Category: Today

On March 11, 1936, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was born.

March 10, 1762: Jean Calas, a Huguenot, died after torture, after having been wrongly convicted of killing his son; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.

On March 9, 1954, the CBS show “See It Now” reviewed Wisconsin Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy’s anti-Communism campaign.

On March 8, 1775, an anonymous writer published “African Slavery in America”, the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery. Some people think that Tom Paine was the author.

Other March 8 events:

In 1908, Jennings Randolph was born. Randolph was best known for sponsoring eleven times an amendment to the Constitution that would grant citizens aged between 18 and 21 the right to vote.

In 1917, seeking to limit the ability to maneuver with the filibuster, the Senate voted to establish the cloture rule.

In 1983, U.S. President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” He thus scored points for telling the obvious truth.

Estonian physicist, politician, and analyst of democracy, Rein Taagepera, was born on February 28, 1933. He is the author of “Predicting Party Sizes: The Logic of Simple Electoral Systems.”

On Feb. 27, 1933, Germany’s parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, was set on fire. The event was pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany, as the Nazis used the fire as evidence that the Communists were plotting against the German government, and promptly suspended civil liberties and arrested Communists in mass, including members of the parliament, leading to a gain in seats for the National Socialists.

On Feb. 27, 1951, the Twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, was ratified.

On Feb. 26, 1993, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City was detonated, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.

On Feb. 26, 1866, Herbert Henry Dow was born in Canada. He was a prolific inventor and a successful businessman, who founded the Dow Chemical Company in 1897.

The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, was ratified on February 27, 1951.

February 27 marks the Dominican Republic’s Independence Day.

On February 24 1803, the Supreme Court, in Marbury v. Madison, established the principle of judicial review.

February 14 marks Estonia’s Declaration of Independence, in 1918.