MARCH 1
Louisiana History
1875 - The State of Louisiana buys the St. Louis Hotel in New Orleans for $250,000 to serve as the State Capitol.
American History
1792 - Presidential Succession Act is passed.
1875- Congress passes the Civil Rights Act; it is invalidated in 1883 by the U. S. Supreme Court.
World History
1919 - Demonstrations for Korean independence from Japan begin.
1942- The three day Battle of Java Sea ends; the U. S. suffers a major naval defeat.
1978 - Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen from a Swiss cemetery.
MARCH 2
Louisiana History
1699 - Pierre Le Moyne, Sierre d'Iberville, rediscovered the mouth of the Mississippi and explored that river as far north as the mouth of the Red River, discovering and naming Baton Rouge from a red pole erected there to mark the boundaries of the hunting ground of the Houma and Bayougoula tribes.
1805 - Louisiana becomes an "organized territory."
1858 - Frederick Cook of New Orleans pattens a cotton bale metallic tie.
1860 - The first classes are held at the Seminary of Higher Learning (later LSU) near Alexandria. The first president of the college is William Sherman, who later gained fame as a Union general during the Civil War.
American History
1776 - Americans begin shelling British troops in Boston.
1807 - Congress bans the slave trade effective January 1, 1808.
World History
1946 - Ho Chi Minh is elected president of North Vietnam.
MARCH 3
Louisiana History
1795 - E. D. White (Governor 1835-1839) is born in Maury County, TN.
1835 - Congress authorizes a U. S. mint in New Orleans.
1964 - John Mckeithen becomes governor.
American History
1820 - This Missouri Compromise is passed, allowing slavery in Missouri.
1992 - President Bush apologizes for raising taxes after promising not to.
World History
1945 - U. S. and Philippine forces recapture Corregidor.
1991 - Iraqi generals and General Schwarzkopf meet to discuss a cease fire.
MARCH 4
Louisiana History
1864 - The moderate Republican Michael Hahn, who opposed suffrage for blacks, was inaugurated Federal governor of Louisiana at New Orleans.
1885 - Wade O. Martin (father of Secretary of State Wade Martin) is born.
1964 - 17 killed in a gas pipeline explosion and fire north of Natchitoches.
American History
1793 - The shortest inauguration speech (133 words) is given by George Washington.
1801 - Thomas Jefferson becomes the first president inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
1841 - The longest inauguration speech (8,443 words) is given by William Henry Harrison.
1861 - The Confederate states adopt the "Stars and Bars" flag.
World History
1949 - The Security Council of the United Nations recommends membership for Israel.
MARCH 5
Louisiana History
1658 - Antoine de Cadillac (French Colonial Governor 1713-1716) is born in Lauments, France.
1766 - Don Antonio de Ulloa arrived to rule Louisiana in the name of the Spanish king.
1795 - Andre Roman (Governor 1831-1835 and 1839-1843) is born in the Opelousas District.
American History
1770 - The Boston Massacre occurs; British troops kill five people in crowd. Crispus Attakus is the first black to die for American independence.
World History
1616 - Copernicus' de Revolutionibus is placed on the Roman Catholic forbidden index.
1946 - Winston Churchill delivers his "Iron Curtain" speech in Fulton, Missouri.
1991 - Iraq repeals its annexation of Kuwait.
1995 - The graves of Tsar Nicholas II and his family are found in St. Petersburg.
MARCH 6
Louisiana History
1836 - Caldwell Parish is created.
1867 - General Philip Sheridan assumes command of the Fifth Military District (Louisiana and Texas) with headquarters at New Orleans.
American History
1918 - The U. S. naval ship Cyclops disappears in the Bermuda Triangle.
1964 - Elijah Muhammad renames Cassius Clay as Muhammad Ali.
World History
1946 - France recognizes Vietnam's statehood in the Indo-Chinese Federation.
1967 - Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Allilujevah, asks for political asylum in the U. S..
