On This Day March 14th

 OTD

March 14th is the Seventy-third Day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 292 days remain until the end of the year.

 

Events

1590 – Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeat the forces of the Catholic League under Charles, Duke of Mayenne, during the French Wars of Religion.

1663—According to his account, Otto von Guericke completed his book Experimenta Nova (ut vocantur) Magdeburgica de Vacuo Spatio, detailing his experiments on the vacuum and his discovery of electrostatic repulsion.

1794 – Eli Whitney is granted a patent for a cotton gin.

1864 – Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle is first performed by twelve singers, two pianists, and a harmonium player in a mansion in Paris.

1885 – The Mikado, a light opera by W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, receives its first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in London.

1900 – The Gold Standard Act was ratified, placing the United States' currency on the gold standard.

1903—President Theodore Roosevelt established Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge in the US.

1942 – Anne Miller becomes the first American patient to be treated with penicillin under the care of Orvan Hess and John Bumstead.

2017—The chemical element nihonium is named in Tokyo, and then-Crown Prince Naruhito is in attendance.

 

Birthdays

1804 – Johann Strauss I, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1849)

1823 – Théodore de Banville, French poet and critic (d. 1891)

1854 – Paul Ehrlich, German physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1915)

1863 – Casey Jones, American engineer (d. 1900)

1879 – Albert Einstein, German American physicist, engineer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)

1908 – Phil Vincent, English engineer and businessman, founded Vincent Motorcycles (d. 1979)

1914 – Lee Petty, the American race car driver and businessman, founded Petty Enterprises (d. 2000)

1920 – Hank Ketcham, American author and cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (d. 2001)

1933 – Quincy Jones, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer

1948 – Billy Crystal, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter.

1960 – Kirby Puckett, American baseball player (d. 2006)

1997 – Simone Biles, American gymnast

 

Holidays And Observances

Pi Day

Pi, the mathematical constant, has a fascinating history that dates to Archimedes of Syracuse, one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world. He first calculated its value almost 2000 years ago. Later, William Oughtred named it using the Greek letter, and Leonhard Euler adopted the symbol, making it prevalent in the scientific community.

But how did Pi Day become a phenomenon across the country? In 1988, physicist Larry Shaw invented it at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. He connected March 14 to the first digits of pi (3.14) to create a special day to unite the Exploratorium staff. At 1:59 p.m., he served everyone fruit pies and tea, representing the following three digits of the value. After Larry's daughter, Sara noticed that the unique date was also Albert Einstein's birthday, they began celebrating the life of the world-famous scientist.

Pi Day became an annual Exploratorium tradition that continues to this day. The idea quickly gained popularity, culminating on March 12, 2009, when the US Congress declared it a national holiday.

 

Others Include.

Celebrate Scientists Day

Crowdfunding Day

Dribble to Workday

Genius Day

International Ask a Question Day

International Day of Action for Rivers

International Day of Mathematics

Learn About Butterflies Day

Legal Assistance Day

Mother Day

National Children's Craft Day

National Pi Day

National Potato Chip Day

Popcorn Lover's Day

Registered Dietitian Day

Save a Spider Day

Science Education Day

White Day

World Kidney Day

Write Your Story Day

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