Our Amazing World - March
February 26 - March 4
March 1, 1961 - President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps, an organization sending young American volunteers to developing countries to assist with health care, education and other basic human needs. March 1, Birthday - American band leader Glenn Miller (1904-1944) was born in Carilinda, Iowa. His music gained enormous popularity during the 1940's through recordings such as Moonlight Serenade and String of Pearls. On December 15, 1944, his plane disappeared over the English Channel while en route to Paris where he was scheduled to perform. March 1, 1565 The city of Rio de Janeiro was founded. March 1, 1872 Yellowstone National Park was established March 1, 1873 Production of the first typewriter began March 1, 1912 The first parachute jump was made from a moving airplane. March 2, 1904 Dr. Seuss or Theodor Geisel (Author) was born. March 3, 1791 The United States Mint was created by the U.S. Congress. March 3, 1875 The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey was played March 3, 1923 TIME magazine was published for the first time. March 3, 1931 The Star Spangled Banner became the US National Anthem March 3, 1933 Mount Rushmore National Memorial was dedicated. March 3, 1938 Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia. March 3, 1939 Mohandas Gandhi began to fast in protest of the autocratic rule in India. March 3, Birthday - Railroad car builder George Pullman (1831-1897) was born in Brocton, New York. He improved railroad sleeping accommodations, developing the folding upper berth and lower berth designs. His company went on to become the biggest railroad car building organization in the world. March 3, Birthday - Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell and his father were involved in teaching deaf persons to speak. Bell developed an interest in the vibrating membrane as a method of electrically transmitting sounds. His very first sentence spoken on the newly invented telephone on March 10, 1876, was to his assistant, "Mister Watson, come here, I want you." March 4, 1681 - King Charles II of England granted a huge tract of land in the New World to William Penn to settle an outstanding debt. The area later became Pennsylvania. March 4, 1678 – Antonio Vivaldi (Composer) was born. March 4, 1877 - The microphone was invented by Emile Berliner March 4, 1933 - Newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office and delivered his first inaugural address attempting to restore public confidence during the Great Depression, stating, "Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself..." His cabinet appointments included the first woman to a Cabinet post, Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins. |
Week 9
* Picture your grandparents or great grandparents dancing away with huge smiles on their faces. Wondering what they might have been dancing too? Check out a little of Glenn Miller's music on Youtube. What do you think of it? |
March 5 - March 11
March 5, 1933 - Amid a steadily worsening economic situation, newly elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed a four-day "Bank Holiday" to stop panic withdrawals by the public and the possible collapse of the American banking system. March 5, 1946 - The "Iron Curtain" speech was delivered by Winston Churchill at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. Churchill used the term to describe the boundary in Europe between free countries of the West and nations of Eastern Europe under Soviet Russia's control. March 6, 1475 Renaissance genius Michelangelo (1475-1564) was born in Caprese, Italy. He was a painter, sculptor, architect, poet and visionary best known for his fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and his sculptures David and The Pieta. March 6, 1869 Dmitri Mendeleev presented the first periodic table March 8, 1884 Susan B. Anthony asked US Congress for an amendment allowing women the right to vote March 6, 1972 First flight of the Goodyear blimp March 9 Birthday - Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512) was born in Florence, Italy. He explored South America and the Amazon River, believing he had discovered a new continent. In 1507, a German mapmaker first referred to the lands discovered in the New World as America. March 9 Birthday - Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968) was born in Gzhatsk, Russia. On April 12, 1961, he became the first human in space, orbiting in a capsule 187 miles above the Earth's surface in a flight lasting 108 minutes. His space flight caused a worldwide sensation and marked the beginning of the space race as the U.S. worked to catch up to the Russians and launch an American into space. President John F. Kennedy later asserted the U.S. would land a man on the moon before the end of the 1960's. March 9, 1935 The cartoon character Porky Pig first appeared in I Haven't Got a Hat. March 9, 1959 The first Barbie doll debuted. 