Adella May Adams (born 1875)

In 1875, in the year that Adella May Adams was born, on March 1st, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. The Act prohibited racial discrimination in both public accommodations and jury duty. Opposed by the public, the "public accommodations" sections of the Act were overturned by the Supreme Court eight years later.

In 1919, the "Black Sox Scandal" rocked baseball fans during the World Series. Eight players on the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series, thus allowing the Cincinnati Reds to win, and making money off of the losses. All of the players were found not guilty by a jury but the fallout lasted for decades. The players were banned from baseball even though they were found innocent.

In 1928, Mickie Mouse was born! He first appeared in Disney's Steamboat Willie, along with Minnie. Although they were in two previous shorts, this was the first to be distributed. Steamboat Willie took advantage of the new technology and was a "talkie" - music was coordinated with the animation. It became the most popular cartoon of its day.

In 1959, on January 3rd, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States and the first state not a part of the contiguous United States. The flag was changed to display 49 stars.

In 1985, on March 7th, the song "We Are the World" was released as a charity effort to alleviate the African famine. The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones. They were joined by 37 other famous singers in the recording studio and a phenomena had begun