TODAY'S HISTORY: In 1836, Texas became independent from Mexico. In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner of the previous year's U.S. presidential election, though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote. In 1933, the film King Kong premiered in New York. In 1969, the Concorde supersonic airplane flew--at subsonic speeds--for the first time.
TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS: Sam Houston (1793-1863), soldier/politician; Pope Pius XII (1876-1958); Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) (1904-91), author; Mel Ott (1909-58), baseball player; Desi Arnaz (1917-86), actor/musician; Tom Wolfe (1931- ), author/journalist, is 77; Mikhail Gorbachev (1931- ), former Soviet leader, is 77; Lou Reed (1942- ), musician, is 66; Jon Bon Jovi (1962- ), musician, is 46.
TODAY'S SPORTS: In 1927, Babe Ruth became the highest paid baseball player to date when the Yankees announced he would earn $70,000 a season for three years.
TODAY'S QUOTE: "When I'm in New York I look at the Empire State Building and feel as though it belongs to me ... or is it vice versa?" - Fay Wray
TODAY'S FACT: King Kong was made in 1933 for about $10.5 million (in today's dollars); the 2005 remake cost a whopping $207 million to produce.
TODAY'S NUMBER: 27 - number of publishers that rejected And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, Dr. Seuss' first book for children.
TODAY'S MOON: Between last quarter (February 28) and new moon (March 7).
