GOOD MORNING – TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, March 4, the 63rd day of 2015 with 302 to follow. Sunrise in the Boston area is @ 6:16 and sunset is @ 5:36. The moon is waxing. The morning stars are stars are Mercury, & Saturn. The evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Uranus & Venus.
ON THIS DAY IN: 1461 – Henry VI was deposed and the Duke of York proclaimed King Edward IV.
1681 – England’s King Charles II granted a charter to William Penn for an area of land that later became Pennsylvania.
1766 – The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, the cause of bitter and violent opposition in the colonies.
1789 – The Constitution of the United States of America went into effect as the first Federal Congress met in New York.
1789 – Until the passage of the 20th Amendment in 1937, March 4 was the official date set by the Constitution of the United States of America for presidential inaugurations. When the fourth fell on a Sunday, then the inauguration was on March 5. George Washington, however, was inaugurated on April 30, because Congress was unable to count the electoral ballots as early as anticipated.
1791 – Vermont became the 14th state.
1801 – Thomas Jefferson became the first President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.
1861 – The Confederate States of America adopted the “Stars and Bars” flag.
1863 – President Abraham Lincoln signed an act creating Idaho Territory.
1877 – The Russian Imperial Ballet staged the first performance of “Swan Lake” in Moscow.
1877 – Emile Berliner announced his invention of the microphone.
1902 – The American Automobile Association (AAA) was founded in Chicago.
1933 – President Franklin Roosevelt added the first woman to serve in the Cabinet, Labor Secretary Frances Perkins.
1968 – Tennis authorities voted to admit professional players to Wimbledon, previously open only to amateur players.
1974 – “People” magazine began publication.
1987 – President Ronald Reagan accepted full responsibility for the Iran-Contra Affair scandal.
1989 – Time Inc. and Warner Communications Inc. announced plans to merge into the world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerate.