1589 - William Bradford, Pilgrim father, Governor of Plymouth Colony, one of the early residents of the American colonies, was born at Yorkshire, England. He sailed from Southampton, England, on the Mayflower in 1620. His wife Dorothy fell off the Mayflower and drowned on 7 December 1620, when it was anchored in Provincetown Harbor. He died at Plymouth, MA on May 9, 1657 (OS).
http://www.pilgrimhall.org/bradfordwilliam.htm
http://members.aol.com/calebj/bradford.html
http://members.aol.com/calebj/letterbook.html
    1628 - The Massachusetts Bay colony was founded by Englishmen with a grant from England.
    1674 - French Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette erected a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan, in present day Illinois. His log cabin became the first building of a settlement that afterward grew to become the city of Chicago.
    1687 - The French explorer La Salle is murdered in by his own men while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
    1734 - Birthday of Thomas McKean, signer of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of Pennsylvania. Born at Chester County, PA, he died June 24, 1817.
http://virtualology.com/hallofusa/uspresidents/thomasmckean.net/
    1748 - The English Naturalization Act passed granting Jews the right to colonize in the American colonies
    1785 - The first city college was the College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, which was founded in 1770, but chartered this day. On December 20, 1837, it became a municipal university under municipal control.
    1798 - President John Adams informs Congress of the failure of US negotiations with France. France had been America's major ally in the War of Independence, and without its assistance the United States may not have won independence. But the new government of Revolutionary France viewed a 1794 commercial agreement between the United States and Great Britain, known as Jay's Treaty, as a violation of France's 1778 treaties with the United States. The French initiated seizures of American ships trading with their British enemies and refused to receive a new United States minister when he arrived in Paris in December, 1796. In his annual message to Congress at the close of 1797, President John Adams had reported on France's refusal to negotiate and spoke of the need "to place our country in a suitable posture of defense."
    1822 – Boston incorporated as a city.
    1831 – The first bank robbery in US history was reported. The City Bank of New York City lost $245,000.
    1847 - Painter Albert Pinkham Ryder was born at New Bedford, MA, where he gained a great love for the sea, the subject of many of his works. Ryder was a misanthrope and recluse. He dedicated himself to his painting, working slowly and piling layer after layer of paint on his canvases until he achieved the look he was after. In his lifetime, Ryder created only 150 paintings. Three of his best-known works are “The Race Track”,” Toilers of the Sea” and “Siegfried and the Rhine Maidens”. Ryder died Mar 28, 1917, at Elmhurst, NY. Because of his method of painting, many of his works have deteriorated since their creation.
http://www.artunframed.com/albert_pinkham_ryder.htm
    1848 - Birthday of Wyatt Earp at Monmouth, IL.  A legendary figure of the Old West, Earp worked as a railroad hand, saloonkeeper, gambler, lawman, gunslinger, miner and real estate investor at various times. Best known for the gunfight at the OK Corral on Oct 26, 1881, at Tombstone, AZ.  Earp died Jan 13, 1929, at Los Angeles, CA. 
    1860 - Birthday of William Jennings Bryan at Salem, IL.  American political leader, member of Congress, Democratic presidential nominee (1896), "free silver" advocate, assisted in prosecution at Scopes trial, known as "The Silver-Tongued Orator." Died at Dayton, TN, July 26, 1925.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar19.html
    1863 – The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000.
    1864 - Birthday of Charles M. Russell, St. Louis, Missouri. He moved to Montana at about age 16 and became a cowboy. Considered one of the greatest Western artists, he recorded the life of the cowboy in his artwork.
