On the first day of each month, the genealogy community is urged to back up their genealogy data and all computer data.
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First celebrated in 1991, March marks the celebration of the contributions of Irish-Americans to the nation’s history. Read more at http://irishamericanheritagemonth.com/.
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Mar 1, 1932. Twenty-month-old Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr, the son of Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped from their home at Hopewell, NJ. Even though the Lindberghs paid a $ 50,000 ransom, their child’s body was found in a wooded area less than five miles from the family home on May 12. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was charged with the murder and kidnapping. He was executed in the electric chair Apr 3, 1936.
As a result of the kidnapping and murder, the Crime Control Act was passed on May 18, 1934, authorizing the death penalty for kidnappers who take their victims across state lines.
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The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America seeks to raise awareness of MS, an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. They hope to help people understand the symptoms and relapses of the disease. Read more at https://mymsaa.org/.
Mar 1– 31. A time for reexamining and celebrating the wide range of women’s contributions and achievements that are too often overlooked in the telling of US history.
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President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order on 1 March 1961 officially establishing the Peace Corps on this date. The Peace Corps has sent more than 200,000 volunteers to 139 countries to help people help themselves. The volunteers assist in projects such as health, education, water sanitation, agriculture, nutrition and forestry.
March is a time to recognize the work of the Red Cross and community heroes. Read mores at http://www.redcross.org/about-us/red-cross-month.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony village of Salem had experienced a strange February in which several teen-aged girls exhibited bizarre behavior and attributed their ailments to witches. Three women were then arrested on 28 February 1692. One of the accused, Tituba, a West Indian slave, broke down under questioning on 1 March and admitted to being a witch. Soon the teen-aged girls accused four other residents, and by the end of April, 19 women had been accused of witchcraft and were languishing in jail— including a four-year-old child. Massachusetts governor Sir William Phips, seeking to control the growing terror, ordered trials held.
In October, the special court was dissolved after growing protests of the trials’ unjust proceedings. By then, 19 people had been hanged, 5 had died in jail, 1 had been tortured to death and more than 150 had been imprisoned. Two dogs were also executed. On 14 January 1697, Judge Samuel Sewall publicly apologized and a court-ordered day of atonement began. In 1711, all those accused of witchcraft were pardoned by the colony’s legislature.
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In March, Social Workers celebrate the valuable contributions they make as advocates for local citizens who need help bringing order to the chaos in their lives. Read mores at https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Month.
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St. David’s Day celebrates the patron saint of Wales (Dewi Sant). Welsh tradition calls for the wearing of a leek on this day.
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In this spring “Festival of Color,” people run through the streets throwing brightly hued powders and colored water at each other in celebration of the end of winter and also for the triumph of good over evil. Huge bonfires are built on the eve of Holi. Because there is no one universally accepted Hindu calendar, this holiday may be celebrated on a different date in some parts of India, but it usually falls in March around the full moon in the lunar month of Phalguna. Holi begins in the evening and runs through the following day.
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Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss
Born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Theodor Seuss Geisel, creator of The Cat in the Hat and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, was born at Springfield, MA. Known to children and parents as Dr. Seuss, his books have sold more than 200 million copies and have been translated into 20 languages. His career began with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was turned down by 27 publishing houses before being published by Vanguard Press. His books included many messages, from environmental consciousness in The Lorax to the dangers of pacifism in Horton Hatches the Egg and Yertle the Turtle’s thinly veiled references to Hitler as the title character.
He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 “for his contribution over nearly half a century to the education and enjoyment of America’s children and their parents.” He died 24 September 1991, at La Jolla, CA.
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Mar 2, 1965. The perennially popular family film musical, starring Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp, premiered on this date at New York City. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, the film won five Oscars, including awards for Best Picture and Best Director (Robert Wise).
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World Day of Prayer – This is an ecumenical initiative of Christian women in over 170 countries who share a day of prayer and programs aiming for understanding of other cultures, needs of women in various countries, and how their sisters worldwide understand Biblical passages. World Day of Prayer takes place on the first Friday of March. Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Day_of_Prayer.
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Born on 3 March 1847. Inventor of the telephone, born at Edinburgh, Scotland, Bell acquired his interest in the transmission of sound from his father, Melville Bell, a teacher of the deaf. Bell’s use of visual devices to teach articulation to the deaf contributed to the theory from which he derived the principle of the vibrating membrane used in the telephone. On Mar 10, 1876, Bell spoke the first electrically transmitted sentence to his assistant in the next room: “Mr Watson, come here, I want you.”
Bell’s other accomplishments include a refinement of Edison’s phonograph, the first successful phonograph record and the audiometer. He also continued exploring the nature and causes of deafness. He died near Baddeck, NS, Canada, 2 August 1922.
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Mar 3, 1820. In February 1819 a bill was introduced into the U.S. Congress that would admit Missouri to the Union as a state that prohibited slavery. At the time there were 11 free states and 10 slave states. Southern congressmen feared this would upset the balance of power between North and South. As a compromise, on this date Missouri was admitted as a slave state but slavery was forever prohibited in the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1854 this act was repealed when Kansas and Nebraska were allowed to decide on slave or free status by popular vote.
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3 March 1931. The bill designating “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the USA’s national anthem was adopted by the US Senate and went to President Herbert Hoover for signature. The president signed it the same day.
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On National Grammar Day, we honor our language and its rules, which help us communicate clearly with each other. In turn, clear communication helps us understand each other— a critical component of peaceful relations. The day is sponsored by The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, a rapidly growing worldwide organization with more than 20,000 members. Annually, Mar 4th— both a date and an imperative.
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William Penn
King Charles II deeded Pennsylvania to William Penn on March 4, 1681 to satisfy a debt of 16,000 pounds.
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5 March 1770. A skirmish between British troops and a crowd at Boston, MA, became widely publicized and contributed to the unpopularity of the British regime in the colonies before the American Revolution. Five men were killed and six more were injured by British troops commanded by Captain Thomas Preston.
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5 March 1770. Honors Crispus Attucks, possibly a runaway slave, who was the first to die in the Boston Massacre. Read more at PBS.org.
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St. Piran’s Day celebrates the birthday of St. Piran, the patron saint of Cornish tinners. Cornish worldwide celebrate this day.
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Dred Scott. Oil on canvas by Louis Schultze, 1888. Acc. # 1897.9.1. Missouri Historical Society Museum Collections.
6 March 1857. This was the most famous US Supreme Court decision during the prewar slavery controversy. Dred Scott, a slave, had successfully petitioned for his freedom based on his previous residence in a free state and territory. On this date the Supreme Court overturned Missouri’s Supreme Court decision and declared the 1820 Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote that slaves were property, not citizens, and that Congress had no power to restrict slavery in the territories.
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6 March 1836. Anniversary of the fall of the Texan fort, the Alamo. The siege, led by Mexican general Santa Anna, began Feb 23 and reached its climax Mar 6, when the last of the defenders was slain. Texans, under General Sam Houston, rallied with the war cry “Remember the Alamo” and, at the Battle of San Jacinto, Apr 21, defeated and captured Santa Anna, who signed a treaty recognizing Texas’s independence.
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A part of Celebrate Your Name Week, today is Fun Facts About Your Name Day: Celebrate names today by looking up interesting tidbits about names. Get started with fun facts about names on our website. Or maybe you already know the name of Santa’s brother? Surprise, entertain, enlighten and amaze others by sharing what you find. Ask others to share the stories of their names. Discuss the exotic names some celebrities give their children.
