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Highlight in History
On March 2, 1943, the three-day Battle of the Bismarck Sea began in the southwest Pacific during World War II; U.S. and Australian warplanes were able to inflict heavy damage on an Imperial Japanese convoy.
On this date
In 1793, the first president of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston, was born near Lexington, Va.
In 1836, the Republic of Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico.
In 1861, the state of Texas, having seceded from the Union, was admitted to the Confederacy.
In 1877, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the 1876 presidential election over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, even though Tilden had won the popular vote.
In 1917, Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship as President Woodrow Wilson signed the Jones-Shafroth Act.
In 1933, the motion picture “King Kong” had its world premiere at New York’s Radio City Music Hall and the Roxy.
In 1939, Roman Catholic Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected pope on his 63rd birthday; he took the name Pius XII.
In 1942, the original Stage Door Canteen, a wartime club for U.S. servicemen, officially opened its doors in New York’s Broadway theater district.
In 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a game against the New York Knicks, an NBA record that still stands. (Philadelphia won, 169-147.)
In 1972, the United States launched the Pioneer 10 space probe, which flew past Jupiter in late 1973, sending back images and scientific data.
Ten years ago
Iraq crushed another six Al Samoud II missiles, as ordered by U.N. weapons inspectors. Landlocked Switzerland became the first European country to win the America’s Cup as Alinghi swept Team New Zealand in five races.
Five years ago
Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin’s hand-picked successor, scored a crushing victory in Russia’s presidential election. Four adults and two children were slain in a shooting and stabbing rampage at a Memphis, Tenn., house; three children survived. (Jessie Dotson, brother of one of the victims, was convicted of six counts of murder and sentenced to death.)
One year ago
Some 40 people were killed by tornadoes in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. President Barack Obama made a supportive phone call to law student Sandra Fluke (fluhk), who’d testified before Congress about the need for birth control coverage, only to be called a “slut” on the air by talk show host Rush Limbaugh on Feb. 29 (Limbaugh apologized to Fluke on March 3). The NFL said it had found between 22 and 27 New Orleans Saints players had participated in a bounty program targeting opponents over the previous three seasons. Major League Baseball expanded its playoff format to 10 teams, adding a second wild-card in each league.
National, International News
Related Photos
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King Kong stands atop New York's Empire State Building as he holds an airplane during an attack by fighter planes in a scene from the film "King Kong," which debuted on March 2, 1933.
Discussion
Today in History for Saturday, March 2, 2013
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