Moments in Time: St. Patrick
The History Channel
On March 16, 1827, "Freedom's Journal," America's first Black-owned-and-run newspaper, debuted in New York City. A mix of news, service and abolitionist advocacy, it was distributed in 11 states, Canada, Haiti and the U.K.
On March 17, 461 A.D., Christian missionary, bishop and apostle of Ireland St. Patrick died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland after 40 years of living in poverty, teaching and traveling, during which time he converted thousands of Irish and built churches around the country.
On March 18, 1911, composer Irving Berlin copyrighted "Alexander's Ragtime Band," a multimillion-selling hit that helped turn American popular music into a major international phenomenon.
On March 19, 1931, the Nevada state legislature voted to legalize gambling in an attempt to lift the state out of the Great Depression's tough times. Today, state gambling taxes account for the lion's share of Nevada's overall tax revenues.
On March 20, 1345, scholars at the University of Paris alleged the Black Death was born of what they called "a triple conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in the 40th degree of AQUARIUS." Also known as the Plague, it cut a swath across Europe, the Middle East and Asia during the 14th century and left an estimated 25 million dead in its wake.
On March 21, 1956, James Wong Howe became the first Asian American to win an Academy Award, for Best Cinematography for "The Rose Tattoo," starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster. According to Smithsonian Magazine, Howe claimed a knack for making "old stars young, plump stars thin, ordinary faces beautiful."
On March 22, 1999, 22-year-old Cynthia Vigil Jaramillo was discovered running naked and with a padlocked metal collar around her neck down an unpaved road near Elephant Butte State Park in New Mexico. She had been abducted three days earlier in Albuquerque by David Parker Ray and Cynthia Lea Hendy, who brought her to their mobile home, where she was raped and tortured. While law enforcement agents believed Ray had many more victims, he was never charged with or convicted of murder and died in custody in 2002 on the way to beginning a 200-year sentence for kidnapping.
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