Fun On this date in history...

For April 23rd & 24th:

 

If I may...

ON MARCH 25th:

In 1306, Robert the Bruce became King of Scots.

In 1634, Maryland was founded by English colonists sent by the second Lord Baltimore.

In 1807, Britain abolished its slave trade.

In 1908, filmmaker Sir David Lean, CBE was born in Croydon, Surrey, England.

In 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. factory in New York City killed 146 workers, most of them young immigrant women.

In 1918, author/journalist/TV host Howard Cosell was born in Winston-Salem, NC. He’d later be the first and only host of the other “Saturday Night Live”.

In 1920, actor Patrick Troughton was born in Mill Hill, Middlesex, England. He’d receive his Doctorate sometime later.

In 1928, James A. Lovell, Jr. was born in Cleveland, OH. He’d later serve as Pilot for Gemini 7, Command Pilot for Gemini 12, Command Module Pilot for Apollo 8, and Spacecraft Commander for Apollo 13.

In 1939, scriptwriter/story editor D.C. Fontana, best-known for her work on the original series “Star Trek”, was born in Sussex, NJ.

In 1941, The Kingdom of Yugoslavia joined the Axis powers with the signing of the Tripartite Pact.

In 1947, a coal dust explosion in a mine in Centralia, IL killed 111 miners. Only 31 escaped the blast.

In 1949, the March deportation was conducted in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to force collectivisation by way of terror. The Soviet authorities would deport more than 92,000 people from the Baltics to remote areas of the Soviet Union.

In 1956, the sci-fi movie “World Without End” was released in the U.S. It would later be the memorable subject for live riffing by Joel & the ‘bots, and your humble correspondent wishes he’d been there with his trusty camcorder.

Also in 1956, the sci-fi movie “The Indestructible Man”, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., was released in the U.S. It would also be riffed on by Joel & the ‘bots, though not live.

In 1957, The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community.

In 1965, civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully completed their four-day, fifty-mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, AL.

In 1975, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness.

In 1990, an arson fire killed 87 people trapped inside the Happy Land, an illegal nightclub in The Bronx.

In 1992, Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth from the Mir space station after a 10-month stay, during which his native country, the Soviet Union, ceased to exist.

In 1995, on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, the episode featuring the movie “Samson and the Vampire Women” was broadcast on Comedy Central. It featured the last regular appearance by Frank Conniff as TV’s Frank.

In 1996, an 81-day-long standoff between the anti-government group Montana Freemen and law enforcement near Jordan, MT began.

In 2002, a powerful earthquake rocked Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, killing as many as 1,000 people.

In 2006, Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged Belarusian presidential election of that year, clashed with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin was among several protesters arrested.

 

26 March 1938: On Saturday afternoon at 5:40 p.m., RAE Farnborough test pilot Flying Officer Arthur Edmond Clouston ¹ and his co-pilot, newspaper correspondent Victor Anthony Ricketts, ² landed at Croydon, London. England, completing an 11-day, 26,450-mile (42,567 kilometers) round trip flight from England to New Zealand and return. Their airplane, a twin-engined de Havilland DH.88 Comet, G-ACSS, named Australian Anniversary in honor of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Australia, finished the course in 10 days, 21 hours, 22 minutes. During the flight, four Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed Over a Recognised Course were set. ³

 

If I may...

ALSO ON MARCH 26th:

In 1812, an earthquake devastated Caracas, Venezuela, causing an estimated 26,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Also in 1812, a political cartoon in the “Boston Gazette” coined the term "gerrymander" to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.

In 1827, composer/pianist Ludwig van Beethoven died in Vienna.

In 1874, poet/author Robert Frost was born in San Francisco.

In 1892, poet/author Walt Whitman died in Camden, NJ.

In 1904, author/mythologist Joseph Campbell was born in White Plains, NY. His writings would later influence a space fantasy film series that was somewhat successful.

In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first U.S. team to win the Stanley Cup as they defeated the Montreal Canadiens.

In 1923, actor/comedian Bob Elliot, of the comedy team Bob & Ray, was born in Boston, MA.

In 1925, actor/director/producer Barry Letts, best-known for his work on “Doctor Who” during the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker eras, was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, England.

