On this day in 1973
"Killing Me Softly With His Song" by Roberta Flack was the #1 song.
1973 Average U.S. Prices
Bread: $0.27/loaf
Milk: $1.36/gal
Eggs: $1.22/doz
Car: $4,052
Gasoline: $0.39/gal
House: $35,500
Stamp: $0.08/ea
Average Income: $13,622/yr
Minimum Wage: $1.60/hr
Today's Celebrity Birthdays
Actor (The Sopranos) Robert Iler, 29. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, 32. Actress (The Help) Bryce Dallas Howard, 33. Actress (Chernobyl Diaries) Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, 34. Coldplay singer (Yellow) Chris Martin, 37. Actor (Twice in a Lifetime) Paul Popowich, 41. Actress (American Beauty) Amber Smith, 42. Actress (Heroes, Mulholland Dr.) Elizabeth “Lisa” Lackey, 43. Actor (Skyfall, Casino Royale) Daniel Craig, 46. Singer/songwriter (I’ll Be There For You)/actor (Pay It Forward) Jon Bon Jovi, 52. Former Restless Heart lead singer (I’ll Still Be Loving You) Larry Stewart, 55. Cowsills drummer (Indian Lake) John Cowsill, 58. Osmonds singer (One Bad Apple)/drummer Jay Osmond, 59. Actress (SNL, Invaders from Mars)/cartoon voicist (WALL-E) Laraine Newman, 62. Writer (Pryor’s Place)/producer (The Garfield Show) Mark Evanier, 62. Actress (Convoy, The Osterman Weekend) Cassie Yates, 63. Actress (American Pie, American Wedding) Molly Cheek, 64. Actress (Star Trek: TNG, All My Children) Gates McFadden, 65. Guitarist (Hill Street Blues w/ Mike Post) Larry Carlton, 66. Actor (Dynasty, Little Miss Sunshine) Gordon Thomson, 69. Author (The Cider House Rules) John Irving, 72. Actress (One Life to Live, Ship of Fools) BarBara Luna, 75. Four Lads singer (Standing On The Corner) Bernie Toorish, 83. Actor (Northern Exposure, One Life to Live) John Cullum, 84. Author (The Right Stuff) Tom Wolfe, 84. Actor/singer/comedian (The Old Philosopher) Eddie Lawrence, 95.
What A Day This Has Been
March 2, 1807…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" was passed by the U.S. Congress.
March 2, 1836…Texas declared its independence from Mexico.
March 2, 1897…Legislation that would have required a literacy test for immigrants entering the country was vetoed by U.S. President Grover Cleveland.
March 2, 1899…The U.S. Congress established Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state.
March 2, 1906…A tornado ripped through Mississippi, killing 33 people and causing $5 million in damage.
March 2, 1917…The Russian Revolution began as Czar Nicholas II abdicated.
March 2, 1917…With the signing of the Jones-Shafroth Act by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, citizens of Puerto Rico were granted American citizenship. The legislation also created the Senate of Puerto Rico, established a bill of rights, and authorized the election of a Resident Commissioner to a four-year term.
March 2, 1927…Babe Ruth signed a three-year contract with the New York Yankees for a guaranteed $70,000 a year, making him baseball’s highest paid player.
March 2, 1930…Novelist (Lady Chatterley's Lover, Sons and Lovers, Women in Love)/poet/playwright/essayist David Herbert "D.H." Lawrence died of complications from tuberculosis at 44.
March 2, 1939…On his 63rd birthday, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli of Rome was elected head of the Catholic church. He served as Pope Pius XII until his death in 1957.
March 2, 1949…World Heavyweight Boxing champion Joe Louis announced his retirement.
March 2, 1955…Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore and Bill Black performed at Porky's Rooftop Club in Newport, Arkansas.
March 2, 1955…At Universal Recording Studio in Chicago, Bo Diddley recorded the songs "Bo Diddley" and "I'm A Man" at his first recording session.
March 2, 1955…William Inge's play "Bus Stop," starring Albert Salmi, Kim Stanley, and Elaine Stritch, opened at New York's Music Box Theatre for 478 performances.
March 2, 1959…At Rex Productions in Hollywood, Sam Cooke recorded "(What A) Wonderful World," a song co-written by Cooke, Lou Adler and Herb Alpert.
March 2, 1959…At RCA Studio B in Nashville, the Everly Brothers recorded "Take A Message To Mary" and "Poor Jenny."
March 2, 1960…After completing his military service with the U.S. Army's 1st Medium Tank Battalion, 32nd Armor Regiment, Combat Command C at Ray Barracks in Friedberg, Elvis Presley departed Germany. On his way back to America, he set foot on British soil for (what was believed to have been) the first and only time when the plane carrying him stopped for refueling at Prestwick Airport in Scotland.
March 2, 1962…Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a National Basketball Association game. Chamberlain broke several NBA records in the contest, as his Philadelphia Warriors beat the New York Knicks, 169-147.
March 2, 1963…Chubby Checker hosted a "Limbo Party" at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, featuring performances by Marvin Gaye, the 4 Seasons, the Crystals, Lou Christie, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, Paul & Paula, and Dick and Dee Dee.
