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March 2

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This date in recent years

March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). There are 304 days remaining.

1 Events
2 Births
3 Deaths
4 Holidays and observances
5 External links

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Events

986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
1717 - The Loves of Mars and Venus becomes the first ballet performed in England.
1791 - Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
1807 - The U.S. Congress passes an act to "prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States ... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country."
1836 - Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
1855 - Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1861 - Nevada Territory and Dakota Territory are organized as political divisions of the United States.
1861 - Emancipation reform of 1861 in Russia: Tsar Alexander II signed the emancipation reform into law.
1877 - U.S. presidential election, 1876: The U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876 (Reconstruction ends).
1888 - The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.
1896 - Ethiopia defeats Italy in the Battle of Adwa, marking the first victory of an African nation over a colonial power.
1899 - In Washington State, USA, Mount Rainier National Park is established.
1901 - The U.S. Congress passes the Platt amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops.
1903 - In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
1917 - The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
1917 - Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Michael.
1919 - The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
1933 - King Kong premieres in New York City.
1939 - Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
1943 - World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea - United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
1946 - Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1949 - Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
1955 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King Norodom Suramarit.
1956 - Morocco declares its independence from France.
1959 - Miles Davis holds the first recording session for Kind of Blue at Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York, NY.
1962 - In Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers scores 100 points against the New York Knicks, breaking several National Basketball Association records.
1962 - In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup.
1963 - Release of Please Please Me in the United Kingdom, the first LP from The Beatles.
1969 - In Toulouse, France the first test flight of the Concorde is conducted.
1969 - Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
1970 - Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
1972 - The Pioneer 10 spaceprobe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
1978 - Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
1985- TV anime series Mobile Suit Z Gundum broadcasts its first episode in Japan.
1987- Chrysler acquires American Motors
1989 - Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
1990 - Nelson Mandela elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
1992 - Moldova joins the UN
1995 - Nick Leeson is arrested for his role in the collapse of Barings Bank.
1995 - Yahoo! is incorporated, establishing the Internet Portal as a model.
1998 - Data sent from the Galileo spaceprobe indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, ending on March 19) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 allied troop fatalities.
2003 - The first International Symposium on Taiwan Sign Language Linguistics is held at Chung Cheng University.
2004 - [Ec7 Radical Dance Ministry][1] was born.
2004 - Voters in the U.S. state of Georgia vote on a referendum concerning its Confederacy-derived flag.
2004 - War in Iraq: Al Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
2004 - War in Iraq: A United Nations report from the weapons inspection teams states that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction of any significance after 1994, despite President Bush's objection to the contrary before the invasion.

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Births

1316 - King Robert II of Scotland, (d. 1390)
1409 - John II of Alençon, French soldier (d. 1476)
1459 - Pope Adrian VI (d. 1523)
1545 - Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (d. 1613)
1578 - George Sandys, English colonist and poet (d. 1644)
1705 - William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician (d. 1793)
1770 - Louis Gabriel Suchet, French marshal (d. 1826)
1779 - Joel Roberts Poinsett, American statesman and botanist (d. 1851)
1793 - Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1863)
1800 - Evgeny Baratynsky, Russian poet (d. 1844)
1810 - Pope Leo XIII, (d. 1903)
1820 - Multatuli, Dutch writer (d. 1887)
1824 - Bedrich Smetana, Czech composer (d. 1884)
1829 - Carl Schurz, German revolutionary and American statesman (d. 1906)
1849 - Robert Means Thompson, U.S. naval officer (d. 1930)
1859 - Sholom Aleichem, Russian Yiddish novelist (d. 1916)
1860 - Susanna M. Salter, Mayor of Argonia, Kansas (d. 1961)
1862 - Boris Borisovich Galitzine, Russian physicist (d. 1916)
1876 - Pope Pius XII, (d. 1958)
1900 - Kurt Weill, German composer (d. 1950)
1902 - Moe Berg, baseball player and spy (d. 1972)
1904 - Dr. Seuss, American author (d. 1991)
1908 - Walter Bruch, German engineer (d. 1990)
1909 - Mel Ott, baseball player (d. 1958)
1914 - Martin Ritt, American director (d. 1990)
1917 - Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor, bandleader, and musician (d. 1986)
1919 - Jennifer Jones, American actress
1923 - Robert H. Michel, American politician
1926 - Murray Rothbard, American economist (d. 1995)
1930 - John Cullum, American actor and singer
1931 - Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
1931 - Tom Wolfe, American author
1935 - Al Waxman, Canadian actor (d. 2001)
1937 - Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria
1940 - Tony Croatto, Italian-born singer and composer (d. 2005)
1942 - John Irving, American author
1942 - Lou Reed, American singer and guitarist
1943 - Peter Straub, American author
1944 - Uschi Glas, German actress
1948 - Rory Gallagher, Irish guitarist
1948 - Jeff Kennett, Australian politician
1949 - Eddie Money, New York police officer and singer
1949 - JPR Williams, Welsh rugby player
1949 - Gates McFadden, American actress
1950 - Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (d. 1983)
1952 - Mark Evanier, American writer
1952 - Laraine Newman, American actress and comedian
1955 - Shoko Asahara, Japanese religious leader
1956 - Mark Evans, Australian bassist (AC/DC)
1958 - Ian Woosnam, Welsh golfer
1961 - Simone Young, Australian conductor
1962 - Morioka Hiroyuki, Japanese writer
1962 - Jon Bon Jovi, American singer, songwriter, and actor
1964 - Megan Leigh, American actress (d. 1990)
1973 - Trevor Sinclair, English footballer
1974 - Monika Niederstätter, Italian athlete
1977 - Chris Martin, British musician (Coldplay)
1977 - Heather McComb, American actress
1977 - Andrew Strauss, English cricketer
1979 - Damien Duff, Irish footballer
1981 - Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
1982 - Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
1982 - Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish hockey player
1982 - Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
1982 - Corey Webster, American football player
1985 - Robert Iler, American actor
1985 - Reggie Bush, American football player

