WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - This Week in Western Civilization March 2-8

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

This week, Olivia Finch discusses the anniversaries of the birth of Alexander Graham Bell, the death of John Philip Sousa, and William Penn's obtaining the land now known as Pennsylvania.

Welcome to this week in Western Civilization on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM. I'm your host, Olivia Finch, bringing new snapshots of history in context. Today we'll be covering one important birth, one important death, and one notable event that happened between March 1st and March 7th in Western Civ. On March 3, 1847, Scottish American inventor, scientist, and engineer Alexander Graham Bell was born. in Edinburgh, Scotland. Bell is best known as the inventor of the telephone, which stem partially from his research on hearing and speech in honor of his father and grandfather, both of whom worked in elocution, and his mother and wife, both of whom were deaf. This record is made by Alexander Graham Dare in the presence of Bethlehurst County. On March 6,

1932, American composer John Philip Sousa died of heart failure at the age of 77 in his hotel room at the Abraham Lincoln Hotel in Reading, Pennsylvania. Sousa is best known for his American military marches, including the Liberty Bell, which is also the opening theme for Monty Python's Flying Circus, Semper Fidelis, the official march of the United States Marine Corps, and the Stars and Stripes Forever, the National March of the United States of America. However, since most people already know that last one, and my dad is a Marine veteran, I'll be playing a bit of Semperfidelis. Hi, Dad. In March 4th, 1681, King Charles II of England granted a land charter to English writer and Quaker theologian William Penn to repay a debt of 16,000 pound sterling owed to Penn's father. This area, given as one of the largest land grants to an individual in history would later become Pennsylvania, which is where I'm proud. You've been listening to This Week in Western Civilization with Olivia Finch on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I'll see you next week.