Moments in Time: St. Patrick's Day
The History Channel
On March 17, 1756, St. Patrick's Day was celebrated for the first time in New York City at John Thompson's Crown and Thistle public house. Interestingly, Thompson was nicknamed "Scotch Johnny," and his tavern was only part-time Irish.
On March 16, 1834, Charles Darwin, on the HMS Beagle, anchored in the British-owned Falkland Islands for the first time, to carry out a zoological survey. At first unimpressed by the desolate landscape, he soon discovered fossils of about 400 million years old, most of which are now housed in London's Natural History Museum.
On March 19, 1916, eight Curtiss "Jenny" planes of the First Aero Squadron were used in support of the 7,000 American troops who had invaded Mexico with the intent of capturing Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, marking the U.S.' first use of air combat.
On March 18, 1922, British lawyer Mohandas K. Gandhi was sentenced to prison in India on the charge of civil disobedience after urging for mass civil disobedience, including boycotts of British educational institutions and law courts and foreign-made goods. His speeches always emphasized the wrongness of physical violence. He served just two years of his six-year sentence.
On March 15, 1956, the musical "My Fair Lady" made its Broadway debut. Based on George Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion," it starred Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews in the lead roles of domineering Professor Henry Higgins and his protegee, the equally strong-willed but good-hearted Cockney flower seller named Eliza Doolittle. It was an immediate smash hit.
On March 13, 1997, a heated debate was launched among believers in UFOs when a series of unidentified lights appeared above Phoenix, Arizona. It was later revealed that the lights were not from alien aircraft, but illumination flares dropped from a U.S. Air Force plane.
On March 14, 2014, it was announced that public transportation systems in Paris, France, would run for free for three days in an effort to combat the heavy smog and air pollution the country was experiencing due to unseasonably warm temperatures.
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