1964 March 9 ,1987 U2 released the album The Joshua Tree (One of Pak Man’s favourites). March 9 1943 – Bobby Fisher the American Chess Champion was born. March 10, 1862 - The first issue of U.S. government paper money occurred as $5, $10 and $20 bills began circulation. March 10, 1880 - The Salvation Army was founded in the United States. The social service organization was first founded in England by William Booth and operates today in 90 countries. March 10 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful telephone call. March 10, 1977 – Astronomers discovered rings around Uranus. March 10, 1982 – All 9 planets of our Solar System aligned around the same side of the sun. March 10, 1940 – Chuck Norris (Actor) was born. March 11, 1918 - The 'Spanish' influenza first reached America as 107 soldiers become sick at Fort Riley, Kansas. One quarter of the U.S. population eventually became ill from the deadly virus, resulting in 500,000 deaths. The death toll worldwide approached 22 million by the end of 1920. March 11, 1941 - During World War II, the Lend-Lease program began allowing Britain to receive American weapons, machines, raw materials, training and repair services. Ships, planes, guns and shells, along with food, clothing and metals went to the embattled British while American warships began patrolling the North Atlantic and U.S troops were stationed in Greenland and Iceland. "We must be the great arsenal of democracy," President Roosevelt declared concerning the fight against Hitler's Germany. The initial appropriation was $7 Billion, but by 1946 the figure reached $50 Billion in aid from the U.S. to its Allies. March 11, 1931 – Rupert Murdock the media mogul was born. |
Week 10
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March 12 - March 18
March 12, 1894 Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time (in the US?) March 12, 1912 The Girl Scouts were founded in the US. March 12, 1913 Canberra became the capital of Australia. March 12, 1609 - The island of Bermuda was colonized by the British after a ship on its way to Virginia was wrecked on the reefs. March 12, 1938 - Nazis invaded Austria, then absorbed the country into Hitler's Reich. March 12, 1994 - The Church of England ordained 32 women as its first female priests. In protest, 700 male clergy members and thousands of church members left the church and joined the Roman Catholic Church which does not allow women priests. March 12, 1999 - Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic became full-fledged members of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) less than ten years after exchanging communist rule for democracy and ending their Cold War military alliances with Soviet Russia. Birthday - The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) was born in Salonika, Greece. Following World War I, he led the Turkish revolution and became Turkey's first president. March 13, 1943 - A plot to kill Hitler by German army officers failed as a bomb planted aboard his plane failed to explode due to a faulty detonator. March 13, 1781 The planet Uranus is discovered by William Herschel March 13, Birthday - Scientist and clergyman Joseph Priestly (1733-1804) was born in Yorkshire, England. He discovered oxygen and advanced the religious theory of Unitarianism. Birthday - Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was born in Ulm, Germany. His theory of relativity led to new ways of thinking about time, space, matter and energy. He received a Nobel Prize in 1921 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1933 where he was an outspoken critic of Nazi Germany. Believing the Nazis might develop an atomic bomb, he warned President Roosevelt and urged the development of the U.S. Atomic bomb. Birthday - The first female dentist, Lucy Hobbs (1833-1910) was born in New York state. She received her degree in 1866 from the Ohio College of Dental Surgery and was a women's rights advocate. March 15, 44 B.C. - Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Senate chamber in Rome by Brutus and fellow conspirators. After first trying to defend himself against the murderous onslaught, Caesar saw Brutus with a knife and asked "Et tu, Brute?" (You too, Brutus?) Caesar then gave up the struggle and was stabbed to death. March 15, 1493 Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas. March 15, Birthday - Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) the 7th U.S. President was born in a log cabin in Waxhaw, South Carolina. As a boy he volunteered to serve in the American Revolution. Captured by the British, he refused an order to clean an officer's boots and was slashed by his sword. Jackson later gained fame as a hero during the War of 1812. In politics he helped form the new Democratic Party and became the first man from an impoverished background to be elected President, serving from 1829 to 1837. Birthday - James Madison (1751-1836) the 4th U.S. President was born in Port Conway, Virginia. During the War of 1812, President Madison was forced to flee Washington, D.C,. while the British attacked and burned the White House and other important public buildings. March 16, 1521 Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines. March 15, 1872 The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, March 15, 1926 Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fuelled rocket March 17th - Celebrated as Saint Patrick's Day commemorating the patron saint of Ireland. March 17, 1845 The rubber band was invented March 17, 1861 The Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed. March 18, 1974 - The five-month-old Arab oil embargo against the U.S. was lifted. The embargo was in retaliation for American support of Israel during the Yom Kipper War of 1973. In the U.S., the resulting embargo had caused long lines at gas stations as prices soared 300 percent amid shortages and a government ban on Sunday gas sales. March 18, 1850 American Express was founded March 18, 1909 First ham radio broadcast. March 18, 1965 First person walks in space. Birthday - Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) the 22nd and 24th U.S. president was born in Caldwell, New Jersey. He was the only president to be married in the White House. |
Week 11
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March 19 - March 25
