March 1st: A Day of Surprising Events in History

Take a trip through history with us on March 1st! From major events to interesting facts, this date has seen many surprising things happen. Watch this video to discover what makes March 1st a unique day in history.Find out what famous events took place on this date in history and learn something new! Whether you're a history buff or just curious, this video is a great way to explore the past and appreciate the significance of March 1st.Show more

1516 Printing is completed of Erasmus' "Novum Instrumentum omne", first published New Testament in Greek
1579 British admiral and explorer Francis Drake surprises and captures the Spanish treasure ship 'Nuestra Señora de la Concepción' off the coast of Peru, Drake's richest plunder
1642 Georgeana (York) in Maine becomes the 1st incorporated American city
1781 Continental Congress officially adopts the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States of America after ratification by the 13th state, Maryland
1790 1st US census authorized
1792 US Presidential Succession Act passed
1803 Ohio becomes 17th state of the Union
1845 US President John Tyler signs a resolution annexing the Republic of Texas
1847 Michigan becomes 1st English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the state)
1864 Rebecca Lee in the US becomes 1st African American woman to receive a medical degree
1867 Howard University, Washington, D.C., chartered
1872 Yellowstone becomes the world's 1st national park
1875 US Congress passes Civil Rights Act; invalidated by Supreme Ct, 1883
1890 1st US edition of Sherlock Holmes' first story "A Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle published
1896 Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity
1909 1st US university school of nursing established, University of Minnesota
1912 U.S. Army Captain Albert Berry performs first (attached-type) parachute jump from an airplane
1916 Germany begins attacking ships in the Atlantic
1932 The "Lindbergh kidnapping", 20 month old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh kidnapped from home in East Amwell, New Jersey, found dead 12 May
1936 Boulder (Hoover) Dam fully completed
1937 1st permanent automobile license plates issued (Ct)
1941 1st US commercial FM radio station goes on the air, Nashville, Tennessee
1941 Captain America created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby is first published by Timely Comics (premiere issue released on December 20, 1940)
1947 International Monetary Fund begins operation
1953 After an all-night movie and dinner session with his top advisers, Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses. He dies four days later.
1954 US explodes Castle Bravo, a 15 megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, which accidentally became the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the US
1961 US President JFK establishes the Peace Corps
1962 Kresge Corporation openes the first Kmart store in Garden City, Michigan
1971 Bomb attack on the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
1974 Watergate grand jury indicts 7 presidential aides
1977 Bank of America adopts the name VISA for its credit cards
1982 Russian spacecraft Venera 14 lands on Venus, sends back data
1993 Authorities near Waco, Texas, negotiate (unsuccessfully) with Branch Davidians
1996 New toll-free 888 area code introduced in USA
2002 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan as US special operations forces infiltrate the Shahi-Kot Valley in Eastern Afghanistan
2004 Terry Nichols is convicted of state murder charges and being an accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh
2023 Social media site TikTok announces a 60-minute daily screen time limit for users under 18, though with an opt-out clause, in response to concerns about its addictive and harmful algorithms