March 1 Birthday
On March 1, 1692, warrants were issued for Tituba, Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning the Salem witch trials. Over the following nine months, 200 people were accused, 30 were convicted, and 19 were hanged. One man, Giles Corey, was pressed to death with stones — the only person in American history to die by this method. He refused to enter a plea, knowing that a conviction would result in the seizure of his property. By pressing him to death without a plea, the court could not confiscate his estate, which passed to his sons. The trials ended when Governor William Phips dissolved the Court of Oyer and Terminer in October 1693. The colony later apologized and provided restitution. The hysteria was fed by land disputes, religious extremism, and possibly ergot poisoning from fungus on rye bread. In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, creating the world's first national park. The park covers 2.2 million acres across Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. The concept was radical — that land should be set aside not for extraction or profit but for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. The idea spread worldwide: there are now over 6,500 national parks in 200 countries. Yellowstone sits on top of a supervolcano that last erupted 640,000 years ago. The magma chamber beneath it is 45 miles wide. If it erupts again, it would cover most of North America in ash. The Peace Corps was established on this day in 1961 by executive order of President Kennedy. He had proposed it during a campaign speech at the University of Michigan, asking students if they would be willing to serve their country by living and working in the developing world. Since its founding, over 240,000 Americans have served in 142 countries. The Peace Corps was born out of the Cold War — Kennedy wanted to counter Soviet influence by sending Americans to build schools, teach English, and dig wells. The volunteers were idealistic, young, and often unprepared. Many came home transformed. Some never came home. Frédéric Chopin, born on this day in 1810 (some sources say February 22), left Poland at twenty and never returned. He settled in Paris and composed almost exclusively for the piano. His relationship with the novelist George Sand lasted ten years and produced some of his greatest music. He had tuberculosis and died at thirty-nine. His heart was removed and smuggled to Warsaw in a jar of cognac, where it is sealed in a pillar of the Church of the Holy Cross. People born on March 1 fall under the zodiac sign of Pisces. The birthstone is Aquamarine and the birth flower is Daffodil. Historical events on March 1 include 1692: Salem witch trials begin with first warrants issued, 1872: Yellowstone becomes first US national park, 1961: President Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps. Famous people born on March 1 include Frédéric Chopin (1810), Glenn Miller (1904), Ron Howard (1954).