MOMENTS IN TIME - Feb. 24, 2011

The History Channel

* On March 6, 1899, the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin registers Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) on behalf of the German pharmaceutical company Friedrich Bayer & Co. The brand name came from “a” for acetyl, “spir” from the spirea plant (a source of salicin) and the suffix “in,” commonly used for medications.

* On March 2, 1904, Theodor Geisel, better known to the world as Dr. Seuss, is born in Springfield, Mass. Geisel’s first book, “And to Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street,” was rejected by more than two dozen publishers before making it into print in 1937.

* On March 1, 1932, Charles Lindbergh III, the 20-month-old son of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh, is kidnapped from the family’s new mansion in Hopewell, N.J. Days later the baby’s lifeless body was discovered near the Lindbergh home.

* On Feb. 28, 1940, Mario Andretti, whose name will become synonymous with American auto racing, is born in Montona, Italy. His long list of achievements includes a Formula One World Championship and wins at the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and Pikes Peak Hill Climb.

* On March 4, 1966, a John Lennon quotation that was ignored in England sets off a media frenzy in America: “We’re more popular than Jesus now.” Bible Belt disc jockeys declared Lennon’s remarks blasphemous and vowed an eternal ban on all Beatles music, past, present and future.

* On March 5, 1977, the Dial-a-President radio program, featuring President Jimmy Carter and CBS news anchorman Walter Cronkite, airs for the first time. Carter answered calls from all over the country from his desk in the Oval Office. Some 9 million calls flooded the CBS radio studio during the two-hour broadcast.

(c) 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.