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Deaths

855 - Lothar, King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor (b. 795)
1316 - Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I of Scotland (b. 1296)
1572 - Mem de Sá, Portuguese Governor-General of Brazil
1589 - Alessandro Cardinal Farnese, Italian cardinal (b. 1520)
1729 - Francesco Bianchini, Italian philosopher and scientist (b. 1662)
1730 - Pope Benedict XIII (b. 1649)
1755 - Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French writer (b. 1675)
1758 - Pierre Guérin de Tencin, French cardinal (b. 1679)
1791 - John Wesley, English founder of Methodism (b. 1703)
1793 - Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-born artist
1797 - Horace Walpole, English politican and writer (b. 1717)
1830 - Samuel Thomas von Sömmering, German physician (b. 1755)
1835 - Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1768)
1840 - Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers, German astronomer (b. 1758)
1865 - Carl Sylvius Völkner, German missionary to New Zealand
1880 - Sir John MacNeill, Irish civil engineer (b. 1790)
1895 - Berthe Morisot, French painter (b. 1841)
1921 - King Nicholas I of Montenegro (b. 1841)
1930 - D. H. Lawrence, English writer (b. 1885)
1938 - Ben Harney, American composer and pianist (b. 1871)
1939 - Howard Carter, British archaeologist (b. 1874)
1953 - Jim Lightbody, American runner (b. 1882)
1960 - Stanisław Taczak, Polish general, commander-in-chief of the Greater Poland Uprising (b. 1874)
1962 - Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician (b. 1866)
1973 - Cleo A. Noel, Jr., US Chief of Mission to Sudan (b. 1918). See Khartoum diplomatic assassinations.
1975 - Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, Kenyan politician (b. 1929)
1982 - Philip K. Dick, American author (b. 1928)
1987 - Randolph Scott, American actor and director (b. 1898)
1991 - Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (b. 1928)
1992 - Sandy Dennis, American actress (b. 1937)
1999 - Dusty Springfield, English singer (b. 1939)
2001 - John Diamond, British journalist (b. 1953)
2003 - Hank Ballard, American musician (b. 1927)
2003 - Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer, (b. 1931)
2004 - Cormac McAnallen, Northern Irish Gaelic footballer (b. 1980)
2004 - Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (b. 1916)
2004 - Marge Schott, baseball team owner (b. 1928)
2005 - Rick Mahler, baseball player (b. 1953)

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Holidays and observances

Bahá'í Faith — Feast of 'Alá (Loftiness) - First day of the 19th month of the Bahá'í Calendar.
Bahá'í Faith — Beginning of the Fast (sunrise to sunset fast for 19 days).
Church of England — Saint Chad's Day.

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