March 19, 2003 - The United States launched an attack against Iraq to topple dictator Saddam Hussein from power. The attack commenced with aerial strikes against military sites, followed the next day by an invasion of southern Iraq by U.S. and British ground troops. The troops made rapid progress northward and conquered the country's capital, Baghdad, just 21 days later, ending the rule of Saddam. March 19, 1918 Time zones were first established in the US. March 19, 1972 India and Bangladesh signed a friendship treaty. March 19, 1813 - Birthday - Explorer and medical missionary David Livingstone (1813-1873) was born in Blantyre, Scotland. He arrived at Cape Town, Africa, in 1841 and began extensive missionary explorations, often traveling into areas that had never seen a white person. In his later years, he sought the source of the Nile River. He also became the subject of the famous search by news correspondent Henry Stanley who located him in 1871 near Lake Tanganyika in Africa after a difficult search and simply asked, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?" Birthday - Wyatt Earp (1848-1929) was born in Monmouth, Illinois. He became a legendary figure in the Wild West as a lawman and gunfighter, best known for the shootout at the O.K. Corral in 1881, in which the Earp brothers (Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan) fought and defeated the Ike Clanton gang. Birthday - American psychologist B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) was born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. He pioneered theories of behaviourism and developed the Skinner box, a controlled environment for studying behaviour. March 20, 1727 Sir Isaac Newton died. March 19, 1916 Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity. March 19, 1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono get married. March 19, 1985 The first woman wins the 1,135-mile Iditarod dog sled race. March 21 March 21, 1918 - During World War I, the Second Battle of the Somme began as German General Erich von Ludendorff launched an all-out drive to win the war. The battle began with a five-hour artillery barrage followed by a rush of German troops. The offensive lasted until April 6th and resulted in the Germans gaining about 35 miles of territory. Allied and German casualty figures for both battles approached 500,000. March 21, 1943 - A suicide/assassination plot by German Army officers against Hitler failed as the conspirators were unable to locate a short fuse for the bomb which was to be carried in the coat pocket of General von Gersdorff to ceremonies Hitler was attending. Birthday - Organist and composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was born in Eissenach, Germany. His output included thousands of compositions, many used in churches. Among his best known works; The Brandenburg Concertos for orchestra, The Well-Tempered Clavier for keyboard, the St. John and St. Matthew passions, and the Mass in B Minor. March 21, 1946 Timothy Dalton (One of a number of actors who has played James Bond) was born. March 21, 1999 1st circumnavigation of the earth by a hot air balloon. March 22 March 22, 1960 The laser was invented March 22, 1963 The Beatles released their first album; Please, Please, Me March 22, 1993 Intel shipped the first Pentium chips March 22, 1995 Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returned after setting a record for 438 days in space Famous Birthdays: March 22, 1599 Anthony van Dyck (Dutch painter) was born. March 22, 1923 Marcel Marceau (Famous mime) was born. March 22, 1931 William Shatner (Actor Captain Kirk on Star Trek) was born. March 22, 1948 Andrew Lloyd Weber (Composer of Cats and Phantom of the Opera) was born. March 22, 1972 - The Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Senate and then sent to the states for ratification. The ERA, as it became known, prohibited discrimination on the basis of gender, stating, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex," and that "the Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article." Although 22 of the required 38 states quickly ratified the Amendment, opposition arose over concerns that women would be subject to the draft and combat duty, along with other legal concerns. The ERA eventually failed (by 3 states) to achieve ratification despite an extension of the deadline to June 1982. March 23, 1857 Elisha Otis installed the first elevator in New York City. March 23, 1903 The Wright Brothers apply for a patent for the airplane March 23, 1775 - Patrick Henry ignited the American Revolution with a speech before the Virginia convention in Richmond, stating, "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!" March 24, 1923 Greece became a republic March 24, 2005 The PlayStation portable was released March 24, 1874 Harry Houdini (Magician) was born. March 24, 1901 Ub Iwerks (Cartoonist who first drew Mickey Mouse) was born. March 24, 1934 - The Philippine Islands in the South Pacific were granted independence by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after nearly 50 years of American control. March 24, 1989 - One of the largest oil spills in U.S. history occurred as the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound off Alaska, resulting in 11 million gallons of oil leaking into the natural habitat over a stretch of 45 miles. Birthday - Harry Houdini (1874-1926) was born (as Erik Weisz) in Budapest, Hungary. He came to the U.S. with his family as an infant and lived in New York City. He began as a Coney Island magician, then became a world famous escape artist, known for escaping from chains, handcuffs, straightjackets, locked