1773—Birthday of William Henry Harrison, the 9th president of the United States ( March 4-April 4, 1841). His term of office was the shortest in our nation's history-32 days. He was the first president to die in office (of pneumonia contracted during inaugural ceremonies). John Tyler assumed the presidency and historians state his administration was characterized by bickering and frustration, primarily caused by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster over political issues in their own "Whig" party.
    1775 ---English Parliament declares Massachusetts colony is in rebellion.
    1794- The first warship to capture an enemy shop after the Revolution was the U.S.S. Constellation, a 36-gun frigate of 1,265 tons. Off the island of Nevis, West Indies, the 36-gun Constellation, under the command of Commodore Thomas Truston, met and captured the 40-gun French frigate Insurgente, inflicting 70 casualties at the cost of only 4 American casualties. (not to be confused with the U.S.S.) Truxtun was headed for the island of Nevis when he caught sight of the French frigate L'Insurgente . After pursuing the Frenchman, Truxtun prepared for action. However, as the two ships were on the verge of engaging one another, a squall engulfed them, snapping the main topmast of the French frigate. The loss of mobility, coupled with the French tendency to fire high into the opponent's rigging, gave Truxtun a deadly advantage. Unable to maneuver and suffering from heavy damage to her hull by American gunnery, the 40-gun L'Insurgente was defeated by the 38-gun Constellation . The battle had lasted only seventy-five minutes. The Constellation suffered three casualties, compared to seventy sustained by L'Insurgente . "A very fine frigate [is] being added to our infant Navy" was the report sent to Stoddert.
http://www.navysna.org/awards/Hall%20of%20Fame%20Write%
20Ups/Truxton.htm
Constellation which was President Lincoln's flagship or the Federal of Planets Space Ship.)
http://maritimeone.com/id61.htm
http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/1258/shipsv.html
http://www.congressionalgoldmedal.com/ThomasTruxton
http://maritimeone.com/id61.htm.htm
http://antiqbook.com/boox/spo/1110.shtml
    1812-- Pioneer missionary Samuel Newell married fellow Congregationalist Harriet Atwood. They afterward sailed for India with Adoniram and Ann Hasseltine Judson. (Harriet Newell and Ann Judson thereby became the first American women commissioned for missionary work abroad.)
    1819--Birthday of Lydia E. Pinkham developed a home tonic of herbs and 19% alcohol that she gave her children. As the tonic grew famous in her neighborhood she made her first sales in 1875 to earn money since she was married to a dreamer whose ship never came in. Later, her son marketed the home remedy under her direction.
    1825- John Quincy Adams was elected president of the United States by the House of Representatives, into which the election had been thrown by the failure of any of the four candidates to win a majority in the electoral college. Henry Clay, one of the candidates assisted Adams cause in the House. In the four way race of Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Crawford Jackson had received more electoral votes than Adams, but no majority.
    1849--Laura Clay at the 1920 convention became the first woman to receive a vote for the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party. She was a noted suffrager and first president of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association.
    1859—Birthday of Carrie Chapman Catt. Very young, Carrie Lane noticed that her mother did not go to vote when her father did and she developed a lifelong devotion to the cause of women's suffrage. She became high school principal at Mason City, Iowa, in 1881. Within a few years she was elected superintendent of schools - one of the first women to fill such an office in the United States. After one year of marriage to Leo Chapman, editor and owner of the Mason City Republican, he died of typhoid fever in 1886. It was then that CCC began speaking and organizing activists for the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association and broke onto the national scene like a rocket. She died in New Rochelle, N.Y., on March 9, 1947. Catt is buried in New York City alongside Mary Garrett Hay with whom she lived from 1905 until Hay's death in 1928. They share a single headstone which reads: "Here lie two, united in friendship for 38 years through constant service to a great cause."
    1861-- Tennessee votes against secession. On June 8, pro-slavery advocates stop anti-slavery voters at the polls, whereupon Tennessee secedes from the Union.
    1886- President Cleveland declares a state of emergency in Seattle because of anti-Chinese violence. These protests were also seen in other Northwest cities due to the influx of “cheap” Chinese labor.
http://immigrants.harpweek.com/ChineseAmericans/Items/Item095L.htm
    1873- In the foremost scandal of the day, Victoria Woodhull, publisher, was arrested for writing that renowned preacher Henry Ward Beecher had committed adultery. The postal authorities charged her with sending obscene literature through the mail. She was acquitted of the charge. What made the event more newsworthy is that Beecher was subsequently sued for alienation of affections by Theodore Tilton. The jury and the public found Dr. Beecher innocent but found Mrs. Tilton guilty.
