| The concept of Indian removal and an exchange of lands on a more or less voluntary basis was first stated in the act of March 26, 1804, but the 1830 act provoked strong public reaction. Numerous petitions came from whites who advocated removal, from whites who protested the removal on moral grounds (mostly religious societies who petitioned on behalf of the Indians), and from Indians who unsuccessfully opposed implementation of the policy. |
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| All of the Louisiana Purchase south of the 33rd parallel became the Territory of Orleans, and the remainder became the District of Louisiana (later renamed the Territory of Louisiana). Orleans Territory was created on October 1, 1804 by the Organic Act of March 26, 1804, and became Louisiana, the 18th state on March 30, 1812. |
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| In 1845, a patent was awarded for an adhesive medicated plaster (No. 3,965), predating the "Band-Aid." Drs. Horace Harrell and William H. Shecut developed a process in which rubber is dissolved in a solvent then spread on fabric. They later sold the idea to Dr. Thomas Allcock who marketed it as Allcock's Porous Plaster. |
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| In 1859, Lescarbault, a French medical doctor and amateur astronomer reported sighting a new planet in an orbit inside that of Mercury which he named Vulcan. He had seen a round black spot on the Sun with a transit time across the solar disk 4 hours 30 minutes. He sent this information and his calculations on the planet's movements to Jean LeVerrier, France's most famous astronomer. Le Verrier had already noticed that Mercury had deviated from its orbit. A gravitational pull from Vulcan would fit in nicely with what he was looking for. However, it was not consistently seen again and it is now believed to have been a "rogue asteroid" making a one-time pass close to the sun. |
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| Black American inventor, Thomas J. Martin, of Dowagiac, MI, received a patent for a "Fire Extinguisher"; described installing piping and pumps in dwellings, mills, factories, or cities, then used for warming, ventilating, washing buildings, washing pavements, sprinkling streets. water jet would spread by the concave underside of the globe to spray an annular sheet or spray and wet a large surface. |
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| Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company in Rochester, New York, begins manufacturing the first movie film on this day in 1885. The company was the first to produce, manufacture, and market reels of continuous film. |
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| In 1895, the Phantoscope, an early motion picture projector that enlarged film images for viewing by large groups, was patented by Charles Francis Jenkins. The Phantascope was designed jointly by C. Francis Jenkins and Thomas Armat, and shown at the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta, GA in October 1895. Armat sold his rights to Edison, who marketed the invention. The Phantascope, modified by Armat, became the basis of Thomas Edison's Vitascope projector. |
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| In 1916, Robert Stroud stabbed and killed a prison guard in Leavenworth KS. For this crime, he was imprisoned for life, and became the "Birdman of Alcatraz," named for the prison where he spent his sentence. While there, Stroud conducted and published important research on on bird diseases. |  |
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| The objective of the Inter-American Highway was to link the United Sates to Mexico City and the capitol cities of the Central-America republics and Panama by paved highway. The program was initiated in 1932 and finally accomplished in 1967, when the final construction north of Panama City was completed. |
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| In 1936, the first 200-inch diameter, reflecting mirror was shipped from Corning, New York, to Mt. Palomar Observatory in California. The lens of the Hale telescope weighed 20 tons. It was dedicated in 1948. |  |
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| Cobb was instrumental in helping Joe DiMaggio negotiate his rookie contract with the New York Yankees and took DiMaggio under his wing. Perhaps his advice to DiMaggio to use a lighter bat was due to a strained friendship with Boston’s Ted Williams. |  |
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| Spinach capital Crystal City, Texas, erected a statue in 1937 to honor E.C. Segar and Popeye for their influence on America's eating habits, making Popeye the first cartoon character ever immortalized in public sculpture. The spinach growers credited Popeye with a 33 percent increase in U.S. spinach consumption — and saving the spinach industry in the 1930s! |  |
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| The first woman to receive The Air Medal was Lt Elsie S. Ott, Army Nurse Corps, awarded for her actions in 1943 as an air evac nurse en route from India to the U.S. |
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| 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. |
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| In 1953 Salk announced the development of a trial vaccine for Polio (poliomyelitis). Salk's vaccine was composed of "killed" polio virus, which retained the ability to immunize without the risk of infecting the patient. Mass trials held in 1953 on 1,830,000 children proved the vaccine was safe and effective. He received many honors, including a Congressional gold medal for his "great achievement in the field of medicine." |  |
