MASONIC CALENDAR
March
MARCH 1
In 1932,
20-month-old Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr., the son of Bro. Charles A. and Anne
Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped from their home at Hopewell, NJ. Even though the
Lindberghs paid a $50,000 ransom, their child's body was found in a wooded area
less than five miles from the family home on May 12. As a result of the
kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the Crime Control Act was passed on
May 18, 1934. It authorized the death penalty for kidnappers who take their
victims across state lines.
MARCH 2
In 1793 was born
at Rockbridge County, VA, Bro. Sam Houston, American soldier and politician,
remembered for his role in Texas history. Bro. Houston went to Texas in 1832 to
become Commander of the Texan Army in the war for Texan independence, which was
secured when Bro. Houston routed the much larger Mexican forces led by Gen.
Santa Ana, April 21, 1836, at the Battle of San Jacinto, and became first
President of the Republic of Texas. After Texas' admission to the Union, Bro.
Houston served as US Senator and later as Governor of the state. He was deposed
in 1861 when he refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy. The city of
Houston, TX was named after him. Bro. Houston was initiated in Cumberland Lodge
No. 8, Nashville, TN, in 1817.
In 1899, Bro. and
US President William McKinley dedicated Mount Rainer National Park in the
Cascades Mountains of Washington State. Mount Rainer is the fourth oldest
national park.
MARCH 3
In 1831, born at Brocton, NY was Bro. George Mortimer Pullman , inventor and
industrialist, who became famous for his design and production of the "Pullman"
railroad sleeping car. He secured patents for an upper sleeping berth in 1864,
another for a lower sleeping berth in 1865. By 1867 Pullman and his partner had
organized the Pullman Palace Car Company which became the greatest railroad-car
building organization in the world. Bro.Pullman died October 19, 1897 in
Chicago, IL. Bro. Pullman was a member of Renovation Lodge 97 in Albion, NY.
In 1895 was born at Fort Monroe, VA Bro. Matthew Bunker Ridgeway, distinguished
U.S. Army officer. As a Major General Ridgeway commanded the newly formed 82nd
Airborne Division in the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and in the invasion of
the Italian mainland in 1944, Bro. and General Ridgeway replaced Bro. Douglas
MacArthur as commander of the 8th Army in Korea in 1951, and succeeded General
Dwight Einsehower in 1952 as Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization. He became US Army Chief of Staff in 1953. Bro. Matthew
Ridgway was a member of West Point #877, Highland Falls, NY,raised May 1,
1924.In September 1974 a communication was received informing that regrettably
Bro. Ridgway could not be in attendance for receiving his 50 year pin." Bro.
Ridgeway died at Fox Chapel, PA July 26, 1993.
In 1931, Bro. Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner" was officially
adopted as the National Anthem of the United States. It has been called "the
most difficult national anthem on Earth to sing." Bro. Key wrote the anthem on
September 14, 1814, while a prisoner aboard a British man-of-war shelling Fort
McHenry during the War of 1812. Immediately popular, it remained just one of
several patriotic airs until it was finally adopted as our national anthem on
March 3, 1931. But the actual words were not included in the legal documents.
Key himself had written several versions with slight variations so discrepancies
in the exact wording still occur. The flag, our beloved Star-Spangled Banner,
went on view ,for the first time after flying over Fort McHenry, on January
1st,1876 at the Old State House in Philadelphia for the nations' Centennial
celebration. It now resides in the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of American
History. An opaque curtain shields the now fragile flag from light and dust. The
flag is exposed for viewing for a few moments once every hour during museum
hours. Francis Scott Key was a witness to the last enemy fire to fall on Fort
McHenry. The Fort was designed by a Frenchman named Jean Foncin and was named
for then Secretary of war James McHenry. Fort McHenry holds the unique
designation of national monument and historic shrine. Since May 30th, 1949 the
flag has flown continuously, by a Joint Resolution of Congress, over the
monument marking the site of Francis Scott Key's birthplace, Terra Rubra Farm,
Carroll County, Keymar, Maryland.
MARCH 4
In 1789, the first Congress of the US met in New York City wherein electral
votes were counted and Bro. George Washington was declared first President (69
votes), and John Adams,. Vice President (34 votes). While Bro. Washington's term
of office began on this day, because there was no quorum, he could not take the
oath of office until April 30. All subsequent presidential terms (except
successions following the death of a President) began March 4 until after Bo.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's second term wherein the 20th Amendment to the
Consitution ruled that " the terms of the President and Vice President shall end
at noon on the 20th of January..and the terms of their successors shall then
begin..."
In
1829, people of every color, age, size and shape mobbed the first floor of the
White House to celebrate the inauguration of "their" President, Bro. Andrew
Jackson. The Inauguration ritual was calmer. Bro. Jackson called in his speech
for a "just and liberal policy:" towards the indians, and "an invigoration of
the public morals." Bro. Jackson's election victory and his inauguration spelled
the end to the anti Masonic forces in America which had fought to keep him out
of office and which had darkened more than half the Masonic temples in America.
