Fun Facts About the Month of March

The name of March comes from ancient Rome, when March was the first month of the year and named Martius after Mars (Ares), the Greek god of war. In Rome, where the climate is Mediterranean, March was the first month of spring, a logical point for the beginning of the year as well as the start of the military campaign season. It’s one of seven months that is 31 days long.

Birthstones:    

Aquamarine - a gemstone was believed to protect sailors, as well as to guarantee a safe voyage. The serene color of aquamarine is said to cool the temper, allowing the wearer to remain calm and levelheaded.

  

Bloodstone - a dark-green jasper flecked with vivid red spots of iron oxide. This ancient stone was used by the Babylonians to make seals and amulets and was believed to have healing powers, especially for blood disorders. Sometimes called the martyr's stone as legend tells that it was created when drops of Christ's blood stained some jasper at the foot of the cross.

Birth flower: Daffodil - Cheerful yellow daffodils signal the end of winter cold and the return of warmer days. If you live in a moderate climate, daffodils are among the first flowers to bust into bloom every spring, making them a symbol of rebirth.

In the language of flowers, daffodils symbolize friendship, chivalry, respect, modesty and faithfulness. Apparently, the daffodil was originally called "affodell," a variant of asphodel. No one really knows why the letter "d" was added to the front of the name, but from at least the 1500s the flowers have been playfully known in literature as "Daffadown Dilly" or "daffadowndilly."

Daffodil is the common name for all members of the genus narcissus, and many people call daffodils narcissus. In North America, daffodils are also known as jonquils, the Spanish name for the flower. Daffodils range in size from 5-inch blooms on 2-foot stems to half-inch flowers on 2-inch stems and have a sweet fragrance.

March 1st: Ohio became 17th state (1803), Nebraska became 37th state (1867), Glenn Miller born (1904), Charles Lindbergh’s baby kidnapped (1932), President Kennedy established the Peace Corps (1961), 7 officials in the Nixon White House indicted for Watergate (1974)

March 2nd: Sam Houston born (1793), Texas declared independence from Mexico (1836)

March 3rd: Missouri Compromise passed (1820), Florida became 27th state (1845), Alexander Graham Bell born (1847)

March 4th: Vermont became 14th state (1791), President Franklin Roosevelt makes famous “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” inaugural address (1933)

March 5th: Boston Massacre (1770), Joseph Stalin died (1953), Winston Churchill made “Iron Curtain” speech in Fulton, MO (1946)

March 6th: Michelangelo born (1475), Elizabeth Barrett Browning born (1806), Fort Alamo fell to Mexican troops (1836)

March 7th: Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone (1876)

March 9th: Amerigo Vespucci born (1451), Yuri Gagarin born (1934)

March 10th: Salvation Army founded in the US (1880), Claire Booth Luce born (1903) 

March 12th: Juliette Low founded the Girl Scouts (1912)

March 14th: Albert Einstein born (1879)

March 15th: The Ides of March (Caesar’s assassination - 44 BC)

March 17th: St. Patrick’s Day

March 19th: Dr. David Livingstone born (1813), Wyatt Earp born (1848), William Jennings Bryan born (1860) 

March 20th: Henrik Ibsen born (1828)

March 21st: Johann Sebastian Bach born (1685)

March 22nd: The ERA was passed (1972)

March 23rd: Patrick Henry ignites American Revolution with his “give me liberty or give me death!” speech (1775)

March 24th: The Philippine Islands granted independence by President Franklin Roosevelt after almost 50 years of US control (1934), Harry Houdini born (1874), Exxon Valdez oil spill (1989)

March 26th: Tennessee Williams born (1911)

March 28th: Three Mile Island nuclear accident (1979) 

March 29th: The House Select Committee on Assassinations released final report on the murders of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King (1979)

March 30th: Vincent Van Gogh born (1853), Ronald Reagan and James Brady shot (1981)

March 31st: Daylight Savings Time goes into effect in the US (1918)