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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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| Medic Alert Foundation International was founded in Turlock, California in 1956 by Marion C. Collins, M.D., after his daughter almost died from reaction to a sensitivity test for tetanus antitoxin. MedicAlert relays each member's key medical facts to emergency responders, so that they receive faster, safer treatment, and avoid harmful or fatal reactions. |  |
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| Explorer 2 failed to orbit, but Explorer 3, launched March 26, was successful, and it did carry a tape recorder in its investigation of the Radiation Belt. Its trace of the number of counts was normal at low altitudes, then it rose rapidly to fill the transmittable limit of 128, but at the highest level it fell to zero. Laboratory experiments with similar counters confirmed that this was characteristic of extremely high counting rates, when the counter discharged so frequently that it could not properly recover between counts, yielding pulses too small to trigger the counting circuit. |
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| 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. |  |
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| An Orioles-Reds series scheduled for Havana, Cuba, is moved to Miami by Baltimore chief Lee MacPhail. The Reds, with a farm club in Cuba, want the trip, but the Orioles fear increased political unrest in the area. |
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| 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. |
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| The Thames series was quintessential Benny with the cherubic/budgy Hill dominating sketches, slapstick routines and silent film type pantomimes of comedy and sight gags. Hill was adept at buffoons who on a slightly closer inspection turned out to be both sly and lecherous. Indeed lechery and smuttiness were a hallmark of many of the shows, in which tall, beautiful girls were constantly being chased or ogled. |  |
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| Balding, middle-aged, and portly, detective Frank Cannon represented quite a change from the traditional suave, handsome private detectives TV had brought to its viewers. He occasionally let his conscience dictate his choice of cases, but more often his wallet took precedence. To most clients he charged a high fee, in order to provide himself with the money to indulge in personal luxuries. |  |
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| In 1972 the Lakers strung together a record 33-game win streak under Bill Sharman that they were able to secure their first championship in Los Angeles. The Lakers amassed 69 regular season wins that year, which was also an NBA record, one which stood for nearly a quarter of a century (Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls won 72 in 199596). The team led the league in scoring, rebounds, and assists, and Sharman was named Coach of the Year. Not only that, but the Lakers at long last shook the monkey off their back, conquering the Knicks in the 1972 NBA Finals to claim their first NBA title since 1954 and first since their move to Los Angeles. |
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| "The Young and the Restless" is a soap opera that takes place in Genoa City, Wisconsin. It first debuted on the CBS television network on March 26, 1973, replacing Where the Heart Is and Love is a Many Splendored Thing. It has aired over eight thousand episodes. |  |
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| 1974 was a huge year for Essex, for in addition to starring in Claude Whatham's “That'll Be the Day,” he wrote the song "Rock On" which was used in the film and went on to top the charts in England reaching the Top Five in the United States. A dark, brooding song -- vaguely recalling pre-Beatles British beat idol Marty Wilde -- "Rock On" made him into an overnight pop star in England. |  |
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| "Tommy" was a 1975 musical film, based on The Who's 1969 "rock opera" concept album Tommy. It was directed by Ken Russell and featured a star-studded cast, including the band members themselves. Ann-Margret received a Golden Globe Award for her performance, and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Pete Townshend was also nominated for an Oscar for his work in scoring and adapting the music for the film. |
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| After they moved to RCA in 1975, the duo landed on its successful mixture of soul, pop, and rock, scoring a Top Ten single with "Sara Smile." The success of "Sara Smile" prompted the re-release of "She's Gone," which rocketed into the Top Ten as well. Released in the summer of 1976, Bigger than the Both of Us album was only moderately successful upon its release. The record took off in early 1977, when "Rich Girl" became the duo's first number one single. |
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| The NBC coverage earned a 24.1 rating. Indiana State’s unprecedented 33 consecutive-win streak came to an end as the Spartans of Michigan State won 75-64. A pair of future NBA Hall of Famers played against each other that night: Larry Bird, later of the Boston Celtics, scored 19 points while Magic Johnson, even later, of the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 24 points. |