http://www.cmrussell.org/
    1865 - Confederate General Joseph Johnston makes a desperate attempt to stop Union General William T. Sherman's drive through the Carolinas in the war's last days, but Johnston's motley army cannot stop the advance of Sherman's mighty army at the Battle of Bentonville.  Following his famous March to the Sea in late 1864, Sherman paused for a month at Savannah, Georgia. He then turned north into the Carolinas, destroying all that lay in his path in an effort to demoralize the South and hasten the end of the war. Sherman left Savannah with 60,000 men divided into two wings. He captured Columbia, South Carolina, in February and continued towards Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he planned to meet up with another army coming from the coast. Sherman assumed that Rebel forces in the Carolinas were too widely dispersed to offer any significant resistance, but Johnston assembled 17,000 troops and attacked one of Sherman's wings at Bentonville on March 19. The Confederates initially surprised the Yankees, driving them back before a Union counterattack halted the advance and darkness halted the fighting. The next day, Johnston established a strong defensive position and hoped for a Yankee assault. More Union troops arrived and gave Sherman a nearly three to one advantage over Johnston. When a Union force threatened to cut off the Rebels' only line of retreat on March 21, Johnston withdrew his army northward. The Union lost 194 men killed, 1,112 wounded, and 221 missing, while the Confederates lost 240 killed, 1,700 wounded, and 1,500 missing. About Sherman, Johnston wrote to Lee that, "I can do no more than annoy him." A month later, Johnston surrendered his army to Sherman.
    1881 - Birthday of Edith Nourse Rogers was a YMCA and Red Cross volunteer in France during World War I. In 1925, she was elected to the US Congress to fill the vacancy left by the death of her husband. An able legislator, she was reelected to the House of Representatives 17 times and became the first woman to have her name attached to major legislation. She was a major force in the legislation creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (May 14, 1942) during World War II. Rogers was born at Saco, ME, and died Sept 10, 1960, at Boston.
    1883 - African-American Jan Matzeliger invented the first machine to manufacture entire shoe
http://www.invention.org/culture/african/matzeliger.html
    1891 - Birthday of Earl Warren in LA.  American jurist, 14th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, Governor of California. He went from a crusading attorney general to a very conservative, right wing governor, they claim, and became one of the most liberal on the bench, hated by those who one time applauded him for his very conservative political actions.  Died at Washington, DC, on July 9, 1974.
    1895 – The Los Angeles Railway was established to provide streetcar service.
    1897 - Vocalist/comedian Jackie “Moms” Mabley was born in Brevard, NC
    1903 – The Senate ratified the Cuban treaty, gaining naval bases in Guantanamo and Bahia Honda.
   1904 - Birthday of John Joseph Sirica, “The Watergate Judge,” at Waterbury, CT. During two years of trials and hearings, Sirica relentlessly pushed for the names of those responsible for the June 17, 1972 burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington’s Watergate Complex. His unwavering search for the truth ultimately resulted in the toppling of the Nixon administration. Judge John Sirica died August 15, 1992, at Washington, DC.
    1908 – Maryland barred Christian Scientists from practicing without medical diplomas.
    1914 - John Jacob "Jay" Berwanger was born in Dubuque, IA.  Berwanger was the first winner of the Downtown Athletic Club’s Trophy in 1935.  The following year the award was renamed the Heisman Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding college football player. Berwanger had been a star at the University of Chicago. In 1936, Berwanger became the first player to be drafted by the NFL in its inaugural draft.   He died in 2002.
    1917 – The Supreme Court upheld the Adamson Act that made the eight-hour workday for railroads constitutional.
    1918 - Anniversary of passage by the Congress of the Standard Time Act, which authorized the Interstate Commerce Commission to establish standard time zones for the US. The Act also established "Daylight Saving Time," to save fuel and to promote other economies in a country at war. Daylight Saving Time first went into operation on Easter Sunday, Mar 31, 1918. The Uniform Time Act of 1966, as amended in 1986, by Public Law 99-359, now governs standard time in the US.  Currently in the US, daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November, with the time changes taking place at 2:00 a.m. local time.  In spring, the clock jumps forward from the last moment of 01:59 standard time to 03:00 DST and that day has 23 hours, whereas in autumn the clock jumps backward from the last moment of 01:59 DST to 01:00 standard time, repeating that hour, and that day has 25 hours. A digital display of local time does not read 02:00 exactly at the shift to summer time, but instead jumps from 01:59:59.9 forward to 03:00:00.0.
    1919 - Blind pianist Lennie Tristano was born in Chicago, IL
http://www.lennietristano.com/
    1920 - Birthday of bassist Curly Russell, New York City. (Played a lot with Bird).
    1920 – The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles for the second time.
