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THE AMERICAN CALENDAR
EACH DATE IS THE ANNIVERSARY
OF A PERSON OR EVENT. IT SIGNIFIES THE DATE OF BIRTH OR IN SOME CASES
THE DATE OF DEATH AS SPECIFIED. |
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March |
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Glenn Miller, American bandleader, composer
and trombonist who was the leader of the most popular big band in
the era of the big bands. In 1937 he formed the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Its theme song was Moonlight Serenade. During World War II as leader
of the U.S. Air
Force band in Europe, he disappeared on December 16, 1944, while
on a flight from
England
to Paris. |
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DeWitt Clinton was mayor Of New York City and
governor of New York who made notable changes in political and social
reforms. Through his promotion of the Erie Canal, he significantly
was responsible for the nation's growth. He was known for his literary,
scientific and philanthropic contributions.
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Sam Houston, American
frontier hero who was the first president of the Republic of Texas.
As commander in chief of the Texas army, he defeate Santa Anna's
Mexican forces on the bank of the San Jacinto River, winning the
independence for Texas. He was the state's first senator and elected
governor in 1859 and was deposed in 1861 for refusing to join the
Confederacy in the
Civil War. |
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George M. Pullman, American inventor and industrialist
who in 1855 became interested in the construction business. He remodeled
two railroad cars into sleeping cars. In 1863 the railroads accepted
his idea and the famous Pioneer was the first sleeping car known
as Pullmans. In 1867 he founded the Pullman Palace Car Company.
In 1881 he built the town of Pullman, Illinois.
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Alexander
Graham Bell, American scientist who invented the telephone, was
born in Edinburgh, Scotland. Early in his career he taught the "visible
speech" system for teaching the deaf. In 1876 he invented the
telephone and obtained a U.S. monopoly for the Bell system of telephone
communication. He died in Baddeck, Nova Scotia on August 2, 1922. |
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Matthew
Ridgway, U.S. Army officer who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division
in its D-Day attack on Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He
was supreme commander of UN forces in Korea. In 1952 he was Allied
commander in Europe. Ridgway was awarded the Presidential Medal
of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. |
Jean Harlow, American
film actress, whose meteoric career as a sex symbol ended with her
death at the age of 26. The producer Howard Hughes cast her as a
siren in
Hell's Angels. She died
of uremic poisoning in Los Angeles on June 7, 1937. |
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Knute
Rockne, American football coach whose inspirational leadership and
brilliant tactics brought the University of Notre Dame to national
prominence. He was head coach from 1918 to 1931 and compiled a record
of 105 wins, 12 defeats and 5 ties. Rockne was killed in
a plane crash near Bazar,
Kansas, on March 31, 1931. |
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The
Boston Massacre occurred when British soldiers fired into a crowd
in Boston resulting in the death of five persons. Samuel Adams and
others used the incident to propagandize the patriot cause and they
demanded the removal of all British soldiers from Boston. The British
soldiers were acquitted through the efforts of American lawyers
to ensure a fair trial. |
Frank Norris, American
writer who is regarded as the first important naturalistic novelist
in American literature. Two parts of his projected trilogy, The
Epic of the Wheat were completed: The Octopus, depicting the brutal
struggle between wheat farmers and railroad
interests, and The Pit
dealing with unrestrained speculation on the Chicago grain market.
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Philip
H. Sheridan, Union general in the Civil War. He drove out the Confederate
forces in 1865 from the Shenandoah Valley and destroyed supply and
communication sources, rendering the valley useless to the South.
Sheridan was a professional soldier never interested in politics
or business; he was a strict disciplinarian of his troops. After
the Civil War he engaged in many Indian fights in the West when
his famous increased. |
The Alamo in San Antonio,
Texas, was the site of a heroic stand of a 13-day siege ended with
the deaths of all 183 defenders. The bodies of the fallen Texans
were burned. The Mexican army under Santa Anna during the Texas
revolution provided other Texans with precious time to rally their
defenses. "Remember the Alamo" was the battle cry of Sam
Houston's forces when they decisively defeated Santa Anna's army
at San Jacinto six weeks later. |
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The
Dred Scott Decision of the United States Supreme Court that the
Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that Congress had no
power to prohibit slavery. The court's verdict increased the controversy
between North and South and was nullified by the 13th and 14th Amendments
of the Constitution. |
Ring Lardner, American
writer best known for his sports journalism and satiric short stories.
