Today In History
March 15

Events

• 1729 - Sister St Stanislas Hachard, 1st US nun, takes her vows, N Orleans


• 1812 - 1st Russian settlement in California, Russian River


• 1820 - Maine admitted as 23rd state


• 1827 - Freedom's Journal, 1st Black newspaper, publishes


• 1855 - Louisiana establishes 1st health board to regulate quarantine


• 1867 - Michigan becomes 1st state to tax property to support a university


• 1875 - 1st US cardinal (John McCloskey) invested


• 1887 - 1st salaried fish & game warden (William Alden Smith in Michigan)


• 1892 - 1st escalator patented by inventor Jesse W Reno (New York City)


• 1892 - New York State unveils automatic ballot booth (voting machine)


• 1897 - 1st indoor fly casting tournament opens, at Madison Square Garden


• 1913 - 1st presidential press conference (Woodrow Wilson)


• 1913 - Cleveland establishes 1st small claims court


• 1933 - NAACP begins coordinated attack on segregation & discrimination


• 1934 - US Information Service opens


• 1937 - 1st blood bank forms (Chicago IL)


• 1937 - 1st state contraceptive clinic opens (Raleigh North Carolina)


• 1947 - John Lee appointed 1st black commissioned officer in US Navy


• 1950 - New York City hires Dr Wallace E Howell as its official "rainmaker"


• 1955 - US Air Force unveils self-guided missile


• 1959 - Robert Foster sets record by staying underwater 13 m 42.5 s


• 1960 - Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve established (1st underwater park)


• 1960 - National Observatory at Kitt Peak, Arizona dedicated


• 1962 - 5 research groups announce simultaneously discovery of anti-matter


• 1964 - LBJ asks for a War on Poverty


• 1965 - LBJ asks congress to ensure everybody's right to vote


• 1966 - Racial riots erupt in the Watts section of Los Angeles


• 1968 - US Mint stops buying & selling gold


• 1969 - US Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigns


• 1971 - Chatrooms make their debut on the Internet


• 1979 - Apparat releases Newdos + 2.1 for Radio Shack's TRS-80


• 1985 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site


• 1988 - Eugene Marino of Atlanta, appointed 1st African American archbishop


• 1989 - Dept of Veterans Affairs officially established as a Cabinet position

Baseball

• 1869 - Cincinnati Red Stockings become the 1st pro baseball team


• 1869 - Cincinnati Red Stockings beat Antioch 41-7


• 1912 - Pitcher Cy Young retires from baseball with 511 wins


• 1945 - Bert Shepard (1 legged WW II vet) tries out as a pitcher for Senators


• 1945 - Dodgers open spring training at Bear Mountain New York


• 1978 - A's trade Vida Blue to Giants for 7 players & $390,000


• 1994 - Experts from Alabama certify Indian's Jacobs Field is properly lit

Football

• 1988 - NFL's St Louis Cardinals officially move to Phoenix

Basketball

• 1958 - Oscar Robertson of Cin scores a NCAA midwest region-record 56 pts


• 1958 - Royals basketball star Maurice Stokes collapsed during a playoff game with encephalitis; He goes into a coma & is permanently disabled


• 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain is 1st to score 4,000 pts in an NBA season

Golf

• 1953 - Patty Berg wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship


• 1959 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship


• 1981 - Patty Hayes wins LPGA Sun City Golf Classic


• 1992 - Brandie Burton wins LPGA Ping/Welch's Golf Championship


• 1998 - Welch's/Circle K Golf Championship

Hockey

• 1979 - Isle's Bryan Trottier's 5th career hat trick


• 1989 - New York Rangers retire goalie Eddie Giacomin's #1 uniform


• 1997 - Pittsburgh Penguins' Joe Mullen, is 1st American to score 500 NHL goals

Boxing

• 1985 - Larry Holmes TKOs David Bey in 10 for heavyweight boxing title

Horse Racing

• 1901 - Horse racing is banned in San Francisco, last race Mar 16th

Entertainment

• 1922 - 1st southern radio station begins (WSB, Atlanta Georgia)


• 1945 - 17th Academy Awards - "Going my Way," & Ingrid Bergman win


• 1945 - Billboard publishes its 1st album chart (King Cole Trio is #1)


