March 4 Fun Facts, Trivia and History
March 4 History Highlights
- 1681 – Pennsylvania was deeded to Willam Penn by King Charles II of England.
- 1789 – The federal government under the US Constitution began, replacing the Articles of Confederation.
George Washington was declared the first US President. - 1933 – Frances Perkins was the first US Cabinet Secretary (Sec. of Labor)
- 1974 – People Magazine premiered
- If you were born on March 4th,
You were likely conceived the week of… June 11th (prior year)
The First Full Week in March is…
“National Consumer Protection” Week
“Professional Pet Sitters” Week
“Return Borrowed Books” Week
Celebrate National Grammar Day!
Do you love grammar? Do you get a thrill from proper punctuation and well-placed modifiers? If so, then you’re in luck! March 4 is National Grammar Day, a time to celebrate all things grammar-related. According to the Oxford Dictionaries, National Grammar Day is “an annual event that celebrates good grammar and aims to raise awareness of the importance of language education.” Here are some fun facts about National Grammar Day, established in 2008 by Martha Brockenbrough, and give you some tips on how to celebrate!
Fun Facts About National Grammar Day:
- The actual date, March fourth, is a mnemonic device because the month (M), day (D), and year (YY) all use Roman numerals. M = March; D = IV = four; YY= 08. It’s also an example of proper punctuation.
- The Oxford Dictionaries notes that “The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar [SPOGG] encourages Americans to celebrate National Grammar Day by sending well-crafted emails in support of good grammar.” SPOGG was founded by Martha Brockenbrough, who chose the name as sort of an inside joke with her friends from college. According to toOGG’s website, “The name is derived from a wordplay on the Society of Professional Journalists’ acronym – SPJ.”
- Brockenbrough also established National Grammar Day because in 2006, she had to do an emergency rewrite of her book Things That Make Us, which was due at the printers. She wrote that as she saved the file and pushed it through, “I heard flutes playing and a choir singing ‘Alleluia.'” According to The New Yorker, “Brockenbrough’s first version of Things That Make Us [Sic] included grammar myths such as never-ending sentences with prepositions (think about what you just read) or starting one with a conjunction (and think about how often do this).”
- While National Grammar Day is a time for fun, it’s also about taking grammar seriously. In an interview with The New Yorker, Brockenbrough said she started SPOGG as “a way to have some fun and raise people’s awareness of the importance of language education.” She added: “We will not challenge any errors on signs or menus or in casual conversation. We will only respond to such things when we see them in print, because that’s where they matter most.”
Tips on How to Celebrate National Grammar Day:
- Write something!
- Send your boss an email, and use proper grammar!
- Make a cup of tea or coffee to celebrate National Grammar Day with a mug that has “Grammar Police” written on it.
- Take the time to correct those who misuse words like “their,” which is plural but used as singular and other incorrect use of grammar.
- Celebrate by using proper grammar in your writing and being courteously mindful of others’ misuse of language.
March 4 is…
Pound Cake Day
March Forth and Do Something Day
National Grammar Day
World Obesity Day
March 4 Birthday Quotes
“It’s not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy.”
– Catherine O’Hara
“My approach has always been to put 100% into the movie I’m making right now. I think sometimes filmmakers put too much thought into the grand franchise they’re going to build. And guess what? If the first movie doesn’t work there is no franchise, so I’m always concentrated on making the best, best possible movie right now.”
– Paul W. S. Anderson
“It is my fondest wish that the gift of song that God has given me will flow from my soul to yours and help ease any burden that might weigh upon you.”
– Bobby Womack
“I build the car first then make a drawing, are you paying attention, Detroit ?”
– Ed “Big Daddy” Roth
“I don’t like to lose, and that isn’t so much because it is just a football game, but because defeat means the failure to reach your objective. I don’t want a football player who doesn’t take defeat to heart, who laughs it off with the thought, “Oh, well, there’s another Saturday.” The trouble in American life today, in business as well as in sports, is that too many people are afraid of competition. The result is that in some circles people have come to sneer at success if it costs hard work and training and sacrifice.”
– Knute Rockne
March 4 Birthdays
1702 – Jack Sheppard, English criminal (died in 1724)
1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (died in 1940)
1888 – Knute Rockne, American Football coach (died in 1931)
1913 – John Garfield, American actor and singer (died in 1952)
1919 – Buck Baker, American race car driver (died in 2002)
1925 – Paul Mauriat, French conductor and composer (died in 2006)
1932 – Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, American illustrator (died in 2001)
1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer-songwriter (died in 2014)
1948 – Chris Squire, English singer-songwriter and bass guitarist (died in 2015)
1951 – Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American drummer
1954 – Catherine O’Hara, Canadian-American actress
1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
1962 – Simon Bisley, English author and comic book illustrator
1965 – Paul W.S. Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1968 – Patsy Kensit, English model and actress
1983 – Drew Houston, American internet entrepreneur
1986 – Margo Harshman, American actress
March 4 History
1519 – Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
1826 – The first chartered railroad in the US was chartered as the Granite Railway in Quincy, Massachusetts.
1837 – The city of Chicago was incorporated.
1853 – Franklin Pierce was the first U.S. President to recite his inauguration address entirely from memory. The speech was 3,329 words long.
1930 – The Coolidge Dam on Gila River in Arizona was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge.
1944 – Louis “Lepke” Buchalter, the head of Murder, Inc., was executed by electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in New York.
March 5, 1955 – Peter Pan aired live as part of NBC’s Producer’s Showcase.
1966 – John Lennon was quoted as saying “Christianity will go, it will vanish and shrink… We’re more popular than Jesus now,” in reference to religion fading in the western world.
1967 – #1 Hit March 4, 1967 – March 10, 1967: The Rolling Stones – Ruby Tuesday
1975 – The first People’s Choice Awards was shown on CBS.
1975 – People magazine was published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
1978 – #1 Hit March 4, 1978 – March 17, 1978: Andy Gibb – (Love Is) Thicker Than Water
1982 – Police Squad! premiered on ABC, lasting 6 episodes, but the concept was made into several very successful Naked Gun feature films
1984 – Television Academy Hall of Fame opened
1985 – Robotech premiered, in syndication.
1989 – #1 Hit March 4, 1989 – March 24, 1989: Debbie Gibson – Lost In Your Eyes
2000 – #1 Hit March 4, 2000 – March 17, 2000: Lonestar – Amazed
Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts
Barry Manilow wrote the jingle: “I am stuck on Band-Aids, ’cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.”
I only buy one lottery ticket at a time. That way, when I finally win the big one, I didn’t waste too much money on extra tickets I didn’t need.
Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40 percent of the world’s almonds and 20 percent of the world’s peanuts.
The Scary Statistic: Heart Disease odds: 1-in-5
The two parts to the word “helicopter” are not “heli” and “copter”, but “helico” meaning spiral, and “pter” meaning one with wings, like a pterodactyl.
If someone 50 years ago was told that there would only be 8 planets, they might think something really exciting happened…
What to do: Take an 81 mg aspirin daily, eat healthy foods, exercise in moderation.
Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed movie character in history.
Approximately 3 billion pizzas are sold in the U.S. each year.
What if my dreams are a connection to a different reality? #ThosePoorPeople
Earl Grey was actually a Prime Minister of Great Britain during 1830-1834.
I don’t really know the back of my hand that well.