On March 20, 1899, Martha Place, convicted of the murder of her stepdaughter, became the first woman to die in the electric chair. The execution was carried out at New York’s Auburn Prison.
On March 20, 1899, Martha Place, convicted of the murder of her stepdaughter, became the first woman to die in the electric chair. The execution was carried out at New York’s Auburn Prison.
Soviet spy Klaus Fuchs sentenced to 14 years in UK prison
On March 1, 1950, German-British atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs was sentenced to 14 years in prison by a UK court for passing British and American nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union. Read a biography of Fuchs from PBS.
Civil Rights Act of 1875 became law
On March 1, 1875, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 became law. It declared that all persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law. In 1883, in the Civil Rights Cases, the US Supreme Court ruled the 1875 Act unconstitutional and unauthorized by either the 13th or 14th Amendments. Congress passed no more civil rights legislation until 1957.