March 2, 1963…The 4 Seasons became the first group to have three consecutive #1 singles (Sherry, Big Girls Don't Cry, Walk Like A Man) on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat eclipsed the following year when the Supremes began a string of five chart-toppers in-a-row.
March 2, 1964…At London's Paddington railway station, filming began on the Beatles' first movie, "A Hard Day's Night."
March 2, 1964…"Twist and Shout" by the Beatles was released in the U.S.
March 2, 1965…At Columbia Recording Studio in Nashville, Marty Robbins recorded six songs, including "Ribbon Of Darkness," a composition by then-unknown songwriter Gordon Lightfoot.
March 2, 1965…The movie "The Sound of Music," starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, and Eleanor Parker, had its world premiere in New York City.
March 2, 1967…In Studio A at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit, Diana Ross and the Supremes began recording "Reflections." The track was completed on May 9, 1967.
March 2, 1968…Singer/songwriter Cat Stevens checked into a London nursing home after being diagnosed with tuberculosis. He later transferred to a hospital where he spent three months recuperating.
March 2, 1968…The Monkees released the single "Valleri."
March 2, 1968…Blue Cheer released the single "Summertime Blues."
March 2, 1969…The first of two prototype Concorde supersonic transport planes made its initial test flight in Toulouse, France.
March 2, 1969…Paul Anka, Flip Wilson, and the Checkmates Ltd. were among the performing guests on CBS-TV's "The Ed Sullivan Show."
March 2, 1972…ABC News anchorman/analyst Bill Lawrence, who covered the White House through six presidents, died following a heart attack at age 56.
March 2, 1975…Linda McCartney was arrested for possession of marijuana. Paul was driving their vehicle at the time but was not charged.
March 2, 1976…The musical revue "Bubbling Brown Sugar," starring Avon Long, Josephine Premice, and Vivian Reed, opened at New York's ANTA Playhouse Theatre for 766 performances.
March 2, 1976…Walt Disney World in Florida welcomed its 50 millionth visitor.
March 2, 1977…"The Barry Manilow Special," with special guest Penny Marshall, aired on ABC-TV.
March 2, 1978…Charlie Chaplin's coffin was stolen from a Swiss cemetery, two months after his remains were laid to rest. The casket and body were found 11 weeks later and reburied in a theft-proof grave under six feet of concrete. Two men were convicted of stealing the remains and trying to extort £400,000 from the Chaplin family. Sir Charles' 51-year-old widow, Lady Oona Chaplin, refused to pay the ransom saying, "Charlie would have thought it ridiculous."
March 2, 1979…At Karl Marx Auditorium in Havana, Cuba, the three-day Havana Jam began, featuring Billy Joel, Stephen Stills, Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge, and Weather Report, the first American pop artists to appear in Cuba in more than 20 years.
March 2, 1981…Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and Larry Hagman were guests on Diana Ross' third TV special, "Diana," on CBS.
March 2, 1982…Science fiction writer (Flow My Tears the Policeman Said, The Man in the High Castle, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) Philip K. Dick died of heart failure at age 53. Many of his short stories have been adapted into popular movies since his death, including "Blade Runner," "Total Recall," "A Scanner Darkly," and "Minority Report."
March 2, 1983…Compact Disc recordings (CDs), developed by Phillips and Sony, were introduced in the United States. They previously had been available only in Japan.
March 2, 1984…Hollywood's Gold Star Recording Studios closed after 34 years of operation. The list of artists who recorded some of their biggest hits there includes Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochran, the Chipmunks, Phil Spector, Brian Wilson, Sonny & Cher, Buffalo Springfield, Duane Eddy, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, the Ronettes, Dick Dale, the Righteous Brothers, Iron Butterfly, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Jan & Dean, Bobby Darin, the Monkees, the Band, the Go-Go's, the Association, Art Garfunkel, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and Tina Turner. The building was eventually torn down to make room for a shopping plaza.
March 2, 1984…In Des Plaines, Illinois (suburban Chicago), the first McDonald's franchise was closed. A new location opened across the street.
March 2, 1984…The Whites joined the Grand Ole Opry.
March 2, 1984…Mick Jagger's wife Jerry Hall gave birth to Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger.
March 2, 1986…Corazon Aquino was sworn in as president of the Philippines. Her first official act was to restore the civil rights of her country's citizens.
March 2, 1987…U.S. government officials reported that, for the first time, the median price for a new home had topped $100,000.
March 2, 1987…Actor (Ride the High Country, Seven Men from Now, Rage at Dawn, Santa Fe, Belle Starr, Susannah of the Mounties, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, The Last of the Mohicans, Comanche Station, Home on the Range, Captain Kidd, To the Shores of Tripoli, Decision at Sundown, Virginia City, Pittsburgh, Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend, Tall Man Riding, The Bounty Hunter, Belle of the Yukon, China Sky, The Man Behind the Gun, Carson City, Fort Worth, The Cariboo Trail, Canadian Pacific) Randolph Scott died at the age of 89.
