Saturday 2 March 2024 Calendar with holidays, observances and special days

Texas Independence Day

Texas is popularly known as The Lone Star State. The lightning whelk is the official state shell. In 1836, delegates from throughout what was then known as the Mexican D..→

Holidays and observances

• Air Force Day in Sri Lanka
• Baloch Culture Day (Balochistan)
• CD Day
• Children's Day in New Zealand (celebrated on the first Sunday in March)
• Dr. Seuss Day
• Engineer's Day in Croatia (is celebrated on 2 March as a tribute to the date in 1878 on which first associatian of engineers was established in Croatia)
• Family Day in Mexico (Celebrated on the first Sunday in March)
• Fastelavn in Denmark and Norway (day on which Shrove Monday can fall)
• Grandmother's Day in France (La fête des grands-mères is celebrated on the first Sunday in March)
• James Ronald Webster Day in Anguilla
• NEA’s Read across America Day (Since 1997. National Education Association Read Across America Day is celebrated on March 2nd, the birthday of author Ted Geisel, a/k/a Dr. Seuss)
• Namesake Day (is celebrated every first Sunday of March)
• National Banana Cream Pie Day in USA
• Old Stuff Day
• Peasants' Day in Myanmar
• People's Sunday in Malta (celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent)
• Texas Independence Day

Events

• 2012 – A tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities
• 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
• 1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
• 1983 – Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
• 1978 – Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
• 1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
• 1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
• 1965 – The US and Republic of Vietnam Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
• 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
• 1961 – John F. Kennedy announces the creation of the Peace Corps in a nationally televised broadcast.
• 1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
• 1943 – World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea: United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
• 1941 – World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joins the Axis Pact.
• 1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
• 1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
• 1919 – The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
• 1917 – The enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
• 1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
• 1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
• 1901 – United States Steel Corporation is founded as a result of a merger between Carnegie Steel Company and Federal Steel Company which became the first corporation in the world with a market capital over $1 billion.
• 1877 – U.S. presidential election, 1876: Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on November 7, 1876.
• 1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
• 1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, begins.
• 1836 – Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
• 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
• 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
• 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
• 1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus is the first ballet performed in England.
• 1561 – Mendoza, Argentina is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro del Castillo.