• 1948 - Sir Laurence Olivier on the cover of LIFE magazine


• 1948 - WCAU TV channel 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (CBS) begins broadcasting


• 1949 - WICU TV channel 12 in Erie, Pennsylvania (NBC) begins broadcasting


• 1949 - WLWD (now WDTN) TV channel 2 in Dayton, Ohio (NBC) begins broadcasting


• 1954 - "CBS Morning Show" premieres with Walter Cronkite & Jack Paar


• 1954 - WSJV TV channel 28 in Elkhart-South Bend, Indiana (ABC) begins broadcasting


• 1955 - WLEX TV channel 18 in Lexington, Kentucky (NBC) begins broadcasting


• 1956 - Whipper Billy Watson beats Lou Thesz in Toronto, to become NWA champ


• 1958 - KULR TV channel 8 in Billings, Montana (NBC/ABC/CBS) begins broadcasting


• 1959 - WILX TV channel 10 in Lansing, Michigan (NBC) begins broadcasting


• 1962 - KATU TV channel 2 in Portland, Oregon (ABC) begins broadcasting


• 1963 - WFAN TV channel 14 in Washington, DC (IND) begins broadcasting


• 1965 - WMFE TV channel 24 in Orlando, Florida (PBS) begins broadcasting


• 1966 - 8th Grammy Awards: Taste of Honey, Tom Jones, Sintra & Striesand


• 1967 - WSJK TV channel 2 in Sneedville/Knoxville, Tennessee (PBS) 1st broadcast


• 1968 - LIFE mag calls Jimi Hendrix "most spectacular guitarist in the world"


• 1971 - CBS TV announces it is dropping "Ed Sullivan Show"


• 1977 - "Eight is Enough" premiers on ABC-TV


• 1977 - US House of Reps begin 90 day test of televising its sessions


• 1982 - Actress Theresa Saladana, stabbed repeatedly by obsessed fan


• 1982 - KGB-AM in San Diego California changes call letters to KCNN (now KPOP)


• 1984 - 10th People's Choice Awards: Brooke Shields


• 1987 - 13th People's Choice Awards: Bill Cosby


• 1994 - 8th Soul Train Music Awards: Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston win

Trains Planes and Automobiles

• 1906 - Brits Rolls, Royce & Johnson form Rolls Royce Ltd


• 1930 - 1st seaplane glider flown, Port Washington, New York


• 1930 - 1st streamlined submarine of US navy, USS Nautilus, launched

Weather

• 1941 - Blizzard in North Dakota kills 151

Disasters

• 1889 - 6 US & German warships perish in harbor of Apia Samoa, 200 die


• 1941 - Blizzard in North Dakota kills 151


• 1972 - Danish airliner hit mountain in Sheikdom of Oman killing 112

Space

• 1972 - NASA selects 3 part configuration for Space Shuttle


• 1988 - NASA reports accelerated breakdown of ozone layer by CFK


• 1999 - Pluto again becomes outermost planet

Weddings

• 1964 - Liz Taylor's 5th marriage (Richard Burton)

World War II

• 1943 - Allied reconnaissance flight over Java


• 1943 - Red Army evacuates Kharkov


• 1944 - Italian town of Cassino destroyed by Allied bombing

Cival War

• 1862 - General John Hunt Morgan begins 4 days of raids near Gallatin, Tennessee


• 1864 - Red River Campaign-Union forces reach Alexandria, Louisiana

Crime and Criminals

• 1972 - Assassination attempt on governor George Wallace of Alabama


• 1975 - Bundy victim Julie Cunningham disappears from Vail, Colorado


• 1982 - Actress Theresa Saladana, stabbed repeatedly by obsessed fan


• 1991 - 4 Los Angeles police are charged with beating Rodney King

Food and Beverages

• 1965 - T.G.I. Friday's 1st restaurant opens in New York City

Birthdays

• 76 - Hadrian, Roman Emperor (builder of Hadrian's Wall)


• 1493 - Anne Pierre Adrien duke of Montmorency, marshal of France


• 1666 - Georg Baehr, German master builder (Frauenkirche, Dresden)


• 1678 - Dominique Marie Valet, French RC/old-catholic bishop


• 1713 - Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, astronomer who mapped the So Hemisphere


