A day for the 53 Commonwealth countries to acknowledge their shared values, their diversity, and their combined contributions to international harmony and prosperity. Since 1977, this day of observance occurs in Canada on the second Monday in March. The Royal Union flag is flown at many federal locations, and students learn about the Commonwealth via special activities.
Victor Manuel Blanco(astronomer who helped build the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile)–
Kenneth Burns(singer)–
James Earl Ray(convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.)–
Chuck Norris(actor)–
David Rabe(playwright)–
Lance Burton(magician)–
Prince Edward(youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II)–
Mike Timlin(baseball player)–
Jon Hamm(actor)–
Lyne Bessette(professional bicycle racer)–
Shannon Miller(gymnast; Olympic gold medalist)–
Robin Thicke(musician)–
Carrie Underwood(singer)–
Emily Osment(actress)–
Died
Harriet Tubman(American abolitionist)–
Zelda Fitzgerald(wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald)–
Konstantin Chernenko(Soviet leader)–
Lloyd Bridges(actor)–
Danny Joe Brown(musician)–
Corey Haim(actor)–
Richard Wagamese(Ojibwe writer
)–
Emilio Delgado(actor; played Luis on Sesame Street
)–
Events
Thomas Jefferson became U.S. minister to France –
Thomas Jefferson presented a paper on the megalonyx (which was later determined to be an extinct giant ground sloth) –
U.S. national paper currency first issued –
The first royal wedding took place at Windsor Castle in St. George’s chapel. Edward, Prince of Wales, married Alexandra, Princess of Denmark –
Ulysses S. Grant became the Lt. Gen. of Union army in the Civil War –
Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first telephone message to his assistant saying, Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you. –
Commissioner George Scott Railton and seven women officers officially began the work of the Salvation Army in the U.S.(Battery Park, N.Y.C.) –
William Knox bowled first perfect 300 game in competition –
A 6.4 earthquake killed 120 people and caused $50 million in damages, Long Beach, California –
Mildred E. Gillars, who made wartime broadcasts for the Nazis under the name Axis Sally, was convicted of treason in Washington— she served 12 years in prison –
Tennessee Williams’s play, Sweet Bird of Youth, opened on Broadway –
James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and was sentenced to 99 years in prison –
U.S. Army Captain Ernest L. Medina was court-martialed on murder charges in connection with the My Lai incident of March 1968 (Vietnam War) –
Uranus rings discovered –
The Vatican declared its opposition to test tube fertilization, embryo transfer, and most other forms of scientific interference in procreation –
A previously healthy 25-year old man from Virginia became the first known fatality in the U.S. linked to raccoon rabies –
Weather
5.12 inches of rain fell in Wilmington, North Carolina –
Thirty-four degrees below zero F at International Falls, Minnesota –
In Colebrook, New Hampshire, snow was 21.5 feet deep –