In 1931, actor/director/author Leonard Nimoy was born in Boston, MA.

In 1945, during World War II, the Battle of Iwo Jima ended as the island was officially secured by American forces.

In 1950, actor/comedian/writer/producer Martin Short was born in Hamilton, Ontario. His tenure at SCTV and SNL would come later.

In 1954, the “Romeo shot” of Operation Castle was detonated at Bikini Atoll. The yield of the nuclear bomb was 11 megatons.

In 1964, the musical play "Funny Girl," starring Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice, opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater.

In 1969, the Western spoof “Support Your Local Sheriff!”, starring James Garner, was released in the U.S.

In 1970, the documentary film “Woodstock” was released in the U.S. It would later win an Oscar for Best Documentary, and be watched obsessively by Robert Neville in post-Apocalypse Los Angeles.

In 1976, a rare rainstorm delayed filming and damaged sets during the filming of “Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope” in Tunisia.

In 1979, Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.

In 1982, a groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was held in Washington, D.C..

In 1985, actress Keira Knightley was born in Teddington, London. Years later, she’d appear in a prequel to some space fantasy movie, then start appearing in some pirate movies.

In 1989, the science fiction series “Quantum Leap”, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, premiered on NBC-TV.

In 1994, on “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, the episode “Journey’s End” was broadcast in syndication. It featured the last regular appearance of Wil Wheaton was Wesley Crusher.

Also in 1994, the original “Star Wars” trilogy was shown at Union County Arts Center in Rahway, NJ. It was the last time the original versions of the films would be shown in an authorized, public performance. And yours truly was there, wearing his “Star Wars” 10th Anniversary jacket.

In 1997, thirty-nine members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found dead, having committed mass suicide.

In 1999, the "Melissa worm" infected Microsoft word processing and e-mail systems around the world.

Also in 1999, a jury in Michigan found Dr. Jack Kevorkian guilty of second-degree murder for administering a lethal injection to a terminally ill man.

In 2005, on “Doctor Who”, “Rose” was broadcast on BBC 1. It was the first episode of the revived series, and introduced Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, Billie Piper as Rose Tyler and Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith.

In 2014, The National Labor Relations Board ruled that college football players at Northwestern University could unionize.

 

27 March 1918

His Majesty the KING has been graciously pleased to award the Victoria Cross to the undermentioned Officers of the Royal Air Force, for services displaying outstanding bravery :— ___________

2nd Lt Alan Arnett McLeod, Royal Air Force

Whilst flying with his observer (Lt. A. W. Hammond, M.C.), attacking hostile formations by bombs and machine-gun fire, he was assailed at a height of 5,000 feet by eight enemy triplanes, which dived at him from all directions, firing from the r front guns. By skilful [sic] maneuvering he enabled his observer to fire bursts at each machine in turn, shooting three of them down out of control. By this time Lt McLeod had received five wounds, and whilst continuing the engagement a bullet penetrated his petrol tank and set the machine on fire.

He then climbed out on to the left bottom plane, controlling his machine from the side of the fuselage, and by side-slipping steeply kept the flames to one side, thus enabling the observer to continue firing until the ground was reached.

The observer had been wounded six times when the machine crashed in “No Man’s Land,” and 2nd Lt McLeod, notwithstanding his own wounds, dragged him away from the burning wreckage at great personal risk from heavy machine-gun fire from the enemy’s lines. This very gallant pilot was again wounded by a bomb whilst engaged in this act of rescue, but he persevered until he had placed Lt. Hammond in comparative safety, before falling himself from exhaustion and loss of blood.

—The London Gazette, Number 30663, Wednesday, 1 May 1918, at Pages 5287 and 5288


27 March 1968: Colonel Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Soviet Union, was killed in the crash of a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15UTI two-place trainer near the village of Novoselova, Vladamir Oblast, Russia.

Colonel Gagarin was on a routine training flight with an instructor, Colonel-Engineer Vladimir Sergeyevich Seregin. (Seregin was the commanding officer of the cosmonauts’ training regiment at the Cosmonaut Training Center.) The weather was poor, with rain, snow, wind and low clouds. His last reported altitude was 4,200 meters (13,780 feet).

A Sukhoi Su-15 on test flight inadvertently passed very close to the MiG at supersonic speed. The Sukhoi’s test had been planned for 10,000 meters (32,808 feet), but the pilot actually was flying much lower, passing through clouds, and the interceptor came within an estimated 15–20 meters (49–66 feet) of the trainer. Its wake vortices put Gagarin’s airplane into a spin from which he and Seregin were unable to recover. 55 seconds after Gagarin’s last radio transmission, the MiG-15 crashed. Both men were killed.

 

28 March 1935: Near Roswell, New Mexico, Robert H. Goddard successfully launched the first gyroscopically-stabilized liquid-fueled rocket. In a 20-second flight, the A Series rocket, number A-5, reached an altitude of 4,800 feet (1,463 meters) and traveled 13,000 feet (3,962 meters) down range. Its speed was 550 miles per hour (885 kilometers per hour). During the flight, the rocket corrected its flight path several times.

 

If I (belatedly) may...

ALSO ON MAY 27th:
In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon sighted present-day Florida.

In 1794, the U.S. Government established a permanent navy and authorized the building of six frigates.

In 1866, President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto was overridden by Congress and the bill passed into law on April 9th.

In 1871, the first international rugby football match occurred, when Scotland defeated England in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.

In 1884, the first telephone line between Boston and New York was inaugurated.

In 1886, Apache warrior Geronimo surrendered to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.

In 1901, author/cartoonist Carl Barks, best-known for his stories about Donald Duck, his nephews and Scrooge McDuck, was born Merrill, OR.

In 1912, first lady Helen Herron Taft and the wife of Japan's ambassador to the United States, Viscountess Chinda, planted in Washington the first two of 3,000 cherry trees given as a gift by the mayor of Tokyo.

In 1917, The Seattle Metropolitans, of the Pacific Coast League of Canada, defeated the Montreal Canadiens and became the first U.S. hockey team to win the Stanley Cup.

In 1921, announcer Fred Foy, best-known for his opening for “The Lone Ranger”, was born in Detroit, MI.

In 1927, producer/writer/voice artist Sylvia Anderson, best-known for her work with then-husband Gerry Anderson on the various Supermarionation productions, was born in Camberwell, London, England.

In 1931, actor David Janssen was born in Naponee, NE. His pursuit of the one-armed man would come later.

In 1933, Japan officially withdrew from the League of Nations.

In 1935, actor Julian Glover was born in Hampstead, London. He’d later appear as a rare Imperial officer that Vader didn’t seem to hold in contempt.

In 1940, Alfred Hitchcock's first American movie, "Rebecca" starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, premiered in Los Angeles.

In 1941, during World War II, Yugoslavian Air Force officers toppled the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup.

In 1942, actor Michael York was born in Fulmer, Buckinghamshire, England. Years later, one of his characters would discover, “There Is No Sanctuary.”

In 1945, during World War II, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower told reporters in Paris that Germany's main defensive line on the Western Front had been broken.

In 1948, the John Ford western “Fort Apache”, starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda, premiered in Phoenix, AZ.

In 1952, the musical comedy movie “Singin’ in the Rain” premiered in New York City.

In 1958, Nikita Khrushchev became Soviet premier in addition to First Secretary of the Communist Party.

Also in 1958, CBS Records announced the invention of stereophonic records.

In 1962, author Kevin J. Anderson, who’s written for several franchises (including “Star Wars”, “Dune” and DC superheroes) was born in Racine, WI.

In 1964, Alaska was hit by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake (the strongest on record in North America) and tsunamis that together claimed about 130 lives.

In 1975, construction began on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which was completed two years later.

In 1977, 583 people were killed when a KLM Boeing 747, attempting to take off, crashed into a Pan Am 747 on the Canary Island of Tenerife.

In 1980, 123 workers died when a North Sea floating oil field platform, the Alexander Kielland, capsized during a storm.

In 1987, the film “Withnail & I” premiered in New York. It starred Richard E. Grant and Paul McGann, both of whom would later play the Eighth Doctor (though not the same Eighth Doctor).

In 2002, two mass killings occurred. A Palestinian suicide bomber killed 29 people at a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel; while in Nanterre, France, a gunman opened fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors, with 19 other people injured.

