March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). There are 304 days remaining.

Events

• 986 - Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
• 1717 - The Loves of Mars and Venus became the first ballet performed in England.
• 1791 - Long distance communication was speeded up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
• 1807 - The United States ... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country."
• 1836 - Texas Revolution: Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
• 1855 - Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
• 1861 - Nevada Territory and Dakota Territory organized as political divisions of the United States.
• 1877 - U.S. presidential election, 1876: 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 (Reconstruction ends).
• 1899 - In Washington State, USA, Mount Rainier National Park is established.
• 1901 - The U.S. Congress passes the Platt amendment, limiting the autonomy of Cuba as a condition for the withdrawal of American troops.
• 1903 - In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
• 1917 - The enactment of the Jones Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
• 1919 - The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
• 1923 - TIME magazine hits newsstands for the first time.
• 1933 - King Kong premieres in New York City.
• 1939 - Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
• 1943 - World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea - United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
• 1946 - Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
• 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.
• 1955 - King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia abdicates the throne in favor of his father, King Norodom Suramarit.
• 1956 - Morocco declares its independence from France.
• 1962 - In Hershey, Pennsylvania, Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers scores 100 points against the New York Knicks, breaking several National Basketball Association records.
• 1962 - In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup.
• 1963 - Release of Please Please Me in the United Kingdom, first LP from The Beatles.
• 1969 - In Toulouse, France the first Concorde test flight is conducted.
• 1969 - Soviet and Chinese forces clash at a border outpost on the Ussuri River.
• 1972 - The Pioneer 10 spaceprobe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
• 1974 - Worldwide hit single Seasons in the Sun first hit #1 on the Billboard charts.
• 1978 - Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian and non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
• 1985- TV anime series Mobile Suit Z Gundum broadcasted its first episode in Japan.
• 1987- Chrysler acquires American Motors
• 1989 - 12 European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
• 1990 - Nelson Mandela elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
• 1992 - Moldova is member of the UN
• 1995 - Nick Leeson is arrested for his role in the collapse of Barings Bank.
• 1998 - Data sent from the Galileo spaceprobe indicates that Jupiter's moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
• 2003 The first International Symposium on Taiwan Sign Language Linguistics held at Chung Cheng University.
• 2004 - Voters in Georgia vote on a referendum concerning that state's flag.
• 2004 - Disgruntled by the state's education act (Act 60), residents of Killington, Vermont vote to become part of New Hampshire.
• 2004 - War in Iraq: Al Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
• 2004 - War in Iraq: A United Nations report from the weapons inspection teams states that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction of any significance after 1994, despite widespread belief to the counter before the invasion.

Births

• 1316 - King Robert II of Scotland, (d. 1390)
• 1779 - Joel Roberts Poinsett, U.S. statesman, botanist (d. 1851)
• 1793 - Sam Houston, President of the Republic of Texas, (d. 1863)
• 1810 - Pope Leo XIII, (d. 1903)
• 1824 - Bedrich Smetana, composer, (d. 1884)
• 1829 - Carl Schurz, German revolutionist and American statesman, (d. 1906)
• 1849 - Robert Means Thompson, naval officer, (d. 1930)
• 1859 - Sholom Aleichem, novelist, (d. 1916)
• 1876 - Pope Pius XII, (d. 1958)
• 1900 - Kurt Weill, composer, (d. 1950)
• 1902 - Moe Berg, baseball player, spy
• 1904 - Dr. Seuss, author, (d. 1991)
• 1908 - Walter Bruch, engineer, (d. 1990)
• 1909 - Mel Ott, Baseball Hall of Famer, (d. 1958)
• 1914 - Martin Ritt, director, (d. 1990)
• 1917 - Desi Arnaz, actor, bandleader, musician, (d. 1986)
• 1919 - Jennifer Jones, actress
• 1926 - Murray Rothbard, American economist, (d. 1995)
• 1931 - Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union
• 1931 - Tom Wolfe, author
• 1942 - John Irving, author
• 1942 - Lou Reed, singer and guitarist
• 1943 - Peter Straub, author
• 1944 - Uschi Glas, actress
• 1948 - R. T. Crowley, writer, pioneer of EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
• 1948 - Jeff Kennett, Australian politician, Victorian premier
• 1949 - Eddie Money, singer
• 1949 - JPR Williams, Welsh rugby player
• 1950 - Karen Carpenter, singer and drummer, (d. 1983)
• 1952 - Laraine Newman, comedian
• 1955 - Jay Osmond, American pop star / drummer for "The Osmond Brothers"
• 1956 - Mark Evans, bassist of AC/DC
• 1956 - John Cowsill (musician)/drummer, singer, The Cowsills and The Beach Boys
• 1962 - Jon Bon Jovi, singer, songwriter, and actor
• 1962 - Morioka Hiroyuki, writer, conlanger
• 1977 - Heather McComb, actress
• 1981 - Bryce Dallas Howard, actress
• 1982 - Ben Roethlisberger, American football quarterback
• 1985 - Robert Iler, actor

Deaths

• 986 - Lothar, King of the Franks, Holy Roman Emperor, (b. 795)
• 1880 - Sir John MacNeill civil engineer, (b. 1790)
• 1895 - Berthe Morisot, Impressionist painter, (b. 1841)
• 1921 - King Nicholas I of Montenegro (b. 1841)
• 1930 - D. H. Lawrence, writer, (b. 1885)
• 1938 - Ben Harney, US composer and ragtime pianist (b. 1871)
• 1939 - Howard Carter, British archaeologist (b. 1874)
• 1953 - Jim Lightbody, American middle-distance runner, (b. 1882)
• 1960 - Stanisław Taczak, Polish general, commander-in-chief of the Greater Poland Uprising (1918-1919) against the Germans (b.1874)
• 1982 - Philip K. Dick, science fiction author, (b. 1928)
• 1987 - Randolph Scott, actor, (b. 1898)
• 1991 - Serge Gainsbourg, singer, (b. 1928)
• 1992 - Sandy Dennis, actress
• 1999 - Dusty Springfield, singer, (b. 1939)
• 2001 - John Diamond, British journalist, (b. 1953)
• 2003 - Hank Ballard, singer, composer
• 2003 - Roger Needham, Computer scientist, (b. 1935)
• 2003 - Malcolm Williamson, Australian composer, (b. 1931)
• 2004 - Marge Schott, former owner of the Cincinnati Reds (b. 1928)
• 2004 - Mercedes McCambridge, actress (b. 1918), Oscar winner for All the King's Men; later became the raspy voice of demon-possessed girl in The Exorcist.

Holidays and observances

• Bahá'í Faith - Feast of 'Alá (Loftiness) - First day of the 19th month of the Bahá'í Calendar
• Bahá'í Faith - Beginning of the Fast (sunrise to sunset fast for 19 days)

March 1 - March 3 - February 2 - April 2 -- listing of all days