America's seventh President had been Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of
Tennessee, an Honorary member of Federal Lodge No. 1 at Washington, DC, and a
member of the Royal Arch Masons.
In 1984, Bro., David Sarnoff - Russian-born American broadcasting executive, was
among the first to be inducted into Television's Hall of Fame. He started as an
office worker with Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, which was later absorbed
by the Radio Corporation of America. Rising to the top ranks of RCA by age 39,
he organized the National Broadcasting Company, the first permanent broadcasting
network, as part of RCA where he became known as "The Father of American
Television:" Bro. Sarnoff was raised at Strict Observance Lodge No. 94 in New
York City in 1921. Other inductees to the Hall of Fame wih Bro. Sarnoff were
Edward R. Morrow, William S.Paley of CBS, Lucille Ball, Milton Berle and writer
Paddy Chayevsky ("Marty"). Brother Brig. General David Sarnoff was also the
recipient of the highest honor which can be conferred on a Mason by the Grand
Lodge of New York ... in 1955 he was presented with the Grand Lodge
Distinguished Achievement Medal.
MARCH 5
In 1933, on his first full day in office, President and Bro. Franklin Delano
Roosevelt proclaimed a national "Bank Holiday" to help save the nation's
faltering banking system. Most banks were able to reopen after the 10-day
"Holiday" (March 4-14). In he meantime, "script" had temporarily replaced money
in many american households.
In 1946, Bro. Winston Churchill, speaking at Westminster College Fulton, MO,
established the Cold War boundary with these words: "From Stettin in the Baltic,
to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent."
Though Bro. Churchill was not the first to use the phrase iron curtain, his
speech gave it a new currency and its usage persisted.
MARCH 6
In 1775 a man named Prince Hall and 14 other men of color were initiated into
Freemasonry. This work was conducted by Sergeant John Batt of the Irish Militia
Lodge No 441, attached to the 38th Foot of the British army When the 38th Foot
left Boston in the colony of Massachusetts three weeks later, Batt gave them a
"Permet" which allowed them "to walk on St. John's Day" and "to bury their dead
in manner and form." African Lodge No. 1 was born on July 3, 1775. In 1847 the
African (or national) Grand lodge became Prince Hall Grand Lodge honoring the
first Master of African Lodge. Since then many Prince Hall Masons have honored
Prince hall as well as "Blue" Lodge Masonry and continue to do so as more and
more Grand Lodge Jurisdictions world wide grant them recognition. . The United
Grand Lodge of England took a giant and historic step forward on December 14,
1994 when it resolved that "the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts should
now be accepted as regular and recognized." The first Grand Lodge to recognize
the Prince Hall Grand Lodge within their jurisdiction was the Grand Lodge of CT.
Since that time 31 other Grand Lodges in the USA have accorded various types of
recognition to the local Prince Hall Grand Lodges, the latest being Virginia.
The most famous battle of the Texas Revolution came about in San Antonio at a
little mission called the Alamo. On March 6, 1836, one hundred and eighty-seven
men under the command of Brother William Barrett Travis were defeated by several
thousand Mexican soldiers under Santa Anna. Americans and Texans alike were so
enraged by this massacre that the Alamo, like the United States flag and the
Statue of Liberty, became another symbol of courage and freedom. On July 4,
1976, the Grand Lodge of Texas placed a bronze marker at the Alamo, honoring the
Masons who died there: "Honoring These Masons James Bonham James Bowie David
Crockett Almaron Dickenson William Barrett Travis And Those Unidentified Masons
Who Gave Their Lives in the Battle of the Alamo, March 6, 1836"
MARCH 7
In 1849 at Lancaster, MA was born Bro. Luther Burbank, American naturalist,
author, creator and developer of many new varieties of flowers, fruits,
vegetables and trees. His experiments on plants led to the blight-resistent
Burbank potato, and over a 50-year period his experimental farm at Santa Rosa,
CA produced a remarkable range of new fruit and flower varieties. His birthday
is observed by some as Bird and Arbor Day. Bro. Burbank was raised at Santa Rosa
Lodge No. 57 in 1921. He died at Santa Rosa April 11, 1926.
MARCH 8
In
1855, A train called "London" made the first worldwide crossing over a railway
suspension bridge at Niagara Falls on the U.S.-Canadian border. The suspension
bridge was designed by Bro. John A. Roebling, who later later became famous for
his bridge designs with his building of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.
Roebling died during its construction and never saw its completion. One of the
piers for it is still standing in Niagara Falls, NY. Few in the Niagara Falls is
aware that it is there. There is a newer bridge standing there now, still with
railroad and vehicles service on it. That part of Niagara Falls was called the
Port of Niagara Falls, and Grand Master Benjamin Flagler use to work the customs
post there. The area was also known as Suspension Bridge and was so until it
merged with Niagara Falls, in 1893. Niagara River Lodge was the local Lodge for
that area, and had its Charter handed to it by Grand Master Flagler in 1882 who
was the Installing Master for the new Lodge. Bro. Flagler was a Past Master of
Niagara Frontier 132, in Niagara Falls proper.