• 1733 - Johann Zoffany, German painter, baptized


• 1750 - Caroline Herschel, astronomer/discoverer


• 1754 - Silvestro Palma, composer


• 1767 - Andrew Jackson, Carolinas, General/(D) 7th pres (1829-37)


• 1779 - William Lamb, (Whig) Viscount Melbourne, British PM (1834, 1835-41)


• 1790 - Nicola Vaccai, composer


• 1801 - Coenraad J van Houten, Dutch cocoa manufacturer


• 1808 - Gaetano Gaspari, composer


• 1809 - Joseph Jenkins Roberts, 1st pres of Liberia


• 1810 - Aernout Drost, Dutch literary (Hermingard van de Eikenterpen)


• 1811 - Robert Allen, Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1886


• 1824 - Branko Radicevic, Serbian poet (1st Serbian Uprising)


• 1830 - Paul von Heyse, Germany, writer (Nobel 1910)


• 1831 - Edward Aylesworth Perry, Brig General (Confederate Army)


• 1835 - Eduard Strauss, Austria, composer (318 Dance)


• 1836 - Henrique Alves de Mesquita, composer


• 1838 - Alice Cunningham Fletcher, ethnologist (Stranger in Her Native Land)


• 1844 - Bransby Cooper, cricketer (in Dhaka Batsman in Australia's 1st Test)


• 1851 - Jozef Surzynski, composer


• 1852 - Augusta Gregory, Ireland, playwright/poet/Yates mistress


• 1858 - Liberty Hyde Bailey, US botanist (Plantbreeding)


• 1864 - Johan Halvorsen, composer


• 1864 - Leslie Stuart, composer


• 1867 - Lionel Pigot Johnson, England, poet/critic (Ireland & Other Poems)


• 1867 - Will Rossiter, composer


• 1871 - Betsy van den Arend, Dutch [Betje], actress (Miss Hobbs)


• 1873 - David Vaughan Thomas, composer


• 1873 - Lee Shubert, producer (theatres in NY & LA named after him)


• 1874 - Harold L Ickes, social activist, New Deal politician


• 1878 - Hanson Carter, cricketer (Yorkshire Aussie WK of early 20th century)


• 1879 - Gerrit J Heering, Dutch theologist (Fall of Christianity)


• 1884 - Rudolf Piskacek, composer


• 1894 - Slava Vorlova, composer


• 1900 - Gilberto Freye, Brazilian sociologist/writer


• 1901 - J Pat O'Malley, England, actor (Touch of Grace, Gunn, Star!)


• 1901 - Theo Uden Marsman, Dutch orchestra leader


• 1902 - Kitty Masters, actress


• 1902 - Zarah Leander, Swedish/German singer/actress (Gabriela)


• 1904 - George Brent, Dublin Ireland, actor (42nd St, Jezebel)


• 1905 - Berthold Schenck von Stauffenberg, attempted to assassinate Hitler


• 1905 - Joe E Ross, comedian (Gunther Toody-Car 54, Ritzik-Phil Silvers Show)


• 1907 - Jimmy McPartland, jazz trumpeteer/actor (Magic Horn)


• 1907 - Paul Maxey, Wheaton Ill, actor (Matt-Lassie, Mayor-People's Choice)


• 1910 - An Rutgers van der Loeff-Basenau, children book writer (Skating Race)


• 1912 - Duncan Stuart Wilson-MacDonald, fighter pilot


• 1912 - Lightnin' [Sam] Hopkins, Texas, blues stylist (Ball of Twine)


• 1912 - Louis Paul Boon, Flemish writer (Kapellekensbaan)


• 1913 - Lex Goudsmit, Dutch actor (Fiddler on the Roof)


• 1913 - MacDonald Carey, Sioux City Iowa, actor (One Life to Live, Dream Girl)


• 1915 - David Schoenbrun, CBS broadcast bureau head (Wash, Paris)


• 1915 - Richard Ward, Glenside Pa, actor (Beacon Hill)


• 1916 - Geert Lubberhuizen, publisher (Busy Bee)


• 1916 - Harry James, Albany Ga, trumpeter (married to Betty Grable)


• 1918 - Janet Leach, potter


• 1918 - Richard Ellmann, US, literary scholar/writer (Oscar Wilde)


