Today in History for March 1, 2015

General Thomas Rosser

March 1, 1498 - Vasco de Gama landed at what is now Mozambique on his way to India.

March 1, 1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), became the first incorporated city in the United States.

March 1, 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba were brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials. Magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin interrogated the three women over the course of several days. Tituba confessed to “afflicting” and confirmed that Good and Osborne were her co-conspirators.

March 1, 1781 - Maryland ratified the Articles of Confederation. Maryland was the last of the 13 states. This made the Continental Congress the "Congress of the Confederation" or the "United States in Congress Assembled."

March 1, 1790 - The U.S. Congress authorized the first U.S. census.

March 1, 1803 - Ohio became the 17th U.S. state.

March 1, 1817 – The Enabling Act was passed by Congress for the admission of the western part of Mississippi as a state.

March 1, 1836 – Alexander B. Puryear became postmaster at Burnt Corn, Ala.

March 1, 1836 – At the Alamo, a second cold front arrived. A relief column from Gonzales arrived, responding to William Barrett Travis’ pleas for help. The Gonzales Ranging Company safely entered the compound, increasing the garrison’s strength by at least 32. Finding no sign of James W. Fannin’s reinforcements, the detachment sent by Santa Anna returns.

March 1, 1845 - U.S. President John Tyler signed the congressional resolution to annex the Republic of Texas.

March 1, 1858 – The Eliza Battle riverboat was destroyed by fire near present day Pennington, Ala. on the Tombigbee River. (13 Alabama Ghosts)

March 1, 1861 - Texas was accepted as a state by the provisional government of the Confederate States of America. Texas' secession from the Union was not official until the next day.

March 1, 1864 – After getting captured by the Union at Campbell’s Station, Noah Dallas Peacock (Lewis Lavon Peacock’s older brother) was transferred from Louisville Military Prison to Fort Delaware.

March 1, 1864 - Union General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick arrived at the outskirts of Richmond, Virginia. Colonel Ulrich Dahlgren was killed while trying to rejoin Kilpatrick. (Kilpatrick-Dahlgren raid)

March 1, 1864 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln nominated Ulysses S. Grant for the newly revived rank of lieutenant general.

March 1, 1865 - General Thomas Rosser set fire to a bridge along the middle fork of the Shenandoah River. General George Custer's troops charged across the burning span and extinguished the fire before the bridge was destroyed.

March 1, 1867 – Nebraska became the 37th U.S. state, and Lancaster, Nebraska was renamed Lincoln and became the state capital.

March 1, 1872 – Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first national park.

March 1, 1898 - Alabama author Sara Haardt was born in Montgomery, Ala.

March 1, 1914 – Baseball broadcaster Harry Caray was born in St. Louis, Mo.

March 1, 1914 - Alabama author Ralph Ellison was born in Oklahoma City, Okla.

March 1, 1915 - The movie “Heart of Flame,” screenplay written by Alabama author Marie Stanley under her maiden name Marie Layet, was released.

March 1, 1915 – The two-story schoolhouse at Buena Vista, Ala. burned down. A one-room, one-teacher school house was built to replace it in the same location during the summer of 1915.

March 1, 1915 – The Arcade Theatre in Evergreen, Ala. began showing the five-part silent movie, “Such a Little Queen,” which starred Mary Pickford. First released on Sept. 21, 1914, this romantic comedy is now considered a lost film. Admission was 10 cents and 20 cents.

March 1, 1926 – Pro Football Hall of Famer Pete Rozelle was born in South Gate, Calif.

March 1, 1927 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward,” which was originally published in the May and July 1941 issues of Weird Tales.

March 1, 1936 – The Hoover Dam was completed.

March 1, 1937 - In Connecticut, the first permanent automobile license plates were issued.

March 1, 1941 - FM Radio began in Nashville, Tenn. when station W47NV began operations.

March 1, 1941 - Elmer Layden was named the first Commissioner of the National Football League.

March 1, 1942 – William Edward Stinson was killed in service in Vienna. He was a lieutenant in the Air Force and was a pilot in the 415th B. Squadron.

March 1, 1943 – The old Finklea & Finklea store, which was owned and operated by J. Foster Finklea and Charles Finklea from February 1926 to 1943, was sold to Bedsoles.

March 1, 1967 – In the opening game of the Region 1, Area 2 basketball tournament in Flomaton, Ala., Evergreen High School played Georgiana at 7 p.m. Monroeville played T.R. Miller at 8 p.m.

March 1, 1969 - Mickey Mantle announced his retirement from Major League Baseball.

March 1, 1969 - Jim Morrison of the Doors was arrested and officially charged with lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent behavior, open profanity and public drunkenness in Miami. Morrison was later sentenced. Morrison died while the sentence was under appeal.

March 1, 1973 - Pink Floyd released "Dark Side of the Moon".

March 1, 1973 - A movie version of Alabama author Gay Talese's book “Honor Thy Father” was released.

March 1, 1973 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Myrtice Morris of Brewton had found a World War I citation issued to Charlie Rutledge of Evergreen, Ala. by President Woodrow Wilson. She found the citation while going through some old papers.

March 1, 1973 – The Evergreen Courant reported that John Crum Sessions of Evergreen, Ala. had been selected from over 26,000 Future Farmers of America in Alabama as Alabama’s “Future Farmer of the Year,” the highest annual award presented to a member of the Alabama FFA Association. Crum was to receive the award at the annual State FFA Convention on June 6, 1974 in Montgomery.

March 1, 1977 – The City of Evergreen, Ala. began collecting an additional one-cent sales tax within the city limits to pay back $233,000 the city borrowed to provide financial assistance to the Conecuh County Hospital.

March 1, 1979 - The NCAA granted ESPN the exclusive rights to telecast collegiate events.

March 1, 1991 - "The Doors" movie debuted. Val Kilmer played the role of Jim Morrison.

March 1, 1994 – Former Major League Baseball catcher Joe Tipton passed away at the age of 72 in Birmingham, Ala. During his career, he played for the Cleveland Indians, the Chicago White Sox, the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators.

March 1, 2004 – Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum becames President of Iraq.

March 1, 2007 – Tornadoes broke out across the southern United States, killing at least 20. Eight of the deaths were at Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Ala.

March 1, 2007 – Millers Ferry in Wilcox County, Ala. was struck by a deadly tornado. One person was killed, two injured and over 70 houses were damaged and destroyed. The tornado caused well over $2 million in damage.

March 1, 2012 – The Heron Hill Cemetery in Clarke County, Ala. was added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.