This Week in History: February 28th – March 6th

Welcome to this week’s edition of the staff blog’s ‘This Week in History!’ You will find historical facts, happenings, and associated books; #1 box office movies; and #1 NY Times best sellers from years gone by, all with book recommendations included based on each topic. This will be a weekly feature, so make sure to check out each week’s posting! NOTE: Click on any of the below book/movie titles to be taken to them in our online Café catalog!

 

NY Times Fiction Bestsellers

 

#1 Box Office Movies

 

This Week in History

  • February 28th
    • 1953- The chemical structure of DNA is discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick. (United States/World)
    • 1993- The ATF raids the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. (United States)
    • 2013- Pope Benedict resigns from the papacy. (World)
  • March 1st
    • 1872- Yellowstone National Park is established as the world’s first national park. (United States/World)
    • 1932- Charles Lindbergh’s baby is kidnapped from a bedroom in their home, only to be discovered dead a few days later. The man convicted and executed for the crime two years later, Bruno Hauptmann, was found guilty on extremely flimsy evidence.(United States)
    • 1936- The Hoover Damn is completed on the Colorado River at the Arizona/Nevada border. (United States)
  • March 2nd
    • 1807- Congress abolishes the international African slave trade, but not trade within the states. (United States)
    • 1877- Rutherford B. Hayes is declared the winner of the disputed U.S. presidential election of 1876 after a special Electoral Commission awards him all contested electoral votes. Widely regarded by historians and scholars as an illegitimate victory, Hayes was awarded the presidency in exchange for a guarantee to withdraw federal troops from the South, which effectively ended Reconstruction and allowed for the rise of Jim Crow. (United States)
    • 1962- Wilt Chamberlain scores an NBA record 100 points in an NBA game. (United States)
  • March 3rd
    • 1845- Congress overrides presidential veto for the first time over the protests of President John Tyler. (United States)
    • 1931- The Star-Spangled Banner is officially adopted as the national anthem of the United States by act of Congress. (United States)
    • 1991- LA police officers brutally beat Rodney King following a traffic stop. Despite the assault being videotaped by random witness, the policemen were acquitted in 1992, causing large-scale rioting in the city. (United States)
  • March 4th
    • 1789- The U.S. Government effectively begins under the U.S. Constitution, with the first session of Congress held in New York City. (United States)
    • 1933- FDR is augurated for the first for four presidential terms. (United States)
    • 1952- Ernest Hemingway completes the novel The Old Man and the Sea, which would help him win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. (United States/World)
  • March 5th
    • 1770- The Boston Massacre occurs on this day, where British troops opened fire on a mob harassing them and kills five American colonists, an event that galvanizes anti-British feelings leading up to the American Revolution. (United States/World)
    • 1946- Winston Churchill delivers his famous ‘Iron Curtain’ speech in Fulton, Missouri. (United States/World)
    • 1953- Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR since 1924, dies at the age of 74. (World)
  • March 6th
    • 1857- One of the most notoriously awful U.S. Supreme Court cases, Dred Scott v. Sanford, is decided, which further inflames tensions in America over the issue of slavery. (United States)
    • 1899- Bayer patents aspirin, one of the most important drugs ever created in human history. (World)
    • 1964- Boxer Cassius Clay changes his name to Muhammad Ali, which was given to him by his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam. (United States)

Recommended Reading Related to Movies/Historical Happenings: