480 Saint Benedict of Nursia was born on March 2, 480, in Nursia, which is now known as Norcia, in the Kingdom of Italy. He was born into a distinguished Christian family. Benedict is known as the founder of the Benedictine Order, a monastic religious order that emphasized a life of prayer, work, and study. He is also known for his influential Rule of Saint Benedict, which set forth guidelines for monastic life that are still followed by Benedictine communities today.
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| Statue of Saint Benedict of Nursia - Cathedral of Barcelona |
1498 Vasco da Gama landed at what is now Mozambique on his way to India on March 2, 1498.
Mozambique was controlled by Arabs because it was part of the Indian Ocean's network of trade. An angry crowd discovered that da Gama's men were not Muslims, so the crew continued north to Kenya. The area was colonized by Portugal from 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975.
1695 Johann Sebastian Bach's father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, died on March 2, 1695. Johann Ambrosius Bach was a string player, court trumpeter and town piper in Eisenach. The post of town piper entailed organizing all the secular music in town as well as participating in church music at the direction of the church organist. Johann Sebastian Bach was orphaned aged 10 and was raised by his eldest brother Johann Christoph Bach, the organist at the Michaeliskirche in nearby Ohrdruf.
1717 The Loves of Mars and Venus was the first ballet performed in Britain. It was premiered on Saturday, March 2, 1717 at the Drury Lane Theater in London. English choreographer John Weaver created the ballet using as his primary source Peter Anthony Motteux's play, The Loves of Mars and Venus. The role of Venus was performed by the beautiful English theater star Hester Santlow; She was paired with the suave and elegant French court dancer, Monsieur Dupré.
1737 In 1735,Samuel Johnson opened Edial Hall School as a private academy near Lichfield. He had only three pupils: Lawrence Offley, George Garrick, and David Garrick, who later became one of the most famous actors of his day. Due to his twitches and spasms Johnson was a failure as a schoolmaster. Johnson left for London with his former pupil David Garrick on March 2, 1737 to make their fortunes. They had four pence between them and took turns to ride their one horse.
1791 The founder of Methodism John Wesley died on March 2, 1791, at the age of 87. As he lay dying, his friends gathered around him. He sat up, looked at his loved ones weeping at his bedside, and whispered, “Best of all, God is with us. Farewell, Farewell!” The only money mentioned in his will was the miscellaneous coins to be found in his pockets and dresser drawers. He also left behind a good library of books and his well-worn clergyman's gown.
1797 The Bank of England issued the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes on March 2, 1797. They were introduced after a series of runs on the bank caused by the French Revolutionary War drained its bullion reserves and forced it to use paper instead.
1836 Three and a half months after Texas officially proclaimed independence from Mexico, the newly elected Texian delegates to the Convention of 1836 signed a Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836 forming the Republic of Texas. Only two of the 59 who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, - Jose Francisco Ruiz and Jose Antonio Navarro - were native Texans. The Republic of Texas lasted until 1845 when it was incorporated into the United States.
1855 Czar Alexander II (1818-1881) succeeded to the Russian throne upon the death of his father, Nicholas I, on March 2, 1855. Alexander was motivated by Christian principles and in 1861 he emancipated 23 million serfs. During his reign there was a revival in the Russian church helped by the wide availability to all Russians from the 1860s of the Scriptures in their native language.
Mozambique was controlled by Arabs because it was part of the Indian Ocean's network of trade. An angry crowd discovered that da Gama's men were not Muslims, so the crew continued north to Kenya. The area was colonized by Portugal from 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975.
1695 Johann Sebastian Bach's father, Johann Ambrosius Bach, died on March 2, 1695. Johann Ambrosius Bach was a string player, court trumpeter and town piper in Eisenach. The post of town piper entailed organizing all the secular music in town as well as participating in church music at the direction of the church organist. Johann Sebastian Bach was orphaned aged 10 and was raised by his eldest brother Johann Christoph Bach, the organist at the Michaeliskirche in nearby Ohrdruf.
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| Johann Ambrosius Bach, 1685 |
1717 The Loves of Mars and Venus was the first ballet performed in Britain. It was premiered on Saturday, March 2, 1717 at the Drury Lane Theater in London. English choreographer John Weaver created the ballet using as his primary source Peter Anthony Motteux's play, The Loves of Mars and Venus. The role of Venus was performed by the beautiful English theater star Hester Santlow; She was paired with the suave and elegant French court dancer, Monsieur Dupré.
1737 In 1735,Samuel Johnson opened Edial Hall School as a private academy near Lichfield. He had only three pupils: Lawrence Offley, George Garrick, and David Garrick, who later became one of the most famous actors of his day. Due to his twitches and spasms Johnson was a failure as a schoolmaster. Johnson left for London with his former pupil David Garrick on March 2, 1737 to make their fortunes. They had four pence between them and took turns to ride their one horse.
1791 The founder of Methodism John Wesley died on March 2, 1791, at the age of 87. As he lay dying, his friends gathered around him. He sat up, looked at his loved ones weeping at his bedside, and whispered, “Best of all, God is with us. Farewell, Farewell!” The only money mentioned in his will was the miscellaneous coins to be found in his pockets and dresser drawers. He also left behind a good library of books and his well-worn clergyman's gown.
1797 The Bank of England issued the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes on March 2, 1797. They were introduced after a series of runs on the bank caused by the French Revolutionary War drained its bullion reserves and forced it to use paper instead.
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| £1 note, issued from London in 1805 |
1836 Three and a half months after Texas officially proclaimed independence from Mexico, the newly elected Texian delegates to the Convention of 1836 signed a Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836 forming the Republic of Texas. Only two of the 59 who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, - Jose Francisco Ruiz and Jose Antonio Navarro - were native Texans. The Republic of Texas lasted until 1845 when it was incorporated into the United States.
1855 Czar Alexander II (1818-1881) succeeded to the Russian throne upon the death of his father, Nicholas I, on March 2, 1855. Alexander was motivated by Christian principles and in 1861 he emancipated 23 million serfs. During his reign there was a revival in the Russian church helped by the wide availability to all Russians from the 1860s of the Scriptures in their native language.
1859 The Great Slave Auction, the largest single sale of enslaved people in US history, was held at the Ten Broeck Race Course, just outside of Savannah, Georgia, on March 2 and 3, 1859. The sale was organized by Pierce Mease Butler, a wealthy plantation owner from Georgia who was facing financial difficulties. Butler had inherited over 900 slaves, and he decided to sell them in order to pay off his debts. Approximately 436 enslaved people were sold to buyers from across the southern US.
1861 As a result of the Mexican–American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Mexico permanently lost Nevada and the rest of Alta California in 1848. The new areas acquired by the United States continued to be administered as territories. The Nevada Territory separated from the Utah Territory on March 2, 1861. It was named for Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "snow-covered mountain range"). Nevada was admitted as the 36th U.S. state three and a half years later.
1901 In 1892, Andrew Carnegie created the Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company grew and on March 2, 1901, it merged with Elbert H. Gary's Federal Steel Company and William Henry "Judge" Moore's National Steel Company to become U.S. Steel. At one time, U.S. Steel was the largest steel producer and largest corporation in the world. It was capitalized at $1.4 billion, making it the world's first billion-dollar corporation.
1902 American catcher and coach Morris "Moe" Berg was born on March 2, 1902. Although he played 15 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely for four American League teams, Berg was never more than an average player. He was better known for being "the brainiest guy in baseball." Berg spoke several languages and found a post-baseball career as a US spy during World War II; he was ordered to kill Werner Heisenberg if the Nazis came close to building a nuclear bomb.
1904 The German-American author and illustrator Theodor Seuss "Ted" Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904. He is best known for authoring more than 60 children's books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. Geisel was not a doctor. He later added the “Dr.” to his "Seuss" pen name because his father had wanted him to become a professor. Dr Seuss’ should be pronounced ‘Dr Zoice’ (rhymes 'voice').
1917 President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Act on March 2, 1917, granting Puerto Rican people United States citizenship. Through its passage, the Jones Act imposed mandatory conscription into the U.S. military on Puerto Ricans, precisely at the moment that the United States entered World War I. As a result, more than 18,000 Puerto Ricans served in the U.S. armed forces during World War I.
1931 Mikhail Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 to a peasant family in Privolnoye, southwest Russia. As a child, Mikhail experienced the Soviet famine of 1932–1933. Nearly half the population of his native village starved to death, including two sisters and an uncle. Gorbachev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and the first (and last) president of the Soviet Union from 1990 until it was dissolved in 1991.
