This Week in US History

March 20

1816   The U.S. Supreme Court affirms its right to review the decisions of the state courts.

2003   One day after an air attack, a coalition of troops comprised mainly of U.S. and British forces invades Iraq, quickly overwhelming Saddam Hussein's army.

March 21

1617   Pocahontas, who died just before she was to begin her return voyage to Virginia, is buried in Gravesend, England.



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1788   A fire destroys 856 buildings in New Orleans, ruining most of the city.

1980   President Jimmy Carter announces the United States will boycott the Moscow Olympics in response to the Soviet Union's imvasion of Afghanistan.

March 22

1622   Algonquian Indians attack and kill some 350 English colonists near Jamestown, Virginia.

1946   The first U.S. rocket to leave the earth's atmosphere, launched from White Sands, New Mexico, reaches an altitude of 50 miles.



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March 23

1775   Patrick Henry delivers his "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech in Richmond, Virginia.

1965   America's first two-man space flight begins as Gemini 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral with astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young aboard.



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Young and Grissom (l-r)

March 24

1958   Elvis Presley is inducted into the Army for two year.  Click HERE for pictures and information on his induction day.  (pictures are copyrighted!)

1989   The tanker Exxon Valdez strikes a reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound, spilling an estimated 11 million gallons of oil.

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March 25

1634   About 200 hundred English settlers climbed off of two small ships named the Ark and the Dove anchored in the Potomac River, rowed ashore to a slice of land they named St. Clement's Island, erected a cross, and held a thanksgiving service.  It was the beginning of the colony of Maryland - a good day for religious freedom.

1911   A fire kills 146 garment workers at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City, leading the public to call for safety reforms.

March 26

1953   Dr. Jonas Salk announces that he has successfully tested a vaccine against polio.  To show that it was safe, he vaccinated himself and his whole family.  The research was funded by Americans who dug into their pockets and donated change to the March of Dimes.

1982   Ground-breaking ceremonies are held for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.


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