    1921 - Gospel vocalist Bobby McFerrin, Sr., was born in Marianna, AR
    1927 - Don Richard “Richie” Ashburn was born at Tilden, NE. Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder, Ashburn won two National League batting titles and collected 2,574 hits over a 15-year career. He was a key member of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies, known as the Whiz kids. After retiring, he broadcast Phillies games for 35 years. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995. Died at New York, NY, September 9, 1997.
    1930 - Alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman was born in Fort Worth, TX.  An iconoclastic saxophonist and composer, his experiments in free-form improvisation sharply divided the jazz establishment upon his emergence in 1959. Largely self-taught, he played in rhythm-and-blues bands before settling in Los Angeles in 1951, where he gradually formed a quartet of musicians who were receptive to his unorthodox ideas. He first recorded in 1958 and made his New York debut the following year. He made a series of important recordings in 1959-61 that shaped the direction of jazz for the next twenty years. A sporadic performing artist after the early 1960s, he occasionally led both a conventional jazz quartet and the rock band Prime Time, but turned increasingly to composition, producing several works for symphony orchestra in accordance with his "harmolodic theory." Most commonly played a “plastic” alto saxophone.
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_coleman_ornette.htm
    1931 - The state of Nevada legalizes gambling.
    1933 - Birthday of Phillip Roth, American novelist and short-story writer, in Newark, NJ.  He first gained attention with the 1959 novella “Goodbye, Columbus”, an irreverent and humorous portrait of American-Jewish life.  His profile rose significantly in 1969 after the publication of the controversial “Portnoy’s Complaint”, the humorous and sexually explicit psychoanalytical monologue of "a lust-ridden, mother-addicted young Jewish bachelor," filled with "intimate, shameful detail, and coarse, abusive language.”
    1935 - Suffocating dust storms occurred frequently in southeastern Colorado between the 12th and the 25th of the month. Six people died, and many livestock starved or suffocated. Up to six feet of dust covered the ground. Schools were closed, and many rural homes were deserted by tenants.
    1936 – Actress Ursula Andress was born in Switzerland.  She is best known for her role as Honey Rider in the first James Bond film, “Dr. No”, for which she won a Golden Globe. She later starred as Vesper Lynd in the Bond-parody, “Casino Royale”
    1937 – Count Basie and his band open at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem for the first time.
    1937 – Pianist/vocalist Clarence “Frogman” Henry was born in Algiers, LA.
(I have all his records. He is best known for: ”I Ain’t Got No Home”, “But I Do [I Don’t Know Why”)
http://www.tsimon.com/henry.htm
    1941 - The US aircraft carrier Lexington departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to deliver aircraft to Midway Island. Because of this mission, the Lexington inadvertently avoided the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 07 December. It was later to play a pivotal role in the Japanese defeat at Midway. Other US ships were not as lucky. Japanese carrier-based planes attacked the bulk of the US Pacific fleet moored in Pearl Harbor, sinking or severely damaging nineteen naval vessels, including eight battleships. 
    1941 - The 99th Pursuit Squadron also known as the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black unit of the US Army Air Corps, was activated at Chanute Field in Rantoul, IL.
    1943 – Mobster Frank Nitti, Al Capone’s underboss, committed suicide at the Chicago Central rail yard.
    1944 – The convicted assassin of Robert F. Kennedy, Sirhan B. Sirhan was born in Jerusalem.  He continues serving a life sentence in prison in San Diego.
    1945 - Kamikaze attacks USS Franklin off Japan. In a maneuver heralded as one of the greatest feats in naval history, the light cruiser USS Santa Fe bellied up alongside the flaming Franklin and rescued over 800 sailors while still being stalked by Japanese fighter pilots.  724 were killed and the Franklin made it to port under its own power.