He was widely admired for his vivid use of American vernacular speech.
H.L.
Mencken praised him and
F. Scott Fitzgerald encouraged him. Tuberculosis and alcoholism
combined to bring about his death. |
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Luther
Burbank, American plant breeder who developed over 800 new varieties
of fruits, flowers, vegetables, grains and grasses. He carried on
his plant hybridization and selection on a large scale. He maintained
as many as 3,000 experiments involving millions of plants.
He died on April 11, 1926,
in Santa Rosa, California. |
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Oliver
Wendell Holmes, son of the American poet, essayist and physician,
was jurist and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from
1902 to 1932. A liberal, he interpreted the Constitution in such
a way as to defend the rights of individuals. His reputation owed
much to the magnificence
of his person, to his urbane voice and to a certain intellectual
aloofness. |
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Leland
Stanford, U.S. businessman, politician and philanthropist who aided
in the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Its tracks pushing
eastward met those of the Union Pacific coming westward at Promontory,
Utah on May 10, 1869. Stanford had made millions of dollars and
founded and financed the Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
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Monitor
and Merrimack, two warships that fought the first battle between
ironclads in Hampton Roads, Virginia in the Civil War.
They were the first to
be used in naval warfare. The battle resulted in a draw. |
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Leon
Bismarck Bix Beiderbecke, American jazz musician. He played the
cornet and piano and was strongly influenced by the recordings of
jazz music by New Orleans Dixieland bands and soloists. His sensitive
nature and artistic ambition made him ill-suited for playing in
large commercial dance orchestras. As a result, he grew restless
and began to drink heavily, changed
jobs frequently and went
through long periods of illness caused by alcohol and malnutrition.
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The
Confederate states adopted its permanent constitution during the
Civil War. Delegates from the seceded states met to form a constitution
similar to the U.S. Constitution. Confederate president was Jefferson
Davis. He lacked President Lincoln's gift of language and warm appeal.
He presided over a lost cause and reaped the loser's share. He appears
in history as
an aloof, remote man.
However, the South had too many disadvantages to win a civil war
of great proportions. |
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John
L. Worden, American naval officer who commanded the federal ironclad
Monitor in its sea battle with the Confederate Marrimack. At Hampton
Roads, Virginia, Worden was wounded in the eyes and was taken to
washington where he was given the personal thanks
of President Lincoln.
He had a low opinion of ironclads as warships. |
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Greece
and Turkey get aid. President Truman said, "I believe that
we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their
own way." The president requested $400 million to aid Greece
and Turkey in their fight against Communism. The aid package is
designed to prevent Soviet
infiltration in these two nations undergoing economic strife. |
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Jack
Ruby, killer of President Kennedy's accused assassin Lee Harvey
Oswald, was found guilty of murder and was given the death penalty.
Ruby's lawyers lambasted the
jury before a television
audience of millions calling the verdict "a violent miscarriage."
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Andrew
Jackson, 7th president of the United States who previously held
political offices from Tennessee. He was a major general in the
U.S. Army who fought in the battle of New Orleans which influenced
his rise to the presidency in 1828. He lost the 1824
presidency in a disputed
election to John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay. |
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James
Madison, 4th president of the United States, called the "Father
of the Constitution." He played the leading role in formulating
the Constitution and he was its leading defender and interpreter
for 50 years. Madison's place among the Founding Fathers reveals
the essential qualities of his public career. |
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West
Point Military Academy was established by Congress. In 1780 the
area was under the command of Benedict Arnold whose conspiracy to
betray the military post to the enemy was frustrated by the capture
of Major John Andre. He was executed by command of George Washington.
West Point contains about 16,000 acres. |
John Pope, American general
in the Civil War on the Union side. He commanded the Army of the
Mississippi. He fought in the battle of Second Bull Run, Corinth,
and
opened the Mississippi
River for the Union supply lines. He held commands in the South
and West. |
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Roger
B. Taney, 5th Chief Justice of the United States. He promoted local
and state supremacy rather than national jurisdiction. Taney, a
Roman Catholic, married Anne Key, the sister of Francis Scott Key.
He opposed slavery but permitted it according to the U.S. Constitution
in Article I, section 2 and 9 and Article IV, section 2.
