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Yesterday-Today
March 2, This Day in History
On this day in 1127, in France, Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, which today is part
of Belgium, was assassinated as he knelt in prayer in church, hacked to death with broadswords
by a group of knights answering to the influential Erembald family.
Charles had taken action to prevent grain being hoarded during a time of famine, in
particular against the Erembald family who was engaged heavily in this activity.
Following a massive public outrage, the Erembalds were arrested and tortured to death.
On this day in 1776, during the American Revolution, General George Washington ordered American
artillery forces to bombard Boston from their positions at Lechmere Point, northwest of
the city center in advance of the Continental Army's occupation of Dorchester Heights, Massachusetts.
On this day in 1791, in France, long-distance communication sped up with the unveiling of
a semaphore machine in Paris, developed by engineer Claude Chappe.
At the height of the French Revolution, there was a desperate need for swift and reliable
communications in France as the French were surrounded by enemy forces of Britain, Spain,
Austria, Prussia and the Netherlands. Chappe and his brother sent a message 10 miles
(16 km) using a combination of black & white panels, clocks, telescopes and codebooks.
On this day in 1807, in the United States, Congress passed an act to "prohibit the importation
of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the U.S."
It took affect in 1808, the earliest date permitted by the United States Constitution.
However, it was not well enforced and slavery continued in the U.S. until the end of the
Civil War and the adoption of the 13th Amendment.
On this day in 1836, the Republic of Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico
at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos following the Texas revolution launched by
settlers in Mexican Texas in October 1835.
On this day in 1855, in Russia, Alexander II, aka Alexander the Liberator, became Tsar
of Russia upon the death of his father Nicholas I at the age of 37.
As a leader he would implement some of the most challenging reforms taken in Russia since
the reign of Peter the great. 26 years later, he would be assassinated in
public by a terrorist group.
On this day in 1865, during the U.S. Civil War, General George Custer's 5000 troops routed
2000 of Confederate General Jubal Early's army at Waynesboro, Virginia, bringing an
end to fighting in the Shenandoah Valley. A majority of the Confederates were captured,
however, General Early and his staff narrowly escaped over the Blue Ridge Mountains.
On this day in 1882, in England, Queen Victoria narrowly escaped an assassination attempt
by Scotsman Roderick McLean while riding in a carriage in Windsor.
A disgruntled poet, McLean was apparently offended by Victoria's refusal to accept one
of his poems and shot at the queen as her carriage left Windsor railway Station.
McLean was tried for high treason, but found not guilty by reason of insanity and lived
out the rest of his life in Broadmoor Asylum.
On this day in 1917, Puerto Rico was granted U.S. citizenship when President Woodrow Wilson
signed the Jones-Shafroth Act. The act granted US Citizenship to the people
of Puerto Rico and reformed the system of government in Puerto Rico.
On this day in 1939, at the Vatican, Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli was elected pope and took
the name Pius XII on his 63rd birthday. He would retain the position until his death
of acute heart failure on 9th October, 1958.
On this day in 1943, during World War 2, the Battle of the Bismark Sea began as U.S. and
Australian warplanes inflicted heavy damage on a Japanese convoy carrying troops to Lae
in New Guinea. All 8 troop transports and 4 of 8 destroyer
escorts were sunk. Out of 6,900 troops, only 1200 made it to Lae.
The Japanese made no further attempts ot reinforce Lae by ship, greatly hindering their efforts
to stop Allied offensives in New Guinea.
On this day in 1962, in sports, National Basketball Association center Wilt Chamberlain set the
scoring record for a single-game when he scored 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors beating
the New York Knicks 169 to 147. He also set 5 other league records during
that game, including most free throws made. Chamberlain was notably a poor free throw
shooter.
On this day in 1978, two men stole the corpse of film actor Sir Charles Chaplin from a cemetery
in the Swiss village of Corsier-sur-Vevey located in the hills above Lake Geneva, nrear
Lausanne. Chaplin had died on Christmas Day in 1977.
Chaplin's widow received a ransom note for $600,000 which she refused to pay.
After a 5 week investigation, police arrested 2 auto mechanics from Poland and Bulgaria
who led them to Chaplin's body buried in a cornfield.
Chaplin's family reburied his body in a concrete grave to prevent further theft attempts.
On this day in 1998, data sent from the unmanned NASA Galileo spacecraft, indicated that Jupiter's
moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
Europa's surface temperature averages about -160oC or -260oF at the equator, keeping its
icy crust as hard as granite. Scientists believe that heat energy from tidal flexing allows
the ocean below the crust to remain liquid.