March 17
In New York City, the first parade honoring the Catholic feast day of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is held by Irish soldiers serving in the British army. – 1762.
The leadership of the American Federation of Labor selects the carpenters union to lead the eight-hour movement. Carpenters throughout the country strike in April; by May 1, 46,000 carpenters in 137 cities have achieved shorter hours. – 1890.
March 18
In New York City, Henry Wells and William G. Fargo join with several other investors to launch their namesake business. The discovery of gold in California in 1849 prompted a huge spike in the demand for cross-country shipping. Wells and Fargo decided to take advantage of these great opportunities. In July 1852, their company shipped its first loads of freight from the East Coast to mining camps scattered around northern California. – 1852.
At 3:05 p.m. approximately 300 students are killed by a natural gas explosion at the Consolidated School of New London, Texas. School officials were persuaded to save money by tapping into wet-gas lines, a less stable waste gas, rather than the standard natural gas. – 1937
The U.S. Post Office’s first mass work stoppage in 195 years begins in Brooklyn and Manhattan and spreads to 210,000 of the Nation’s 750,000 postal employees. Mail service is virtually paralyzed in several cities, and president Richard Nixon declares a state of emergency. A settlement came after two weeks. – 1970.
March 19
The United States, along with coalition forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiates war on Iraq. Just after explosions began to rock Baghdad, Iraq’s capital, U.S. president George W. Bush announces in a televised address, “At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.” President Bush and his advisors built much of their case for war on the idea that Iraq, under dictator Saddam Hussein, possessed, or was in the process of building weapons of mass destruction. – 2003.
March 20
U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson notifies Alabama’s governor George Wallace that he will use federal authority to call up the Alabama National Guard in order to supervise a planned civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery. – 1965.
Several packages of deadly sarin gas are set off in the Tokyo subway system that kill 12 persons and injure more than 5,000. Sarin gas was invented by the Nazis and is one of the most lethal nerve gases known to man. Tokyo police quickly learned who had planted the chemical weapons and began tracking down the terrorists. Thousands of checkpoints were set up across the Nation in the massive dragnet. – 1995.
March 21
A storm system arises in the Gulf of Mexico and spawns a devastating series of tornadoes that kills more than 350 persons across the U.S. Southeast over two days. Thousands were seriously injured and many were left homeless. – 1932.
U.S. president Jimmy Carter informs a group of U.S. athletes that, in response to the December 1979 Soviet incursion into Afghanistan, the United States will boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. It marked the only time that the United States boycotted the Olympic Games. – 1980.
March 22
In response to public fears and congressional investigations into communism in the United States, president Harry S Truman issues an executive decree to establish a sweeping loyalty investigation of federal employees. – 1947.
The Equal Rights Amendment is passed by the U.S. Senate and sent to the states for ratification. It reads, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.” – 1972.
A bitter six-and-one-half year UAW strike at Caterpillar Inc. ends. The Union reached an agreement with the Company covering 13,000 workers in four states. – 1998.
March 23
The initials “O.K.” are first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for “oll correct,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time, OK steadily made its way into the every-day speech of Americans. – 1839.
At 7:20 in the morning, an explosion in the Place de la Republique in Paris announces the first attack of a new German gun. The Pariskanone, or Paris gun, as it came to be known, was manufactured by Krupps; it was 210mm, with a 118-foot-long barrel. Three shots are fired on Paris from a gun site at CrÉpy-en-Laonnaise, 74 miles away. – 1918.
Five days into the U.S. Post Office’s first mass work stoppage in 195 years, president Richard Nixon declares a national emergency and orders 30,000 troops to New York City to break the strike. The troops did not have a clue how to sort and deliver mail: A settlement came a few days later. – 1970.