History for March 31

History for March 31 - On-This-Day.com

Al Gore 1948 - U.S. Vice President under President Bill Clinton

• 1854 - The U.S. government signed the Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan. The act opened the ports of Shimoda and Hakotade to American trade.
• 1870 - In Perth Amboy, NJ, Thomas Munday Peterson became the first black to vote in the U.S.
• 1880 - Wabash, IN, became the first town to be completely illuminated with electric light.
• 1885 - Binney & Smith Company was founded in New York City. The company later became Crayola, LLC.
• 1889 - In Paris, the Eiffel Tower officially opened.
• 1917 - The U.S. purchased and took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
• 1918 - For the first time in the U.S., Daylight Saving Time went into effect.
• 1949 - Winston Churchill declared that the A-bomb was the only thing that kept the U.S.S.R. from taking over Europe.