On This Day - March 7, 2026

The U.S. Patent Office issues patent no. 174,465 to Alexander Graham Bell for the telephone.

As American civil rights activists campaigning for voting rights march across Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, on their way to the state capitol, state troopers and local police use nightsticks and teargas to turn them back. The day became known as Bloody Sunday and a turning point in the Civil Rights movement.

The Songwriter's Hall of Fame honored 10 new inductees during a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Inductees included Fred Ebb, musical lyricist known for the Broadway hits "Cabaret" and "Chicago," and piano players Stevie Wonder and Neil Sedaka.

The Academy Award for Best Director goes to Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. It's the first time a woman wins Best Director honors.