1841 – The first filibuster in the U.S. Senate began. It ended March 11.
1856 – The American Party, also known as the “Know-Nothing Party,” nominated its first presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore. He carried only Maryland and the party soon dissolved.
1861 – Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Alabama.
1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is published in the United States.
1972 – The California Supreme Court struck down the state’s death penalty.
1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747.
1988 – Anthony M. Kennedy was sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court.
