51 – Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what is now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
1793 – The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously for a second term and on 4th March 1793 he was inaugurated for a second term in the Senate Chamber of Congress Hall in Philadelphia, PA with John Adams as Vice President.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress.
1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
1791 – Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.
1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
1801 – Thomas Jefferson who had been the principal author of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 became the Third President of the United States.
1814 – Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
1837 – The city of Chicago is incorporated.
1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.
1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
1883 – Alexander H. Stephens, American politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812) died.
1909 – U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution’s Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State
1913 – The United States Department of Labor is formed.
1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
1920 – By this time the Volstead Act and the 18th Amendment were passed. Both of these pieces of legislation covered various aspects of alcohol prohibition, and a motion was filed to declare these laws unconstitutional. The 18th Amendment was passed by Congress as early as 1917, and the Volstead Act was passed in 1919. These were finally declared unconstitutional in the year 1933.
1923 – Patrick Moore, English astronomer and television host (d. 2012) was born.
1933 – Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as the 32nd president of the United States pledging to lead the country out of the Great Depression
1938 – Angus MacLise, American drummer (The Velvet Underground) (d. 1979) was born.
1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the South West Pacific comes to an end.
1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
1945 – Lapland War: Finland declares war on Nazi Germany.
1950 – Rick Perry, American politician, 47th Governor of Texas was birthed.
1952 – Ernest Hemingway had finished a novel entitled The Old Man and the Sea on this day. This book had one the Pulitzer prize about a year later (1953). Unfortunately, Hemingway had committed suicide in the year 1961, making The Old and the Sea Hemingway’s last major work of fiction created.
1954 – The U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles had stated a warning about communism around the world. He mentioned the possibility of it spreading to the Western Hemisphere, and in fact communism had at this time. One of the main focuses was the leftist government of Guatemala. This was one of the main areas where the communist has been known to already take root. Dwight D. Eisenhower was also convinced of the spread of communism in this area, and took the stand that it should be eliminated.
1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
1963 – Jason Newsted, American bass player and songwriter (Metallica, Voivod, and Flotsam and Jetsam) was born.
1966 – John Lennon is interviewed by Maureen Cleave of The London Evening Standard and part of his interview talks about popularity of THE BEATLES and he is quoted as saying “Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I do not know what will go first, rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity…We’re more popular than Jesus now” . The quote repeated later in America upsets The American Bible Belt who protested in the South and Midwest, and conservative groups staged public burnings of Beatles’ records and memorabilia. Radio stations banned Beatles music and concert venues cancelled performances.
1969 – Chaz Bono, American author and activist was born.
1974 – People magazine is published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
1975 – At 86 years old and confined to a wheelchair actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin was knighted by Queen Elizabeth to become Sir Charles Chaplin.
1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.
1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe’s first black prime minister.
1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
1986 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (The Band and The Revols) (b. 1943) died.
1987 – President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation on the Iran-Contra affair, acknowledging that talks with Iran had turned into an arms for hostages negotiation.
1994 – Four Muslim Extremists are convicted of the World Trade Center bombing on February 26th, 1993.
1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
2001 – 4 March 2001 BBC bombing: a massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person. The attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
2001 – Glenn Hughes, American singer and actor (The Village People) (b. 1950) died.
2008 – YouTube is facing criticism and possibly criminal charges for making it too easy for people to upload violent or sexually explicit content to the Internet. A three-minute video showing a mother from South London being sexually assaulted by three boys after her drink had been spiked was seen by 600 viewers on Youtube before it was taken off line. YouTube has said it is impossible to review every video posted, but if a visitor sees content they believe is inappropriate, they can flag it and it will be reviewed.
2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
2009 – Ted Kennedy has been offered an honorary knighthood. The Queen has agreed the honor for John F. Kennedy’s brother for his services to the Northern Ireland peace process. Gordon Brown will be announcing the award during his March 5th address to both houses of Congress.
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