    1945 - O'CALLAHAN, JOSEPH TIMOTHY, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Commander (Chaplain Corps), U.S. Naval Reserve, U.S.S. Franklin. Place and date: Near Kobe, Japan, 19 March 1945. Entered service at: Massachusetts. Born: 14 May 1904, Boston, Mass. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as chaplain on board the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy Japanese aircraft during offensive operations near Kobe, Japan, on 19 March 1945. A valiant and forceful leader, calmly braving the perilous barriers of flame and twisted metal to aid his men and his ship, Lt. Comdr. O'Callahan groped his way through smoke-filled corridors to the open flight deck and into the midst of violently exploding bombs, shells, rockets, and other armament. With the ship rocked by incessant explosions, with debris and fragments raining down and fires raging in ever-increasing fury, he ministered to the wounded and dying, comforting and encouraging men of all faiths; he organized and led firefighting crews into the blazing inferno on the flight deck; he directed the jettisoning of live ammunition and the flooding of the magazine; he manned a hose to cool hot, armed bombs rolling dangerously on the listing deck, continuing his efforts, despite searing, suffocating smoke which forced men to fall back gasping and imperiled others who replaced them. Serving with courage, fortitude, and deep spiritual strength, Lt. Comdr. O'Callahan inspired the gallant officers and men of the Franklin to fight heroically and with profound faith in the face of almost certain death and to return their stricken ship to port.
    1945 - BURR, HERBERT H., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 41st Tank Battalion, 11th Armored Division. Place and date: Near Dorrmoschel, Germany, 19 March 1945. Entered service at: Kansas City, Mo. Birth: St. Joseph, Mo. G.O. No.: 73, 30 August 1945. Citation: He displayed conspicuous gallantry during action when the tank in which he was bow gunner was hit by an enemy rocket, which severely wounded the platoon sergeant and forced the remainder of the crew to abandon the vehicle. Deafened, but otherwise unhurt, S/Sgt. Burr immediately climbed into the driver's seat and continued on the mission of entering the town to reconnoiter road conditions. As he rounded a turn he encountered an 88-mm. antitank gun at pointblank range. Realizing that he had no crew, no one to man the tank's guns, he heroically chose to disregard his personal safety in a direct charge on the German weapon. At considerable speed he headed straight for the loaded gun, which was fully manned by enemy troops who had only to pull the lanyard to send a shell into his vehicle. So unexpected and daring was his assault that he was able to drive his tank completely over the gun, demolishing it and causing its crew to flee in confusion. He then skillfully sideswiped a large truck, overturned it, and wheeling his lumbering vehicle, returned to his company. When medical personnel who had been summoned to treat the wounded sergeant could not locate him, the valiant soldier ran through a hail of sniper fire to direct them to his stricken comrade. The bold, fearless determination of S/Sgt. Burr, his skill and courageous devotion to duty, resulted in the completion of his mission in the face of seemingly impossible odds.
    1945 - GARY, DONALD ARTHUR,  Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Lieutenant, Junior Grade, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Franklin. Place and date: Japanese Home Islands near Kobe, Japan, 19 March 1945. Entered service at: Ohio. Born: 23 July 1903, Findlay, Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as an engineering officer attached to the U.S.S. Franklin when that vessel was fiercely attacked by enemy aircraft during the operations against the Japanese Home Islands near Kobe, Japan, 19 March 1945. Stationed on the third deck when the ship was rocked by a series of violent explosions set off in her own ready bombs, rockets, and ammunition by the hostile attack, Lt. (j.g.) Gary unhesitatingly risked his life to assist several hundred men trapped in a messing compartment filled with smoke, and with no apparent egress. As the imperiled men below decks became increasingly panic stricken under the raging fury of incessant explosions, he confidently assured them he would find a means of effecting their release and, groping through the dark, debris-filled corridors, ultimately discovered an escapeway. Stanchly determined, he struggled back to the messing compartment 3 times despite menacing flames, flooding water, and the ominous threat of sudden additional explosions, on each occasion calmly leading his men through the blanketing pall of smoke until the last one had been saved. Selfless in his concern for his ship and his fellows, he constantly rallied others about him, repeatedly organized and led fire-fighting parties into the blazing inferno on the flight deck and, when fire rooms 1 and 2 were found to be inoperable, entered the No. 3 fire room and directed the raising of steam in 1 boiler in the face of extreme difficulty and hazard. An inspiring and courageous leader, Lt. (j.g.) Gary rendered self-sacrificing service under the most perilous conditions and, by his heroic initiative, fortitude, and valor, was responsible for the saving of several hundred lives. His conduct throughout reflects the highest credit upon himself and upon the U.S. Naval Service.
    1945 – Sensing the end, Hitler issued his "Nero Doctrine" ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed.
    1946 - Vocalist Ruth Pointer of The Pointer Sisters was born Oakland, CA.
http://www.thepointersistersfans.com/ruth.html
    1948 - An F4 tornado moved through Fosterburg, Bunker Hill, and Gillespie, Illinois, killing 33 people and injuring 449. 2000 buildings in Bunker Hill were damaged or destroyed. Total damage was $3.6 million.
    1949 - The American Museum of Atomic Energy opened in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
    1950 - Sarah Vaughan records “Mean to Me”, (Columbia 745)
http://www.parsec-santa.com/celebrity/celeb_pages/SarahVaughn.html
    1950 - Timberline Lodge reported 246 inches of snow on the ground, a record for the state of Oregon.
    1950 - Top Hits
“I Said My Pajamas” - Tony Martin & Fran Warren
“Music, Music, Music” - Teresa Brewer
“If I Knew You Were Comin’ I’d’ve Baked a Cake” - Eileen Barton
“Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy” - Red Foley
    1951 - "The Caine Mutiny", a novel by Herman Wouk, was published for the first time. Wouk won a Pulitzer for the novel. He followed it with several more successes: "Marjorie Morningstar", "The Winds of War", and "War and Remembrance". 
    1953 - The Academy Awards celebrated their silver anniversary -- and came to television. NBC paid $100,000 for the rights to broadcast the event on both radio and TV, the first to be telecast, in black and white, to over 174 stations. Hollywood’s best turned out to hand out the Oscar statuettes for the movies of 1952. The party was held at the RKO Pantages Theater, Los Angeles, with Bob Hope hosting. A dual celebration was staged in New York City, where Conrad Nagel was host. The Best Picture award went to Cecil B. DeMille’s "The Greatest Show on Earth". Best Director was the legendary John Ford for "The Quiet Man". The rest of the best: Actor: Gary Cooper for "High Noon"; Supporting Actor: Anthony Quinn for "Viva Zapata!"; Actress: Shirley Booth for "Come Back, Little Sheba"; Supporting Actress: Gloria Grahame for "The Bad and the Beautiful"; Art Direction-Set Decoration/ Color: Paul Sheriff, Marcel Vertès for "Moulin Rouge"; Music/Song: Dimitri Tiomkin (music), Ned Washington (lyrics) for the song, "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’)", from "High Noon". 
    1954 - Viewers saw the first televised prize fight shown in living color as Joey Giardello knocked out Willie Tory in round seven of a scheduled 10-round bout at Madison Square Garden in New York.
    1954 – Willie Mosconi set the world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, OH. The record still stands today.
    1955 – Actor Bruce Willis was born in West Germany although he was raised in Carneys Point, NJ.
    1956 - New England had its second heavy snowstorm in 3 days. 20 inches piled up at Putnam, Connecticut, 19.5 inches fell at Blue Hill Observatory in Milton, Massachusetts, and Boston, Massachusetts recorded 13 inches. Traffic was paralyzed. This storm made a contribution to the snowiest march ever in southern New England (until 1993). 
    1957 - Although he wouldn't finalize the deal for six more days, Elvis Presley puts down a deposit to secure the 14-acre estate with a two-story colonial at 3734 Highway 51 South, Memphis, TN., later known as Graceland.
    1958 - Top Hits
“Don’t/I Beg of You” - Elvis Presley
“Sweet Little Sixteen” - Chuck Berry
“Dinner with Drac (Part 1)” - John Zacherle
“Ballad of a Teenage Queen” - Johnny Cash
    1958 - Big Records releases "Our Song," the first record by a teenage duo from Queens, New York, who go by the names of Tom and Jerry. The pair will become famous in the '60s under their real names, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.
    1962 – Bob Dylan released his first album, “Bob Dylan” for Columbia Records.
    1964 – Sean Connery began shooting “Goldfinger”.
    1965 - The wreck of the Confederate cruiser, SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000, was discovered by a teenage diver and pioneer underwater archeologist, E. Lee Spence, exactly 102 years after its destruction.
    1966 – Texas Western University won the 1966 NCAA basketball championship, the first to win with an all-black starting lineup.