Also in 2002, actor/comedian Milton Berle died in Los Angeles at age 93, actor/comedian/musician/composer Dudley Moore died in Plainfield, NJ at age 66, and filmmaker Billy Wilder died in Los Angeles at age 95.

In 2004, stunt coordinator/arranger/performer Peter Diamond died in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. His credits included the original “Star Wars” trilogy, as well as “Doctor Who”, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Highlander”.

In 2006, Elvis Presley's Graceland was declared a national historic landmark.

In 2016, a suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claimed over 70 lives and left almost 300 others injured. The targets of the bombing were Christians celebrating Easter.

 

29 March 1923: Flying a Curtiss R-6 Racer, serial number A.S. 68564, at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, First Lieutenant Russell Lowell Maughan, Air Service, United States Army, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed of 380.75 kilometers per hour (236.59 miles per hour).

 

If I may...

ALSO ON MARCH 28th:

In 1834, the U.S. Senate voted to censure President Andrew Jackson for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States.

In 1854, during the Crimean War, Britain and France declared war on Russia.

In 1862, during the Civil War, Union forces stopped the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory in the Battle of Glorieta Pass. The battle began on March 26th.

In 1898, the Supreme Court, in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, ruled that a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrants was a U.S. citizen.

In 1930, the names of the Turkish cities of Constantinople and Angora were changed to Istanbul and Ankara.

In 1935, the notorious Nazi propaganda film "Triumph des Willens" (Triumph of the Will), directed by Leni Riefenstahl, premiered in Berlin with Adolf Hitler present.

In 1942, during World War II, in occupied France, British naval forces successfully raided the German-occupied port of St. Nazaire.

In 1958, Eddie Cochran recorded "Summertime Blues" at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood, CA.

In 1963, Sonny Werblin announced that the New York Titans of the American Football League was changing its name to the New York Jets.

Also in 1963, the Alfred Hitchcock suspense film “The Birds” premiered in New York City.

In 1965, an earthquake of magnitude 7.4 struck La Ligua, Chile, leaving about 400 people dead or missing, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1967, the TV movie “Ironside”, starring Raymond Burr, was broadcast on NBC-TV. It would serve as the pilot for the later series, which followed in September.

In 1969, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the U.S., died in Washington D.C. at age 78.

In 1972, Elvis Presley recorded “Burning Love” at RCA Studios in Hollywood, CA. It would be his last Top 10 hit.

In 1978, Paramount Pictures announced its upcoming production of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”.

In 1979, America's worst commercial nuclear accident occurred with a partial meltdown inside the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania.

In 1980, the horror movie “The Changeling” was released in the U.S. and Canada. It starred George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere and Melvin Douglas.

In 1987, actor Patrick Troughton, the Second Doctor, died in Columbus, GA at age 67.

In 1990, President George H.W. Bush presented a posthumous Congressional Gold Medal to U.S. Olympic legend Jesse Owens.

In 2003, in a friendly fire incident, two American A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft attacked British tanks participating in the invasion of Iraq, killing one soldier.

In 2006, massive protests were mounted against France's First Employment Contract law, meant to reduce youth unemployment.

 

If I may...

ALSO ON MARCH 29th:

In 1638, Swedish colonists settled in present-day Delaware.

In 1788, cleric/evangelist/hymnwriter Charles Wesley died in London at age 80.

In 1790, John Tyler, the 10th President of the U.S., was born in Charles City County, Virginia.

In 1812, the first White House wedding took place as Lucy Payne Washington, the sister of first lady Dolley Madison, married Supreme Court Justice Thomas Todd.

In 1882, the Knights of Columbus was chartered in Connecticut.

In 1886, Dr. John Pemberton brewed the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta, GA.

In 1902, composer Sir William Walton was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England.

In 1906, organist E. Power Biggs was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, England.

In 1912, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott, his doomed expedition stranded in an Antarctic blizzard after failing to be the first to reach the South Pole, wrote the last words of his journal: "For Gods sake look after our people."

In 1936, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler claimed overwhelming victory in a plebiscite on his policies.

In 1943, World War II rationing of meat, fats and cheese began.

