Must-Know Facts: March 2 In History

Did you know that important events and figures in history have taken place on March 2nd? In this video, we'll share some must-know facts about this date in history and its significant events. Expand your knowledge and impress your friends with these interesting facts!

1776 American troops begin shelling the British in Boston
1778 Nathanael Greene is appointed Quartermaster General of the Continental Army under George Washington
1799 Congress standardizes US weights & measures
1807 US Congress bans the slave trade within the US, effective January 1, 1808
1817 1st Evangelical church building dedicated, New Berlin, Pennsylvania
1819 Territory of Arkansas organized
1819 US passed its 1st immigration law
1824 Interstate commerce comes under federal control
1836 Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico in Columbia
1853 Territory of Washington organized after separating from Oregon Territory
1861 US creates Dakota & Nevada Territories out of the Nebraska & Utah territories
1865 Confederate General Early's army is defeated at the battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, during American Civil War
1865 Freedman's Bureau founded for Black Education, 1865
1867 1st Reconstruction act passed by US Congress
1867 US Congress creates the Department of Education
1868 University of Illinois opens
1877 US Electoral Commission declares Rutherford B. Hayes (R) winner of the presidential election with an electoral vote of 185-184 against Samuel J. Tilden (D)
1895 US Congress renames the Office of Immigration as the Bureau of Immigration
1899 President McKinley signs bill creating Mt Rainier National Park (5th in US)
1901 United States Congress passes the Platt amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops
1917 Jones Act: Puerto Rico territory created, US citizenship granted
1925 Nationwide road numbering system & US shield marker adopted
1929 US Congress creates Court of Customs & Patent Appeals
1933 "King Kong" film directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, starring Fay Wray premieres at Radio City Music Hall and RKO Roxy in NYC
1939 Massachusetts Legislature votes to ratify the US Bill of Rights - 147 years late
1949 1st automatic street light (New Milford, Ct)
1958 1st surface crossing of Antarctic continent is completed in 99 days
1965 One of the most popular musical films of all time, "The Sound of Music", starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, premieres (Academy Awards Best Picture - 1966)
1969 1st test flight of the supersonic Concorde
1970 American Airlines' 1st flight of a Boeing 747
1970 Supreme Court ruled draft evaders can not be penalized after 5 years
1972 NASA launches its Pioneer 10 space probe to Jupiter, NASA's first mission to the outer planets
1974 Grand jury concludes US President Richard Nixon is involved in Watergate cover-up
1977 Future The Tonight Show host Jay Leno debuts with host Johnny Carson
1981 Howard Stern begins broadcasting on WWDC in Washington, D.C.
1985 FDA in the US approves an ELISA screening test for AIDS antibody for all blood banks
1994 Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender if taped statement is broadcasted, it is, but he doesn’t
2002 US invasion of Afghanistan: US conventional forces first deployed as part of Operation Anaconda
2014 President Vladimir Putin receives unanimous approval from Russia's parliament to send troops to Ukraine
2016 US astronauts Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko return to earth after nearly a year (340 days), setting an ISS record
2017 US Attorney General Jeff Sessions recuses himself from the investigation into Trump campaign contacts with Russia after revelations he met Russian ambassador
2021 Six books by Dr. Seuss will cease publication because of insensitive imagery according to Dr. Seuss Enterprises
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