Almanac - Friday March 15, 2024

Harriet E. Wilson one of the first female African-American novelists, was born today in 1825. Her novel Our Nig, or Sketches from the Life of a Free Black was published anonymously in 1859 in Boston.

Marion Cuthbert who helped found the National Association of College Women to fight discrimination in higher education, was born today in 1896. She was secretary of the National Board of YWCA and member of NAACP and numerous peace and human rights boards.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg the second female U.S. Supreme Court Justice, was born today in 1933.

1948 – Kate Bornstein, American artist, actor, author and activist

Eva Longoria, a popular actress known for her role in the Desperate Housewives and numerous films, was born today in 1975. Her philanthropic work with PADRES Contra el Cancer has also helped millions of families affected by the illness. Longoria is a huge political activist championing equal pay and diversity in Hollywood among other causes.

44 BC – The assassination of Julius Caesar takes place on the Ides of March.

1820 – Maine is admitted as the twenty-third U.S. state.

1917 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne, ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty. 1919 – The American Legion is founded. 1927 – The first Women's Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place on The Isis in Oxford.

1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to the Selma crisis, tells U.S. Congress "We shall overcome" while advocating the Voting Rights Act.

1978 – Somalia and Ethiopia signed a truce to end the Ethio-Somali War.

1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.

2019 – Approximately 1.4 million young people in 123 countries go on strike to protest climate change.

Today’s birthdays include….

1767 – Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (d. 1845)

1852 – Augusta, Lady Gregory, Anglo-Irish landowner, playwright, and translator (d. 1932)

1868 – Grace Chisholm Young, English mathematician (d. 1944)

1874 – Harold L. Ickes, American journalist and politician, United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1952)

1907 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d. 1981)

1912 – Lightnin' Hopkins, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1982)

1916 – Harry James, American trumpet player, bandleader, and actor (d. 1983)

1933 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American lawyer and judge (d. 2020)

1935 – Judd Hirsch, American actor

1935 – Jimmy Swaggart, American pastor and television host

1940 – Phil Lesh, American bassist

1943 – Lynda La Plante, English actress, screenwriter, and author

1943 – Sly Stone, American musician and record producer

1947 – Ry Cooder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1948 – Kate Bornstein, American author and activist

1954 – Isobel Buchanan, Scottish soprano and actress

1955 – Dee Snider, American singer-songwriter

1959 – Ben Okri, Nigerian poet and author

1962 – Terence Trent D'Arby, American singer-songwriter

1968 – Sabrina Salerno, Italian singer-songwriter

1971 – Joanne Wise, English long jumper

1975 – Eva Longoria, American actress

1975 – will.i.am, American rapper, producer, and actor

1976 – Cara Pifko, Canadian actress

1983 – Golda Marcus, Salvadoran swimmer

1985 – Eva Amurri, American actress

1989 – Caitlin Wachs, American actress

2001 – Ellie Leach, English actress

Almanac - Friday March 15, 2024

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