MARCH 7
Louisiana History
1767 - Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville (French Colonial Governor 1701-1713, 1716-1717, 1718-1725 and 1733-1743) dies in Paris, France.
1830 - Jacques Villere (Governor 1816-1820) dies at Conseil Plantation, St. Bernard Parish.
1860 - Act 98 renames the State Seminary of Learning in Rapides Parish to the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and Military Academy (later LSU). The act also outlines how the institution is to be administered.
American History
1644 - Massachusetts establishes the first two chamber legislature in the colonies.
World History
1936 - Hitler breaks the Treaty of Versailles by sending German troops into the Rhineland.
1945 - The Yugoslavian government of Tito forms.
1989 - Iran breaks diplomatic relations with Britain over Rushdie's book.
MARCH 8
1836 - As a result of ill feeling between Creoles and Americans, New Orleans was divided into three independent municipalities, one comprising the Vieux Carre and the other two being above Canal Street.
1860 - Act 102 incorporates the town of Brashear in St. Mary Parish. The town is later renamed Morgan City.
American History
1782 - The Gnadenhutten Massacre occurs; the Ohio militia kills ninety Indians.
1916 - The U. S. invades Cuba for the third time; this time to end the corrupt Menocal regime.
World History
1930 - Mahatma Gandhi begins civil disobedience in India.
1950 - Marshall Voroshilov announces that the USSR has developed the atomic bomb.
MARCH 9
1846 - An act declares Baton Rouge as the new seat of government for Louisiana and orders the construction of a suitable building to house the offices of government.
American History
1841 - The U. S. Supreme Court rules that Negroes are free (Amistad incident).
1916 - Pancho Villa leads a Mexican band raid on Columbus, New Mexico, killing twelve.
World History
1562 - Kissing in public is banned in Naples and is punishable by death.
1893 - Cannibals in the Congo kill thousands of Arabs.
MARCH 10
1864 - The Red River Campaigns begin in Louisiana.
1980 - Dave Treen takes office, thus becoming Louisiana's first Republican chief executive since Reconstruction.
American History
1964 - A U. S. reconnaissance plane is shot down over East Germany.
1969 - James Earl Ray pleads guilty to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
World History
1629 - King Charles I of England dissolves Parliament; he calls it back eleven years later.
1910 - China ends slavery.
1952 - A military coup by General Fulgencia Battista begins in Cuba.
MARCH 11
Louisiana History
1867 - General Philip Sheridan is appointed military governor over the Fifth Military District.
1868 - A new constitution was adopted. Framed by a convention which blacks outnumbered whites and ex-Confederates were excluded, this document embodied the principles of the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U. S. Constitution and prohibited segregation in public places, including schools.
1966 - The American Federation of Teachers Local 527 went on strike against the New Orleans public school system to back up demand for bargaining elections against the national Education Association.
American History
1824 - The War Department creates the Bureau for Indian Affairs.
1941 - FDR signs the Lend-Lease Bill, granting money to Britain.
World History
1302 - Romeo and Juliet's wedding day, according to William Shakespeare.
MARCH 12
Louisiana History
1860 - Act 1860 requires all Notarial and Colonial records to be delivered to the State Librarian to be deposited in the State Capitol in a room set apart for the Historical Society of State.
American History
1933 - FDR conducts his first "fireside chat."
1964 - Malcolm X resigns from the Nation of Islam.
1970 - The U. S. lowers the voting age from 21 to 18.
World History
1622 - Ignatius of Loyola is declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
1919 - Austrian National Meeting affirms Anschluss (incorporation into Germany), which is later banned by the Treaty of Versailles.
1938 - Germany invades Austria (Anschluss), forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles.
MARCH 13
Louisiana History
1896 - Benjamin Flanders (Military Governor 1867-1868) dies near Youngstown, LA.
