On This Day in History - March 2nd - Almanac

Today is Wednesday, March 2, the 62nd day of 2016 with 304 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mercury and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include statesman DeWitt Clinton, chief sponsor of the Erie Canal project, in 1769; Sam Houston, first president of the Republic of Texas, in 1793; Pope Leo XIII in 1810; journalist, politician and reformer Carl Schurz in 1829; Pope Pius XII in 1876; publisher Max Schuster in 1897; German composer Kurt Weill in 1900; baseball player and World War II-era spy Moe Berg in 1902; children's author "Dr. Seuss," Theodor Geisel, in 1904; baseball Hall of Fame member Mel Ott in 1909; entertainer Desi Arnaz in 1917; actor Jennifer Jones in 1919; actor John Cullum in 1930 (age 86); former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1931 (age 85); writer Tom Wolfe in 1931 (age 85); basketball Hall of Fame member Denny Crum in 1937 (age 79); author John Irving in 1942 (age 74) ; musician Lou Reed in 1942; musician Rory Gallagher in 1948; singer Karen Carpenter in 1950; comedian Laraine Newman in 1952 (age 64), rock singer Jon Bon Jovi in 1962 (age 54); actor Daniel Craig in 1968 (age 48), musician Chris Martin in 1977 (age 39); NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in 1982 (age 34).

On this date in history:

In 1836, Texas proclaimed independence from Mexico.

In 1925, the first system of interstate highway numbering was introduced in the United States.

In 1933, the movie King Kong premiered in New York.

In 1949, a U.S. Air Force plane piloted by Capt. James Gallagher completed the first non-stop around-the-world flight in just over 94 hours.

In 1962, Philadelphia's Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game NBA scoring record with 100 points against the New York Knicks.

In 1974, the cost of a U.S. first class postage stamp was increased to 10 cents, up from 8 cents.

In 1983, the compact disc and player are released in the United States, beginning the slow decline of the cassette tape and launching the digital audio revolution.

In 2007, U.S. Army Secretary Francis J. Harvey announced his resignation amid charges of poor conditions for patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

In 2008, outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin's choice as his successor, Dmitri Medvedev, was elected president in a landslide. Putin remained in power as prime minister.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that an anti-gay Kansas church had a constitutional right to stage a peaceful protest at the funeral of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq.

In 2015, more than 50,000 people gathered in central Moscow to remember Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. The outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin was assassinated three days earlier while walking near Red Square.

A thought for the day: "Americans have a severe disease -- worse than AIDS. It's called the winner's complex." -- Mikhail Gorbachev