March 7

1827 – During the Argentine-Brazilian War, Brazilian marines unsuccessfully attack the temporary naval base of Carmen de Patagones, held by militia of United Provinces of the Río de la Plata,  near modern day Buenos Ares, Argentina.

1850 – In the hope to prevent war between the states, Senator Daniel Webster gives his “Seventh of March” speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850, regulating the slave vs. free status of territories acquired in the Mexican–American War under terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and setting the state of Texas’ western and northern borders.

1862 – Union and Confederate troops engage in battle at Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas.

1876 – After Elisha Gray drops his application, the U.S. patent office grants Alexander Graham Bell a patent for the telephone.

1936 – In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland. France and Britain protest, but neither has the military forces to pursue the issue.

1945 – During World War II, American troops seize the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine river at Remagen, opening the way to the heartland of Germany’s and its industrial regions.

1986 – Divers from the USS Preserver locate the crew cabin of Shuttle Challenger on the Atlantic ocean floor.

1989 – Iran and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations after a confrontation over Salman Rushdie and his novel, The Satanic Verses.

1993 – The tugboat Thomas Hebert sinks, or is dragged underwater off the coast of New Jersey with the loss of 5 of the 7 crew aboard.