MARCH 9
In 1933, the US Congress was called into special session by President and Bro.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to began "a hundred days" of enacting FDR's New Deal
legislation. After closing the nation's banks on March 4, Bro. Roosevelt then
pushed Congress to create a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), to go off the
gold standard, to enact the Federal Emergency Relief Act, the Agricultural
Adjustment Act, the Emergency Farm Mortgage Act, the Truth in Securities Act,
the National Industrial Recoveries Act, and more. Washington insiders were
amazed at the energy of this polio-crippled President and Mason and his quick
successes that helped put a deep-in-Depression America back on its feet.
In
1964 Bro. Earl Warren's's Supreme Court handed down a unanimous ruling in favor
of the New York Times in NY Times vs Sullivan. Basing their ruling on the First
Amendment and the "profound national commitment to the principle that debate on
public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open," the justices ruled
that public officials could not recover damages for libel that occurred in a
news report related to their official duties unless they could prove "actual
malice" on the part of the news organization. Bro. Justice Hugo Black went even
further, insisting that the First Amendment protects all criticism of the
government, even speech published with actual malice. Thus, New York Times vs.
Sullivan was a landmark decision on the issue of press freedom. In 1960 the New
York Times had published a paid fund-raising advertisement for the civil rights
movement. The ad included statements about the actions of the police department
of Montgomery, Alabama. Some of the statements contained minor factual errors.
One of Montgomery's three city commissioners sued the New York Times for libel,
claiming that since he was responsible for the Montgomery police department, the
incorrect statements referred to him. agreed with him and ordered the Times pay
him damages of a half million dollars. That's when The Times appealed the case
to the Supreme Court.
MARCH 10
MARCH 11
In 1930, former President and US Chief Justice Bro. William Howard Taft was
buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The 27th President had been
made a Mason "at sight' by Grand Master Charles ..S. Hoskinson on June 18, 1909,
the year he became President. He was affiliated with Kilwinning Lodge 356 at
Cincinnati, OH, and later became and Honorary member of Crescent Lodge No. 25,
at Cedar Rapids, IA.
In
1941, Bro. Fanklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Wold War II Lend-Lease Act into
law, releasing vast quantities of war materials to Britain and China, and later
to the USSR. In addition, the Lend-Lease program launched the U.S. industrial
economy towards a war footing nine months before the country entered WWII. In
January, 1941 Bro. Roosevelt proposed the Lend-Lease program whereby the U.S.
would become the "arsenal of democracy" and provide weapons to help Britain, the
Soviet Union, and any other allies to defend themselves against the Axis powers.
From London, Prime Minister and Bro. Winston Churchill entreated Congress to
approve the Lend-Lease program: "Give us the tools and we will finish the job."
In 1942 Bro. and Gen. Douglas MacArthur was ordered by President Bro. Franklin
Delano Roosevelt to leave the Philippines as Japanese forces continued to
advance during World War II. Bro. MacArthur headed for Australia vowing "I shall
return." He kept that promise nearly three years later.
MARCH 12
In 1807 – Albert Gallatin Mackey was born (d. June 20, 1881) – Masonic Author,
notably of the Masonic Dictionary.
In 1923 was born at Hackernsack, NJ, astronaut Bro.Walley
Schirrar who was made a "Mason at Sight" by the Grand Master of Masons of
Florida. Bro. Schirra carried several Masonic items with him on his Apollo 7
flight and was the command pilot on the history-making Gemini 6 flight which
made a rendezvous with the already orbiting Gemini 7 spacecraft, the first
rendezvous of two manned, maneuverable spacecraft.. His lodge affiliaiton is not
known at this writing.
In 1933, just over a week after his first inauguration, President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a radio address to the American people, in
which he talked about the ongoing banking crisis and explained the emergency
policies he had mplemented in order to deal with it. It was the first of his
"fireside chats," radio broadcasts in which he addressed the American people in
a casual, friendly manner. During his nearly twelve years in the White House,
Bro. FDR delivered approximately 30 fireside chats. Most of effects of the Great
Depression, the New Deal policies through which his administration was
attempting to turn the economic tide, and later a whole range of issues related
to the Second World War. The fireside chats not only consolidated Bro.
FDR's great personal popularity, but also served to maintain national confidence
during the difficult Depression and war years and to help build consensus and
rally support for the administration's policies.
In 1947 President and Bro. Harry S Truman established what became
known as the "Truman Doctrine" to help Greece and Turkey resist Communism. He
asked Congress for $400-million to support the governments of Greece and Turkey.
"I believe that it must be the policy of the united States," he said in a
speech, " to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by
armed minorities or by outside pressure."
