelet which measured 1,383 square feet. |
Close this window |
| Michael Jordan came out of his 17-month retirement and played in his first NBA game for Chicago since Game 6 of the 1993 Finals against Phoenix. In front of a charged up crowd at Indiana’s Market Square Arena, Jordan scored 19 points in 43 minutes but the host Pacers downed the Bulls in overtime 103-96. The game was televised on NBC and drew a 10.9 national rating and an estimated 35 million viewers, making it the most watched regular season game in NBA history. |
 |
Close this window |
| Officials with the ISO, keeper of the state's electricity grid, said higher demand combined with a lack of electricity from the Northwest prompted the alert. The ISO ordered the state's two biggest utility companies, Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison, to cut a total of 500 megawatts of electricity, enough power for roughly 500,000 homes. |
Close this window |
 |
|||
This is the date that swallows traditionally returned to the
San Juan Capistrano mission in California
0721 BC first recorded lunar eclipse; Location,
Babylon
More ...
1628 Massachusetts colony founded by Englishmen
More ...
1776 This is St. Joseph’s
Day
More ...
1822 Boston MA incorporated as a city
More ...
1831 First US bank robbery (City Bank, New York/$245,000)
More ...
1850 Phineas Quimby was issued a patent for a
steering machine
More ...
1883 Jan Matzeliger invents first machine to manufacture
entire shoes
More ...
1915 Pluto photographed for first time (although
unknown at the time)
More ...
1917 US Supreme Court upheld 8 hour work day for
RR
More ...
1918 Congress authorizes time zones & approves
daylight saving time
More ...
1928 "Amos & Andy" debuts on radio
(NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago)
More ...
1931 Nevada legalizes gambling
More ...
1941 Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded
"Green Eyes" featuring Helen O’Connell
More ...
1942 FDR orders men between 45 & 64 to register
for non military duty
1949 First museum devoted exclusively to atomic
energy, Oak Ridge, TN
More ...
1949 "Cruising Down the River" by Blue
Barron topped the charts
More ...
1951 Herman Wouk's "Caine Mutiny" is
published
More ...
1953 Academy Awards ceremony (first telecast)
More ...
1954 First color telecast of a prize fight, Giardello
vs Troy in Madison Square Garden, New York NY
1954 First rocket-driven sled on rails was tested
in Alamogordo NM
More ...
1955 "Sincerely" by the McGuire Sisters
topped the charts
More ...
1956 Biggest NBA margin of victory: Minnesota
Lakers-133, St Louis Hawks-75
More ...
1958 Britain's first planetarium opens at Madame
Tussaud's in London
More ...
1960 Theme from "A Summer Place" by
Percy Faith topped the charts
More ...
1966 "The Ballad of the Green Berets"
by SSgt Barry Sadler topped the charts
More ...
1972 Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State Warriors,
162-99, by then record 63 points
More ...
1975 Pennsylvania is first state to allow girls
to compete with boys in High School sports
1977 "Love Theme From A Star Is Born (Evergreen)"
by Barbra Streisand topped the charts
More ...
1979 House of Representatives begins live TV broadcasts
via C-SPAN
1983 "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson
topped the charts
More ...
1984 Kate & Allie premiers
More ...
1985 IBM announced that it was planning to stop
making the PCjr
More ...
1988 "Never Gonna Give You Up" by Rick
Astley topped the charts
More ...
1989 Boeing V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft makes maiden
flight
More ...
1991 NFL owners strip Phoenix of 1993 Super Bowl
game due to Arizona not recognizing Martin Luther King Day
1991 Sacramento Kings set NBA record of 29 consecutive
road loses
1991 St Louis Blue Brett Hull is 3rd NHLer to
score 80 goals in a season
More ...
1994 Largest omelet (1,3832 ft) made with 160,000
eggs in Yokohama Japan
More ...
1995 Michael Jordan rejoins Chicago Bulls after
17 months, beats Pacers
More ...
1997 Major League Baseball announces 5 year/$50M
deal with Pepsi
2001 California officials
orders the first two days of rolling blackouts
More ...