1933 The Empire State Building made it to the big screen on March 2, 1933 when King Kong premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. In the film, the giant gorilla King Kong climbs to the top of the newly-built Empire State Building while clutching the film's heroine, Ann Darrow, played by Fay Wray. The iconic scene of Kong perched on the top of the building has become one of the most famous images in movie history.
1939 When John Wayne's college buddy, director Raoul Walsh, saw him moving studio furniture while working as a prop boy he cast him in his first starring role in The Big Trail (1930). Only leading roles in B movies followed during the 1930s, most of them also Westerns. Wayne's career was rejuvenated when John Ford's Stagecoach was released on March 2, 1939. Wayne's role as The Ringo Kid made him an instant mainstream star.
1949 The first automatic street light was installed in New Milford, Connecticut on March 2, 1949. Prior to this development, electric street lamps, not to be confused with traffic control lights, had to be turned on manually or by timer, regardless of lighting conditions.
1949 Captain James Gallagher landed his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas on March 2, 1949 after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute. En route, the aircraft was refueled four times near Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores, Dhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia, Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, and Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, using the soon-to-be obsolete grappled-line looped-hose technique.
1960 Sergeant Elvis Presley was discharged honorably from the U.S. Army in 1960. Elvis set foot in the UK for the first and only time on March 2, 1960 when he landed briefly at Prestwick airport in Scotland to refuel on his way home after his military service in Germany.
1962 Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962. Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out of a game - a feat that he was very proud of.
1965 The Sound of Music movie, starring Julie Andrews as Maria, had its premiere in New York on March 2, 1965. The Sound of Music won five Oscars in 1965, including Best Picture. It had the longest first run in U.S. cinemas ever at four and a half years. The Sound of Music is the third-highest-grossing film of all time at the U.S. box office, adjusted for inflation, according to Box Office Mojo. It is behind Gone With the Wind, at #1 and Star Wars.
1966 Ford Motor Company celebrated the production of its one millionth Mustang, a white convertible, on March 2, 1966. The first Ford Mustang rolled off the show room floor on April 15, 1964, two days before it is set to go on sale nationwide. The 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A.
1969 The world’s first supersonic airliner, the Anglo-French Concorde, had its initial test flight from Toulouse on March 2, 1969, piloted by André Turcat, and first broke the sound barrier later that year on October 1. Inspired by delta-winged nuclear bombers, the Concorde was made by the French company Aérospatiale and the British company British Aircraft Corporation.
1978 Czech Vladimír Remek became the first non-Russian or non-American astronaut to go into space, when he was launched aboard Soyuz 28 on March 2, 1978. Remek's flight was part of the Soviet Union's Intercosmos program, which aimed to involve other socialist countries in manned spaceflight.
1997 On March 2, 1997 Pope John Paul II issued a statement condemning any experiments which attempted to clone humans. This followed successful experiments by British scientists, who after cloning a lamb claimed that human cloning would be possible within a couple of years.
2007 Carlos Hector Flomenbaum was a successful businessman who gained the trust of the ABN Amro bank in Antwerp's diamond center by bringing the workers chocolates. He was eventually given VIP access to the bank vault. Sometime between March 2 and March 5, 2007, the bank robber walked out of the bank with 120,000 carats of diamonds worth about $28 million and vanished.
2012 When Lawrence Anthony, known as "The Elephant Whisperer", died on March 2, 2012, a herd of elephants arrived at his house in South Africa to mourn him. Although the elephants were not alerted to the event, they travelled to his house and stood around for two days, and then dispersed.
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| Mount Charleston, Nevada |
1901 In 1892, Andrew Carnegie created the Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company grew and on March 2, 1901, it merged with Elbert H. Gary's Federal Steel Company and William Henry "Judge" Moore's National Steel Company to become U.S. Steel. At one time, U.S. Steel was the largest steel producer and largest corporation in the world. It was capitalized at $1.4 billion, making it the world's first billion-dollar corporation.
1902 American catcher and coach Morris "Moe" Berg was born on March 2, 1902. Although he played 15 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely for four American League teams, Berg was never more than an average player. He was better known for being "the brainiest guy in baseball." Berg spoke several languages and found a post-baseball career as a US spy during World War II; he was ordered to kill Werner Heisenberg if the Nazis came close to building a nuclear bomb.
1904 The German-American author and illustrator Theodor Seuss "Ted" Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on March 2, 1904. He is best known for authoring more than 60 children's books under the pen name Dr. Seuss. Geisel was not a doctor. He later added the “Dr.” to his "Seuss" pen name because his father had wanted him to become a professor. Dr Seuss’ should be pronounced ‘Dr Zoice’ (rhymes 'voice').