MARCH 13
In 1863, President Lincoln hosted a formal reception in honor of
circus midget General Tom Thumb (Bro. Charles S. Stratton) and his new bride
Lavinia at the White House. The press played up theevent, which clearly caught
the public imagination. However there were editorials criticizing the president
for staging such a frivolous event at a time when the Union was faring poorly in
the Civil war. Showman P.T. Barnum delighted audiences with all kinds of
surprising entertainment. The biggest attraction of his shows was also the
smallest: a performing midget known as General Tom Thumb. Just three feet four
inches tall, Tom Thumb was a well-trained actor whose witty impersonations of
famous figures charmed audiences in America and Europe. At the peak of his
career he even gave two private performances to Queen Victoria, who delighted in
his imitations of Napoleon. In 1863 General Tom Thumb married Lavinia Warren,
another midget who performed in Barnum's shows. It was the most celebrated
marriage of the time, attended by two thousand guests. President and Mrs.
Abraham Lincoln were invited, and although unable to attend, they did send
gifts. A couple of weeks later, when the newlyweds passed through Washington on
President Lincoln hosted the fete in their honor. Bro.Stratton was a member of
St. John's Lodge in Bridgeport, CT.
In 1868, one of the most dramatic trials in American history, began as he US
Senate took action on the Articles of Impeachment brought against the 17th US
President by the House of Representatives. One of the counts involved his
efforts to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in violation of the Tenure
in Office Act passed easier by a hostile Congress. The trial ended May 26 of
that year when the Senate acquitted Bro. Johnson of all the Articles of
Impeachment brought against him by a vote of 35 to 19, two short of the number
needed for conviction.
In 1925, the State of Tennessee prohibited the teaching of
Evolution in public schools and universities. The new law mandated that schools
could only teach the belief that humans were created by God and had not evolved
from lower animals. The law was put to the test by the "Scopes Monkey Trial," in
which John Scopes, a high school teacher, was convicted for teaching Evolution.
Clarence Darrow, one of the best lawyers in his day, defended john Scopes in
what became known as the "Monkey" Trial. Bro.William Jennings Bryan, known
fundamentalist and Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson, led the
prosecution. The final showdown between the two became legendary as one of the
greatest courtroom examinations ever, and inspired the movie, "Inherit the
Wind."
MARCH 14
In 1900, using a new gold pen, President and Bro. McKinley signed the gold
standard Bill approved by the House of Representatives 166 to 120. In opposition
the defeated free-silver forces caged "stealthy deceit, fraud and corruption."
In 1903, US President and Bro. Teddy Roosevelt designated Pelican Island, near
Sebastian, Florida, as the first National Wildlife Refuge in the US. It began as
a 5-acre island, and has since grown into a 5000-acre refuge. The Learning
Kingdom.
In 1923, President and Bro. Warren G. Harding became the first chief executive
to file an income tax report. He was a member of Albert Pike Lodge No. 23 in
Washington, DC. The 29th US President was also the first of 15 US Presidents to
become a Shrine Mason.
MARCH 15
In 1767, Bro. Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the US was born in a log
cabin at Waxhaw, SC. Bro. Jackson was the first President since Bro. George
Washington who had not attended college. He was a military hero in the War of
1812 and his presidency reflected his democratic and egalitarian values He died
at Nashville, TN June 8, 1845. Bro. Jackson was raised at Harmony Lodge No. 1 at
Nashville, TN. He was Grand Master of Masons in Tennessee 1822-1824, Honorary
member of Federal Lodge No. 1, Washington, DC, and a member of Mark and Royal
Arch.
In 1965, President and Bro. Lyndon B. Johnson appeared before a joint session of
Congress to urge the enactment of the Voting Rights Act. In a speech that was
also televised across the nation, Bro.LBJ spoke strongly for the cause of black
Americans' struggle for equality, and identified that struggle as a personal and
national moral cause. In a determined voice, speaking slowly with his pronounced
Southern accent, he said, "Their cause must be our cause too... because it's not
just Negroes, but really it's all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy
of bigotry and injustice. And we ... shall ... overcome." Known as the "American
Promise" speech, or the "We Shall Overcome" speech, it is regarded among the
major pieces of American political rhetoric. In addition to helping to
strengthen the national consensus in favor of federal civil rights initiatives,
it accomplished its more immediate purpose: the Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed
through the House and Senate with solid bipartisan support. On August 6, 1965,
Bro. Lyndon Johnson signed it into law in the Rotunda at the Capitol. The Civil
Rights Act of 1964 was a major victory in the struggle for Afro-American freedom
and equality. It outlawed discrimination in employment and required equal access
to public places. But civil rights leaders recognized that the ultimate key to
racial equality was equal participation in the electoral process. This was not
possible as long as discriminatory practices in Southern states prevented large
numbers of blacks from voting. To address this problem, the administration of
President Johnson proposed a Voting Rights Act that would outlaw the use of
literacy tests and similar voter qualification devices, and would authorize
federal supervision of voter registration.
MARCH 16
In 1802 Congress passed an act establishing an official United States Military
Academy to be situated at the fort of West Point on the Hudson. Although former
President and Bro. George Washington first suggested the idea several years
earlier no action was taken until 1801 when a cops of veteran engineers and
artillerymen were transferred to West Pint for the purpose of training officer
candidates. Official opening of the Academy was not to be until July 4, 1802.
MARCH 17
In 1919 in Montgomery, Alabama was born Bro. Nat "King Cole, Black American
singer and pianist, who became one of the country's most popular entertainers.
