DAILY ALMANAC
Today is Friday, March 3, the 62nd day of 2023. There are 303 days left in the year. On this date in:
1791: Congress passed a measure taxing distilled spirits; it was the first internal revenue act in U.S. history.
1845: Florida became the 27th state.
1849: The U.S. Department of the Interior was established.
1863: President Abraham Lincoln signed a measure creating the National Academy of Sciences.
1931: “The Star-spangled Banner” became the national anthem of the United States as President Herbert Hoover signed a congressional resolution.
1943: In London’s East End, 173 people died in a crush of bodies at the Bethnal Green tube station, which was being used as a wartime air raid shelter.
1945: The Allies fully secured the
Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese forces during World War II.
1960: Lucille Ball filed for divorce from her husband, Desi Arnaz, a day after they had finished filming the last episode of “The Lucille Ball-desi Arnaz Show.”
1966: Death claimed actors William Frawley at age 79 and Alice Pearce at age 48 in Hollywood.
1969: Apollo 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a mission to test the lunar module.
1974: Turkish Airlines DC-10 crashed shortly after takeoff from Orly Airport in Paris, killing all 346 people on board.
1991: Motorist Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur video. Twenty-five people were killed when a United Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashed while approaching the Colorado Springs airport.
2017: The Nintendo Switch, a hybrid game machine that works as both a console at home and a portable tablet on the go, made its debut.
2020: In a surprise move, the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a half-point, its largest cut in more than a decade, to support the economy in the face of the spreading coronavirus.
Singer-guitarist Mike Pender of The Searchers is 82. Movie producer-director George Miller (“Mad Max”) is 78. Actor Hattie Winston (“Becker”) is 78. Singer Jennifer Warnes is 76. Actor-director Tim Kazurinsky (“Police Academy” films) is 73. Musician Robyn Hitchcock is 70. Actor Robert Gossett (“Major Crimes,” “The Closer”) is 69.
Guitarist John Lilley of The Hooters is 69. Actor Miranda Richardson is 65. Actor Mary Page Keller (“Ryan’s Hope,” “Another World”) is 62. Actor Laura Harring (“Mulholland Drive,” “Gossip Girl”) is 59. Drummer
Duncan Phillips of Newsboys is 59. Rapperactor Tone Loc is 57. Actor Julie Bowen (“Modern Family”) is 53. Singer
Brett Warren of The Warren Brothers is 52. Actor David Faustino (“Married…with Children”) is 49. Gospel singer Jason Crabb is 46. Singer Ronan Keating of Boyzone is 46. Rapper Lil’ Flip is 42. Actor Jessica Biel is 41. Guitarist Joe “Blower” Garvey of Hinder is 39. Singer Camila Cabello is 26. Actor
Thomas Barbusca (“The Mick”) is 20.