• 1919 - John Gregson, Liverpool England, actor (Gideon CID, Shirley's World)


• 1919 - Lawrence Tierney, Brooklyn, actor (Abduction, Dillinger)


• 1920 - Ranganandhan Francis, India, field hockey (Olympic-gold-1948, 52, 56)


• 1922 - Louis Boon, writer


• 1923 - George Vogel, race horse trainer


• 1923 - Laurence A Tisch, NYC, CEO (Loews Corp)


• 1924 - Juij Bondarew, writer


• 1924 - Lockrem Johnson, composer


• 1926 - Benjamin Burwell Johnson, composer


• 1926 - Norm Van Brocklin, NFL QB/coach (LA Rams), hall of famer


• 1926 - Tim Valentine, (Rep-D-NC, 1983- )


• 1927 - Carl Smith, Maynardville Tn, country singer (Grand Ole Opry)


• 1927 - Philip Vincent Belloc Jebb, architect


• 1928 - Nicolas Flagello, composer


• 1929 - Tiezo Matsumura, composer


• 1932 - Alan Lavern Bean, Wheeler Texas, Capt USN/astronaut (Ap 12, Skylab 3)


• 1932 - David Alliance, Iran/British textile factory/multi-millionaire


• 1933 - Cecil Perceval Taylor, composer/jazz pianist (U of Wisconsin)


• 1933 - Ronald Roseman, composer


• 1934 - Daniel George "Danny" Apolinar, composer/songwriter


• 1934 - Wolfgang Hufschmidt, composer


• 1935 - Jimmy Lee Swaggart, evangelist


• 1935 - Judd Hirsch, Bronx, actor (Alex-Taxi, Dear John, Ordinary People)


• 1936 - Donald K Sundquist, (Rep-R-Tennessee, 1983- )


• 1938 - Dick Higgins, composer


• 1939 - Robert Nye, writer (Facts of Life & other fiction, 3 Views of Man)


• 1940 - Phil Lesh, [Chapman], Calif, rock bassist (Grass Roots, Grateful Dead)


• 1941 - Dick Top, Dutch actor/director (Witch of Haarlem)


• 1941 - Mike Love, Calif, rock saxophonist/vocalist (Beachboys-In My Room)


• 1942 - Hughie Flint, London England, rock drummer (Bonzo Dog Band)


• 1943 - Brenda Scott, Cincinnati Oh, actress (Midge-Road West)


• 1943 - David Cronenberg, Toronto Ontario, director (Shivers, Fly, Brood)


• 1944 - Chi Cheng, Taiwan, sprinter/80m hurdler (Oly-Bronze-68)


• 1944 - David Costell, Pitts, rocker (Gary Lewis & the Playboys-Diamond Ring)


• 1944 - Davld Costell, rocker


• 1944 - Jacques Doillon director/writer (La Fille de Quinze Ans)
  
• 1944 - Ralph MacDonald, rock percussionist (Graceland)


• 1944 - Sly Stone, Dallas, rocker (Sly & the Family Stone-Everyday People)


• 1945 - Mark J Green, Bkln NY, lawyer/author (Closed Enterprise System)


• 1945 - Tracy Smith, runner


• 1946 - Bobby Bond, baseball player (Giants, Yankees, etc)


• 1946 - David Wall, English ballet dancers/director (Royal Academy of Dancing)


• 1946 - Howard Scott, San Pedro Cal, rock guitarist/vocalist (War, Cisco Kid)


• 1947 - David Colley, cricketer (NSW quickie, 3 Tests for Australia 1972)


• 1947 - Larisa Grigoriyevna Pozharskaya, Russian cosmonaut


• 1947 - Ry[land] Cooder, LA, blues guitarist (Crossroads)


• 1947 - Stomu Yamash'ta, composer


• 1947 - Tomas Pettersson, Sweden, cyclist (Olympic-silver-1968)


• 1949 - John Duttine, actor (Day of the Triffids)


• 1953 - Colin Croft, cricketer (West Indian fast bowler 1977-82)


• 1953 - Judi Spiers, TV presenter


• 1954 - Craig Wasson, Oregon, actor (Body Double, 4 Friends, Men's Club)


• 1955 - Dee Snider, Massapequa NY, (Twisted Sister-We're Not Gonna Take It)


