What Happened On
Rodney King Beating
March 3, 1991
Rodney King becomes a beating victim of the Los Angeles police with the incident caught on videotape. The following year, L.A. street riots erupted after the four white police officers involved were acquitted.
TOPGUN
March 3, 1969
The United States Navy Fighter Weapons School is established at Naval Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California. The program is more popularly known as TOPGUN.
Now named the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (SFTI program), it teaches fighter and strike tactics and techniques to selected naval aviators and naval flight officers, who return to their operating units as surrogate instructors.
The 1986 movie Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise, was based on this school.
Photo Credit: BKP
Photo Credit: BKP
Elvis Presley's First TV Appearance
March 3, 1955
Elvis Presley makes his television debut, on the local television program Louisiana Hayride, carried by KSLA-TV, the CBS affiliate in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Elvis became so popular on Hayride that after his final appearance in 1956, emcee Horace Logan announced to the crowd the now famous phrase, "Elvis has left the building".
Elvis would make his national television debut the following January on Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey's Stage Show.
First Rock and Roll Song
March 3, 1951
19-year-old Ike Turner and his band The Kings of Rhythm record Rocket 88. It eventually reached #1 on the R&B charts and is considered by many to be the first rock and roll recording.
Watch Mr. Wizard
March 3, 1951
The long-running children's science show Watch Mr. Wizard debuts, starring Don Herbert as Mr. Wizard. The show ran until 1965.
Dillinger Escapes "Escape-Proof" Prison
March 3, 1934
The bank robber John Dillinger escapes from the "escape proof" Indiana Crown Point Maximum Security Prison. According to FBI files, he used a fake gun carved from a potato; however, he claimed it was carved out of wood, while others said he had a real gun.
Flag that flew over Fort McHenry inspiring the Star-Spangled Banner
Flag that flew over Fort McHenry inspiring the Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
March 3, 1931
Francis Scott Key's song The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the American national anthem by the U.S. Congress.
The anthem was adopted after a public outcry when a 1929 Ripley's Believe It or Not cartoon pointed out there was no American national anthem.
Key wrote the song in 1814 after seeing the American flag flying following the British bombardment of Ft. McHenry during the War of 1812.
Decatur's squadron off Algiers
Decatur's squadron off Algiers
U.S. Declares War Against Algeria
March 3, 1815
The Dey of Algiers had begun plundering U.S. ships. The U.S. squadron was commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur. This war marked the beginning of the end of piracy in the Barbary Coast.
President Bush
March 3, 2006
U.S. President George W. Bush proclaims in a speech, "I believe that a prosperous, democratic Pakistan will be a steadfast partner for America, a peaceful neighbor for India, and a force for freedom and moderation in the Arab world." However, Pakistan is neither democratic nor Arab.
National Bureau of Standards
March 3, 1901
National Bureau of Standards is established by the U.S. Congress.
First Use of Wireless Telegraphy to Save Lives at Sea
March 3, 1899
Rescuers are called after a British lightship is struck by a steamer.
Helen Keller (left age 8) with tutor Anne Sullivan
Helen Keller (left age 8) with tutor Anne Sullivan
Helen Keller
March 3, 1887
Anne Sullivan begins teaching six-year-old Helen Keller. She would eventually learn the manual alphabet, braille, and earn a B.A. degree (1904).
Special Delivery
March 3, 1885
Congress authorizes the U.S. Post Office to begin its new service.
First U.S. Postage-Due Stamps
March 3, 1879
Congress authorizes denominations of 1¢, 2¢, 3¢, and 5¢. They were first issued in May.
Comstock Act
March 3, 1873
The U.S. Federal law making it illegal to possess or distribute obscene materials is enacted. This included contraceptives and information pertaining to them.
Civil Service Commission
March 3, 1871
The agency is authorized by the U.S. Congress, but it was ineffective since no appropriations were made for expenses.
Serfdom Abolished by Czar Alexander II of Russia
March 3, 1861
The peasant farmers became tenant farmers.