He began his musical career at a age 4 playing the piano. He was the first Black
entertainer to host a national television show. He died February 25,. 1965 at
Santa Monica, CA at age 45. Bro. Cole was initiated into Thomas Waller Lodge No.
49, Los Angeles, CA, Prince Hall Affiliation.
In 1942 General Douglas MacArthur became Supreme Commander of the
United Nations forces in the Southwestern Pacific. This dramatic shift of
command and promotion for the officer who has held the Japanese at bay on the
Island of Luzon for three months and ten days was announced by the War
Department simultaneously with his arrival in Australia. Traveling by plane, he
arrived with his staff and his wife and child. A few hours after announcement of
the action, President and Bro. Roosevelt said he was "sure that every American,"
agreed with his decision to take General MacArthur out of the Philippines.
MARCH 18
In 1919 –
Order of DeMolay was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, later to become DeMolay
International.
In 1933, and at the request of US President and Bro. Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
Congress formed the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), an ambitious project to
supply electric power and create jobs, and to reconstruct one of the area's most
devastated by the Great Depression. The TVA today is "the nation's largest
electric power producer"
In 1963 the US Supreme Court issued its ruling, written by Bro. Hugo Black, in
the Gideon v. Wainwright case. The decision was unanimous in reversing the
conviction of Clarence Gideon. Ruling that the due process clause of the 14th
Amendment extended to state as well as federal cases, the Court allowed Gideon
to be retried, this time with the aid of a lawyer. At his second trial, Gideon
was found innocent of the charges. The Gideon v. Wainwright ruling was a
landmark decision. It clearly established that all persons charged with serious
crimes must be provided with an attorney. Based on that decision, states are
required to appoint attorneys for all defendants who cannot afford to hire their
own.
MARCH 19
In 1860 at Salem IL. was born Bro. William Jennings Bryan, American political
leader, member of Congress, Democratic Presidential nominee and "free silver"
advocate. Known as "the silver-tongued orator," Bro. Bryan assisted with
questionable success in the prosecution of the Scopes trial involving the
teaching of Darwinian evolution. He died at Dayton, TN July 26, 1925.
In 1891 born at Los Angeles, CA was Bro. Earl Warren , Jurist and
Mason, who became Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court in 1953. Before the
appointment he was Governor of California. He was Special Ambassador of the US
to the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, served as Chancellor of the Board of
Regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of
the National Gallery of Art. A member of Sequoia Lodge 349 of Oakland, CA., he
serve as Grand Master of California Masons 1935-36. He was a member of Oakland
Chapter 36, R.A.M., and Oakland Commandery No. 11, K/T. He was at one time
Potentate of Aahmes Shrine Temple of Oakland, and a member of St. Phillip
Conclave No. 23, Red Cross of Constantine. He joined the Scottish Rite in
Oakland in 1919 and on December 23, 1941, received the Rite's Honorary 33-deg
AASR(SJ). He died at Washington, DC July 9, 1974. (He died at Washington, DC
July 9, 1974.
MARCH 20
In 1727, physicist, mathematician and astronomer Bro. Sir Isaac Newton died in
London. There is no "hard" proof that Bro. Newton was a Mason, but as a member
of a semi-Masonic Gentleman's Club of Spalding, he was presumed to be. Also his
affinity for Masonic "think" such as the configuration and dimensions of
Solomon's Temple, gnosticism, . and from 1691 to 1727 his role as Grand Master
of the Priory of Sion, that mystical French force concerned with Hermetic
Freemasonry and the Knights Templar until the "cutting of the elm" and its
separation from the Knights Templar in 1188. Weeks before his death he burned
most of his manuscripts and did not ask for last rites.
MARCH 21
In 1685, born at Eisenbach, Germany, was Bro. Johann Sebastian Bach, organist
and composer, and regarded as one of the most influential composers in musical
history. The transcendent values of Bro. Bach's music - its melodic beauty , its
contrapuntal strength, its rhythmic vitality, its harmonic profundity - speak
across time, in a universal language to a multitude of composers. Bro. Bach died
at Leipzig, Germany , July 28, 1750.
In 1806, born at Oaxaca, Mexico, was Bro. Benito Pablo Juarez, a full-blooded
Zapotec Indian who grew up to become the President of Mexico. Bro. Juarez
learned Spanish by age 12. He became judge of the civil court in 1842, a member
of congress in 1846, and governor in 1847. In 1858, following a rebellion
against the constitution, the presidency was passed to Bro. Juarez. He died at
Mexico City, July 18, 1872. A symbol of liberation and of Mexican resistance to
foreign intervention, his birthday is a public holiday in Mexico.
MARCH 22
MARCH 23
In 1743 composer Bro. George Frederick Handel's oratorio "Messiah" had its
London premier, and to immediate acclaim.
In 1775 at St. John's Church in Richmond, Bro. Patrick Henry, American patriot,
urged for the arming of the Virginia militia in preparation for the American
revolution with the impassioned words: "I know not what course others may take,
but as for or me, give me liberty or give me death."