Also in 1943, actor/comedian/singer/writer/director/Python/Rutle Eric Idle was born in South Shields, County Durham, England. Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge.

In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted in New York of conspiracy to commit espionage. (They were executed in June 1953.)

Also in 1951, the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I" opened on Broadway at the St. James Theater.

In 1955, actress Marina Sirtis was born in London. Her Star Fleet experiences would come later.

In 1959, the comedy movie “Some Like It Hot”, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, was released in the U.S.

In 1961, the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.

Also In 1961, the British-made kaiju movie “Gorgo” was released in the U.S.

In 1962, Jack Paar hosted NBC's "Tonight" show for the final time, although the network aired a repeat the following night. (Johnny Carson debuted as host the following October.)

In 1968, on the original series “Star Trek”, the episode “Assignment: Earth” was broadcast on NBC-TV. Guest-starring Robert Lansing as Gary Seven and Teri Garr as Roberta, it was intended as a “back-door pilot” for a proposed spin-off series that was not produced. (Not yet, anyway.) It was also the last episode of TOS’s second season.

In 1971, Army Lt. William L. Calley Jr. was convicted of murdering 22 Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre. (Calley ended up serving three years under house arrest.)

Also in 1971, a jury in Los Angeles recommended the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers for the 1969 Tate-La Bianca murders. (The sentences were later commuted.)

In 1973, the last United States combat troops left South Vietnam, ending America's direct military involvement in the Vietnam War.

Also in 1973, Dr. Hook and The Medicine Show got their picture on the cover of “Rolling Stone” magazine after their hit, ”The Cover of Rolling Stone” reached No. 6 on the US singles chart. According to members of the group, they really did buy five copies for their mothers, just like the song said.

In 1974, eight Ohio National Guardsmen were indicted on federal charges stemming from the shooting deaths of four students at Kent State University. (The charges were later dismissed.)

Also in 1974, NASA’s Mariner 10 became the first space probe to fly by Mercury.

In 1984, in a move that remains controversial, the Baltimore Colts loaded its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transferred its operations to Indianapolis.

In 1988, the supernatural comedy “Beetlejuice” premiered in New York City.

In 2004, the horror-comedy “Shaun of the Dead” its London premiere.

In 2010, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up in twin attacks on Moscow subway stations jam-packed with rush-hour passengers, killing at least 40 people and wounding more than 100.

In 2014, the first same-sex marriages in England and Wales were performed.

 

https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Secretariat_1970-1989#start_entry

A chestnut thoroughbred, Secretariat was foaled at Christopher T. Chenery's Meadow Stable, near Doswell, Virginia, on March 30, 1970. Nicknamed "Big Red" (like the legendary thoroughbred Man o' War), he developed into a beautiful and powerful horse, with a heart more than twice the size of a standard horse and massive chest and hindquarters. He had good breeding; his sire, Bold Ruler, had won the 1957 Preakness Stakes, and his dame, Something Royal, was a daughter of Princequillo.

 

30 March 1918: Near Borgo del Molino, Italy, Lieutenant Alan Jerrard, No. 66 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps,¹ was flying a Sopwith Camel, serial number B5648, while on an intruder mission with two other pilots, Captain Peter Carpenter, M.C., and Lieutenant Harold Ross Eycott-Martin. Jerrard engaged a group of Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen (Austrian Air Force) Albatros D.III fighters. Jerrard shot down one Austrian plane, attacked an aerodrome at low altitude, single-handedly engaged 19 fighters, shot down 2 more, was shot down himself, wounded and captured. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions that day.

30 March 1928: At Venice, Italy, Regia Aeronautica Major Mario de Bernardi, flying a Macchi M.52bis seaplane, established a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Course of 512.78 kilometers per hour (318.63 miles per hour). Major de Bernardi was the first pilot to fly faster than 300 miles per hour (482.8 kilometers per hour).

30 March 1934: At Bridgeport, Connecticut, Sikorsky Aircraft Company test pilot Boris Vasilievich Sergievsky made the first flight of the prototype Sikorsky S-42, a large, four-engine flying boat which had been designed for long range passenger and cargo flights. In discussions with Igor Sikorsky, Charles A. Lindbergh, acting as technical advisor to Pan American Airways System, the two aviation icons established the specifications for a new flying boat.

30 March 1939: At 5:25 p.m., Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke GmbH test pilot Hans Dieterle, flying a high-performance prototype fighter, the Heinkel He 100 V8, D-IDGH, entered a measured 3 kilometer course near the factory’s airfield at Oranienberg, Germany. He would attempt to set a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Course. Dieterle’s officially-recognized World Record for Speed is 746.60 kilometers per hour (463.91 miles per hour).

30 March 1982: At 9:04:46 a.m. Mountain Standard Time (16:04:46 UTC), Space Shuttle Columbia (OV-102) completed its third space flight (STS-3) by landing at White Sands Space Harbor, the auxiliary space shuttle landing area at the White Sands Test Facility, west of Alamogordo, New Mexico. This was the only time that a space shuttle landed at White Sands.

 

If I may...

ALSO ON MARCH 30th:

In 1135, the Jewish philosopher Maimonides was born in Cordoba in present-day Spain.

In 1842, Ether anesthesia was used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.

In 1867, Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2¢/acre ($4.19/km²), by U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward.

In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which prohibited denying citizens the right to vote and hold office on the basis of race, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Hamilton Fish.

In 1909, the Queensboro Bridge in New York City opened, linking Manhattan and Queens.

In 1913, singer/songwriter Frankie Laine was born in Chicago.

In 1923, the Cunard liner RMS Laconia became the first passenger ship to circle the globe as it arrived in New York.

In 1926, actor/singer/TV host Peter Marshall, best-known for hosting “The Hollywood Squares”, was born in Huntington, WV.

In 1930, actor John Astin was born in Baltimore, MD. But he’s feeling much better now.

In 1945, musician/singer/songwriter Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England.

In 1954, the Yonge Street subway line, the first subway in Canada, opened in Toronto.

In 1958, voice actor Maurice LaMarche, best-known for his roles on “Futurama” and as Brain on ‘Pinky and the Brain”, was born in Toronto.

In 1959, a narrowly divided U.S. Supreme Court, in Bartkus v. Illinois, ruled that a conviction in state court following an acquittal in federal court for the same crime did not constitute double jeopardy.

In 1960, actor/writer/puppeteer Bill Corbett was born in Brooklyn, NY. Later, on a cow-town puppet show, he'd divide his time between the S.O.L. and Castle Forrester.

It premiered on NBC-TV in 1964, was originally hosted by Art Fleming, and originally announced by Don Pardo. What is “Jeopardy!”?

Also in 1964, actor Ian Ziering was born in Newark, NJ. He’s currently best-known for providing Rifftrax with a lot of material via the “Sharknado” series.

In 1967, the photo session for the cover of The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” took place at Chelsea Manor studios in London with Michael Cooper.

In 1981, U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously wounded outside a Washington, D.C., hotel. White House Press Secretary James Brady was also shot and seriously wounded in the attack.

In 1984, the adventure movie “Romancing the Stone”, starring Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito, was released in the U.S.

In 2002, Britain's Queen Mother Elizabeth died at Royal Lodge, Windsor, outside London at the age of 101.

In 2005, the BBC announced that Christopher Eccleston would leave the role of the Doctor at the end of the first series of the revival of “Doctor Who”.

In 2014, actress/writer Kate O’Mara, well-known to Whovians for her role as the Rani, died in Sussex, England at age 74.

In 2017, SpaceX conducted the world's first reflight of an orbital class rocket.

 

31 March 1921: The Royal Australian Air Force was formed from the Australian Flying Corps.

31 March 1945: Messerschmitt Aktiengesellschaft test pilot and technical inspector Hans Fay (1888–1959) defected to the Allies at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airfield, Frankfurt, Germany. He brought with him a brand-new Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1 twin-engine jet fighter. Fay had been waiting for an opportunity to bring an Me 262 to the Americans, but feared reprisals against his parents. When he learned that the U.S. Army controlled their town, he felt that it was safe to go ahead with his plan. On 31 March, Fay was ordered to fly one of twenty-two new fighters from the Me 262 assembly factory at Schwäbisch-Hall to a safer location at Neuburg an der Donau, as they were in danger of being captured by advancing Allied forces. His airplane was unpainted other than low visibility Balkenkreuz markings on the wings and fuselage, and standard Luftwaffe markings on the vertical fin. Fay was the fourth to take off, but instead of heading east-southeast toward Neuburg, he flew north-northwest to Frankfurt, arriving there at 1:45 p.m. The Messerchmitt Me 262 Schwalbe was the first production jet fighter.

https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/

 

If I may...

