 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
March 1, 1961
President John F. Kennedy issues an executive order to establish the Peace Corps as a trial program. The program fulfilled Kennedy's plan to create a new army of volunteer civilians that would travel to and assist underdeveloped nations. The program still functions, enlisting thousands of Americans each year.
Source: www.historychannel.com
Image courtesy of the Peace Corps
March 2, 1899
With a stroke of his pen, President William McKinley signs legislation to create Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. The park, which covers nearly 400 square miles, was the fifth national park designated by Congress.
Source: Library of Congress
Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
March 4, 1976
An ice storm hits a large portion of southern Wisconsin and leaves a 4-inch coating of ice and more than $50 million in damages.
Source: Wisconsin History Day by Day
March 6, 1903
John P. Cullen & Bro. (now J.P. Cullen & Sons Inc., Janesville) gets started on construction of the Janesville Public Library. Andrew Carnegie provided a $30,000 grant for the project, which was one of 64 Carnegie libraries built in Wisconsin around that time.
Source: Wisconsin Historical Society
March 11, 1818
"Frankenstein" gets published. The book, written by 21-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, was created in 1816 in Geneva when Shelley, her husband and Lord Byron decided to each write a Gothic ghost story. Shelley was the only one to complete the story.
Source: www.historychannel.com
March 11, 1860
Architect Thomas Hastings is born. Hastings designed the New York Public Library, which was completed in 1902.
Source: www.historynet.com
Photo courtesy of Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection
March 21, 1963
Alcatraz Island, a federal penitentiary in California's San Francisco Bay, closes and becomes a national recreation area.
Source: www.historynet.com
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Foundation
March 29, 1806
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins survey work to prepare for construction of the Cumberland Road. The 130-mile national road, which reached completion in 1818, ran from Cumberland, Md., through the Appalachian Mountains to Wheeling, Va., on the Ohio River. Its popularity eventually led to an expansion to Indianapolis.
Source: www.historychannel.com
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Foundation
March 31, 1889
Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the Eiffel Tower, presides over the dedication of the structure. The tower, which honors the centenary of the French Revolution, stands 984 feet and features an iron frame supported by four masonry piers. The tower remained the tallest man-made structure in the world until the completion of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930.
Source: www.historychannel.com
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Foundation