Epic Idiot's what happened
On This Day

March 2

1984
The Moon reaches its farthest distance from the Earth for this century (252,718 miles).

1982
Busing: The U.S. Senate votes to end busing for the purpose of racial integration.

1962
Wilt Chamberlain scores a record 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors against the New York Knicks.

1951
First NBA All-Star game, East beats West (111-94).

1949
First non-stop around-the-world flight: Capt. James Gallagher and crew complete their flight which had begun on February 27.

1899
First U.S. admiral: Congress creates the position of Admiral of the Navy. George Dewey was appointed to the position the following day.

1888
First bank for and operated by blacks is chartered in Virginia.

1861
Territories of Nevada and Dakota are established by Congress.

1836
Texas declares it independence from Mexico.

1750
Lightning Rods: Ben Franklin proposes the use of lightning rods to protect houses in a letter to his colleague Peter Collinson.

1717
First ballet: John Weaver's The Loves of Mars and Venus is staged at Drury Lane, England.

1962
Jon Bon Jovi (John Bongiovi), American singer. Music: Livin' on a Prayer (1986, #1), Bad Medicine (1988, #1), and Blaze of Glory (1990).

1956
John Cowsill, American drummer, member of the singing family The Cowsills. Music: The Rain The Park And Other Things (1967, #2). They were the basis for TV's The Partridge Family.

1955
Jay Osmond, American drummer. Music: One Bad Apple (1971, #1) and Go Away Little Girl (1971, #1).

1952
Laraine Newman, American comedienne. TV: Saturday Night Live.

1950     d. 1983
Karen Ann Carpenter, American singer with the Carpenters. She died of a heart attack induced by anorexia nervosa. Music: We've Only Just Begun (1970, #2) and Rainy Days and Mondays (1971, #2).

1944
Lou Reed (Louis Firbank), American singer. Music: Walk On The Wild Side (1973).

1931
Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian politician, Communist Party Leader (1985-91).

1917     d. 1986
Desi Arnaz (Desiderio Arnaz III), Cuban-born band leader, actor. TV: I Love Lucy (Ricky Ricardo).

1904     d. 1991
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), American Pulitzer-winning children's author. Books: The Cat in the Hat (1957), How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957), and Green Eggs and Ham (1960). He won a 1946 Oscar for his documentary Hitler Lives.

1897     d. 1970
Max Lincoln Schuster, Austrian-born American publisher, co-founder of the publishing house of Simon and Schuster (1924). Their first book was the world's first crossword puzzle book.

1876     d. 1958
Pius XII (Eugenio Maria Giovanni Pacelli), Italian religious leader, 260th Pope (1939-58), was elected pope on his 63rd birthday. In 1952 he declared TV a threat to family life, and proclaimed (1950) the dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

1860     d. 1961
Susanna Madora Salter, first U.S. woman mayor (1887, Argonia, Kansas). Nominated as a prank, she didn't find out she was running until the morning of the election. She received two-thirds of the vote.

1810     d. 1903
Leo XIII, Italian religious leader, 256th Pope (1878-1903).

1793     d. 1863
Sam Houston, American soldier, politician, governor of Tennessee (1827-29) and first president of the Republic of Texas (1836).

1459     d. 1523
Adrian VI, Dutch-born religious leader, 218th Pope (1522-23), the only Dutch pope.

1993     b. 1910
Carlos Marcello (Calogero Minacori), New Orleans and Gulf Coast mafia boss.

1987     b. 1898
Randolph Scott (Randolph Crane), American actor. Film: Seven Men from Now (1956), The Tall T (1957), and Ride the High Country (1962).

1982     b. 1928
Philip K.

1939     b. 1873
Howard Carter, English Egyptologist, discovered King Tutankhamen (1922).

1930     b. 1885
D.H. Lawrence (David Herbert Lawrence), English novelist. Writings: The Rainbow (1915) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928).

1840     b. 1758
Wilhelm Olbers, German astronomer, discovered two asteroids, several comets, a method of determining their orbits, and Olbers' Paradox: "If the stars are distributed evenly through infinite space, why is the night sky dark?"

1791     b. 1703
John Wesley, English clergyman, founder of Methodism. He believed in salvation through faith. (Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church)

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