1860 - Act 199 declares that during any recess of the General Assembly no portion of the State Capitol can be used for functions except for state political conventions. The Sergeant at Arms is ordered to enforce the decree.
American History
1852 - The Uncle Sam cartoon figure makes its debut in the New York Latern Weekly.
1861 - Jefferson Davis signs a bill authorizing the use of slaves as soldiers.
World History
1519 - Cortez lands in Mexico.
1921 - Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares its independence from China.
1933 - Josef Goebbels becomes the German Minister of Information and Propaganda.
MARCH 14
Louisiana History
1780 - Fort Charlotte (Mobile) surrenders to Galvez and with the taking of Pensacola the following year, the Spanish are in complete control of all the original Louisiana province.
1855 - The Seminary of Higher Learning is incorporated by the Legislature. The act outlines the rules and regulations governing the institution.
1891 - A mob lynched 11 men who allegedly murdered New Orleans chief of police David C. Hennessey on October 15, 1890. The men were suspected of being members of the Italian mafia.
American History
1923 - President Warren G. Harding becomes the first president to pay taxes.
1950 - The FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" program begins.
1964 - A Dallas jury sentences Jack Ruby to death in Lee Harvey Oswald's murder.
World History
1629 - England is granted a royal charter for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1965 - The Israeli Cabinet approves opening diplomatic relations with West Germany.
MARCH 15
Louisiana History
1729 - Sister St. Stanislas Hachard, the first U. S. nun, takes her vows in New Orleans.
1813 - Governor Calibres issued a proclamation commanding the smugglers or "banditti" at Barrataria to disperse. The pirates and smugglers commanded by the Lafitte brothers ignore the governor.
1853 - Isaac Johnson (Governor 1846-1850) dies in New Orleans.
1886 - Michael Hahn (Governor 1864-1865) dies in Washington, DC.
American History
1964 - LBJ declares a War on Poverty.
1968 - The U. S. Mint stops buying and selling gold.
1989 - The Department of Veterans Affairs officially opens as a Cabinet position.
World History
1580 - King Philip II of Spain put 25,000 gold coins on the head of Prince William of Orange.
MARCH 16
Louisiana History
1827 - The Legislature votes to make a gift to the family of former President Thomas Jefferson.
1862 - The Federal fleet appears before forts Jackson and Philip near the mouth of the Mississippi River and begins a five day bombardment. This action leads to the capture of New Orleans.
1863 - John Parker (Governor 1920-1924) is born in Bethel Church, MS.
1870 - The Legislature votes to change the name of the Louisiana State Seminary of Higher Learning to Louisiana State University.
American History
1968 - Robert F. Kennedy announces his presidential campaign.
1995- Mississippi ratifies the 13th amendment and formally abolishes slavery.
World History
1916 - The U. S. and Canada sign the migratory bird treaty.
1935 - Hitler orders the rearmament of Germany, violating the Treaty of Versailles.
MARCH 17
Louisiana History
1862 - Judah P. Benjamin of New Orleans, former U. S. senator from Louisiana and recently secretary of war in the Confederate Cabinet, is appointed Confederate Secretary of State by President Davis.
American History
1836 - Texas abolishes slavery.
1927 - The U. S. doesn't sign the League of Nations disarmament treaty.
World History
1894 - China and the U. S. sign a treaty preventing Chinese laborers from entering the U. S..
1917 - Tsar Nicholas II abdicates the throne of Russia.
1921 - Lenin declares the New Economic Politics.
1961 - South Africa withdraws from the British Commonwealth.
MARCH 18
Louisiana History
1687- La Salle is murdered by mutineers near what is now called the Brazos River in Texas. His second expedition fails to find the Mississippi on their voyage from France and they search the coast for two years before La Salle is killed.
1850 - A Legislative act creates Dugdemonia Parish out of Catahoula, Natchitoches and Rapides parishes, but the parish never comes into being.
American History
1818 - Congress approves the first pensions for government service.
