March 2 in History

March 2 is the 61st day of the year. There are 305 days remaining until the end of the year.

• 1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus was the first ballet performed in England.
• 1791 – Long-distance communication sped up with the unveiling of a semaphore telegraph machine in Paris.
• 1797 – The Bank of England issued the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
• 1807 – US Congress passed an act to prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the US from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.
• 1836 – Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico.
• 1861 – Tsar Alexander II signed the emancipation reform into law, abolishing Russian serfdom.
• 1877 – Two days before inauguration, Congress declared Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote.
• 1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Windsor.
• 1899 – Mount Rainier National Park was established in Washington.
• 1903 – In New York City, the Martha Washington Hotel opened, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
• 1917– The enactment of the Jones-Shafroth Act granted Puerto Ricans US citizenship.
• 1933 – The film King Kong opened at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
• 1949 – The first automatic street light was installed in New Milford, Connecticut.
• 1953 – The Academy Awards were first broadcast on TV by NBC.
• 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain set the single-game scoring record in the NBA by scoring 100 points.
• 1983 – CD players and discs were released for the first time in the US.