March 3

Today in History
• 78 - Origin of Saka Era (India)
• 1575 - Indian Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Bengali (Battle of Tukaroi)
• 1634 - 1st tavern in Boston opens (Samuel Cole)
• 1791 - The U.S. Congress passed a resolution that created the U.S. Mint
• 1845 - Florida became the 27th U.S. state
• 1849 - The U.S. Department of the Interior was established
• 1849 - The U.S. Congress created the territory of Minnesota
• 1885 - The U.S. Post Office began offering special delivery for first-class mail


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Caregiver Appreciation Day
• Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
• Missouri Compromise Day
• National Anthem Day
• Navy Reserves Birthday
• Peach Blossom Day
• World Day of Prayer
• World Wildlife Day

Birthdays
• 1455 - King John II of Portugal (d. 1495)
• 1520 - Matthias Flacius, Croatian Protestant reformer
• 1678 - Madeleine de Verchères, French Canadian heroine
• 1778 - Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Hanover
• 1805 - Jonas Furrer, first President of the Swiss Confederation
• 1823 - Gyula Andrássy Sr, Prime Minister of Hungary (1867-71)
• 1838 - George William Hill, US astronomer (calculated Moon's orbit)
• 1847 - Alexander Graham Bell, born in Scotland, inventor of the telephone