1917 President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones Act on March 2, 1917, granting Puerto Rican people United States citizenship. Through its passage, the Jones Act imposed mandatory conscription into the U.S. military on Puerto Ricans, precisely at the moment that the United States entered World War I. As a result, more than 18,000 Puerto Ricans served in the U.S. armed forces during World War I.
1931 Mikhail Gorbachev was born on March 2, 1931 to a peasant family in Privolnoye, southwest Russia. As a child, Mikhail experienced the Soviet famine of 1932–1933. Nearly half the population of his native village starved to death, including two sisters and an uncle. Gorbachev was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991, and the first (and last) president of the Soviet Union from 1990 until it was dissolved in 1991.
1933 The Empire State Building made it to the big screen on March 2, 1933 when King Kong premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. In the film, the giant gorilla King Kong climbs to the top of the newly-built Empire State Building while clutching the film's heroine, Ann Darrow, played by Fay Wray. The iconic scene of Kong perched on the top of the building has become one of the most famous images in movie history.
1939 When John Wayne's college buddy, director Raoul Walsh, saw him moving studio furniture while working as a prop boy he cast him in his first starring role in The Big Trail (1930). Only leading roles in B movies followed during the 1930s, most of them also Westerns. Wayne's career was rejuvenated when John Ford's Stagecoach was released on March 2, 1939. Wayne's role as The Ringo Kid made him an instant mainstream star.
1949 Captain James Gallagher landed his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas on March 2, 1949 after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute. En route, the aircraft was refueled four times near Lajes Air Force Base in the Azores, Dhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia, Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, and Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, using the soon-to-be obsolete grappled-line looped-hose technique.
1960 Sergeant Elvis Presley was discharged honorably from the U.S. Army in 1960. Elvis set foot in the UK for the first and only time on March 2, 1960 when he landed briefly at Prestwick airport in Scotland to refuel on his way home after his military service in Germany.
1962 Basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a 169–147 win over the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962. Wilt Chamberlain never fouled out of a game - a feat that he was very proud of.
1965 The Sound of Music movie, starring Julie Andrews as Maria, had its premiere in New York on March 2, 1965. The Sound of Music won five Oscars in 1965, including Best Picture. It had the longest first run in U.S. cinemas ever at four and a half years. The Sound of Music is the third-highest-grossing film of all time at the U.S. box office, adjusted for inflation, according to Box Office Mojo. It is behind Gone With the Wind, at #1 and Star Wars.
1966 Ford Motor Company celebrated the production of its one millionth Mustang, a white convertible, on March 2, 1966. The first Ford Mustang rolled off the show room floor on April 15, 1964, two days before it is set to go on sale nationwide. The 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A.
1969 The world’s first supersonic airliner, the Anglo-French Concorde, had its initial test flight from Toulouse on March 2, 1969, piloted by André Turcat, and first broke the sound barrier later that year on October 1. Inspired by delta-winged nuclear bombers, the Concorde was made by the French company Aérospatiale and the British company British Aircraft Corporation.
1978 Czech Vladimír Remek became the first non-Russian or non-American astronaut to go into space, when he was launched aboard Soyuz 28 on March 2, 1978. Remek's flight was part of the Soviet Union's Intercosmos program, which aimed to involve other socialist countries in manned spaceflight.
During his eight-day mission, Remek conducted scientific experiments and observations, and he became a symbol of Czechoslovakian-Soviet friendship and cooperation during the Cold War.
1997 On March 2, 1997 Pope John Paul II issued a statement condemning any experiments which attempted to clone humans. This followed successful experiments by British scientists, who after cloning a lamb claimed that human cloning would be possible within a couple of years.
2007 Carlos Hector Flomenbaum was a successful businessman who gained the trust of the ABN Amro bank in Antwerp's diamond center by bringing the workers chocolates. He was eventually given VIP access to the bank vault. Sometime between March 2 and March 5, 2007, the bank robber walked out of the bank with 120,000 carats of diamonds worth about $28 million and vanished.
2012 When Lawrence Anthony, known as "The Elephant Whisperer", died on March 2, 2012, a herd of elephants arrived at his house in South Africa to mourn him. Although the elephants were not alerted to the event, they travelled to his house and stood around for two days, and then dispersed.
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