1865 - The Congress of the Confederate States adjourns for the last time.
1959 - President Eisenhower signs the Hawaii statehood bill.
World History
1994 - The Goldstone Committee reveals the existence of secret police in South Africa.
MARCH 19
Louisiana History
1969 - Leander Perez (Attorney, Politician and Staunch Segregationist) dies in Plaquemines Parish.
American History
1920 - The U. S. Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles, refusing to ratify the League of Nations for a second time, maintaining its isolationist policy.
1973 - Dean tells President Nixon, "There is a cancer growing on the Presidency."
World History
1644 - Two hundred members of the Peking royal family and court commit suicide.
1945 - Eight hundred are killed during a kamikaze attack on the USS Franklin near Japan.
1945 - Hitler issues the Nero Decree: the destruction of all German facilities.
MARCH 20
Louisiana History
1870 - Oramel Simpson (Governor 1926-1928) is born in Washington, LA.
1893 - President Cleveland appoints James B. Eustis of New Orleans as minister to France.
American History
1816 - The U. S. Supreme Court affirms its right to review state court decisions.
World History
1890 - German emperor Wilhelm II fires republic chancellor Otto von Bismark.
1952 - The U. S. signs its final ratification of a peace treaty with Japan, granting sovereignty back to the country.
1996 - The United Kingdom admits that humans can contract MCD (Mad Cow Disease).
MARCH 21
1788 - New Orleans is ravaged by a fire that destroyed nearly all of the building except a few on the riverfront. The fire has started from an altar taper in the private home of Don Vincente Nunez on Chartres Street.
1801 - A second treaty between Napoleon and Charles is singed at Madrid confirming the Treaty of San Ildefonso. The cessions continues to be kept secret.
1817 - Confederate General Braxton Bragg is born.
1861 - The Secession Convention ratifies the Confederate Constitution and formally joins the Confederacy.
World History
1935 - Persia is officially renamed Iran.
MARCH 22
Louisiana History
1967 - Retired New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw is indicted on a charge of murder conspiracy in connection with the assassination of President JFK.
American History
1622 - The first Indian (Powhattan) slaughter of whites (347 are slain) begins at Jamestown, VA. 1947 - President Truman signs Executive Order #9835, requiring all federal employees to swear allegiance to the United States.
1965 - The U. S. confirms that its troops used chemical warfare against the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.
World History
1457 - The Gutenberg Bible becomes the first printed book.
1765 - The British Stamp Act is passed, becoming the first direct tax on U. S. colonies.
1945 - The Arab League forms with the adoption of its charter in Cairo, Egypt.
MARCH 23
Louisiana History
1794 - Alexander O'Reilly (Spanish Colonial Governor 1769- 1770) dies in Bonete, Murcia, in Spain.
1799 - Joshua Baker (Military Governor 1868) is born in Mason County, Kentucky.
1808 - Catahoula County is created.
1816 - General Jackson returns to New Orleans and is enthusiastically greeted in the city.
1944 - J. Y. Sanders (Governor 1908-1912) dies in Baton Rouge.
American History
1806 - Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific coast.
World History
1808 - Napoleon's brother, Joseph, takes the throne of Spain.
1919- Benito Mussolini forms the Fascist Movement in Milan, Italy.
1966 - The first official meeting after 400 years between the Roman Catholic Church and the English Church is held.
MARCH 24
Louisiana History
1831 - The House of Representatives sends a memorial to the French people, congratulating them on the liberal revolution of July 1830.
1840 - Calcasieu Parish is created
1875 - A congressional committee, sent to investigate the recent state election, effected the so-called Wheeler Compromise, which seated Kellogg's opponents and, in effect, justified the Democratic stand concerning the election.
American History
1765 - England passes the Quartering Act, requiring Americans to provide temporary housing for British troops.
1934 - The U. S. Congress approves the independence of the Philippines for 1945.