• 1955 - Marcia McCabe, Bryn Mawr Pa, actress (Alicia Grande-1 Live to Live)


• 1955 - Mohsin Khan, cricketer (Pakistani opening batsman late 70s early 80s)


• 1956 - Clay Matthews, NFL linebacker (Atlanta Falcons)


• 1957 - Park Overall, Tenn, actress (Laverne-Empty Nest, Mississippi Burning)


• 1958 - Laura Carrington, actress (Louisa-Alphabet City)


• 1959 - Eliot Teltscher, Calif, tennis player (US Davis Cup team)


• 1959 - Harold Baines, Easton MD, outfielder (Chic White Sox, Texas Rangers)


• 1960 - Donna Smith, Portland Oregon, playmate (March, 1985)


• 1961 - Craig Ludwig, Rhinelander, NHL defenseman (Dallas Stars)


• 1961 - Fabio [Lanzoni], Italy, romance novels model (Fabio After Dark)


• 1961 - John Melendez, jockey


• 1961 - Terry Cummings, NBA forward (Milwaukee Bucks, Phila 76ers)


• 1962 - Igor Aleinikov, film Maker


• 1962 - Jimmy Baio, Bkln, actor (Billy Tate-Soap, Brass, Playing for Keeps)


• 1962 - Steve Coy, rocker (Dead or Alive-Spin Me Round)


• 1962 - Terrence Trent D'Arby, NYC, rock vocalist (Wishing Well)


• 1963 - Bret Michaels, Harrisburg Pa, guitarist (Poison-Talk Dirty to Me)


• 1963 - Don Simington, jockey


• 1964 - Alison Johnson, Tustin CA, WPVA volleyball player (US Open-4th-1993)


• 1964 - Rockwell, [Kennedy Gordy], Det MI, rock vocalist (Someone Watching Me)


• 1964 - Ron Hall, NFL tight end (Detroit Lions)


• 1965 - Marianne Morris, Middletown OH, LPGA golfer (1995 McDonald's LPGA-3rd)


• 1966 - Chris Bruno, actor (Michael-All My Children, Dennis-Another World)


• 1966 - Karen Weiss, St Paul MN, LPGA golfer (1995 Chick-fil-A Charity-7th)


• 1967 - Kirk Scrafford, NFL tackle (SF 49ers)


• 1968 - John Tardy, US heavy metalist (Obituary, Slowly We Rot)


• 1968 - Rob Anderson, Kamloops BC, Canadian Tour golfer (BC Amateur-1990, 92)


• 1968 - Sabrina [Salerno], Genoa Italy, Miss Italy (1984)/singer (Boys)


• 1969 - Louis Riddick, NFL safety (Cleve Browns, Atlanta Falcons)


• 1970 - Chris Dalman, NFL guard/center (SF 49ers)


• 1970 - Diego Nargiso, Naples Italy, tennis pro


• 1970 - Eric Castle, NFL free safety (SD Chargers)


• 1970 - Paul Kruse, Merritt, NHL left wing (Calgary Flames)


• 1971 - Patrick Reidy, Melbourne VIC Australia, basketball forward (Oly-96)


• 1971 - Reyna Royo, Miss Universe-Panama (1996)


• 1971 - Robbie Pratt, jockey


• 1972 - Casey Cristin Mizell, Miss USA-South Carolina (1997)


• 1972 - David Rhodes, WLAF wide receiver (Rhein Fire)


• 1972 - Filip Dewulf, Belgium, tennis star


• 1972 - Oliver Gibson, NFL defensive tackle (Pitts Steelers)


• 1972 - Steve Danielson, Honolulu, field hockey defender (Olympics-96)


• 1973 - Franca Fehlauer, Hamburg Germany, golfer (Belgian Intl Jr champ 1991)


• 1974 - Imad Baba, Humble Tx, soccer midfielder (Olympics-gold-96)


• 1975 - Cornell Brown, linebacker (Baltimore Ravens)


• 1976 - Laurent Gras, hockey forward (Team France 1998)


• 1980 - Deidra Graham, Salt Lake City Utah, gymnast (alt-Olympics-96)


• 1986 - Tyler Noyes, actor (CJ-One Life to Live)


• 1989 - Caitlin Wachs, actress (Chloe Waters-Profiler)

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