Today in History for 2nd March 2018:
Historical Events
1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris
1872 – Louis Riel goes into voluntary exile in St. Paul, Minnesota
1927 – Babe Ruth becomes highest paid baseball player ($ 70,000 per year)
1977 – Bette Davis is 1st woman to receive American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award
1994 – Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh promises to surrender if taped statement is broadcasted, it is, but he doesn’t
2000 – America’s Cup: Team New Zealand defeats Prada Challenge 5-0 to win in Auckland
Famous Birthdays
1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor (I Love Lucy), born in Santiago de Cuba (d. 1986)
1923 – Orrin Keepnews, American jazz producer and record label executive, born in NYC, New York
1934 – Bernard Rands, composer (Wildtrack), born in Sheffield, England
1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, Sayreville NJ, rocker (Bon Jovi-Give Love a Bad Name)
1962 – Terry Steinbach, New Ulm MN, catcher (Oakland A’s)
1967 – Bruce Boyko, CFL fullback (Winnipeg Blue Bombers)
Famous Deaths
1887 – Wilhelm Troszel, composer, dies at 63
1981 – Janear Hines, actress (Roberta-Julia), dies at 30
1991 – Freek Zoetmulder, publisher (Austrian Encyclopedia)/neo-nazi, dies
1991 – Clark Mollenhoff, US journalist (Pulitzer Prize), dies
1998 – Henry Steele Commager, American historian (Atlas of Civil War), dies at 95
2004 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (All the King’s Men, The Exorcist, Giant), dies at 87