Births

• 1991 – Nick Franklin, American baseball player. Nick Franklin is the former Executive Vice President of Next Generation Experience at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide.
• 1990 – Malcolm Butler, American football player. Malcolm Terel Butler (born March 2, 1990) is an American football cornerback for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL).
• 1989 – Shane Vereen, American football player. Shane Patrick-Henry Vereen (born March 2, 1989) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent.
• 1988 – Chris Rainey, American football player. Christopher "Chris" Rainey (born March 2, 1988) is a Canadian football running back for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
• 1985 – Reggie Bush, American football player. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints second overall in the 2006 NFL Draft.
• 1983 – Deuce, American singer-songwriter and producer. Deuce, Deuces, or The Deuce may refer to:
• 1983 – Glen Perkins, American baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins.
• 1983 – Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player. Ryan Patrick Shannon (born March 2, 1983) is a former American professional ice hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League (NHL).
• 1982 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player. Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (/ˈrɒθlɪsbɜːrɡər/; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
• 1982 – Corey Webster, American football player. He played college football at Louisiana State University.
• 1981 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress. She attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, but left before graduating to take on roles on Broadway.
• 1981 – Lance Cade, American wrestler (d. 2010), was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade.
• 1977 – Dominique Canty, American basketball player and coach. Dominique Danyell Canty (born March 2, 1977) is an American professional women's basketball player, most recently with the Washington Mystics in the WNBA.
• 1971 – Method Man, American rapper, record producer and actor. He is also one half of the hip hop duo Method Man & Redman.
• 1965 – Ron Gant, American baseball player and journalist. Ronald Edwin Gant (born March 2, 1965) is an American television news anchor and former baseball player who played for the Atlanta Braves (1987–1993), Cincinnati Reds (1995), St.
• 1964 – Laird Hamilton, American surfer and actor. Laird John Hamilton (born March 2, 1964) is an American big-wave surfer, co-inventor of tow-in surfing, and an occasional fashion and action-sports model.
• 1964 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1987), was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Mike Von Erich. His four brothers, David, Kerry, Kevin and Chris, also wrestled.
• 1963 – Alvin Youngblood Hart, American singer and guitarist. Alvin Youngblood Hart (born Gregory Edward Hart; March 2, 1963) is a Grammy Award-winning American musician.
• 1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor. Bon Jovi is best known as the founder and frontman of the Grammy Award-winning rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983.
• 1958 – Kevin Curren, South African-American tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5.
• 1956 – John Cowsill, American musician, songwriter, and producer. John Cowsill (born March 2, 1956 in Newport, Rhode Island) is an American musician, best known for his work as a singer and drummer with his siblings' band, The Cowsills.
• 1955 – Dale Bozzio, American pop-rock singer-songwriter. Dale Frances Bozzio (née Consalvi; born March 2, 1955) is an American rock and pop vocalist.
• 1955 – Jay Osmond, American singer, drummer, actor, and TV/film producer. Jay Wesley Osmond (born March 2, 1955) is a member of the Osmond family of performers.
• 1955 – Ken Salazar, American lawyer and politician, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior. He and Mel Martinez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S.
• 1953 – Russ Feingold, American lawyer and politician. Senators from January 3, 1993 to January 3, 2011, and was the Democratic nominee in the 2016 election for the same U.S.
• 1952 – Laraine Newman, American actress and comedian, was part of the original cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live, and played the villain Lawanda Dumore in the 1991 film Problem Child 2.
• 1952 – Mark Evanier, American author and screenwriter. Mark Stephen Evanier (/ˈɛvənɪər/; born March 2, 1952) is an American comic book and television writer, particularly known for his work on the animated TV series Garfield and Friends and on the comic book Groo the Wanderer.
• 1950 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (d. 1983), was an American singer and drummer who, along with her older brother Richard, was part of the duo the Carpenters. She was praised for her contralto vocals, and her drumming abilities were viewed positively by other musicians and critics.
• 1948 – Larry Carlton, American guitarist and songwriter. Larry Eugene Carlton (born March 2, 1948) is an American guitarist who built his career as a studio musician in the 1970s and '80s for acts such as Steely Dan and Joni Mitchell.
• 1943 – Peter Straub, American author and poet. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award.
• 1942 – John Irving, American novelist and screenwriter. John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is a US-Canadian novelist and screenwriter.
• 1942 – Lou Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (d. 2013), was an American musician, singer, songwriter and poet. He was the rhythm/lead guitarist, singer and principal songwriter for the rock band The Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades.
• 1941 – David Satcher, American admiral and physician, 16th Surgeon General of the United States. He was a four-star admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and served as the 10th Assistant Secretary for Health, and the 16th Surgeon General of the United States.
• 1939 – Jan Howard Finder, American author and academic (d. 2013), was an American academic administrator, career counselor, science fiction writer, filker, hostelling tour guide, cosplayer, and fan. He was a guest of honor at the 1993 Worldcon, ConFrancisco.
