March 30, 1937

1937 Gov. E.D. Rivers signed an act of the General Assembly authorizing the creation of non-profit Electric Membership Corporations to provide electricity to rural areas of Georgia.

March 30, 1870

1870 On his way from Virginia to Savannah, where he hoped to recover his health, a weak and ailing Robert E. Lee arrived in Augusta aboard an evening train. Staying at Augusta’s Planters Hotel for two nights, the general had hundreds of visitors call on him the next day -- including several of his former generals. In the afternoon, Lee was driven through the streets to cheering crowds. The next morning, before boarding the train to continue his trip, Lee addressed a large crowd expressing his appreciation for their hospitality. Working his way through the crowd to stand close to the Confederate icon was the 13-year-old son of the minister of Augusta’s First Presbyterian Church. That boy was Woodrow Wilson.

March 30, 1990

1990 "National Doctor’s Day" was celebrated for the first time. Doctor’s Day was first celebrated in 1933 when the Barrow County Medical Auxiliary adopted a resolution: "to pay lasting tribute to her Doctors...be it resolved...that March 30, the day that famous Georgian Dr. Crawford W. Long first used ether anesthesia in surgery, be adopted as ’Doctor’s Day’...its observance demanding some act of kindness, gift or tribute in remembrance of the Doctors." In 1935, the Southern Medical Association Auxiliary adopted the annual observance, and the custom slowly spread to other areas of the country. In 1958, the U.S. House adopted a resolution officially recognizing Doctor’s Day. Finally, in 1990, President George Bush signed into law a bill designating March 30 as "National Doctor’s Day."

March 30, 1989

1989 Gov. Joe Frank Harris signed legislation designating the gopher tortoise as Georgia’s official state reptile.

March 30, 1870

1870 The U.S. Secretary of State proclaimed that the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution --which prohibited denial of the right to vote on account of race -- as having been ratified by the 29 of the 37 states then in existence. As this meant that three-fourths of the states had ratified the 15th Amendment, it was proclaimed as officially part of the Constitution. [Georgia had ratified the 15th Amendment on Feb. 2, 1870.]

March 30, 1939

1939 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived in Warm Springs, Ga. for his thirty-fifth visit to his "second home."

March 30, 1942

1942 Construction of the Bell Aircraft plant in Marietta officially began on this day. Present for the ground breaking were Marietta Mayor L.M. (Rip) Blair, Cobb County Commissioner George McMillan, County Attorney James V. Carmichael, and Atlanta Chamber of Commerce officials Ivan Allen, Sr., and Frank Shaw -- all key forces in the effort to bringing Bell to Georgia. The grading contract for the main building and railroad sidings went to W. Florence Construction Company of Powder Springs. The Atlanta firm of Robert & Company got the contract to build the plant. Under the direction of the U.S. Corps of Engineers and Bell Aircraft Corporation, Robert & Company would be responsible for architectural-engineering management. A G. Stanford, a Georgia Tech graduate, was named as the resident engineer in charge of the project. On November 9, 1942, the contract to build the Bell Bomber Administration Building would be awarded to Atlanta contractors Hardin & Ramsey.

March 30, 1945

1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived in Warm Springs, Ga. for his forty-second (and final) visit to his "second home." He was suffering from advancing heart disease and exhaustion resulting from his efforts in leading the final push to end World War II and preparing for establishing an organization to try and ensure world peace afterwards. But unfortunately he would not live to see these particular dreams realized.

March 30, 1908

1908 Folk artist Mattie Lou O’Kelley was born in Maysville, Georgia. See July 26, 1997 entry for biographical information.

March 30, 1996

1996 In Charlotte, N.C. All-American basketball player Saudia Roundtree scored 26 points and put on a stellar performance as the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs beat Stanford 86-76 in an NCAA women’s Final Four semifinal game. This meant that the Lady Dogs would play the Lady Vols of the University of Tennessee for the NCAA national championship the next night.

March 30, 1842

1842 At his office in Jefferson, Ga., Dr. Crawford W. Long administered sulfuric ether to James Venable as an anesthesia for the painless removal of two tumors from Venable’s neck. Unfortunately, Long did not publish the results of his operation until 1849. By then, several other doctors and dentists also were claiming to have been the first to use ether as an anesthesia. Nevertheless, Long’s March 30, 1842 operation is generally recognized as the first instance of the use of anesthesia during surgery. As an interesting footnote to Long’s story, his fee to James Venable for the anesthesia and surgery was just two dollars! In recognition of Long’s achievement, the U.S. Post Office issued a Crawford Long commemorative stamp in 1940