World History
1989 - The Exxon Valdez spills 11.3 millions gallons of oil off of Alaska (worst U. S. oil spill).
MARCH 25
Louisiana History
1862 - New Orleans is captured and occupied by Federal troops.
American History
1905 - Rebel battle flags captured during the Civil War are returned to the South.
1956 - Martin Luther King, Jr. leads 25,000 marchers to Montgomery, Alabama.
World History
1895 - Italian troops invade Abyssinia (Ethiopia).
1955 - East Germany is granted full sovereignty by the USSR.
1957 - The Treaty of Rome establishes the European Economic Community (Common Market).
MARCH 26
Louisiana History
1803 - Colonial Prefect Pierre Laussat arrives in New Orleans and announces for the first time the transfer of Louisiana from Spain to France.
1804 - Louisiana is divided into the Territory of Orleans (the portion lying south of 33 degrees latitude) and the District of Louisiana (the portion lying north of 33 degrees latitude). W.C.C. Claiborne is made governor of the Territory of Orleans by the same act.
American History
1910 - The U. S. forbids the immigration of criminals, anarchist, paupers and the sick.
World History
1971 - Bangladesh (East Pakistan) declares its independence.
1989 - The first free elections in the USSR is held; Boris Yeltsin wins the presidency of Russia.
MARCH 27
Louisiana History
1846 - Act 17 orders that Commissioners secure from "skillful architects" a plan or draft of the government building with an estimate of cost for the relocation of the State Capitol to Baton Rouge.
American History
1866 - President Johnson vetoes the civil rights bill; it later becomes the 14th Amendment.
World History
1802 - The Treaty of Amiens is signed, ending the French Revolutionary War.
1940 - Himmler orders the construction of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
1958 - Nikita Krushschev becomes Soviet Premier and the first secretary of the Communist Party.
MARCH 28
Louisiana History
1893 - General Kirby Smith dies.
American History
1774 - Britain passes the Coercive Act against Massachusetts.
1834 - The Senate censures President Jackson for taking federal deposits from Bank of U. S. funds.
World History
1845 - Mexico drops diplomatic relations with the U. S.
1930 - Constantinople changes its name to Istanbul.
1939 - The Spanish Civil War ends; Madrid falls to Francisco Franco.
1960 - Pope John raises the first Japanese, Filipino and African cardinals.
MARCH 29
Louisiana History
1872 - Edward Avery McIlhenny (Explorer, Naturalist, Author) is born.
1962 - The New Orleans parochial schools are ordered to desegregate by the archbishop.
American History
1951 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are convicted of spying in the U. S.
1971 - 1st Lt. William L. Calley, Jr. is found guilty of the My Lai Massacre in Vietnam.
World History
1673 - England's King Charles II accepts the Test Act, excluding Roman Catholics from public functions.
1827 - 20,000 mourners attend Ludwig von Beethoven's funeral in Vienna.
1936 - Nazi propaganda declares that 99% voted for the Nazi Party candidates in the German elections.
MARCH 30
Louisiana History
1833 - The Legislature turns over the statehouse in Donaldsonville to Ascension Parish to be used as a seminary of higher learning.
American History
1822 - Congress combines East and West Florida into the Florida Territory.
1870 - Texas becomes the last Confederate state readmitted into the Union.
1932 - Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.
World History
1533 - Henry VIII divorces his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.
MARCH 31
Louisiana History
1853 - An act designates that the Seminary of Higher Learning is to be located in Rapides Parish. The old site of the college is now being used as a Veterans Hospital.
1861 - The Confederacy takes over the U. S. Mint in New Orleans.
American History
1854 - The Treaty of Kanagawa is signed; Commodore Perry forces Japan to open its ports to U. S. trade.
1965 - The U. S. orders its first combat troops to Vietnam.
World History
1814 - Britain and its allies march into Paris after defeating Napoleon.
1939 - Britain and France agree to support Poland if it is invaded by Germany.