Today in Oklahoma History
Mickey Mantle retires
Saturday, March, 1, 1969 – On this day, New York Yankees center fielder Mickey Mantle announces his retirement from baseball. Mantle was an idol to millions, known for his remarkable power and speed and his everyman personality. While "The Mick" patrolled center field and batted clean-up between 1951 and 1968, the Yankees won 12 American League pennants and seven World Series. Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, on October 20, 1931. More...
Settlers meet to form Cimarron Territory
Friday, March, 4, 1887 – The settlers soon formed their own vigilance committees, which organized a board charged with forming a territorial government. The board enacted a preliminary code of law and divided the strip into three districts divided by the meridians. They also called for a general election to choose three members from each district to meet on March 4, 1887, to form the government. more...
Alice Mary Robertson
Friday, March, 4, 1921 – Alice Mary Robertson (January 2, 1854 – July 1, 1931) was an American educator, social worker, government official, and politician who became the second woman to serve in the United States Congress, and the first from the state of Oklahoma. Robertson was also the first woman to defeat an incumbent congressman. She was known for her strong personality, commitment to Native American issues, and an anti-feminist stance. Until the election of Mary Fallin in 2006, she was the only female member of Congress to serve the state of Oklahoma. She served in Congress from March 4, 1921 to March 3, 1923. More...
Prohibition in former Indian Territory
Thursday, March, 7, 1912 – Liquor could not be sold in the 40 counties of eastern Oklahoma that formerly comprised Indian Territory, a federal court ruled. For more than four years, eastern Oklahomans had believed they had the same right to buy liquor as those who lived in the area that had comprised Oklahoma Territory before 1907. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis ruled that liquor could not be introduced into that area under any circumstance. More...
Justice asked to take a lie detector test
Tuesday, March, 9, 1965 – Oklahoma Justice N.B. Johnson was asked to take a lie detector test after former Justice N.S. Corn said he gave Johnson and Justice Earl Welch $7,500 each from the $25,000 he received for a favorable ruling in a case before the court. Corn and Welch were convicted of federal income tax evasion and resigned. Johnson was impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate. more...
Greer County, Texas
Monday, March, 16, 1896 – Greer County, created by the Texas legislature on February 8, 1860 (and named for John Alexander Greer, Lieutenant Governor of Texas), was land claimed by both Texas and the United States. In a lawsuit, United States v. State of Texas 162 U.S. 1 (1896), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the land of some 1.5 million acres belonged to the United States. Following that ruling, on May 4, 1896, the land was officially assigned by Congress to Oklahoma Territory. When Oklahoma became the 46th U.S. state (November 16, 1907), old "Greer County" was divided into Greer, Harmon, Jackson, and part of Beckham counties. more...
WKY
Thursday, March, 16, 1922 – Oklahoma's oldest radio station, WKY, became the 28th licensed station in the United States. more...
President Reagan addresses a joint session of the Oklahoma State Legislature
Tuesday, March, 16, 1982 – President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech before a joint session of the Oklahoma State Legislature in Oklahoma City on March 16, 1982. YouTube: https://youtu.be/YfG54JPhB94
First Shelterbelt in the United States
Monday, March, 18, 1935 – During the 1930s severe drought plagued the states in the great plains and deepened the depression. High winds caused dust storms which blackened the sky. In 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt initiated a program to help stabilize the blowing soil and put people to work. His prairie states forestry project envisioned planting wide belts of trees from North Dakota to Texas to protect cropland and reduce damage to the environment. The Nation's first shelterbelt was planted on the H.E. Curtis farm near Mangum in Greer county, OK. Oklahoma's first state forester George R. Phillips planted the first tree on Mar. 18, 1935 from 1935 to 1942, 223 million trees were planted in 18,599 miles of shelter belts throughout the plains states with 2,996 miles in Oklahoma. The nation's number one shelterbelt is located files miles east and one mile north. Like many of the original shelterbelts and the narrower windbreaks planted since then, it continues to provide conservation benefits to this day. more...
Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq War)
Thursday, March, 20, 2003 – In order to disarm and topple the Iraqi government lead by Saddam Hussein a U.S. lead multi-national force invaded Iraq. more...
President Barack Obama visits Cushing, Oklahoma
Thursday, March, 22, 2012 – President Barack Obama visits Cushing, Oklahoma to announces an order to expedite a pipeline project that will help move oil more quickly and efficiently from Cushing, Oklahoma to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. March 22, 2012.
Date Set For First Land Run
Saturday, March, 23, 1889 – On March 23, 1889, President Benjamin Harrison signed legislation which opened up the two million acres (8,000 km) of the Unassigned Lands for settlement on April 22, 1889. It was to be the first of many land runs, but later land openings were conducted by means of a lottery because of widespread cheating some of the settlers were called Sooners because they had already staked their land claims before the land was officially opened for settlement. more...
First Tornado Forcast
Thursday, March, 25, 1948 – In the evening of March 25, 1948, a tornado roared through Tinker Air Force Base (AFB), Oklahoma, causing considerable damage, a few injuries, but no fatalities. However, the destruction could have been much worse. A few hours earlier Air Force Captain Robert C. Miller and Major Ernest J. Fawbush correctly predicted that ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS were ripe for tornadoes in the vicinity of Tinker AFB. This first tornado forecast was instrumental in advancing the nation's commitment to protecting the American public and military resources from the dangers caused by natural hazards. more...
Sam Walton Born
Friday, March, 29, 1918 – Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 - April 5, 1992), born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma was the founder of two American retailers Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. He was the patriarch of the Walton family, one of the richest families in the world. more...
Governor Johnson Removed From Office
Saturday, March, 30, 1929 – On this day Impeached Governor Henry S. Johnson was removed from office. Governor Johnson was caught up in "Democratic Wrath" when the Republican party took several state offices including seats in the Supreme Court, a near majority in the lower House and substantial gains in the Senate. When the legislature met for its regular session in January 1929 a combination of Republicans and insurgent Democrats set in motion a second impeachment effort. Thirteen charges were presented to the Senate, eleven of which were accepted. Governor Johnston was suspended from office on January 21. more...
Redbud
Tuesday, March, 30, 1937 – The Redbud was officially made the Oklahoma state tree. more...
Oklahoma! on Broadway
Wednesday, March, 31, 1943 – The original production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! opened in New Haven's Shubert Theatre before premiering on March 31, 1943 at the St. James Theatre in New York. The original production ran for a then unprecedented 2,212 performances and was closed on May 29, 1948. There have been many revivals of Oklahoma! since, including national tours. This also includes some Middle School and High School full length reproductions. more...