March 1
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Featured Event
U.S National Park Service
On this day in 1872, U.S. Pres. Ulysses S. Grant signed the act that established Yellowstone National Parkâwidely considered the first national park in the world. While the country had some protected land (such as Yosemite, which was a state park at the time), the act was instrumental to establishing federal protection for the land on a much larger scale. However, Yellowstoneâs creation forced many Native people to leave the land they had lived on for thousands of years. [Read todayâs edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Samir HusseinâWireImage/Getty Images
Born this day in 1983, Lupita Nyongâo is a Kenyan actress known for her ability to inhabit a diverse range of characters. She won an Academy Award for her debut role in 12 Years a Slave (2013).
Famous Birthdays
More on March 1
Pascal Le SegretainâGetty Images/Thinkstock
2014
Alain Resnaisâwho was a leader of the New Wave of unorthodox movie directors in France in the late 1950sâdied at age 91. [Test your knowledge of films.]
© Orhan Ăam/stock.adobe.com
2005
In a major capital punishment case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute people who were under age 18 at the time of their crimes. [Read about cruel and unusual punishments.]
© Larry Busacca/Getty Images
1994
Justin Bieber, a Canadian singer noted for his fresh-faced good looks and catchy pop numbers, was born in London, Ontario. [Take our quiz about pop music.]
© Arnie SachsâConsolidated News Pictures/Archive Photos/Getty Images
1961
The Peace Corps was established by U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy by means of the Peace Corps Act. Congress authorized the act in September of that year. [Test your knowledge of U.S. presidents.]
© American Broadcasting Company
1954
Ron Howard, who first achieved fame as a child actor and later became an Academy Award-winning director, was born. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about movies.]
OWI/FSA/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; photograph, Gordon Parks (LC-USW3-030278-D)
1940
Richard Wright published Native Son, a groundbreaking novel that explored systemic racism in the United States through its protagonist, Bigger Thomas, a poor Black man from the South Side of Chicago. [Learn more about the people, places, and events that shaped the 1940s.]
© Scott Latham/stock.adobe.com
1936
After five years of construction, the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River at the ArizonaâNevada border was completed. It is the highest concrete arch dam in the United States. [Who is the Hoover Dam named for?]
FBI
1932
Aviator Charles Lindberghâs two-year old son, Charles Augustus, Jr., was kidnapped from their home near Hopewell, New Jersey, and was later found murdered. Bruno Hauptmann was convicted of the babyâs kidnapping and murder and executed in 1936.
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1919
Protesters in Seoul launched the March First Movement, a series of demonstrations for Korean national independence from Japan. [Sort fact from fiction in our Korea quiz.]
Image: EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1875
Republicans in the U.S. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 (often referred to as the last of the Force Acts), which aimed to prevent racial discrimination in a variety of settings, including voting or jury service. [Test your knowledge of Reconstruction.]
Photos.com/Thinkstock
1810
Frédéric Chopin, a composer and pianist of the Romantic period, was born. Chopin was best known for his solo pieces for the piano and his piano concertos, both of which demonstrated his boundless imagination and talent in composing music. [How much do you know about classical composers?]