1988 5½-year horseback ride Two men begin a horseback journey from the southern tip of South America to the Arctic Circle, completing the voyage in September of 1993.

1968 First statewide teachers strike in the U.S., more than half of Florida's public school teacher walk out protesting poor pay and inadequate funding of education.

1949 First Bollingen Prize for Poetry is awarded, Ezra Pound for Pisan Cantos.

1945 World War II - U.S. troops land on Iwo Jima With more than 7,000 U.S. soldiers killed, it was one of the costliest battles of the war.

1942 World War II 110,000 Japanese-Americans are ordered by Pres. Roosevelt to relocate in U.S. prison camps. Two-thirds of these people were citizens.

1923 Hindus The U.S. Supreme Court decides that Hindus are not eligible for U.S. citizenship.

1922 First radio stage show Ed Wynn stars in The Perfect Fool on WJZ of Newark, New Jersey.

1878 Phonograph Thomas Edison receives a patent for the first phonograph.

1807 First arrest of a U.S. Vice-President Former Vice-Pres. Aaron Burr is arrested for treason against the U.S. He had organized an armed militia of about 60 men; the exact purpose of which has never been determined. He was acquitted.

1700 Gregorian calendar is adopted by Denmark and Norway Today's date became March 1.

1682 Gregorian calendar is adopted by Strassburg, Germany Today's date became March 1.

1966 Justine Bateman American actress. TV: Family Ties (Mallory Keaton).

1960 Prince Andrew Duke of York.

1955 Margaux Hemingway American actress, model. Film: They Call Me Bruce? (1982). She is the granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway.

1946 Karen Silkwood d. 1974 American labor union activist. She died in a car crash while investigating irregularities at her employer's Kerr-McGee nuclear fuels plant. Many suspect foul play and that a folder containing her evidence was removed from the crash.  Her estate was awarded $10.5 million in a negligence suit against Kerr-McGee Corp. for radiation contamination.  They eventually settled for $1.38 million.  The film Silkwood is based on her experiences.

1940 Smokey Robinson (William Robinson, Jr.), American singer, with The Miracles. Music: Shop Around (1961) and The Tears of a Clown (1970, #1).

1924 Lee Marvin d. 1987 American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Cat Ballou (1965, Oscar) and The Dirty Dozen (1967). TV: M Squad (Lt. Frank Ballinger).

1916 Eddie Arcaro d. 1997 American Hall of Fame jockey. He was the first jockey to win the Triple Crown twice (1941, 1948), and he is a 5-time winner of the Kentucky Derby. Source: Famous First Facts

1909 Selden Rodman d. 2002 American author. He edited One Hundred American Poems (1948), which became the first paperback published by Signet Books.

1902 John Bubbles d. 1986 (John William Sublett), American tap dancer, creator of Rhythm Tap. Known for his role as Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess (1935).

1865 Sven Hedin d. 1952 Swedish explorer, scientist. His explorations (1899-1902) provided the first substantial knowledge of Tibet to the rest of the world.

1817 William III d. 1890 King of Holland (1849-90). In 1862 he decreed the end of slavery in the Dutch West Indies.

1473 Nicolaus Copernicus d. 1543 Polish astronomer, developed the concept of the Sun as the center of the solar system.

1986 Adolfo Celi b. 1922 Italian actor. Film: Thunderball (1965, one-eyed SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo).

1962 George Papanicolaou b. 1883 Greek-born American physician, inventor of the Pap Smear test for cervical cancer.

1951 André Gide b. 1869 French author, winner of Nobel Prize for literature (1947). The Catholic Church placed his works on the Index of Forbidden Books (1952). Quote: The color of truth is gray.

1936 William "Billy" Mitchell b. 1879 American brigadier general. His persistent lobbying for a strong air force was ridiculed by military leaders and led to his being busted to private.

1916 Ernst Mach b. 1838 Austrian physicist. The unit of measure of speed "Mach" is named for him.

1897 Charles Blondin b. 1824 (Jean Francois Gravelet), French acrobat, aerialist. He is best remembered for crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He also crossed it blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow, carrying a man on his back, and on stilts.

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