March 19
Today in America's Present Past
1589 | William Bradford was born.
1687 | Explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, was murdered by his men
1734 | Founder Thomas McKean was born.
1748 | Naturalization Act, also known as the Plantation Act, passed Parliament granting Jews the right to settle in North America.
1831 | The first known bank robbery in America occurred at the City Bank in New York, robbed of $245,000. Edward Smith was convicted of this deed and most of the money was recovered.
1845 | Activist Moorfield Storey was born.
1848 | Frontier lawman Wyatt Earp was born.
1851 | Entrepreneur William Henry Stark was born.
1860 | Politician William Jennings Bryan was born.
1865 | Civil War: Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina.
1883 | General Joseph W. Stilwell was born.
1891 | SCOTUS: Chief Justice Warren was born.
1892 | General James Van Fleet was born.
1918 | The US adopts Standard Time Act, also known as the Calder Act, a federal law implementing standard time (and daylight saving time) and defining time zones for the nation.
1920 | Congress: The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles for the second time.
1928 | Radio: “Amos & Andy” debuted.
1931 | Nevada legalized gambling.
1933 | Novelist Philip Roth was born.
1935 | Civil Rights: New York City Harlem race riots start.
1942 | WWII: Democrat President Roosevelt orders men between 45 & 64 to register for non-military duty.
1943 | Outlaw Frank Nitti committed suicide at the Chicago Central Rail yard.
1944 | Assassin of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Sirhan Sirhan, was born.
1945 | WWII: 800 are killed from a Kamikaze attack upon the USS Franklin.
1947 | Actress Glenn Close was born.
1953 | TV: The first televised “Academy Awards”
1955 | Actor Bruce Willis was born.
1962 | Music: “Bob Dylan” self titled first album debuted.
1979 | Congress: The House started televising sessions.
1987 | Cleric Jim Bakker resigned due to scandal.
2002 | War on Terror: Operation Anaconda ended.
2003 | War on Terror: Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
2005 | Engineer John DeLorean died.