    1966 - Top Hits
“The Ballad of the Green Berets” - SSgt Barry Sadler
“19th Nervous Breakdown” - The Rolling Stones
“Nowhere Man” - The Beatles
“Waitin’ in Your Welfare Line” - Buck Owens
    1966 - Lesley Gore guest stars as herself on the final "By Line -- Jeffrey Stone" episode of ABC-TV's “The Donna Reed Show” .
    1968 - Chuck Berry plays Winterland in San Francisco
http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/concerts/player.html?type=concert&ConcertID=200%7C1292
(Promised Land one of the best)
    1968 - BUCHA, PAUL WILLIAM,  Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company D, 3d Battalion. 187th Infantry, 3d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: Near Phuoc Vinh, Binh Duong Province, Republic of Vietnam, 16- 19 March 1968. Entered service at: U .S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. Born: 1 August 1943, Washington, D.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Bucha distinguished himself while serving as commanding officer, Company D, on a reconnaissance-in-force mission against enemy forces near Phuoc Vinh, The company was inserted by helicopter into the suspected enemy stronghold to locate and destroy the enemy. During this period Capt. Bucha aggressively and courageously led his men in the destruction of enemy fortifications and base areas and eliminated scattered resistance impeding the advance of the company. On 18 March while advancing to contact, the lead elements of the company became engaged by the heavy automatic weapon, heavy machine gun, rocket-propelled grenade, Claymore mine and small-arms fire of an estimated battalion-size force. Capt. Bucha, with complete disregard for his safety, moved to the threatened area to direct the defense and ordered reinforcements to the aid of the lead element. Seeing that his men were pinned down by heavy machine gun fire from a concealed bunker located some 40 meters to the front of the positions, Capt. Bucha crawled through the hail of fire to single-handedly destroy the bunker with grenades. During this heroic action Capt. Bucha received a painful shrapnel wound. Returning to the perimeter, he observed that his unit could not hold its positions and repel the human wave assaults launched by the determined enemy. Capt. Bucha ordered the withdrawal of the unit elements and covered the withdrawal to positions of a company perimeter from which he could direct fire upon the charging enemy. When 1 friendly element retrieving casualties was ambushed and cut off from the perimeter, Capt. Bucha ordered them to feign death and he directed artillery fire around them. During the night Capt. Bucha moved throughout the position, distributing ammunition, providing encouragement and insuring the integrity of the defense. He directed artillery, helicopter gunship and Air Force gunship fire on the enemy strong points and attacking forces, marking the positions with smoke grenades. Using flashlights in complete view of enemy snipers, he directed the medical evacuation of 3 air-ambulance loads of seriously wounded personnel and the helicopter supply of his company. At daybreak Capt. Bucha led a rescue party to recover the dead and wounded members of the ambushed element. During the period of intensive combat, Capt. Bucha, by his extraordinary heroism, inspirational example, outstanding leadership and professional competence, led his company in the decimation of a superior enemy force which left 156 dead on the battlefield. His bravery and gallantry at the risk of his life are in the highest traditions of the military service, Capt. Bucha has reflected great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1968 - Dean Martin received a gold record for the album, "Houston". Martin charted 17 hits on the pop music charts in the 1950s and 1860s. "Houston" was his 12th. 