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James Bridger, American
mountain man, trapper and guide. In 1822 and for the next 20 years
he trapped beaver, traded for furs, fought Indian tribes and guided
expeditions. He discovered Great Salt Lake, explored the geysers
and other wonders of the Yellowstone country. The Bridger Mountains,
Bridger Pass and Bridger National Forest are named for him. He was
in great demand for his intimate knowledge of the mountains from
New Mexico to Idaho. |
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Bobby Jones, American golfer
who was considered the greatest player of the first half of the 20th
century and perhaps of all time. In a career of only eight years (1923-1930)
Jones dominated the sport by winning 13 major tournaments. In 1930
he set a record of winning five major tournaments called the Grand
Slam of Golf. He retired at 28 at the peak of his career. He organized
the
Masters Tournament played
in Augusta, Georgia each year. |
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John
C. Calhoun, American statesman and political philosopher. From 1811
until his death he served in the federal government successfully
as Congressman, Secretary of War, vice president, senator, Secretary
of State and again as senator. Always he was at the heart of the
issues of his time,notably the nullification crisis and the conflict
over slavery. Loyal to his nation, to his state of South Carolina
and above all to his principles; he sought to preserve the Union
while advancing southern interests. He died on March 31, 1850. |
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March
18, 1837 Stephen Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president of
the United States. A Democratic reformer, he strongly opposed corrupt
government and won the support of the voters for clean politics.
He was elected to his first term as president with the support of
the Mugwumps and his second term by opposition to the McKinley Tariff.
He sent federal troops into Chicago to quell the Pullman Strike.
He opposed the revolutionary forces for the annexation of Hawaii.
By his support of the gold standard, he antagonized the silver Democrats. |
NATO or the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization was formulated as a defense measure against
Soviet aggression in Europe. Critics said that the treaty would
turn Europe
into an armed camp that
will ignite a war with the Russians. Secretary of State Dean Acheson
said that only strength will preserve peace. |
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Wyatt
Earp, American gunfighter, who fought in the cow capitals of Kansas
where he was employed to keep the peace. Earp and his two brothers
formed a natural gang. They were involved in the classic gunfight
at the O.K. Corral in Tomstone, Arizona. They fought the Clanton
gang and three of them were killed. The Earps survived other gunfights
and became a part of Western lore. |
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William
Jennings Bryan, American political and religious leader, was born
in Salem, Illinois. A persistent agitator, he was the conscience
of the nation and sensed the feelings of the common man. Although
defeated three times for the presidency, everything reasonable in
his political program has since become law. He was defeated twice
by William McKinley and again by William Taft. As a fundamentalist
and an opponent of Darwinism, he assisted the prosecution in the
Scopes Evolution Trial. He died in Dayton, Tennessee five days following
the trial. |
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Joseph
"Vinegar:'Joe" Stilwell, U.S. general, commander of the
U.S. Army forces in the China-Burma-India theater during World War
II. He fought vigorously but unsuccessfully to preserve the Burma
Road supply line and to persuade China to break the Japanese blockade.
A U.S. proposal that he be given full command of all Chinese forces
was rejected by Chiang Kai-shek regime which forced his recall.
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Earl Warren, 14th Chief
Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969 who served on the
court during a period of unparalleled developments in civil rights.
President Lyndon
Johnson put him in charge
to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy called the
Warren Commission Report. |
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Auto
critic Ralph Nader gets apology from General Motors. Nader became
a target of the auto industry after publishing a book, Unsafe at
Any Speed. Nader accepted the apology
but remained adamant saying,
"General Motors should alter current models of the Corvair
to remedy defects." |
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The
Rock, Alcatraz, is no longer a prison. The federal prison in San
Francisco Bay became a hollow shell with the removal of the last
27 prisoners. Al Capone, Alvin
Karpis and other incorrigibles
spent their time. |
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Braxton Bragg, army officer for the Confederate Army in the Civil
War. He commanded the Army of Tennessee in three major battles:
Stones River, Chickamauga and Chattanooga. He lost the confidence
of the army, was removed from command and served on the staff of
President Jefferson Davis. He died at Galveston, Texas on September
27, 1876. |
Arthur H. Vandenberg,
U.S. senator who had been an isolationist before World War II. He
later supported President Truman's bipartisan foreign policy. He
played an important part in shaping the United Nations and approval
of the UN charter. He was a delegate to the UN
General Assembly. He strongly
supported the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan and NATO.
