On March 2, 1807, the U.S. Congress passes an act to
“prohibit the importation of slaves into any port or
place within the jurisdiction of the United States,
from any foreign kingdom, place, or country.” It
would go into effect at the start of the following
year.
On March 2, 1966, in Dearborn, Michigan, the Ford Motor
Company celebrated the production of its one millionth
Mustang, a white convertible.
The sporty, affordable vehicle was officially launched
two years earlier, on April 17, 1964, at the World’s Fair
in Flushing Meadows New York. ,
That same day, the new car debuted in Ford showrooms
across America; almost immediately, buyers snapped up
nearly 22,000 of them.
More than 400,000 Mustangs were sold within that first
year, exceeding sales expectations.
Within three years of its debut, approximately 500 Mustang
fan clubs had cropped up.
In 1999, in honor of the Mustang’s 35th anniversary, the
U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating
the original model.
Hattie McDaniel and Clark Gable from Gone with the Wind.
On February 29, 1940, Gone with the Wind was honored with
eight Oscars by the American Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences.
An epic Southern romance set during the hard times of the
Civil War, the movie swept the prestigious Best Picture,
Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Film
Editing, and Actress categories.
However, the most momentous award that night undoubtedly
went to Hattie McDaniel for her portrayal of “Mammy,” a
housemaid and former enslaved woman. McDaniel, who
won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award, was the
first African American actress or actor ever to be honored
with an Oscar.
Born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1895, McDaniel demonstrated
her talents as a singer and actress while growing up in
Denver, Colorado.
She left school while a teenager to become a performer in
several traveling minstrel groups and in 1924 became one
of the first African American women to sing on U.S. radio.
With the onset of the Great Depression, she was forced to
take work as a ladies’ washroom attendant in a Milwaukee
club.
The club, which hired only white performers, eventually
made an exception and let her sing, and she performed
there for a year before setting her sights on Hollywood.
On August 26, 1951, McDaniel suffered a stroke,
complicated by diabetes and a heart ailment,
and was admitted to the Temple Hospital in
Los Angeles.
She died of breast cancer on October 26, 1952.
On March 1, 1932, in a crime that captured the attention of
the entire nation, Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 20-
month-old son of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh
and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped from
the family’s new mansion in Hopewell, New Jersey.
Lindbergh, who became an international celebrity
when he flew the first solo flight across the Atlantic
Ocean in 1927, and his wife Anne discovered a
ransom note demanding $50,000 in their son’s empty
room.
The kidnapper used a ladder (below) to climb up to
the opens second-floor window and left muddy
footprints in the room.
Alphonse Gabriel Capone (1899 – 1947)
The Lindbergh’s were inundated by offers of
assistance and false clues. Even Al Capone
offered his help from prison.
SANDY KOZEL
