This Day In History

On March 1, 1867, Congress admitted Nebraska to the Union. The decision came after months of political conflict and even a presidential veto, placing the prairie state at the center of national debate during Reconstruction.

On February 28, 1797, Mary Lyon was born in Buckland, Massachusetts. From a modest New England farm, she would go on to found one of the first institutions in the United States devoted to the higher education of women.

Acclaimed author John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902, in Salinas, California. From that small farming town would come a writer whose novels captured the struggles of migrant workers, ranch hands, and families uprooted by the Great Depression.

Soldier and showman William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody, was born on February 26, 1846, in LeClaire, Iowa. “Buffalo Bill” was one of the most famous figures of the Old West, gaining increased prominence and popularity for his Wild West shows.

On February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry, killing all seven astronauts on board. The disaster stunned the nation and forced NASA to confront hard truths about risk, decision-making, and the future of human spaceflight.

On October 11, 1968, NASA launched Apollo 7, the first crewed mission of the Apollo program. The success of Apollo 7 would prove to be a crucial turning point, restoring faith in NASA’s ability to send humans safely to the Moon.

On July 26, 1971, Apollo 15 was launched, bringing the fourth American crew to the Moon’s surface.  Apollo 15 would become the first of three extended missions to the moon, known as K missions.  The mission was more focused on science than previous landings had been.  It also marked the first use of the lunar rover.

On June 29, 1995, the US Space Shuttle Atlantis docked the Russian space station Mir for the first time. The mission, STS-71, was the third in the US/Russian Shuttle-Mir program. It began on June 27, 1995, when the Atlantis launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the 100th US human space launch from Cape Canaveral.

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born on March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Better known as Dr. Seuss, he created some of America’s most popular children’s books and memorable characters still beloved today.

American soldier and politician Sam Houston was born on March 2, 1793, in Rockbridge County, Virginia.  He was a hero of the Texas Revolution and the first president of the Republic of Texas.

On March 2, 1899, William McKinley signed a bill establishing Mount Rainier National Park. It was the first national park created from land already set aside as forest reserves.

Carl Christian Schurz was born on March 2, 1829, in Liblar, Prussia, Germany (present-day Erftstadt).  Schurz commanded forces during the Civil War, reformed the Civil Service and was a vocal proponent of forest preservation.