    1969 - McMAHON, THOMAS J., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company A, 2d Battalion, 1st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division. place and date: Quang Tin province, Republic of Vietnam, 19 March 1969. Entered service at: Portland, Maine. Born: 24 June 1948, Washington, D.C. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp4c. McMahon distinguished himself while serving as medical aid man with Company A. When the lead elements of his company came under heavy fire from well-fortified enemy positions, 3 soldiers fell seriously wounded. Sp4c. McMahon, with complete disregard for his safety, left his covered position and ran through intense enemy fire to the side of 1 of the wounded, administered first aid and then carried him to safety. He returned through the hail of fire to the side of a second wounded man. Although painfully wounded by an exploding mortar round while returning the wounded man to a secure position, Sp4c. McMahon refused medical attention and heroically ran back through the heavy enemy fire toward his remaining wounded comrade. He fell mortally wounded before he could rescue the last man. Sp4c. McMahon's undaunted concern for the welfare of his comrades at the cost of his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
    1969 - RAY, DAVID ROBERT,  Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Hospital Corpsman Second Class, U.S. Navy, 2d Battalion, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 19 March 1969. Entered service at: Nashville, Tenn. Born: 14 February 1945, McMinnville, Tenn. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a HC2c. with Battery D, 2d Battalion, at Phu Loc 6, near An Hoa. During the early morning hours, an estimated battalion-sized enemy force launched a determined assault against the battery's position, and succeeded in effecting a penetration of the barbed-wire perimeter. The initial burst of enemy fire caused numerous casualties among the marines who had immediately manned their howitzers during the rocket and mortar attack. Undaunted by the intense hostile fire, HC2c. Ray moved from parapet to parapet, rendering emergency medical treatment to the wounded. Although seriously wounded himself while administering first aid to a marine casualty, he refused medical aid and continued his lifesaving efforts. While he was bandaging and attempting to comfort another wounded marine, HC2c. Ray was forced to battle 2 enemy soldiers who attacked his position, personally killing 1 and wounding the other. Rapidly losing his strength as a result of his severe wounds, he nonetheless managed to move through the hail of enemy fire to other casualties. Once again, he was faced with the intense fire of oncoming enemy troops and, despite the grave personal danger and insurmountable odds, succeeded in treating the wounded and holding off the enemy until he ran out of ammunition, at which time he sustained fatal wounds. HC2c. Ray's final act of heroism was to protect the patient he was treating. He threw himself upon the wounded marine, thus saving the man's life when an enemy grenade exploded nearby. By his determined and persevering actions, courageous spirit, and selfless devotion to the welfare of his marine comrades, HC2c. Ray served to inspire the men of Battery D to heroic efforts in defeating the enemy. His conduct throughout was in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. 
    1971 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit:  “Me and Bobby McGee,'' Janis Joplin. The song is the second posthumous No. 1 song of the rock era, reaching the top of the charts almost six months after Joplin's death.
    1972 - Immaculata College defeated West Chester State, 52-48, to win the first Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women national basketball tournament. The AIAW crowned a champion for 11 years, but most Division 1 teams entered the new NCAA tournament starting in 1982. 
    1974 - Jefferson Airplane is re-named Jefferson Starship. The line-up includes Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, drummer Johnny Barbata, David Freiberg, Peter Kaukonen, Cragi Chaquico and Papa John Creach.
    1974 - Top Hits
“Seasons in the Sun” - Terry Jacks
“Dark Lady” - Cher
“Sunshine on My Shoulders” - John Denver
“There Won’t Be Anymore” - Charlie Rich
    1977 - The final episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." It premiered on September 19, 1970 and ran for 168 episodes. "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was the first of a new wave of sitcoms to make it big in the early '70s. It combined good writing, an effective supporting cast and contemporary attitudes. The show centered on the two most important places in Mary Richards's (Mary Tyler Moore) life:  the WJM-TV newsroom and her apartment at Minneapolis. At home, she shared the ups and downs of life with her friend Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) and the manager of her apartment building, Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman). At work, as the associate producer (later producer) of "The Six O'clock News," Mary struggled to function in a man's world. Figuring in her professional life were her irascible boss Lou Grant (Ed Asner), levelheaded and softhearted news writer Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod) and self-obsessed, narcissistic anchorman Ted Baxter (Ted Knight). In the last episode the unthinkable happened:  everyone in the WJM newsroom except the inept Ted was fired. 
    1978 – Billy Joel played his first live gig in the UK, performing at London's Drury Lane Theatre.
    1979 – The House began telecasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN
    1980 - Elvis Presley's autopsy is entered into proceedings held by the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners against Dr. George Nichopoulos, better known to his clients -- including Elvis -- as "Dr. Nick." The doctor will eventually be found guilty of overprescribing the drugs that led to The King's death and will have his license revoked, even though he repeatedly took measures to cure Presley of his addiction.