In 1806, explorers Bro. Meriwether Lewis and Bro. William Clark, having reached
the Pacific coast, began their journey back east. Bro. Clark, American explorer
and frontier politician, joined another Freemason, Bro. Meriwether Lewis on the
Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-6), the first overland exploration of the
American West and Pacific Northwest. Bro. Clark was responsible for the careful
mapmaking. He later served as Native American agent and governor of the Missouri
Territory (1813-1821). Bro. Lewis, American soldier and explorer, also served as
Governor of the Louisiana Territory and was proclaimed a National Hero. He was
the first Master of St. Louis Lodge #111.
MARCH 24
In 1721, the Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg, a local noble, would have
been long forgotten had it not been for an unexpected gift he received on this
day: a gorgeously bound musical manuscript containing six concertos. The
Margrave never thanked the giver of the gift, never paid him for it, or gave him
anything in return. He had no way of knowing that this gift from Bro. Johann
Sebastian Bach would come to be regarded as a masterpiece of Baroque music, or
that nearly three centuries later it would remain among the most widely admired
and frequently performed musical works. The irony is that the six lively chamber
orchestra concertos were later named for their unappreciative recipient: The
Brandenburg Concertos. Music historians believe that the Margrave's small
orchestra in Brandenburg never performed the Brandenburg Concertos. At the time
that he wrote them Bro. Bach was music director in the small town of Coethen,
and it is assumed that they were first performed for the court there, directed
by Bro. Bach himself. Although the six compositions are essentially orchestral
rather than solo concertos, they include prominent solo parts. Concerto No. 5
comes closest to the solo concerto form, featuring an assertive harpsichord solo
of enormous complexity and difficulty, which Bro. Bach himself performed. In
fact during his lifetime and immediately after, Bro. Bach was famous less as a
composer than as a harpsichord player and organist.
In 1855, at Pittsburgh, PA, was born Bro. Andrew W. Mellon, American financier,
industrialist, and government official (Secretary of the Treasury). art and book
collector. He was President of the Mellon National Bank, and from 1921 to 1932,
Secretary of the US Treasury. In 1930 he founded the A.W. Mellon Educational and
Charitable Trust, and in 1937, donated his highly important art collection to
the nation. He was made a Mason "at sight' by the Grand Master of Masons in
Pennsylvania, at Pittsburgh, 1928. He died August 27, 1937, at Southampton, NY.
In 1874, at Budapest, Hungary, was born Bro. Harry Houdini, lecturer, athlete,
author, expert on the history of magic, exposer of fraudulent mediums, and
motion-picture actor. Bro. Houdini was best known for his ability to escape from
locked restraints (handcuffs, straitjackets, coffins, boxes and milk cans). The
anniversary of his death at Detroit, MI on October 31 (Halloween) 1926, has
occasioned meetings of magicians attempting to communicate with the dead. Bro.
Houdini became a Mason in 1923 at St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, New York City .
In 1934, US President and Bro. Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a Bill granting
independence to The Philippines. The Bill, which took effect July 4, 1946,
brought to a close almost half a century of US control of the islands.
MARCH 25
In 1306, Robert the Bruce was chosen to be King of Scots and to lead the fight
for Scottish independence against Edward I of England assisted by fugitive
Knights Templar, escaped from France's Philip IV. His reign did not begin well.
He was defeated by the English at Methven in Perthshire; his wife, daughter and
sisters were imprisoned; and three of his brothers were executed by the English.
Robert fled westward to the Antrim coast. However, he possessed real military
genius and he was helped by the fact that in 1307 Edward I, the self-styled
'Hammer of the Scots', died and was succeeded by his less effective son Edward
II. From 1307 onwards, with energy and determination, and later, with the help
of the Templars, forerunners of modern Masonry , Robert waged highly successful
guerrilla warfare against the English occupiers, establishing control north of
the Forth, and gradually won back his kingdom. His campaign culminated in
resounding victory over Edward II (whose larger army of 20,000 outnumbered
Robert's forces by three to one) at the Battle of Bannockburn, near Stirling on
24 June 1314. Bannockburn confirmed the re-establishment of an independent
Scottish monarchy.
In 1945, Bro. Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of England, briefly crossed to
the eastern bank of the Rhine River to become the first Englishman to enter
Germany since Chamberlain signed the Munich pact in September, 1938. Bro.
Churchill commemorated the event by contemptuously urinating into the river. He
later wrote General Montgomery: " The Rhine and all its fortress lines lie
behind the 21st Group of Armies. A beaten army, not long ago Master of Europe,
retreats before its pursuers."
MARCH 26
In 1794, President George Washington and Congress authorized the creation of the
U.S. Navy.
In 1836, Bro. Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons)
dedicated the first temple of the Church in, Ohio. During the 19th and 20th
centuries, the construction of temples was an important priority for Mormon
followers. Bro. Smith was made a Mason "at sight" by the then Grand master of
Masons in Ohio. It is said that many of the symbols and ceremonies used by the
Mormon Church are of Masonic origin. When Bro. Smith claimed the revelation of
polygamy in 1843, he was arrested and jailed at Carthage, Ill, and shot and
killed by a mob on June 27, 1844. His brother Hyrum was also killed.