• 1938 – Clark Gesner, American author and composer (d. 2002), was an American composer, songwriter, author, and actor. He is probably best known for composing You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, a musical adaptation of the Charles M.
• 1938 – Lawrence Payton, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1997), was an American tenor, songwriter, vocal arranger, musician, and record producer for the popular Motown quartet, the Four Tops.
• 1935 – Gene Stallings, American football player and coach. Stallings was also the head coach of the St.
• 1934 – Dottie Rambo, American singer-songwriter (d. 2008), was an American gospel singer and songwriter. She was a Grammy and multiple Dove Award-winning artist.
• 1931 – Tom Wolfe, American journalist and author, was an American author and journalist widely known for his association with New Journalism, a style of news writing and journalism developed in the 1960s and 1970s that incorporated literary techniques.
• 1930 – John Cullum, American actor and singer. He earned his first Tony nomination as lead actor in a musical in 1966 for On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, in which he introduced the title song, and more recently received Tony nominations for Urinetown The Musical (2002) (best actor in a musical) and as best featured actor in a musical for the revival of 110 in the Shade (2007).
• 1926 – Murray Rothbard, American economist and historian (d. 1995), was an American heterodox economist of the Austrian School, historian, and a political theorist(pp11, 286, 380) whose writings and personal influence played a seminal role in the development of modern right-libertarianism. Rothbard was the founder and leading theoretician of anarcho-capitalism, a staunch advocate of historical revisionism and a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian movement.
• 1924 – Cal Abrams, American baseball player (d. 1997), was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1949 and 1956 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago White Sox.
• 1923 – Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014). Strack (March 2, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an American athletic director for the University of Arizona and head basketball coach of the University of Michigan.
• 1923 – Robert H. Michel, American soldier and politician (d. 2017), was an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years. He represented central Illinois' 18th congressional district, and was the GOP leader in Congress, serving as Minority Leader for the last 14 years (1981–1995) of a decades-long era of Democratic Party dominance of the House.
• 1922 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1999), was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League. During his 14-year career, he was the first defenceman to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
• 1922 – Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, American saxophonist (d. 1986). Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.
• 1922 – Frances Spence, American computer programmer (d. 2012). Spence (née Bilas; March 2, 1922 – July 18, 2012) was one of the original programmers for the ENIAC (the first electronic digital computer).
• 1921 – Ernst Haas, Austrian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1986), was an Austrian-American photojournalist and color photographer. During his 40-year career, Haas bridged the gap between photojournalism and the use of photography as a medium for expression and creativity.
• 1919 – Eddie Lawrence, American actor, singer, and playwright (d. 2014), was an American monologist, actor, singer, lyricist, playwright, artist, director and television personality, whose comic creation, the Old Philosopher, gained him a devoted cult following for over five decades.
• 1919 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (d. 2009), was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated for the Oscar five times, including one win for Best Actress, as well as a Golden Globe Award win for Best Actress in a Drama.
• 1919 – Tamara Toumanova, American ballerina and actress (d. 1996), was a Russian-American prima ballerina and actress. A child of exiles in Paris after the Russian Revolution of 1917, she made her debut at the age of 10 at the children's ballet of the Paris Opera.
• 1917 – David Goodis, American author and screenwriter (d. 1967), was an American writer of crime fiction noted for his output of short stories and novels in the noir fiction genre. Born in Philadelphia, Goodis alternately resided there and in New York City and Hollywood during his professional years.
• 1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1986), was a Cuban-born American actor, musician, bandleader, comedian and film and television producer. He is best known for his role as the witty Ricky Ricardo on the American television series sitcom I Love Lucy, where he co-starred with his then wife, dramatic and comedic actress Lucille Ball (1911–1989).
• 1917 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976), was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball and National League Most Valuable Player of 1950. He played for the Cincinnati Reds (1944), Boston Braves (1946), Philadelphia Phillies (1948–1954), New York Yankees (1954–1956) and St.
• 1914 – Martin Ritt, American actor and film director (d. 1990), was an American director and actor who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.
• 1913 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (d. 1958), was an American baseball pitcher who played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played from 1938 to 1949 for the St.
• 1912 – Henry Katzman, American pianist, composer, and painter (d. 2001), was a musician, composer, painter, and one of the founders of Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI).
• 1909 – Mel Ott, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 1958), was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from 1926 through 1947.
• 1905 – Marc Blitzstein, American composer and songwriter (d. 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-union musical The Cradle Will Rock, directed by Orson Welles, was shut down by the Works Progress Administration.
