On March 7, 1903, the General Assembly established the North Carolina Historical Commission.
First based in the northeast corner of the Capitol’s second floor, the Commission’s most important obligation was to collect, edit, and publish documents to make the records, both public and private, available to the citizens and to assure their preservation.
On March 7, 1914, George Herman Ruth Jr. hit his first home run as a professional baseball player and gained the nickname “Babe” in Fayetteville.
Ruth began playing baseball in his native Baltimore. At age 19, Jack Dunn, manager of the Baltimore Orioles, recognized his talent and signed him to his first professional contract. A few weeks later, the team headed to Fayetteville en route to Florida for spring training.
On March 6, 1970, Lance Crackers produced the last of its trademark five-cent items.
On March 6, 1863, only one week into blockading duty, the USS Peterhoff met an untimely end, south of New Inlet near Confederate-held Fort Fisher.
On March 6, 1836, North Carolina native Micajah Autry died defending the Alamo.
Born in Sampson County around 1794, Autry grew up in Cumberland County before moving to Tennessee in 1823, where he practiced law and tried his hand as a merchant. In Jackson, Tennessee, he met David Crockett, who some believe influenced Autry’s decision to try out life on the Texas frontier.
On March 5, 1728, delegates from North Carolina and Virginia met to survey the border between the two colonies.
Virginia and Carolina’s early settlers intermingled in the early colonial period, as colonists trickled south in search of good land to grow crops and establish homesteads. Explorer John Lawson began surveying a boundary between Carolina and Virginia, but was unable to complete the task.
On March 5, 1756, Nathaniel Alexander, physician, congressman and governor, was born in what is now Mecklenburg County.
While not much is known about his early life, Alexander graduated in 1776 from the school that is now Princeton University. He earned a degree in medicine and was commissioned as a surgeon in the North Carolina Continental Line in 1778, serving for the duration of the war.
On March 4, 1861, successful African American dressmaker Elizabeth Keckley met soon-to-be First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln for the first time at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C.
It was the day of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration, and Mary was too busy with plans for the festivities to talk with Keckley, who was recommended by a friend. After a brief meeting at the White House the next day, Mary hired Keckley.