MARCH 27
In 1836, In a
disastrous setback for Texans resisting Santa Anna's dictatorial regime, the
Mexican army defeated and executed 417 Texas revolutionaries at Goliad. Many
Anglo Texan settlers reacted with alarm when Antonio López de Santa Anna
proclaimed himself dictator of Mexico in 1835. When Santa Anna imposed martial
law and attempted to disarm the Texans, the moved the flames of Texan
resistance. In November 1853, Texan leaders proclaimed their resistance to Santa
Anna's dictatorship. The next month, the Texans managed to defeat 800 Mexican
soldiers stationed in San Antonio. However, rebel leaders remained deeply
divided over what to do next, making them vulnerable to Santa Anna's ruthless
determination to suppress dissension. While the Texas rebels dallied, Santa Anna
moved decisively. In mid-February Santa Anna led a massive Mexican army across
the Rio Grande, and after a 13-day siege of the Alamo, crushed the rebels in San
Antonio. Meanwhile, to the south, Santa Ann's chief lieutenant, General Urrea,
moved to destroy another faction of the rebel army attempting to defend the town
of Goliad. James W. Fannin was left with only slightly more than 300 Texans to
protect Goliad, a position the rebels needed in order to maintain their supply
routes to the Gulf Coast. As Urrea's much larger 1400-man army approached,
Fannin attempted to fall back from the approaching Mexican army, but his retreat
order came too late. On March 19, Urrea surrounded the small column of rebel
soldiers on an open prairie, where they were trapped without food, water, or
cover. After repulsing one Mexican assault, Fannin realized there was no chance
of escape. Rather than see his force annihilated, Fannin surrendered. Texans who
surrendered believed they would be treated as prisoners of war. Santa Anna,
however, had clearly stated several months before that he considered the rebels
to be traitors who would be given no quarter. In obedience to Santa Anna's
orders, on this day in 1836 Urrea ordered his men to open fire on Fannin and his
soldiers, along with about 100 other captured Texans. More than 400 men were
executed that day at Goliad. Ironically, rather than serve to crush the Texas
rebellion, the Goliad Massacre helped inspire and unify the Texans. Texas
revolutionaries began to yell "Remember Goliad!" along with the more famous
battle cry, "Remember the Alamo!" Less than a month later, Texan forces under
General and Bro. Sam Houston dealt a stunning blow to Santa Anna's army in the
Battle of San Jacinto, and Texas won its independence.
In
2003 one of the spears which killed Captain James Cook was bought for £135,000
by an anonymous private buyer from London. Used by Hawaiian islanders to murder
Bro. Cook on February 14 1779, it was kept by a navigation officer serving on
Bro. Cook's ship, the "Resolution," and later turned into a walking stick. When
it was auctioned on behalf of his descendants by Lyon and Turnbull in Edinburgh
the bidding began at £15,000. (The spear had been valued at £1000-£2000)
The walking stick bears the inscription: "From Adml. CBH Ross to Admiral Sir
David Milne GCB. Made of the Spear that killed Captn Cook RN." At the time of
his death Cook and his crew were repairing their ship in Kealakekua Bay after it
was damaged during an attempt to sail from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the
Arctic Ocean. During a previous stay the islanders had looked upon Cook as a
god, but the atmosphere soured on the second visit when he accused them of
stealing from the Resolution. On the day of his death Cook had gone ashore to
take a local dignitary hostage until the supposedly stolen goods were returned.
He was greeted on the beach by 1,000 vengeful warriors who stabbed him to death
with their spears. His body was surrendered by the islanders and buried at sea.
Cook is best known for commanding the Endeavour, which landed at Botany Bay in
1770. He also charted large areas of the west coast of America, New Zealand,
Tahiti and Java".
MARCH 28
In 1834, the U.S. Senate voted to censure US President and Bro. Andrew Jackson
for the removal of federal deposits from the Bank of the United States. Leading
the censure was US Senator and bro. Henry Clay who had branded Bro. Jackson a
tyrant and who had run a poor second to him in the previous Presidential
election. The Senate vote was 26-20 to censure Bro. Jackson for his withdrawal
of government funds from the Second Bank of the United States without
congressional approval.
In 1891 in
Denver, CO was born Bro. Paul Whiteman, famed orchestra leader/conductor who
became known during the 20's and beyond as the "King of Jazz." He conducted two
trascontinental jazzconcert tours in the US (1924-26), toured England and the
principal; cities of Europe (1926). In 1943 he became Musical Director of the
Blue Radio Network. He appeared many times on radio, television and in films. A
member of St. Cecile Lodge 568 in New York City, he was exalted in Corinthian
Chapter 159 (RAM) in Brooklyn, NY on May 22, 1922, and Knighted in Ivanhoe
Commandery 36 (KT) on August 17, 1922.He was also a member of Mecca Shrine
Temple in New York City. He died in New York City in 1967.