boxes and milk cans filled with water. He died on Halloween 1926 from a burst appendix and was buried in Queens, NY. March 25, 1655 Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is discovered March 25, 1942 Aretha Franklin (Singer) was born. March 25, 1947 Elton John (Singer) was born. March 25, 1982 Danica Patrick (Race car driver) March 25, 1807 - The British Parliament abolished the slave trade following a long campaign against it by Quakers and others. March 25, 1911 - A raging fire erupted inside a garment factory in New York City killing 123 young women employed as low-paid seamstresses, along with 23 men. The fast-spreading flames engulfed the 8th and 9th floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in lower Manhattan in just a few minutes. About 50 of the victims had jumped to their deaths rather than perish from the flames. The sensational tragedy spurred national interest concerning the rights of mostly-immigrant women workers of the New York garment industry who labored long hours six or seven days a week in cramped, dangerous conditions for about $5 weekly pay. |
Week 12
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March 26 - Apr 1
March 26, 1992 - Soviet Cosmonaut Serge Krikalev returned to a new country (Russia) after spending 313 days on board the Mir Space Station. During his stay in space, the Soviet Union (USSR) collapsed and became the Commonwealth of Independent States. March 26, 1827 Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer died. March 26, 1953 Jonas Salk announced the creation of a vaccine for Polio. Birthday - American playwright Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) was born in Columbus, Mississippi. His works featured Southern settings and include; The Glass Menagerie, Night of the Iguana, and two Pulitzer Prize winning plays, A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . March 26, 1874 Robert Frost (Poet) was born. March 27, 1977 - The worst accident in the history of civil aviation occurred as two Boeing 747 jets collided on the ground in the Canary Islands, resulting in 570 deaths. March 27, 1914 The first successful blood transfusion was performed March 28, 845 Paris was sacked by Viking raiders March 28, 1910 The first seaplane took off from a water runway. March 28, 1979 - Near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident occurred in which uranium in the reactor core overheated due to the failure of a cooling valve. A pressure relief valve then stuck causing the water level to plummet, threatening a catastrophic nuclear meltdown. The accident resulted in the release of radioactive steam into the atmosphere, and created a storm of controversy over the necessity and safety of nuclear power plants. March 29, 1848 An upstream ice jam stopped almost all water flow over Niagara Falls. March 29, 1974 Mariner 10 became the first spaceprobe to fly by Mercury. March 29, 2004 Ireland became the first country in the world to ban smoking in all work places, including bars and restaurants. March 30, 1842 Anaesthesia was used for the first time in an operation March 30, 1856 The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Crimean War. March 30, 1858 Hyman Lipman patented a pencil with an attached eraser. March 30, 1867 Alaska was purchased for $7.2M (Sewards Folly) March 30, 1964 Jeopardy! Game shows aired for the first time on TV. March 30, 1981 - Newly elected President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest while walking toward his limousine in Washington, D.C., following a speech inside a hotel. The president was then rushed into surgery to remove a 22-caliber bullet from his left lung. "I should have ducked," Reagan joked. Three others were also hit including Reagan's Press Secretary, James Brady, who was shot in the forehead but survived. The president soon recovered from the surgery and returned to his duties. Birthday - Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) was born in Groot Zundert, Holland. He was a Postimpressionist painter, generally considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt. During his short (10-year) painting career he produced over 800 oil paintings and 700 drawings, but sold only one during his lifetime. In 1987, the sale of his painting Irises brought $53.9 million, the highest price ever paid for a work of art up to that time. During his life, Van Gogh suffered from despair and bouts of mental illness, at one point cutting off part of his own left ear. March 30, 1945 Eric Clapton (Singer and guitarist) was born, as were fellow musicians: March 30, 1962 MC Hammer (Rapper) March 30, 1968 Celine Dion (Singer) March 30, 1979 Norah Jones (Singer) March 31, 1889 The Eiffel Tower was inaugurated. March 31, 1918 Daylight Savings Time went into effect in the USA for the first time. March 31, 1991 - The Soviet Republic of Georgia, birthplace of Josef Stalin, voted to declare its independence from Soviet Russia, after similar votes by Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Following the vote in Georgia, Russian troops were dispatched from Moscow under a state of emergency. Birthday - Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was born in Rohrau, Austria. Considered the father of the symphony and the string quartet, his works include 107 symphonies, 50 divertimenti, 84 string quartets, 58 piano sonatas, and 13 masses. Based in Vienna, Mozart was his friend and Beethoven was a pupil. March 31, 1596 Rene Descartes (Philospher) was born. March 31, 1948 Al Gore (US Vice President and environmental spokesperson) was born. |
Week 13
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