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| The Vietnam Veterans Memorial stands as a symbol of America's honor and recognition of the men and women who served and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Inscribed on the black granite walls are the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or remain missing. Yet the Memorial itself is dedicated to honor the "courage, sacrifice and devotion to duty and country" of all who answered the call to serve during the longest war in U.S. history. |
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| "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. |  |
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| "Bad" was still a huge commercial success. The number one singles off the album are: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". The album was supported by a world tour which lasted for over a year and visited 15 countries, and for which Jackson insisted on a personal bus, plane and helicopter to be available to him all at the same time. |  |
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| In March, 1989, the USSR held its first elections in 75 years where there was some degree of choice. Although 80% of Communist Party members won seats, some powerful figures were not elected including Leningrad party chief and Politburo member Yuri Solovyev. Yeltsin was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies as the delegate from Moscow district and gained a seat on the Supreme Soviet. |  |
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| In July 1991, Krikalev agreed to stay on Mir as flight engineer for the next crew, scheduled to arrive in October because the next two planned flights had been reduced to one. The engineer slot on the Soyuz TM-13 flight on October 2, 1991, was filled by Toktar Aubakirov, an astronaut from the Soviet republic of Kazakhstan, who had not been trained for a long-duration mission. Both he and Franz Viehböck, the first Austrian astronaut, returned with Artsebarsky on October 10, 1991. Commander Alexander Volkov remained on board with Krikalev. After the crew replacement in October, Volkov and Krikalev continued Mir experiment operations and conducted another EVA before returning to Earth. During his stay in space, the Soviet Union (USSR) collapsed and became the Commonwealth of Independent States. |
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1780 First British Sunday newspaper
appears (British Gazette & Sunday Monitor)
1804 Congress orders removal of Indians east of
Mississippi to Louisiana
More ...
1804 The Louisiana Purchase was divided into the
Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana
More ...
1845 Joseph Francis, New York NY, patents a corrugated
sheet-iron lifeboat
1845 Patent awarded for adhesive medicated plaster,
precusor of bandaid
More ...
1859 First sighting of Vulcan, a planet thought
to orbit inside Mercury
More ...
1872 Thomas J Martin patents fire extinguisher
More ...
1885 Eastman Film Co manufactures first commercial
motion picture film
More ...
1895 Charles Jenkins patented a motion picture
machine
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1916 Birdman of Alcatraz receives solitary
More ...
1926 The first lip-reading tournament held in
America
1930 Congress appropriates $50,000 for Inter-American
highway
More ...
1934 Driving tests introduced in Britain
1936 200" telescope lens shipped, Corning
Glass Works, New York-Cal Tech
More ...
1937 Joe DiMaggio takes Ty Cobb's advice &
replace his 40 with 36 oz bat
More ...
1937 Spinach growers of Crystal City TX, erect
statue of Popeye
More ...
1943 First woman to receive air medal (US army
nurse Elsie S Ott)
More ...
1949 "Cruising Down the River" by Blue
Barron topped the charts
More ...
1951 USAF flag approved
1953 Dr Jonas Salk announces new vaccine to prevent
polio [myelitis]
More ...
1955 "Ballad of Davy Crockett" by Bill
Hayes topped the charts
More ...
1956 Medic Alert Foundation forms
More ...
1958 US Army launches America's third successful
satellite, "Explorer III"
More ...
1960 Theme from "A Summer Place" by
Percy Faith topped the charts
More ...
1960 Orioles-Reds series for Havana, is moved
to Miami
More ...
1964 "Funny Girl" with Barbra Streisand
opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 1,348 performances
1966 "The Ballad of the Green Berets"
by SSgt Barry Sadler topped the charts
More ...
1971 "Benny Hill Show" tops TV ratings
More ...
1971 "Cannon" with William Conrad premieres
on CBS-TV
More ...
1972 Los Angeles Lakers broke NBA record by winning
69 of 82 games (69-13)
More ...
1973 Soap opera "The Young and the Restless"
premieres
More ...
1974 David Essex received a gold record for the
hit, "Rock On"
More ...
1975 "Tommy", the film based on the
rock opera by the group, The Who, premiered in London
More ...
1977 "Rich Girl" by Daryl Hall &
John Oates topped the charts
More ...
1979 Michigan State and Indiana State met in the
all-time highest rated basketball telecast
More ...
1982 Ground-breaking in Washington DC for Vietnam
Veterans Memorial
More ...
1983 "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson
topped the charts
More ...
1987 National Federation of High School adopts
college 3 point shot (21 feet)
1988 "Man in the Mirror" by Michael
Jackson topped the charts
More ...
1989 First free elections in USSR: 190 M votes
cast; Boris Yeltsin wins
More ...
1992 NHL New York Rangers clinch first NHL regular
season championship in 50 years
1992 Soviet Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned
to a new country (Russia)
More ...