    1874—Birthday of American poet Amy Lowell, born at Brookline, MA. Her eccentricities inspire more discussion then her poetry. A lesbian and a very fat woman, she wore frilly clothes, smoked cigars, slept during the day, wrote poetry at night and kept all the mirrors in her house covered. 
In 1915, anticipating a wartime shortage, Lowell, like George Sand a woman partial to cigars, ordered 10,000 Manilas. Ezra Pound, trying to help place her poetry, made up the "Imagist" movement.
Died Brookline, Ma., May 12, 1925.
http://www.sappho.com/poetry/a_lowell.html 
    1900-The great Count Basie bassist Walter Page birthday.
    1904- a tremendous fire that started on February 7 was put out in Baltimore, Maryland, after destroying 2600 buildings in an 80-block area of the business district. It was the biggest fire since the great Chicago fire of 1871. Over $80 million (that day's dollar amount ) in buildings were destroyed.
    1909—Birthday of Carmen Miranda, born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha in Marco de Canavezes, Portugal. Her family moved to Rio de Janeiro when she was about two years old. Her career took off in the carnival of 1930 with the spectacular success of the marchinha "Taí" A popular movie star and singer in her day, she Carmen of a heart attack on August 5, 1955, at home in Beverly Hills, California.
http://www.maria-brazil.org/carmen.htm
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/echo/Volume2-Issue1/wells-media/
Carmen-Miranda.jpg
    1912—The United States Lawn Tennis Association amended the playing rules for its men's single's championship. The defending champion lost his by directly into the final and was required to play through the tournament.
    1914—Birthday of country and western singer, born at Crip, Texas. Ernest Tubb was the sixth member to be elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the headliner on the first country music show ever to be presented at Carnegie Hall. His first major hit, “ Walking the Floor Over You,“ gained him his first appearance at the Grand ole Opry in 1942, and he attained regular membership in 1943. He died September 6,1984, at Nashville, Texas.
    1914—Birthday of Bill Veek, baseball's premiere promoter and showman as an owner of several teams. He integrated the American League, sent a midget to the plate to start a game and, in general, sought to provide fans with entertainment in addition to baseball. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991. Died at Chicago, Il, Jan. 2, 1986.
    1914-Birthday of ecdysiast Gypsy Rose Lee, real name Rose Louise Hovick, born Seattle, Was. died 1970.
http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0497346/
http://www.thrillingdetective.com/eyes/gypsy_rose_lee.html
    1917 -- US: American labor agitator Tom Mooney falsely convicted of fatal bombing. He is Pardoned and released 22 1/2 years from now.
http://www.shapingsf.org/ezine/labor/mooney/
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/Library_Bulletin/Nov1989/
LB-N89-VClose2.html
    1933 - The temperature at Moran, WY, located next to Teton National Park, plunged to 63 degrees below zero to establish a state record. The temperature at the Riverside Ranger Station in Montana dipped to 66 below zero to establish a record for the state, and a record for the nation which stood until 1954.
    1934 - The mercury dipped to 51 degrees below zero at Vanderbilt to establish a record for the state of Michigan. The temperature at Stillwater plunged to 52 degrees below zero to establish a record for the state of New York.
    1941--Birthday of Carole King, singer, songwriter. Her soft rock Tapestry album sold more than 13 million copies and in 1971 she won four Grammy awards. "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" in 1960-61 was her first hit to top the charts. After her divorce in 1969 she changed her style and performed solo. "You've got a Friend" was the 1971 Grammy best song and "It's Too Late" the best record.
    1942- singer-songwriter Carole King was born in Brooklyn, New York. Along with her then-husband Gerry Goffin, King wrote some of the most successful pop tunes of the 1960's. Among them were "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for the Shirelles, "Up on the Roof" for the Drifters and "The Loco- Motion" for Little Eva. In the '70s, King started concentrating on her singing. Her 1971 album "Tapestry" became the biggest- selling album of all time, although its sales have since been topped by at least two other albums.
    1943- in a major strategic victory, the American 161st and 132nd Regiments retook Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands on this date after a six-month-long battle. More than 9,000 Japanese and 2,000 Americans were killed. The fierce resistance by the Japanese was an indication to the Allies of things to come. Guadalcanal put the Allies within striking distance of Rabaul, the major Japanese base in the area (as featured in "Victory at Sea".)
    1944-Jimmy Page, guitarist with Led Zeppelin, is born.
    1944--Birthday of 1944 Alice Walker, Black American essayist, poet, novelist, and womanist. Won 1983 Pulitzer Prize for her novel The Color Purple (1982). Her Warrior Marks and Possessing the Secret of Joy take up the horrendous practice of female genital mutilation in some African locations.
