This Day In History

On March 30, 1842, Dr. Crawford W. Long used ether during surgery for the first time, allowing a patient to undergo a procedure without pain. That moment is now honored each year as National Doctors’ Day, recognizing both the event and the physicians who continue to apply medical science in practice.

On March 29, 1974, Mariner 10 became the first space probe to fly by Mercury. It would eventually send back over 2,700 photos, capturing nearly half of the planet’s surface.

On March 28, 1876, a Boston inventor received a patent that would transform the way America handled its mail. The Leavitt canceling machine didn’t just speed up a mundane postal task — it helped launch the modern era of mail processing. And it arrived at exactly the right moment.

On March 27, 1884, the first long-distance telephone call between New York and Boston proved that voices could travel hundreds of miles over a wire. That single connection helped shift the telephone from a local novelty into a system capable of linking entire regions.

On February 25, 1928, Bryce Canyon officially became Bryce Canyon National Park, securing permanent federal protection for one of America’s most unusual landscapes. What began as a remote stretch of pink cliffs and strange rock spires in southern Utah had become important enough to earn the highest level of preservation in the National Park System.

On December 9, 1962, Petrified Forest National Park was officially established, upgrading an already protected landscape into a full national park. The designation ensured stronger protection for its fossil-rich badlands, archaeological sites, and striking deposits of petrified wood, and it marked a major milestone in decades of preservation efforts.

On December 2, 1980, President Jimmy Carter established Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Today the park is part of one of the world’s largest international protected areas.

On September 18, 1870, a group of explorers stood on the banks of the Firehole River and watched as a geyser erupted in a towering column of steam and water. Amazed by its power and regularity, they gave it a name that has endured for more than 150 years — Old Faithful.

On March 31, 1951, Postal Note stamps were discontinued after just six years of use.

On March 31, 1918, daylight saving time went into effect for the first time in the United States. It was originally instituted as a wartime measure, but was later adopted permanently.

On March 31, 1736, a six-bed almshouse (home for the poor) was founded in New York City with construction starting only a year earlier.  That almshouse would eventually become Bellevue Hospital, which is often cited as the oldest public hospital in the US.

Author Mary Boykin Chesnut was born on March 31, 1823, near Stateburg, South Carolina. She kept a detailed diary of the Civil War from her perspective and the resulting book had been labeled a masterpiece and a work of art.