March 3: Facts & Historical Events On This Day

Nintendo released Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the first fully open-world Zelda game.

Playable on the Nintendo Switch, Breath of the Wild was an instant hit among critics and players alike, who lauded it as the largest and the best Zelda game ever made.

After recording for four years, Duffy released her debut studio album “Rockferry.”

Steve Fossett completed the first around the world airplane solo non-stop journey.

The journey was a lengthy 25,000 miles (40,234 km) and was completed in 67 hours and 2 minutes.

In Auckland, New Zealand, Sky Tower opened, making it the tallest free-standing building in the Southern Hemisphere.

The tower is 1,076 feet tall and 39 feet wide.

Los Angeles police brutally beat an unarmed Rodney King with batons up to 60 times.

The incident was filmed by a civilian who sent the video to the press. This led to discipline and criminal charges against the officers involved.

The USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine, was decommissioned in California.

In its 25 years of operation, the USS Nautilus broke nearly every single world record related to submarines and was even the first to reach the geographic North Pole. After decommissioning and being stricken from the US Navy register, this historic submarine was towed to Connecticut, which now functions as a museum.

NASA launched Apollo 9 crewed mission.

The mission was to perform engineering tests, such as checking the lunar nodule, launch vehicle, spacecraft systems, and crew.

Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” made it into Billboard’s Top 100 pop chart.

The notorious John Dillinger used a wooden pistol to break out of prison.

Dillinger broke free with accused murderer Herbert Youngblood. The duo took off to Chicago in a Sheriff's car.

The US adopted the national anthem “Star-Spangled Banner.”

The lyrics to the song were by Defense of Fort M'Henry and are part of a poem written in 1814.

The US National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was founded as an emergency measure during WWI.

NACA played a crucial role in aeronautics development worldwide due to several critical design features thought up by NACA scientists and engineers. It also helped give US aircraft the edge they needed during WWII. In 1958 NACA was dissolved to create the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with all NACA personnel and assets transferred to the new organization.

A field in Bath County, Kentucky, was showered by a steady rain of mystery meat. This became known as the Kentucky meat shower.

Florida became the 27th state to join the United States of America.

The previously known District of Louisiana became the Louisiana Territory.