• 1904 – Dr. Seuss, American children's book writer, poet, and illustrator (d. 1991), was an American children's author, political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, animator, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He is known for his work writing and illustrating more than 60 books under the pen name Doctor Seuss (/suːs, zuːs/, abbreviated Dr.
• 1902 – Edward Condon, American physicist and academic (d. 1974), was a distinguished American nuclear physicist, a pioneer in quantum mechanics, and a participant in the development of radar and nuclear weapons during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. The Franck–Condon principle and the Slater–Condon rules are co-named after him.
• 1902 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (d. 1972), was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball, who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Although he played 15 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely for four American League teams, Berg was never more than an average player.
• 1900 – Kurt Weill, German-American pianist and composer (d. 1950), was a German Jewish composer, active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht.
• 1886 – Willis H. O'Brien, American animator and director (d. 1962), was an American motion picture special effects and stop-motion animation pioneer, who according to ASIFA-Hollywood "was responsible for some of the best-known images in cinema history," and is best remembered for his work on The Lost World (1925), King Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949), for which he won the 1950 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
• 1878 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, American sailor and race car driver (d. 1944), was a motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman, and a member of the prominent American Vanderbilt family.
• 1862 – John Jay Chapman, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1933), was an American author.
• 1860 – Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (d. 1961), was a U.S. politician and activist. She served as mayor of Argonia, Kansas, becoming the first woman elected as mayor and one of the first women elected to any political office in the United States.
• 1859 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (d. 1916), was a leading Yiddish author and playwright. The musical Fiddler on the Roof, based on his stories about Tevye the Dairyman, was the first commercially successful English-language stage production about Jewish life in Eastern Europe.
• 1849 – Robert Means Thompson, American commander, lawyer, and businessman (d. 1930), was a United States Navy officer, business magnate, philanthropist and a president of the American Olympic Association. He is the namesake of the destroyer USS Thompson (DD-627).
• 1836 – Henry Billings Brown, American lawyer and judge (d. 1913), was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 29 December 1890 to 28 May 1906. A respected lawyer and U.S.
• 1829 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, lawyer, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1906), was a German revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He emigrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–49 and became a prominent member of the new Republican Party.
• 1816 – Alexander Bullock, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882), was an American lawyer, politician, and businessman from Massachusetts. First a Whig and then a Republican, he served three terms (1866–69) as the 26th Governor of Massachusetts.
• 1793 – Sam Houston, American soldier and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1863). An important leader of the Texas Revolution, Houston served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas, and was one of the first two individuals to represent Texas in the United States Senate.
• 1779 – Joel Roberts Poinsett, American physician and politician, 15th United States Secretary of War (d. 1851), was an American physician and diplomat. He was the first U.S. agent in South America, a member of the South Carolina legislature and the United States House of Representatives, the first United States Minister to Mexico, a Unionist leader in South Carolina during the Nullification Crisis, Secretary of War under Martin Van Buren, and a co-founder of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts (a predecessor of the Smithsonian Institution).
• 1769 – DeWitt Clinton, American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of New York (d. 1828), was an American politician and naturalist who served as a United States Senator, Mayor of New York City and sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal.
• 1545 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (d. 1613), was an English diplomat and scholar who founded the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Deaths

• 2016 – Aubrey McClendon, American businessman (b. 1959)
• 2015 – Dean Hess, American minister and colonel (b. 1917)
• 2012 – James Q. Wilson, American political scientist and academic (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Van T. Barfoot, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Clem Labine, American baseball player (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Thomas S. Kleppe, American soldier and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1919)
• 2005 – Martin Denny, American pianist and composer (b. 1911)
• 2004 – Marge Schott, American businesswoman (b. 1928)
• 2004 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Hank Ballard, American singer-songwriter (b. 1927)
• 1994 – Anita Morris, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1943)
• 1992 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (b. 1937)
• 1987 – Randolph Scott, American actor and director (b. 1898)
• 1982 – Philip K. Dick, American philosopher and author (b. 1928)
• 1958 – Fred Merkle, American baseball player and manager (b. 1888)
• 1953 – James Lightbody, American runner (b. 1882)
• 1946 – George E. Stewart, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1872)
• 1938 – Ben Harney, American pianist and composer (b. 1871)
• 1921 – Champ Clark, American lawyer and politician, 41st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1850)
• 1896 – Jubal Early, American general (b. 1816)
• 1864 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (b. 1842)