U.S. Department of the Interior
March 3, 1849
U.S. Department of the Interior is established.
First U.S. Postage Stamps
March 3, 1847
The first stamps to be issued by the U.S. Post Office Department are authorized by Congress. They consisted of a 5¢ stamp featuring Benjamin Franklin and a 10¢ stamp featuring George Washington. They went on sale in July.
Florida
March 3, 1845
Florida becomes the 27th state.
Currency
March 3, 1835
U.S. establishes branch mints in New Orleans, Louisiana, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dahlonega, Georgia.
First U.S. Foreign Aid Bill
March 3, 1812
Congress passes a bill authorizing $50,000 for the relief of Venezuelan earthquake victims.
Tax collector being tarred and feathered
Tax collector being tarred and feathered
Whiskey Rebellion
March 3, 1791
Congress passes its first internal revenue law - an excise duty of 11 to 30 cents a gallon on stills and spirits distilled in the U.S. - prompting a revolt by western Pennsylvania farmers in 1794.
District of Columbia
March 3, 1791
District of Columbia is established by the U.S. Congress.
Birthdays
Doohan as Scotty
Doohan as Scotty
Scotty of Star Trek and D-Day Survivor
James Doohan (James Montgomery Doohan)
Born March 3, 1920 d. 2005
Canadian actor. Famous for his portrayal of Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott on Star Trek (1966-69, "I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!"). During the World War II D-Day invasion, Doohan shot two snipers while fighting with the Royal Canadian Artillery. However, he was hit by six rounds of friendly fire from a Canadian sentry. A round to his chest was stopped by a cigarette case he was carrying; a gift from his brother. A round to his hand required the amputation of his right middle finger. He also took four rounds in his leg.
Doohan choose the name Montgomery for his character, which is his middle name (in honor of his grandfather James Montgomery). He also helped create the Klingon and Vulcan languages for Star Trek.
TV: Star Trek: The Next Generation (1992) and Star Trek: The Animated Series (voicing Scotty and numerous other characters).
Jean Harlow (Harlean Carpenter)
Born March 3, 1911 d. 1937
American actress. Hollywood's original blond bombshell. Film: Platinum Blonde (1931), Bombshell (1933), and Riffraff (1936).
Charles Ponzi (Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi)
Born March 3, 1882 d. 1949
Italian swindler, con artist. He was famous for his "money pyramid" scheme (1919), now known as a "Ponzi Scheme," in which he bilked his investors of $20,000,000 before he was exposed.
His scheme was based on international reply coupons (IRCs). These were coupons you could buy in one country and redeem for return postage in another country. If these values were different, there was a potential profit. Since inflation after World War I had reduced Italy's postage compared to that the U.S., the coupons had an instant increase in value. Ponzi claimed that the net profit on these transactions was in excess of 400%. Ponzi promised investors that he would double their investment in 90 days, which he did for the initial investors. This original IRC scheme itself was perfectly legal. However, it was logistically impossible on a large scale because there was no easy way to convert the coupons to cash and the sheer volume of the coupons needed. For example, just to satisfy the initial 18 investors for their $1800 investment, it would have taken 53,000 postal coupons. By the time the operation was in full swing, it would have required 160 million IRCs, but there were only about 27,000 in circulation. It would have also required entire shiploads of coupons coming from Italy. When a financial writer suggested there was no way Ponzi could legally deliver such high returns in a short period of time, Ponzi sued for libel and won $500,000 in damages.
Instead of buying and selling IRCs, Ponzi simply paid the early investors with money from later investors. The scheme eventually collapsed, ruining the investors and causing the collapse of six banks. Ponzi served 3½ years in federal prison for mail fraud. When he got out he was convicted by the State of Massachusetts for larceny. While on bail appealing his state conviction, he fled to Florida and bilked investors by selling swamp land. He was eventually apprehended and served seven years in prison and then deported to Italy.
