Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). There are 304 days remaining. Table of contents 1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths 4 Holidays and observances Events 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks. 1807 - The United States 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 - Declaration of independence of Texas from Mexico. 1855 - Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia. 1861 - Nevada is organized as a United States territory. 1877 - U.S. presidential election, 1876: The United States 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). 1899 - In Washington, Mount Rainier National Park is established. 1901 - The United States 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 Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship. 1919 - The first Communist International meets in Moscow. 1923 - Time Magazine hits newsstands for the first time. 1933 - King Kong premieres in New York City. 1939 - Pius XII becomes Pope. 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 - The B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II lands in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight. 1955 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King Norodom Suramarit. 1956 - Morocco declares its independence from France. 1962 - In Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers scores 100 points against the New York Knicks, breaking several National Basketball Association records. 1963 - Release of Please Please Me in the United Kingdom, first LP from The Beatles. 1969 - In Toulouse, France the first Concorde test flight is conducted. 1969 - Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River. 1972 - The Pioneer 10 spaceprobe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets. 1986 - Corazon Aquino is inaugurated as President of the Philippines. 1989 - 12 European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end century. 1995 - In Moscow, Russian anti-corruption journalist Vladislav Listyev is killed by a gunman. 1995 - Nick Leeson is arrested for his role in the collapse of Barings Bank. 1998 - Data sent from the Galileo spaceprobe indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice. Births 1316 - King Robert II of Scotland († 1390) 1793 - Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas († 1863) 1810 - Pope Leo XIII († 1903) 1824 - Bedrich Smetana, composer († 1884) 1849 - Robert Means Thompson, naval officer († 1930) 1859 - Sholom Aleichem, novelist († 1916) 1876 - Pope Pius XII († 1958) 1900 - Kurt Weil, composer († 1950) 1904 - Dr. Seuss, author († 1991) 1908 - Walter Bruch, engineer († 1990) 1909 - Mel Ott, Baseball Hall of Famer († 1958) 1914 - Martin Ritt, director († 1990) 1917 - Desi Arnaz, actor, bandleader, musician († 1986) 1919 - Jennifer Jones, actress 1926 - Murray Rothbard American economist born March 2 († 1995) 1931 - Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union 1931 - Tom Wolfe, author 1942 - John Irving, author 1942 - Lou Reed, singer and guitarist 1944 - Uschi Glas, actress 1948 - R. T. Crowley, writer, pioneer of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) 1949 - Eddie Money, singer 1950 - Karen Carpenter, singer and drummer († 1983) 1952 - Laraine Newman, comedian 1956 - Mark Evans, bassist of AC/DC 1962 - Jon Bon Jovi, singer, songwriter, and actor 1985 - Robert Iler, actor Deaths 986 - Lothair, King of the Franks, Holy Roman Emperor 1880 - Sir John MacNeill civil engineer 1895 - Berthe Morisot, Impressionist painter 1921 - King Nicholas of Montenegro 1982 - Philip K. Dick, science fiction author 1987 - Randolph Scott, actor 1991 - Serge Gainsbourg, singer 1992 - Sandy Dennis, actress 1999 - Dusty Springfield, singer 2003 - Roger Needham, Computer scientist 2003 - Malcolm Williamson, composer 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) See Also: March 1 - March 3 - February 2 - April 2 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.