On this day...

1702 Queen Anne ascends to the English throne
1782 Gnadenhutten massacre - Ohio militia kills 90 Indians
1801 British drive French forces from Abukir, Egypt
1838 US mint in New Orleans begins operation (producing dimes)
1855 First train crosses first US railway suspension bridge, Niagara Falls
1862 Battle of Elkhorn Tavern ends with Confederate withdrawal
1862 Confederate ironclad Merrimack launched
1887 Everett Horton patents fishing rod of telescoping steel tubes
1894 New York passes first state dog license law
1908 Collingwood Elementary (Cleveland) burns, kills 173 kids & 2 teachers
1910 Baronne Raymonde de Laroche, France, becomes first licensed female pilot
1915 First US navy minelayer, Baltimore, commissioned
1917 US invades Cuba for third time
1924 Coal mine explosion kills 171 at Castle Gate, Utah
1930 Babe Ruth signs $80,000 contract with the Yankees
1930 Mahatma Gandhi starts civil disobedience in India
1934 Edwin Hubble photo shows as many galaxies as Milky Way has stars
1941 First baseball player drafted into WW II (Hugh Mulcahy, Phillies)
1942 Japanese forces captures Rangoon, Burma
1943 Limited gambling legalized in Mexico
1946 First helicopter licensed for commercial use (New York City)
1950 First woman medical officer assigned to naval vessel-B.R. Walters
1950 USSR announces they have developed the atomic bomb
1951 International Table Tennis Federation bans Egypt (for refusing to play Israel)
1959 Groucho, Chico, and Harpo's final television appearance together
1965 First US combat forces arrive in Vietnam
1967 New Orleans Saints begin selling season tickets (20,000 sold first day)
1968 6 year old Tommy Moore scores hole-in-one in golf (Hagerstown, Maryland)
1971 Joe Frazier beats Muhammad Ali in Madison Square Garden
1971 Radio Hanoi broadcasts Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner"
1972 First flight of the Goodyear blimp
1976 1774 kg (largest observed) stony meteorite falls in Jilin, China
1979 Volcanoes on Jupiter's mmon Io discovered by Voyager I
1983 IBM releases PC DOS version 2.0
1983 President Reagan calls the USSR an "Evil Empire"
1986 Martina Navratilova is first tennis player to earn $10 million
1987 FBI apprehends Most Wanted Claude L. Dallas, Jr., in California

Birthdays which occurred on March 8th:

1783 Hannah Hoes Van Buren first lady
1787 Karl Ferdinand von Grafe help create modern plastic surgery
1841 Oliver Wendell Holmes Massachusetts, Supreme Court justice (1902-32)
1859 Kenneth Grahame author (The Wind, Willows)
1865 Frederick William Goudy US, printer/type designer
1879 Otto Hahn co-discoverer of nuclear fission
1888 Stuart Chase NH, writer/economist (Tragedy of Waste)
1891 Sam Jaffe actor (Gunga Din, Dr. Zorba-Ben Casey)
1898 Louise Beavers Cincinnati, actress (Beulah-Beulah)
1899 Eric Linklater Scotland, novelist/poet/historical writer
1909 Claire Trevor actress (Murder My Sweet, Marjorie Morningstar)
1918 Alan Hale Jr Los Angeles, actor (Skipper-Gilligan's Island)
1921 Cyd Charisse Amarillo TX, dancer/actress (East Side, West Side)
1922 Carl Furillo Brooklyn Dodger (NL Batting Champ 1953)
1924 Sean McClory Dublin Ireland, actor (Jack-Californians, My Chauffeur)
1928 Judy Johnson Norfolk VA singer (Your Show of Shows)
1934 Ron Taylor Sydney Australia, cinematographer (Those Amazing Animals)
1936 Sue Ane Langdon Paterson NJ, actress (Bachelor Father, Arnie)
1938 Lew DeWitt Va, country singer (Statler Brothers)
1939 George Reed astronomy writer/cartoonist
1939 Jim Bouton Newark NJ, pitcher (NY Yankees)/author (Ball Four)
1939 Lydia Skoblikova USSR, speed skater (Olympics-Six Gold Medals-1960/4)
1940 Susan Clark Sarnia Ontario, actress (Night Moves, Webster)
1942 Dick Allen baseball player (AL MVP 1972)
1942 Ralph Ellis England, rhythm (Swinging Blue Jeans-You're No Good)
1943 Lynn Redgrave London, actress (Georgie Girl)
1944 Carole Bayer Sager NY, aka Mrs Burt Bachrach, singer
1945 Mickey Dolenz Los Angeles, singer (Monkees)
1946 Randy Meisner rock bassist/vocalist (Poco, Eagles)
1953 Jim Rice Boston Red Sox outfielder (AL MVP 1978)
1954 Cheryl Baker rock vocalist (Bucks Fizz-My Camera Never Lies)
1959 Aidan Quinn Chicago, actor (All My Sons, Reckless, Stakeout)
1964 Peter "Ged" Gill drummer (Frankie Goes to Hollywood-2 Tribes)

Deaths which occurred on March 8th:

1702 William III King of England (1689-1702), dies at 51
1930 William Howard Taft 27th US President
1985 Edward Andrews actor, dies at 70 of a heart attack