    1945--*CICCHETTI, JOSEPH J. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 148th Infantry, 37th Infantry Division. Place and date: South Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands, 9 February 1945. Entered service at: Waynesburg, Ohio. Birth: Waynesburg, Ohio. G.O. No.: 115, 8 December 1945. Citation: He was with troops assaulting the first important line of enemy defenses. The Japanese had converted the partially destroyed Manila Gas Works and adjacent buildings into a formidable system of mutually supporting strongpoints from which they were concentrating machinegun, mortar, and heavy artillery fire on the American forces. Casualties rapidly mounted, and the medical aid men, finding it increasingly difficult to evacuate the wounded, called for volunteer litter bearers. Pfc. Cicchetti immediately responded, organized a litter team and skillfully led it for more than 4 hours in rescuing 14 wounded men, constantly passing back and forth over a 400-yard route which was the impact area for a tremendous volume of the most intense enemy fire. On 1 return trip the path was blocked by machinegun fire, but Pfc. Cicchetti deliberately exposed himself to draw the automatic fire which he neutralized with his own rifle while ordering the rest of the team to rush past to safety with the wounded. While gallantly continuing his work, he noticed a group of wounded and helpless soldiers some distance away and ran to their rescue although the enemy fire had increased to new fury. As he approached the casualties, he was struck in the head by a shell fragment, but with complete disregard for his gaping wound he continued to his comrades, lifted 1 and carried him on his shoulders 50 yards to safety. He then collapsed and died. By his skilled leadership, indomitable will, and dauntless courage, Pfc. Cicchetti saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers at the cost of his own.
    1950 - During a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Senator Joseph McCarthy (Republican-Wisconsin) claims that he has a list with the names of over 200 members of the Department of State that are "known communists." The speech vaulted McCarthy to national prominence and sparked a nationwide hysteria about subversives in the American government. He did untold damage to many people's lives and careers, had a muzzling effect on domestic debate on Cold War issues, and managed to scare millions of Americans. McCarthy, however, located no communists and his personal power collapsed in 1954 when he accused the Army of coddling known communists. Televised hearings of his investigation into the U.S. Army let the American people see his bullying tactics and lack of credibility in full view for the first time, and he quickly lost support. The U.S. Senate censured him shortly thereafter and he died in 1957.
    1952---Top Hits
Slowpoke - Pee Wee King
Cry - Johnnie Ray
Anytime - Eddie Fisher
Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses) – Lefty Frizzell
    1957-After nine weeks, Guy Mitchell's "Singing the Blues" is pushed out of Billboard's top spot by Elvis Presley's "Too Much".
    1958-A report by the American Research Bureau cites Dick Clark's American Bandstand as the top-ranked daytime television program, drawing an average of 8,400,000 viewers per day.
    1959-Lloyd Price reached number one on the Billboard Pop chart with "Stagger Lee", an up-dated version of an old Folk song called "Stack-O-Lee". Wilson Pickett would take the song to number 22 in 1967.
    1960---Top Hits
Teen Angel - Mark Dinning
Where or When - Dion & The Belmonts
Handy Man - Jimmy Jones
He'll Have to Go - Jim Reeves
    1962-Neil Sedaka records "Breaking up Is Hard to Do"
    1962-Neil Sedaka records "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", which will become his 5th US Top Ten hit and first number one by the following August. Neil's ballad version of the song would peak at number eight in February 1976.
    1963-Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson, who were billed as Paul and Paula, had the top tune in the US with "Hey Paula".
    1963-Ray Hildebrand and Jill Jackson, who were billed as Paul and Paula, had the top tune in the US with "Hey Paula".
    1963- Ruby and the Romantics' "Our Day Will Come" enters the pop charts
    1963-Birthday of country singer Travis Tritt.
    1963 - The first Boeing 727 took off, becoming the world's most popular way to fly. Before production was stopped in 1984, 1,832 of the aircraft were built.
    1964 -- Arthur Ashe, Jr., becomes first African American on US Davis Cup Team.
    1964- the Beatles made their live US television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show." "I Want to Hold Your Hand" could barely be heard over the screams from the audience, who were also treated to "All My Loving," "Till There Was You," "She Loves You" and "I Saw Her Standing There." There were 50,000 requests for the 725 available seats. The Beatles appeared on the show again a week later. Each program was watched by an estimated 70-million people, the highest rating at the time.