In 1921 US
President and Bro. Warren G. Harding appointed Bro. William Howard Taft Chief
justice of the United States (President of the Supreme Court of Justice). Bro.
Taft was made a Mason "at sight on June 18, 1909 by Grand Master Charles S.
Hoskinson. Bro. Taft became affiliated with Kilwinning Lodge 356 on April 4 in
Cincinnati, OH. He later was made an Honorary member of Crescent Lodge 25 at
Cedar Rapids, IA. A very active Mason he died March 8, 1930.
MARCH 29
In 1847, victorious American forces led by General and Bro. Winfield Scott
occupied the city of Veracruz, Mexico, after its defenders capitulated. He went
on to defeat Mexican forces at Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, Molino del
Rey, and Chapaultepec, occupying Mexico City on Sept ember 14, 1847. Bro. Scott
was made a Mason in Dinwiddie Union Lodge No. 23, Dinwiddie Court House, VA (now
extinct). He died May 29, 1867 at West Point, NY where he is buried.
MARCH 30
In 1778, in the course of his third voyage of exploration to the Pacific,
Captain and Bro. James Cook entered a large bay on the western coast of a huge
island in what is now British Columbia. Finding that the bay formed a good
natural harbor, he anchored his vessels, H.M.S. Resolution and H.M.S. Discovery,
in a cove there and sent some sailors to search for fresh water. He named the
bay King George's Sound, in honor of the British King. A few aboriginal people
approached his vessels in canoes and cried out, "Itchem nutka, itchem nutka!"
meaning, "Go around!" Not realizing that they were directing his ships to
another, more sheltered cove, Cook assumed they were telling him the name of the
area. He therefore changed King George Sound to Nootka Sound, the name it goes
by today. Bro. Cook and his men spent an entire month in Nootka Sound,
re-supplying their boats, and making observations about the new area and the
natives, both of which they found congenial. Aboard Cook's ship was a
21-year-old midshipman named George Vancouver. Fourteen years later, as leader
of another voyage of exploration, Captain Vancouver returned to the area and
circumnavigated and mapped the huge island. It now bears his name. While other
European navigators had reached the Pacific coast of Canada before Bro. Cook's
1778 visit, it was that visit, and Vancouver's subsequent mapping expedition
that brought the area into the realm of Britain's expanding colonial empire.
In 1732, at
Rahrau, Austria-Hungary, was born the composer who became known as the :"Father
of the Symphony," Bro. Joseph Franz Haydn. During his career Bro.; Haydn
composed more h an 120 symphonies, more than 100 works for chamber groups, a
dozen operas, and hundreds of other musical works. Bro. Amadeus Mozart sponsored
his entry into Freemasonry Bro. Haydn became a Freemason in lodge Zur Wahrn
Entracht at Vienna on February 4, 1785. Bro. Mozart was there to "raise" him.
In 1842, Dr. and Bro. Crawford W. Long removed a tumor from the neck of a man
who was under the influence of ether. Having seen the use of nitrous oxide and
sulfuric ether at "laughing gas" parties, Bro. Long observed that individuals
under their influence felt no pain. Since 1933 the event has been celebrated as
Doctor's Day. The red carnation as been designated the official flower of
Doctor's Day. Bro. Long became a member of Mount Vernon Lodge No. 22, Athens,
GA, and remained on its rolls until his death on June 16, 1878.
MARCH 31
In 1732, at Rahrau, Austria-Hungary, was born the composer who became known as
the :"Father of the Symphony," Bro. Joseph Franz Hayden. During his career Bro.;
Hayden composed more h an 120 symphonies, more than a100 woks for chamber
groups, a dozen operas, and hundreds of other musical works. Bro. Amadeus Mozart
sponsored his entry into Freemasonry Bro. Hayden became a Freemason in lodge Zur
Wahrn Entracht at Vienna on February 4, 1785. Bro. Mozart was there to "raise"
him.
In 1878, born in Galveston, TX was Bro. John (Jack) Arthur Johnson, the fist
Black to win the heavyweight boxing championship when he defeated Tommy Burns at
Sydney, Australia. Unable to accept the outcome the boxing world tried to find a
white challenger.; Jim Jeffries, former heavyweight champion, was badgered out
of retirement to take on Bro. Johnson. The fight, billed as the "Battle of the
Century ," proved a farce when Bro.. Johnson handily defeated Jeffries . Race
riots swept the US and plans to exhibit the film were canceled. Bro. Johnson
died in an auto accident at Raleigh, NC on June 10, 1946. He was inducted into
boxing's Hall of Fame in 1990. The film, "The Great White Hope," is based on his
life. Bro. Johnson was raised at Lodge Forfar and Kincaidine No. 225, Dundee,
Scotland, October 13, 1911.
In 1968 US President and Bro. Lyndon B. Johnson stunned the nation by announcing
on television that he did not intend to run for re -election. "I shall not seek
and I will not accept the nomination of my party as your President," he said. In
his speech he admitted that the Vietnam conflict had created "a division in the
American house" and that he could not "permit the Presidency to become involved
in the partisan divisions that are developing."
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