    1982 - Top Hits
“Centerfold” - The J. Geils Band
“Open Arms” - Journey
“I Love Rock ’N Roll” - Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
“Blue Moon with Heartache” - Roseanne Cash
    1984 - A major winter storm produced blizzard conditions in northwestern Kansas and southern Nebraska. This storm, which began affecting the region on the 18th, dumped 10 to 20 inches of snow over the above mentioned areas. A severe ice storm occurred in northeastern Kansas with 1 inch ice accumulations common. The 1400 foot radio tower for KLDH-TV near Topeka buckled and then collapsed from the weight of a 3 inch coating of ice. This ice storm ranks as one of the worst ever to hit Kansas.
    1985 - IBM announced that it was planning to stop making the PCjr consumer-oriented computer. The machine had been expected to dominate the home computer market but didn’t quite live up to those expectations. In the 16 months that the PCjr was on the market, only 240,000 units were sold. A young software programmer purchased the rights to the operating system and started a “tiny” software operation compared to IBM to be called Microsoft in the near future. 
    1987 - Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned as head of the PTL Club due to a brewing sex scandal.
    1988 - Michael Jackson begins construction on his 2,800-acre ranch and private amusement park in Santa Barbara, CA, which he will name "Neverland" after a fantasy location in his favorite book, Peter Pan, a place where children never grow up. 
    1988 – Koufax clone Clayton Kershaw was born in Dallas.  The Dodgers’ lefty is a three-time Cy Young Award winner and was the 2014 NL MVP.  His career ERA is the lowest among starters in the live-ball era with a minimum of 1,000 innings pitched.  In a high school playoff game, he pitched an all-strikeout perfect game.
    1990 - Top Hits
“Escapade” - Janet Jackson
“Black Velvet” - Alannah Myles
“Roam” - The B-52’s
“Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart” - Randy Travis
    1991 - NFL owners stripped Phoenix of the 1993 Super Bowl game due to Arizona not recognizing Martin Luther King Day.
    1991 – The KC Royals put Bo Jackson on waivers.
    1997 - Major League Baseball owners gave final approval to the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers from Peter O’Malley to Fox Entertainment, a unit of media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s Australian-based news conglomerate, News Corp. O’Malley had inherited the Dodgers from his father, Walter, who moved the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles following the 1957 season, for which Brooklyn fans never forgave him. Critics of the $311 million sale to Murdoch’s company bemoaned the fact that one more team would no longer be family-owned. Nobody seemed happy about the sale except for Rupert Murdoch, reported never to have seen the team play in person.
    1998 - Seven cities in California and Nevada reported record high temperatures for the date as readings soared into the 80s and lower 90s. Los Angeles reported a record high of 89 degrees. Five cities in south central Texas reported record lows, including El Paso, with a reading of 22 degrees.
    1999 - Six cities reported new record low temperatures for the date as cold arctic air settled into the Upper Midwest for Palm Sunday, including Marquette, MI with a reading of 11 degrees below zero.
    2000 - Vector Data Systems conducted a simulation of the 1993 Branch Davidian siege in Waco, TX. The simulation showed that the government had not fired first.
    2002 - Operation Anaconda, the largest US-led ground offensive since the Gulf War, ended in eastern Afghanistan. During the operation, which began on March 2, it was reported that at least 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters were killed. Eleven allied troops were killed during the same operation.
    2003 - Operation Iraqi Freedom: At 9:30pm, EST, two hours past a deadline for Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to step down from power, US and British forces began air strikes against this regime. A ground campaign (adding Australian forces) followed quickly, and by April 9, Baghdad was in allied control and Hussein had disappeared. On May 1, President George W. Bush announced the end of major military operations in Iraq, although a peacekeeping force remains and faces violet and fatal attacks from insurgents. Hussein was captured by US forces on December 13, 2003. On June 28, 2004, Iraq regained its sovereignty. And on December 15, 2005, 70 percent of Iraqi’s registered voters turned out for parliamentary elections---one of the freest elections on record in the Arab world.
    2003 - Denver digs out from the second-biggest snowstorm in the city's history. Almost two and a half feet of wet snow over 36 hours shuts down the city. The month ends as Denver's snowiest March on record.
     2013 - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity discovered further evidence of water-bearing minerals.

NCAA Basketball Champions This date
    1955 - San Francisco
    1960 - Ohio State
    1966 - Texas Western