The Battle of Agua Dulce was a skirmish on March 2, 1836, in Tamaulipas, Mexico, during the Goliad Campaign of the Texas Revolution. Mexican troops surprised rebellious colonists from the Mexican province of Texas, primarily immigrants from the United States, known as Texians. By the end of 1835, Texians had expelled all Mexican troops from their province. In February Frank W. Johnson, the commander of the volunteer army in Texas, along with James Grant, was leading a planned invasion of the Mexican port town of Matamoros. Unbeknownst to the Texians, Mexican General José de Urrea was leading troops from Matamoros into Texas to neutralize the rebels gathered along the coast. His troops easily defeated Johnson's small force on February 26. Several days later, informants revealed the location of another small force led by Grant, and on the morning of March 2, Urrea sent 150 troops who ambushed and defeated them. Grant fled but was killed, as were 11 men under his command. Six Texians were taken prisoner, and Urrea jailed them instead of executing them, contrary to Santa Anna's orders. Another six Texians escaped, five of whom later died in the Goliad Massacre. ( Full article...)

• Recently featured:
  • Girl Pat (1935 trawler)
  • Regents of the University of California v. Bakke
  • Pictor

• ... that the medieval era text Sarasvati-rahasya Upanishad calls Sarasvati (pictured) the goddess of wisdom who manifests as syllables, words, sentences, and understanding?
• ... that Antonia Fahberg, a lyric soprano of the Bavarian State Opera for 25 years, recorded Bach with Karl Richter, including an aria described as "a beguiling and beautifully restrained performance"?
• ... that The Times' suggestion that Insert Name Here made Sue Perkins the first woman to host a UK mainstream comedy TV panel show was refuted by Weaver's Week?
• ... that Chinese medical pioneer Zhang Xichun was "very good" at curing vomiting?
• ... that composer and critic Florent Schmitt criticized the Sextet of Francis Poulenc after its premiere for being vulgar?
• ... that several journalists regarded the low-budget ACE (1985) as one of the best flight simulators of the time?
• ... that French-Moroccan photographer Leila Alaoui used to set up a portable studio in a public place, such as a market square, and invite interested passers-by to be photographed?
• ... that the pinkmottle woodwax can grow in fairy rings?

• Spotlight wins Best Picture and Mad Max: Fury Road wins six awards at the Academy Awards.
• Thirty-six people are killed in an explosion in a coal mine near Vorkuta, Russia.
• The Jamaica Labour Party, led by Andrew Holness, wins a narrow majority in the Jamaican general election.
• Tara Air Flight 193 crashes in Nepal, killing all twenty-three people on board.
• In motorsport, Denny Hamlin (pictured) wins the Daytona 500 by 0.01 seconds, the narrowest margin in the race's history.

• Ongoing events:
  • Zika virus outbreak
  • European migrant crisis
• Recent deaths:
  • George Kennedy
  • Douglas Slocombe

March 2: The Nineteen Day Fast begins ( Bahá'í Faith, 2016)

• 1444 – Skanderbeg organised the League of Lezhë, an alliance of Albanian principalities that is regarded as the first unified Albanian state.
• 1825 – Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, was defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
• 1919 – Communist, revolutionary socialist, and syndicalist delegates met in Moscow to establish the Communist International.
• 1949 – The B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II landed in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
• 1978 – Aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 28, Czech Vladimír Remek (pictured) became the first person not from the Soviet Union or the United States to go into space.

• More anniversaries:
  • March 1
  • March 2
  • March 3

The mute swan (Cygnus olor) is a species of swan in the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Europe and Asia and is an introduced species in North America, Australasia and southern Africa. The name "mute" derives from it being less vocal than other swan species. Measuring 125 to 170 cm (49 to 67 in) in length, this large swan is wholly white in plumage with an orange bill bordered with black. It is recognisable by its pronounced knob atop the bill, which is larger in males. Photograph: Geni Recently featured: The Milkmaid Lagoon Nebula Peace of Münster Archive More featured pictures...