#Middlebury
On March 20, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln’s sons, Willie and Tad, are diagnosed with the measles. The boys recovered, but in 1862 Willie contracted typhoid fever and died. Tad died at age 18 in 1871. Of Lincoln’s four boys, only the first child, Robert, lived to an advanced age; he passed away at age 82 in 1926.- On March 18, 1911, Irving Berlin copyrights the biggest pop song of the early 20th century, “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.” The song was easier to play than Joplin’s “The Entertainer,” which encouraged sheet music sales. Those topped 1.5 million copies in the first 18 months after publication.
- On March 16, 1926, Robert Goddard successfully launches the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket at Auburn, Massachusetts. The 10-foot-tall rocket traveled for 2.5 seconds at a speed of about 60 mph, reaching an altitude of 41 feet and landing 184 feet away.
- On March 19, 1953, for the first time, audiences are able to watch from their living rooms as the movie world’s most prestigious honors, the Academy Awards, are given out at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California.
- On March 15, 1968, construction starts on the north tunnel of the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial Tunnel on I-70 in Colorado west of Denver. At more than 11,000 feet, the project became the world’s highest vehicular tunnel when it was completed in 1979.
- On March 21, 1971, “The Andromeda Strain,” the first movie to use computer animation, opens. Based on a Michael Crichton book, the sci-fi thriller featured scientists racing against time and an alien virus.
- On March 17, 2000, Julia Roberts becomes the first actress ever to command $20 million per movie when “Erin Brockovich” is released. At the time, $20 million was the standard paycheck for Hollywood’s male stars.
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