ALSO ON MARCH 31st:

In 1492, Queen Isabella of Castille issued the Alhambra Decree, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.

In 1774, The Kingdom of Great Britain ordered the port of Boston, MA closed pursuant to the Boston Port Act .

In 1814, Paris was occupied by a coalition of Russian, Prussian and Austrian forces; the surrender of the French capital forced the abdication of Emperor Napoleon.

In 1889, French engineer Gustave Eiffel unfurled the French tricolor from atop the Eiffel Tower, officially marking its completion.

In 1906, The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was founded to set rules in amateur sports. The organization became the National Collegiate Athletic Association in 1910.

In 1918, a massacre was committed by allied armed groups of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Bolsheviks. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijani Muslims were killed.

Also in 1918, Daylight Savings Time went into effect in the United States for the first time.

In 1921, The Royal Australian Air Force was formed.

In 1927, actor William Daniels was born in Brooklyn, NY. And every year, on July 4th, I watch “1776”, where he played a certain obnoxious and disliked lawyer.

In 1930, the Motion Picture Production Code was instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty-eight years.

Also in 1932, the original version of the gangster drama “Scarface”, starring Paul Muni, premiered in New Orleans.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Emergency Conservation Work Act, which created the Civilian Conservation Corps.

In 1935, singer/songwriter/musician Herb Alpert was born in Los Angeles.

In 1943, "Oklahoma!," the first musical play by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, opened on Broadway at the St. James Theater.

In 1949, Newfoundland (now called Newfoundland and Labrador) entered confederation as Canada's tenth province.

Also in 1949, RCA Victor introduced the 45rpm single record, which had been in development since 1940.

In 1957, the original version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella," starring Julie Andrews, aired live in color on CBS-TV.

In 1958, the Chuck Berry single "Johnny B. Goode" was released by Chess Records.

In 1967, Jimi Hendrix set fire to his guitar live on stage for the first time when he was appearing at The Astoria in London, England.

In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson stunned the country by announcing he would not seek re-election.

In 1971, actor Ewan McGregor was born in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland. His officer’s commission in the Grand Army of the Republic would be issued later.

In 1973, on “Doctor Who”, part six of “Frontier in Space” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the last appearance of Roger Delgado as the Master.

In 1975, the TV western series "Gunsmoke" closed out 20 seasons on CBS with its final first-run episode, "The Sharecroppers."

In 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Karen Ann Quinlan, who was in a persistent vegetative state, could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan, who remained unconscious, died in 1985.)

In 1980, The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operated its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.

In 1983, MTV added Michael Jackson's video for "Beat It." It was the first video MTV played by an African-American artist.

Also in 1983, the Monty Python movie “The Meaning of Life” released in the U.S. And, to this day, I can’t watch the Mr. Creosote sequence.

In 1986, 167 people died when a Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 crashed in a remote mountainous region of Mexico.

In 1992, the USS Missouri, the last active U.S. Navy battleship, was decommissioned in Long Beach, CA.

In 1993, actor Brandon Lee, age 28, was accidentally shot to death during the filming “The Crow” in Wilmington, NC, when he was hit by a bullet fragment that had been lodged inside a prop gun.

In 1995, Mexican-American singer Selena Quintanilla-Perez, age 23, was shot to death in Corpus Christi, TX, by the founder of her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

In 2005, Terri Schiavo died at a hospice in Pinellas Park, FL at age 41, 13 days after her feeding tube was removed in a wrenching right-to-die dispute.

In 2007, on “Doctor Who”, the episode “Smith & Jones” was broadcast on BBC 1. It was the first episode of the third series, and introduced Freema Agyeman was Martha Jones.

In 2016, actor/comedian/writer Ronnie Corbett died in Croydon, England at age 85.

 

The first episode of Pokemon aired in Japan 22 years ago today.