This day in history...

On March 12, 1933, eight days after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation from the White House by radio, discussing his decision to temporarily close the nation's banks to protect them from mass account withdrawals by panicked investors. Journalist Robert Trout described the speech as a "fireside chat", giving the address a folksy, one-on-one image. Roosevelt would steer the American public through the lowest point of the Great Depression with 30 "fireside chats" over the next 16 months. An estimated 90 percent of American households that owned radios tuned in.


On March 12, 1938, German troops march into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. The Germans had been manipulating Austrian Chancellor von Schuschnigg into accepting a peaceful occupation of the country for 3 months, and he would resign on March11. Adolph Hitler himself accompanies the troops marching into the nation on the 12th, greeted by enthusiastic citizens. On the 13th, Hitler would declare Anschluss, formal annexation of Austria.

On March 12, 1930, Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi and 78 followers depart Sabarmati on the "Salt March." Their destination is the town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea, 241 miles away. Gandhi speaks in each town he passes through in protest of Great Britain's Salt Acts, which prohibit Indians from collecting or selling salt. All salt is to be obtained from British sources, which place a heavy tax on the vital mineral. By the time Gandhi reaches Dandi on April 5, he's at the head of a crowd nearing 60,000. Gandhi goes to the shoreline and picks up a deposit of sea salt, and is arrested. He'll spend the next year in prison, but Indians throughout the country are now following his example by committing acts of peaceful civil disobedience against the British.

 

On March 13, 1781, English astronomer William Herschel proves that an orbiting body long thought to be a star is in fact a planet, which he names Georgian, after King George III. German astronomer Johann Bode will later confirm his findings, but proposes the planet be named Uranus (father of the Titans), in keeping with the tradition of naming planets after mythological deities. Both names were in use by various scholarly bodies and works for the next 70 years; the HM Nautical Almanac Office would be the last to drop the name Georgian in favor of Uranus, in 1850.

On March 13, 1942, the US Army establishes the War Dog Program, or "K-9 Corps." Dogs will be trained for use as sentries, mine detection and messengers.

On March 13, 1965, guitarist Eric Clapton quits his band, the Yardbirds, over the band's decision to move its style away from its bluesy roots and into more commercially marketable sounds. Clapton approached his friend and session musician Jimmy Page about replacing him, but Page wasn't interested. The band would select Jeff Beck, but would add Page to the lineup a year later.

 

On March 14, 1794, Eli Whitney is awarded a patent for his cotton gin (the word is short for "engine"). The machine - a system of wires, hooks, and a rolling brush - can clean as much cotton in an hour as several men can do in a day by hand. Whitney's invention allows southern farmers to mass plant cotton for the first time, but many took to making their own version of the cotton gin once they'd had a look at it, and Whitney would realize little money from one of the most important inventions of America's first century.


On March 14, 1950, the Federal Bureau of Investigation issues its first “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. The year before, a wire service news story highlighted the “toughest guys” the FBI wanted to capture. The story drew so much public attention that J. Edgar Hoover ok'd the “Ten Most Wanted” list. To date, 523 fugitives have made the list. The list is fluid; except for a handful of fugitives whose names were removed because the Bureau no longer considered them a threat, once a fugitive makes the list the only way off is capture or death.

On March 14, 2006, the New Orleans Saints roll the dice and sign free agent quarterback Drew Brees. The former San Diego Charger is the poster boy for damaged goods, having suffered a catastrophic injury to his throwing shoulder in the final game of 2005. He's in rehab at the time of his signing and can barely throw a ball 10 yards. But the Saints have a new, first-time head coach in Sean Payton, are returning to New Orleans after being dislocated by Hurricane Katrina, and feel they have nothing to lose by taking a chance. Good call.

 

On March 15, 44 B.C., Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, is stabbed to death by a group of Roman Senators. Perhaps as many as 60 were involved in the assassination. Caesar had come to power 5 years earlier by defeating opposing party leader Pompey, who still retained the loyalty of most of the Senate despite his defeat.

On March 15, 1939, Hitler’s forces invade and occupy Czechoslovakia. The landlocked nation is small but has an abundance of raw material, like coal and iron, necessary for the tools of war.

On March 15, 1972, The Godfather makes its debut in the nation's theatres. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on Mario Puzo's best-selling novel, and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, the three-hour epic chronicling the lives of the Corleones, a fictional Italian-American crime family in post-WWII New York. The Godfather would win 3 Academy Awards, and is ranked No. 2 (behind Citizen Kane) on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest movies of all time.