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Von Carlos Buell, American general who commanded
a Union army in the West in the Civil War. He fought in Tennessee
and his forces arrived in time to help General Grant win the battles
at Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh. He opposed the Confederates at
Perryville. He was relieved of his command when he failed to pursue
Confederate Braxton Bragg. He died at Rockport, Ky. on November
19, 1898.
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Wernher Von Braun, American
engineer who pioneered in the development of rockets for warfare
and space exploration. He signed a contract with the U.S. Army and
was assigned to White Sands Proving Grounds, New Mexico as technical
adviser of its missile project. He
became director of NASA
at Huntsville, Alabama in 1960. He is the author of several books
including, Conquest of the Moon. |
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Andrew Mellon, American industrialist, financier
and public official who was Secretary of the Treasury from 1921
to 1932. Mellon's popularity, which had been high in the properous
1920s, declined during the Great Depression. He resigned during
the Democratic campaign of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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Thomas E. Dewey, lawyer
and political leader who was U.S. attorney appointed by Governor
Lehman of New York, to eradicate racketeering in 1935. His successful
prosecution of the criminal syndicate, Murder Inc. brought him national
fame. He was defeated for
president of the U.S.
in l944 and 1948. He lost to Harry Truman but supported Republican
Eisenhower for president in 1952. |
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Gutzon
Borglum, Famous sculptor for the colossal heads of U.S. presidents
Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln that he carved
in the face of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
He did many memorials to Union and Confederate
soldiers and his monument
to the Confederate Army on Stone Mountain, Georgia is very famous.
He died on March 6, 1941. |
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Robert
Lee Frost, American poet who after a long struggle for recognition,
lived to become in effect, his country's unofficial poet laureate.
He won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times. The U.S. Senate
honored him on his 75th and 85th birthdays. |
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Tennessee
Williams, American writer, considered by many to be the nation's
finest dramatist following World War II. His works contain sexual
tensions and suppressed violence of his characters, often in the
idiom of his native South. He is best known for his plays, The Glass
Menagerie; A Streetcar Named Desire; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, etc. |
Sandra
Day O'Connor, 102nd member of the United States Supreme Court and
the first woman to serve in that judicial body. President Ronald
Reagan nominated her and she was confirmed by the United States
Senate by a vote of 99 to 0. O'Connor was described
as a meticulous legal
scholar with a respect for precedent. |
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Alabama
Freedom Walk. 25,000 civil rights demonstrators embarked on a 50-mile
walk for freedom from Selma, Alabama, to the state capitol in Montgomery.
The marchers were led by
Martin Luther King who
told the massive crowd, "We are on the move and no wave of
racism will stop us." |
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Wade
Hampton, great Confederate cavalry leader under General J.E.B. Stuart
in the Civil War. He was a leader of the Red Shirt Campaign of 1876
which ended Reconstruction in the South. He took no part in the
secession movement but fought brilliantly for the South
in numerous decisive battles.
He was governor of South Carolina and restored white rule in his
state. |
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John
Tyler, 10th president of the United States who completed President
William H. Harrison's term having died in office. He was a Whig
and the first vice president to assume the presidency. Because he
opposed Whig policies, his Cabinet members resigned except for
Daniel Webster, Secretary
of State. Tyler approved the annexation of Texas. |
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Rosenbergs
Found Guilty. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg have been found guilty
of wartime espionage in the nation's first atomic bomb spy trial.
They were charged with
stealing U.S. atomic bomb
secrets and giving them to the Soviet Union. They received the death
penalty. |
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Cesar Chavez, American labor leader who did outstanding work to
improve the lot of the migrant farm worker by organizing the California
grape pickers into an important farm-workers union. He borrowed
nonviolent tactics from Gandhi. Eventually after many strikes and
boycotts, his union became affiliated with the AFL-CIO. Chavez died
on April 23, 1993. |
Knute
Rockne, who coached Notre Dame from football obscurity to national
fame, was killed in a plane crash in southwestern Kansas. On this
date Rockne was on his way to Hollywood to make a talking picture.
Because of their great speed, his teams won 29 of
31 games including a 27-10
defeat of Stanford in the 1925 Rose Bowl. |
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