In his last interview before his death, he stated, "Even if they never got anything for it, it was cheap at that price. Without malice aforethought, I had given them the best show that was ever staged in their territory since the landing of the Pilgrims! It was easily worth fifteen million bucks to watch me put the thing over."
Inventor of the Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell
Born March 3, 1847 d. 1922
Scottish-born American inventor. He invented the telephone (1876) and the first successful phonograph record.
David Faustino
Born March 3, 1974
American actor. TV: Married… with Children (Bud Bundy).
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Born March 3, 1962
American track athlete. Winner of Olympic gold medals for the heptathlon (1988, 1992) and long jump (1988).
Herschel Walker
Born March 3, 1962
American football player, 1982 Heisman Trophy winner.
Tim Kazurinsky
Born March 3, 1950
American comedian. TV: Saturday Night Live.
Newman self-portrait
Newman self-portrait
Arnold Newman
Born March 3, 1918 d. 2006
American photographer. Contributor to Life, Look, Esquire, etc. Newman is credited with being the first photographer to use environmental portraiture, in which the background setting is used to capture the essence of the individual's life and work.
Father of the 82nd Airborne
Matthew Bunker Ridgway
Born March 3, 1895 d. 1993
American four-star general, "Father of the 82nd Airborne" and Army chief of staff (1953-55). He created the 82nd Airborne - the Army's first airborne division - during World War II.
Georg Cantor
Born March 3, 1845 d. 1918
German mathematician. He founded the theory of infinite ensembles, was one of the first to define real numbers, and co-developed the Cantor-Dedekind axiom describing the one-to-one correspondence between real numbers and points on a line.
Interior of an early Pullman Car
Interior of an early Pullman Car
George Pullman
Born March 3, 1831 d. 1897
American inventor. He invented the Pullman sleeping car (1864) with its folding upper bed. Although sleeper cars had been around since the 1830s, Pullman Cars were known for their luxury and comfort.
Joseph Wharton
Born March 3, 1826 d. 1909
American steel magnate. He founded Bethlehem Steel Co. and the world's first business school: Wharton School of Finance and Political Economy at the Univ. of Pennsylvania (1881).
Deaths
Developed Oral Polio Vaccine
Albert Sabin
Died March 3, 1993 b. 1906
Russian-born American microbiologist. He developed the oral polio vaccine (OPV) in 1955, which was administered by sugar cube to millions. The previous polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk was administered by injection.
By 1961, Sabin's OPV had been tested on at least 100 million people in the USSR, parts of Eastern Europe, Singapore, Mexico, and the Netherlands. Clinical trials of the OPV in the United States began in April 1960 on 180,000 Cincinnati school children. This effectively eradicated polio in Cincinnati.
Lou Costello (Louis Francis Cristillo)
Died March 3, 1959 b. 1906
American Comedian, Abbott's partner. He and Bud Abbott are the only two non-sportsmen honored in the Baseball Hall of Fame - for their 
"Who's On First" routine.
Bannister in 2009
Photo Credit: Pruneau
Bannister in 2009Photo Credit: Pruneau
First Person to Run a 4-Minute Mile
Roger Bannister
Died March 3, 2018 b. 1929
British runner. First person to run a 4-minute mile (1954, 3 minutes 59.4 seconds). According to his book, The Four-Minute Mile, his training consisted primarily of 30-minute runs consisting of hard intervals, 3-4 times a week.
David Ogden Stiers
Died March 3, 2018 b. 1942
American actor. TV: M*A*S*H (1977-83, Charles Emerson Winchester).
Arthur Murray (Moses Teichman)
Died March 3, 1991 b. 1895
American ballroom dance instructor. He operated a chain of dance studios bearing his name. Some of his pupils included Eleanor Roosevelt, the Duke of Windsor, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, and Jack Dempsey. He and his wife also the hosted The Arthur Murray Party (1950-60). It was one of only six shows to appear on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, DuMont). Some consider it the longest running commercial on TV.