In Ripon, Wisconsin, former members of the Whig Party met
to establish a new party to oppose the spread of slavery into
the western territories.

The Whig Party, which was formed in 1834 to oppose the
“tyranny” of President Andrew Jackson, had shown itself
incapable of coping with the national crisis over slavery.

By February 1854, anti-slavery Whigs had begun meeting in
the upper midwestern states to discuss the formation of a
new party. One such meeting, in Wisconsin on March 20,
1854, is generally remembered as the founding meeting of
the Republican Party.

Alvan Earle Bovay
(July 12, 1818 – January 13, 1903)

Horace Greeley
(February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872)

A pair of NASA astronauts, who were stranded in space for more
than nine months, returned to Earth on Tuesday, landing in the
Gulf of America off Tallahassee, Florida, bringing an end to an unforeseen odyssey.

NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

(Tenement Museum)

The first recorded parade honoring the Catholic feast day of
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland,was held in what is now
St. Augustine, Florida.

Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on
March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony under the direction of
the colony’s Irish vicar, Ricardo Artur.

More than a century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving
in the English military marched in Boston in 1737 and in 
New York City on March 1762. 

The dates of St.Patrick’s life cannot be fixed with
certainty, but there is general agreement that he
was active as a missionary in Ireland during the
fifth century.

The United States Military Academy—the first military school
in the United States, was founded by Congress for the purpose
of educating and training young men in the theory and practice
of military science. Located at West Point, New York, the U.S.
Military Academy is often simply known as West Point.

BAKERSFIELD, Mo.(FOX NEWS) – At least 18 people are dead
across three states following a widespread and dangerous
severe weather outbreak, which started on Friday and has
continued during the first half of the weekend.

Most of the destruction was in southeastern Missouri, where
the state’s highway patrol said six deaths occurred in Wayne
County, three were reported in Ozark County and two were
confined in Butler and Jefferson counties. St. Louis County
police said a woman there was found dead near electrical
lines in the backyard of her home.