303– Roman Emperor Diocletian begins his policy of persecuting Christians, razing the church at Nicomedia 1455– Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible (estimated date) 1540– Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s expedition sets off from Mexico in search of the 7 cities of Cibola 1836– Alamo besieged for 13 days until March 6 by Mexican army under General Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed 1904 – United States acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million 1945– US Marines raise American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture. 1954– 1st mass inoculation against polio with Salk vaccine (Pittsburgh) 1998– Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders
Births & Deaths:1965 – British-born comedian Stan Laurel, of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy, died in Santa Monica, California. Film:1996– “Trainspotting” directed by Danny Boyle based on the book by Irvine Welsh, starring Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller opens in cinemas in the UK and Ireland
Music: 1963 – Luciano Pavarotti makes his debut at the Vienna State Opera in “La traviata“. 2000 – Mexican-born American musician Carlos Santana won eight Grammy Awards for Supernatural, tying the record set by Michael Jackson.
