Today in History: April 2, 1805 Hans Christian Andersen was born on April 2, 1805 in Odense, Denmark to a cobbler and a washerwoman. Although they were poor, his parents doted on him and encouraged him to develop his imagination by putting on puppet shows and making up his own stories. His mother introduced him to the world of folklore […]

Today in History: April 1, 1621 On April 1, 1621, the first peace treaty between the American colonists and the Native Americans was made in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The process began when Samoset, Squanto, and three companions paid a visit to the colonists’ tiny colony. They informed the newcomers that the great Sachem Massasoit, his brother Quadequina and about 60 men […]

Today in History: March 31, 1492 In 1492, Spain was home to the largest and most distinguished Jewish population in all of Europe. Jews had been living in the area at least since Roman times, and had existed peacefully under Muslim rule – but things changed when the Christians rose to power in the 14th and 15th centuries. The hyper-Catholic […]

Today in History: March 28, 1979 At 4 a.m. on the morning of March 28, 1979, a combination of human and mechanical error led to the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history, that in truth wasn’t all that bad. It happened at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant just outside Harrisburg, PA, and would drastically escalate public distrust toward […]

Today in History: March 27, 1309 As the result of a war with the Doge of Venice Pietro Gradeningo over control of the city of Ferrara in northern Italy, Pope Clement V punished Venice by excommunicating the entire city on March 27, 1309. Clement’s decree not only denied all Venetians access to the sacraments, but declared them entirely outside of […]

Today in History: March 26,1997 In the San Diego suburb of Rancho Santa Fe on March 26, 1997, police found 39 people dead in a spacious Spanish-style mansion from what appeared to be a carefully choreographed mass suicide. It was quickly discovered that the deceased were all members of the “Heaven’s Gate” cult. They believed that the appearance of the […]

Today in History: March 25, 1931 On March 25, 1931 a group of black and white young people “hoboed” their way on a freight train in search of work during the Great Depression. There was an altercation between the youths, and the white kids were put off the train. The white youths reported this “outrage” to a local sheriff, who […]

Today in History: March 24, 1958 When 23-year-old Elvis Presley was inducted into the United States Army on the morning of March 24, 1958 – or “Black Monday” if you were one of his mourning fans – he was the undisputed King of Rock and Roll. As the day ended, he was just another lowly buck private. Before he enlisted, […]

Today in History: March 21, 1965 On March 25, 1965, civil rights demonstrators marched into Montgomery, Alabama led by Dr. Martin Luther King singing: Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on, hold on. I’ve never been to heaven, but I think I’m right, You won’t find George Wallace anywhere in sight… It took the non-violent protestors five days to […]

Today in History: March 20, 1345 On March 20, 1345 a planetary alignment occurred that some medieval scholars believed caused the Black Death, otherwise known as the plague. At 1 p.m., a triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars occurred in the 40th degree of Aquarius. Each of these planets were associated with specific bodily humors. These three planets in […]

Today in History: March 19, 1953 On March 19, 1953, after almost 40 years of making movies, pioneering director Cecil B. DeMille was finally awarded an Oscar: “Best Picture” for his movie The Greatest Show on Earth, starring Charlton Heston and Betty Hutton. DeMille was one of the visionaries behind the creation of the motion picture. Along with Jesse Lasky […]

Today in History March 18, 2005 On March 18, 2005, Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube was removed 15 years after the 41 year-old woman had collapsed and her heart stopped beating, initially thought to be because of a severe potassium imbalance in her body owing to unhealthy dieting. Her brain was oxygen-deprived for ten minutes, causing massive and irreversible brain damage […]

Today in History: March 17, 1776 On this day in 1776, eight years of occupation by British troops in Boston was brought to an end -with minimal blood shed – when General George Washington successfully placed fortifications and cannons at Dorchester Heights, a strategic spot over-looking the city from the south. During the Siege on Boston, when the New England […]

Today in History: March 14, 1971 By early 1971, the Rolling Stones should have been lighting their cigarettes with £100 notes. They recently released their most successful album to date, “Sticky Fingers,” and signed a lucrative deal with Atlantic Records to start their own label, Rolling Stones Records. But then they discovered after eight years at the top, no-one on […]

Today in History: March 13, 1865 By early 1865, the Confederacy had its back against the wall. General Sherman and the Union army were taking large swathes of the south, marching through the Carolinas with relative ease. General Lee was desperately trying to protect the Confederacy’s capital of Richmond from the onslaught of General Ulysses S. Grant’s approaching forces. And […]

Today in History: March 12, 1776 On this day in 1776, a public notice ran in the local newspapers in Baltimore, Maryland acknowledging the large contribution being made by women to the Revolutionary cause. The notice proclaimed: The necessity of taking all imaginable care of those who may happen to be wounded in the country’s cause, urges us to address […]

Today in History: March 11, 1425 B.C.E. Thutmose III is considered one of the greatest pharaohs of ancient Egypt. He excelled both a general and as a statesman, and during his reign Egypt reached the height of its power and prestige. When his father Thutmose II died, the boy who would become Thutmose III was only ten years old. His […]