March 2, 1989…Representatives of the 12 European Community nations agreed to ban all production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the 20th century.
March 2, 1989…Madonna's "Like a Prayer" premiered worldwide in a Pepsi commercial.
March 2, 1991…Writer (Countess, More Than Friendship, Mr. Rodriguez) Mary Howard, who wrote more than 50 romance novels under her own name and 10 using the nom de plume Josephine Edgar, died at age 83.
March 2, 1992…Actress (The Guiding Light, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Out-of-Towners, Come Back to the Five and Dime Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean, The Four Seasons, Splendor in the Grass, Sweet November, The Fox, Up the Down Staircase, The Three Sisters, Nasty Habits, God Told Me To, The Indian Runner, A Touch of Love, That Cold Day in the Park, 976-EVIL, Parents, Mr. Sycamore) Sandy Dennis died of ovarian cancer at 54.
March 2, 1994…Gloria Estefan was awarded the first star on Miami's new Latin Walk of Fame.
March 2, 1994…Actress (Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Berrenger's, Ruthless People, Marie's Lovers, 18 Again!, Blue City, Radioland Murders, Me and the Kid, Bloodhounds of Broadway, The Hotel New Hampshire, The Happy Hooker, The Magic Show, So Fine, Little Miss Millions, Off and Running, Martians Go Home, A Sinful Life, Aria, Absolute Beginners, That Man Is Pregnant!) Anita Morris died of ovarian cancer at age 50.
March 2, 1994…Composer (I'll Be Home For Christmas, The White Cliffs Of Dover) Walter Kent died at age 82.
March 2, 1995…"Smokey Joe's Cafe," featuring the music of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, opened at New York's Virginia Theatre for 2,036 performances.
March 2, 1998…Images sent back to Earth from the U.S. spacecraft Galileo indicated that the Jupiter moon Europa had a liquid ocean and a source of interior heat.
March 2, 1999…Singer (Son Of A Preacher Man, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, I Only Want To Be With You, The Look Of Love, Wishin' And Hopin') Dusty Springfield died of breast cancer at the age of 59.
March 2, 2000…In England, Chile's former President Augusto Pinochet Ugarte was freed from house arrest and allowed to return to Chile after it was decided that he was mentally and physically unable to stand trial. Belgium, France, Spain and Switzerland had sought charges on human-rights violations by the former Chilean leader.
March 2, 2003…R&B singer/songwriter (Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go, The Twist, Finger Poppin' Time, Work With Me Annie)/Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Hank Ballard died of throat cancer at 75.
March 2, 2004…NASA announced that the Mars rover Opportunity had discovered evidence that, sometime in the past, water had existed on Mars.
March 2, 2004…At the age of 95 and following advice from his doctors, Alistair Cooke retired from BBC 4 after 58 years of hosting, "Letter From America," the longest-running speech radio show in the world. He died four weeks later.
March 2, 2004…Actress (Wire Service, Giant, All the King's Men, Johnny Guitar, A Farewell to Arms, The Concorde-Airport '79, Suddenly Last Summer, The Counterfeit Killer, Angel Baby, Lightning Strikes Twice, The Other Side of the Wind, Inside Straight, The Scarf) Mercedes McCambridge, remembered for her voiceover of the demon child in the movie "The Exorcist," died at age 87. Orson Welles once called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."
March 2, 2004…Marge Schott, controversial former owner of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, died at age 75.
March 2, 2005…Pianist (Quiet Village, The Enchanted Sea)/composer/arranger Martin Denny, known as the "father of exotica," who popularized a form of "lounge music" that celebrated Tiki culture, died at the age of 93.
March 2, 2007…Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins became the youngest player in National Hockey League history to reach 200 NHL career points, achieving the milestone at age 19 years, 207 days.
March 2, 2008…Dmitry Medvedev won a decisive victory in Russia's presidential election.
March 2, 2008…Singer/guitarist (Angel Eyes)/actor (Road House) Jeff Healy died of cancer at 41.
March 2, 2009…Liverpool Hope University launched a first-of-its kind Masters degree program based on the Beatles, Popular Music and Society, examining the studio sound and compositions of the Fab Four. Twelve students signed up, and former Miss Canada finalist Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy was the first to graduate.
March 2, 2010…R&B singer Keyshia Cole and her husband, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Daniel Gibson, welcomed the arrival of their son, Daniel Hiram Gibson, Jr.
March 2, 2011…One week after singer Justin Bieber cut his hair and gave a lock of it to TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who auctioned it on eBay to raise money for an animal charity, the online casino GoldenPalace.com bought the hair with a winning bid of $40,688.
March 2, 2012…In one of the largest class-action settlements in history, BP agreed to pay $7.8 billion to settle lawsuits resulting from the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
March 2, 2013…In Perth, Australia, Neil Young and Crazy Horse began their 2013 world tour with a concert at Perth Arena.
Enjoy your day! Make it matter.
2014 Bizarre, Crazy, Silly, Unknown Holidays & Observances
Academy Awards Night
Daughters' and Sons' Day
*Dr. Seuss Day
Iditarod Begins
Losar
Namesake Day
National Frozen Food Day
