Bartok Found a Future in His Musical Past
On March 25, 1881, Béla Bartók was born in a small town in the Kingdom of Hungary. He became arguably one of the three great 20th century composers.
Frustration is the Mother of Invention
On March 23, 1924, Bette Nesmith Graham was born in Dallas, Texas. Frustrated by the difficulty in correcting typing mistakes, she invented Liquid Paper and built a company.
Caldecott Engaged Children’s Imaginations
On March 22, 1846, Randolph Caldecott was born in Chester, England. The Caldecott Medal is named for the illustrator.
Fourier Transformed More Than Trigonometry
On March 21, 1768, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier was born in Auxerre, France. The noted mathematician led a rich, varied life.
Houdon Captured the Beauty in the Bust
On March 20, 1741, was born in Versailles, France. His sculptures, particularly his busts, have become lasting images of the Enlightenment and of America’s Founding Fathers.
In 1919, We Defined Time Zones
On March 19, 1918, Congress passed the Standard Time Act, which established Standard Time, Daylight Savings Time, and authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish time zones.
America's Largest Art Theft Still Unsolved
On March 18, 1990, two men dressed as Boston cops stole $500 million worth of art works from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
Goddard's Rocket Was the First 'Small Step'
On March 16, 1926, Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Mass., The flight, reaching a height of 41 feet, lasted only 2.5 seconds.
Congressional Dithering Blamed for Newburgh Conspiracy
On March 15, 1783, Gen. George Washington, in an impassioned speech, stopped officers of the Continental Army from rebelling over Congress’ unwillingness to pay soldiers salaries.
Einstein Was a Spark of Genius
On March 14, 1879, Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany. His general theory of relativity represents one of the pillars of modern physics.
Susan B. Anthony Had Unflagging Faith in Her Cause
On Mar. 13, 1906, Susan Brownell Anthony died in Rochester, New York, after a lifetime of working for civil rights, temperance and women’s suffrage. She, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, drafted the text for what became the 19th Amendment in 1878.
His Vision Became the Internet
On Mar. 11, 1915, Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider was born in St. Louis. Educated as a psychologist, he is credited as the first to describe the Internet (when he proposed a “galactic network” of interconnected computers in 1962).
How Her Garden Did Grow
On Mar. 9, 1892, Victoria Mary “Vita” Sackville-West was born in Kent, England. A novelist and poet who is best known for the weekly gardening columns she wrote for The Observer, and her garden at Sissinghurst Castle.
Finding the New in 'Old Style'
On Mar. 8, 1865, Frederic W. Goudy was born in Bloomington, Illinois. When he was 40, he embarked on a new career, designing type, and became the leader of American type designers.
Maurice Ravel was a Musical '10'
On Mar. 7, 1875, Maurice Ravel was born in in the Basque town of Ciboure, France, near Biarritz, close to the border with Spain. He is most famous for “Bolero,” a work he dismissed as trivial.
Dred Scott Ruling was Supreme Court Disaster
On Mar. 6, 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that because Dred Scott was black, he was not a citizen of the United States, arguably the worst ruling by our nation’s highest court.
Bank Holiday Set Stage for Reform
On Mar. 5, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on his first full day in office, declared a Bank Holiday would begin on March 6, and depositors would not be able to withdraw their funds.
No Quorum for Congress' First Meeting
On Mar. 4, 1789, the first United States Congress met in Federal Hall in New York City, though it was not until April 1 that the House of Representatives had sufficient members present for a quorum, and April 6 for the Senate.
Pauling Saw the Connections in Chemistry
On Feb. 28, 1901, Linus Pauling was born in Portland, Oregon. He is one of the few two-time winners of the Nobel Prize.
We Are Glad That Dr. Seuss Was Who He Was
On March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Mass.; he became one of the most popular children’s book authors of all time.