    1968---Top Hits
Green Tambourine - The Lemon Pipers
Spooky - Classics IV
Love is Blue - Paul Mauriat
Skip a Rope - Henson Cargill
    1969 - The Boeing 747 took its first flight, ushering flew in the age of the jumbo jet. As manager of the Chamber of Commerce of San Bruno, “The Airport City,” we issued gold, silver, and copper coins to celebrate the event. They are considered collected items today.
    1969 - Roslyn Kind quietly made her television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show". Ed said she was "...America's teenager who wasn't protesting or playing a guitar." Although she only appeared once, her sister appeared many times. Roslyn Kind is Barbra Streisand's sister.
    1969--*PROM, WILLIAM R. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company 1, 3d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Near An Hoa, Republic of Vietnam. 9 February 1969. Entered service at: Pittsburgh, Pa. Born: 17 November 1948, Pittsburgh, Pa. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machinegun squad leader with Company 1, in action against the enemy. While returning from a reconnaissance operation during Operation TAYLOR COMMON, 2 platoons of Company 1 came under an intense automatic weapons fire and grenade attack from a well concealed North Vietnamese Army force in fortified positions. The leading. element of the platoon was isolated and several marines were wounded. L/Cpl. Prom immediately assumed control of 1 of his machineguns and began to deliver return fire. Disregarding his safety he advanced to a position from which he could more effectively deliver covering fire while first aid was administered to the wounded men. Realizing that the enemy would have to be destroyed before the injured marines could be evacuated, L/Cpl. Prom again moved forward and delivered a heavy volume of fire with such accuracy that he was instrumental in routing the enemy, thus permitting his men to regroup and resume their march. Shortly thereafter, the platoon again came under heavy fire in which 1 man was critically wounded. Reacting instantly, L/Cpl. Prom moved forward to protect his injured comrade. Unable to continue his fire because of his severe wounds, he continued to advance to within a few yards to the enemy positions. There, standing in full view of the enemy, he accurately directed the fire of his support elements until he was mortally wounded. Inspired by his heroic actions, the marines launched an assault that destroyed the enemy. L/Cpl. Prom's indomitable courage, inspiring initiative and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1970 - Sly and The Family Stone were awarded a gold record for the single, "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)". At the time Sly (Sylvester) Stewart was a disc jockey in Oakland, California.
    1971 - An earthquake measuring 6.6 struck the San Fernando Valley in California, killing 58 people. Property damage reached $900 million.
    1971 -- Satchel Paige becomes first Negro-league player elected to baseball Hall of Fame.
Sometimes I feel like I will never stop 
Just go forever 
Till one fine morning 
I'll reach up and grab me a handful of stars 
and swing out my long lean leg 
and whip three hot strikes burning down the heavens 
and look over at God and say 
How about that! 
— Samuel Allen, "To Satch"
http://www.negroleaguebaseball.com/history101.html
    1975-- Cher's solo TV show premiered. Among the guests were Elton John, Bette Middler and Flip Wilson.
    1976---Top Hits
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover - Paul Simon
Love to Love You Baby - Donna Summer
You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate
Sometimes - Bill Anderson & Mary Lou Turner
    1984---Top Hits
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Joanna - Kool & The Gang
Running with the Night - Lionel Richie
Show Her - Ronnie Milsap
    1987 - Just twenty years after the first woman was admitted to the New York Stock Exchange, the Exchange Luncheon Club decided to put in a women's rest room. Prior to this gracious offer, the women had to walk down a flight of stairs.
    1987 - A storm off the Atlantic coast produced high winds and heavy snow in the northeastern U.S., with blizzard conditions in eastern Massachusetts. Wind gusted to 80 mph and 23.4 inches of snow produced drifts eight feet high at Cape Cod MA. It was the worst blizzard in thirty years for the Cape Cod area. Winds in some of the mountains and ridges of the Appalachian Region gusted to 100 mph
    1989 - A winter storm continued to bring rain and snow to southern California. Snowfall totals ranged up to 18 inches at Olancha, with three inches at Palmdale.
    1990 - Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front erupted over eastern Texas late in the morning, and produced severe weather as they swept across the southeastern states. Early evening thunderstorms spawned a tornado which injured one person at Nat TX, and produced tennis balls size hail which caused more than half a million dollars damage around Shreveport, LA.
    1992-Three months after announcing his retirement ( On November 7,1991) from the NBA because he had been infected with HIV, Magic Johnson led the West to a 153-113 victory over the East in the 42 nd NBA All-Star Game. Magic was named All-Star Game MVP for the second time.
    1997 - "The Simpsons" became the longest-running prime-time animated series. The record was previously held by "The Flintstones".
    2010-Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr became the 2,401st person to be added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame during a ceremony that marked the 50th anniversary of the attraction's groundbreaking. The Beatles as a group were given a star in 1998.