On This Day in History - March 2nd - Almanac

Today is Saturday, March 2, the 62nd day of 2024 with 304 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mars and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter and Uranus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Pisces. They include Pope Adrian VI in 1459; 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/reformer Carl Schurz in 1829; Pope Pius XII in 1876; publisher Max Schuster in 1897; baseball player/World War II-era spy Moe Berg in 1902; children's author "Dr. Seuss," Theodor Geisel, in 1904; entertainer Desi Arnaz in 1917; actor Jennifer Jones in 1919; actor John Cullum in 1930 (age 94); former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1931; writer Tom Wolfe in 1931; basketball Hall of Fame member Denny Crum in 1937; author John Irving in 1942 (age 82); musician Lou Reed in 1942; musician Rory Gallagher in 1948; singer Karen Carpenter in 1950; comedian Laraine Newman in 1952 (age 72); rock singer Jon Bon Jovi in 1962 (age 62); Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in 1963 (age 61); actor Daniel Craig in 1968 (age 56); rapper Method Man, born Clifford Smith, in 1971 (age 53); musician Chris Martin in 1977 (age 47); actor Rebel Wilson in 1980 (age 44); actor Bryce Dallas Howard in 1981 (age 43); actor Nathalie Emmanuel in 1989 (age 35); country musician Luke Combs in 1990 (age 34).

On this date in history:

In 1836, Texas proclaimed independence from Mexico.

In 1899, President William McKinley signed legislation establishing Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. The park received record flooding in November 2006, resulting in more than $36 million in damage.

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

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 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he would not participate in any federal investigation into allegations the Russian government interceded in the 2016 presidential election, sparking the ire of President Donald Trump.

In 2022, the White House unveiled a new COVID-19 preparedness and management plan that detailed steps to prevent infection, keep serious illness and death down, and be ready for potential new variants.

240302@$ -- A thought for the day: "Gay people have a different role than other minority groups. ... Very few Black kids have ever had to worry about telling their parents that they were Black." -- former Rep. Barney Frank