Editing March 2 (section)

===1601–1900===
*[[1657]] &ndash; The [[Great Fire of Meireki]] begins in [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]] (now [[Tokyo]]), Japan, causing more than 100,000 deaths before it exhausts itself three days later.
*[[1776]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] militia units attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in and around the [[Savannah River]] by a small fleet of the [[Royal Navy]] in the [[Battle of the Rice Boats]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Cashin|first=Edward J.|title=William Bartram and the American Revolution on the Southern Frontier|location=Columbia, S.C.|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|date=2006|isbn=9781570036859|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tgasE-BnX4IC|pages=218–223}}</ref>
*[[1791]] &ndash; [[Claude Chappe]] demonstrates the first [[Optical telegraph|semaphore]] line near Paris.
*[[1797]] &ndash; The [[Bank of England]] [[Bank of England note issues|issues]] the first [[Banknotes of the pound sterling|one-pound]] and [[Banknotes of the pound sterling|two-pound]] [[banknote]]s.
*[[1807]] &ndash; The [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] passes the [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves]], disallowing the importation of new [[slavery|slaves]] into the country.
*[[1811]] &ndash; [[Argentine War of Independence]]: A [[Spanish Empire|royalist]] fleet defeats a small [[flotilla]] of [[May Revolution|revolutionary]] ships in the [[Battle of San Nicolás]] on the [[Río de la Plata|River Plate]].
*[[1815]] &ndash; Signing of the [[Kandyan Convention]] treaty by British invaders and the leaders of the [[Kingdom of Kandy]].
*[[1836]] &ndash; [[Texas Revolution]]: The [[Texas Declaration of Independence|Declaration of independence]] of the [[Republic of Texas]] from Mexico is adopted.
*[[1855]] &ndash; [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] becomes [[Tsar]] of Russia.
*[[1859]] &ndash; The two-day [[The Great Slave Auction|Great Slave Auction]], once thought to be the largest such auction in [[United States]] history, begins.
*[[1865]] &ndash; [[East Cape War]]: The [[Völkner Incident]] in New Zealand.
*[[1867]] &ndash; The U.S. Congress passes the first [[Reconstruction Act]].
*[[1877]] &ndash; Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] the winner of the [[1876 U.S. presidential election]] even though [[Samuel J. Tilden]] had won the popular vote.
*[[1882]] &ndash; [[Queen Victoria]] narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by [[Roderick Maclean]] in Windsor.