March 19th: This Day in History

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Today marks the 23rd anniversary of one of the biggest mistakes in American foreign policy. Of course, I am talking about the war in Iraq, which the Bush White House promised us was absolutely necessary. They claimed that on the grounds that Saddam's Iraq posed an immediate threat to world peace, that somewhere in that country, there was a mass arsenal of "Weapons of Mass Destruction" (WMD's). Remember those? 

Well, turns out that they didn't find the WMD's, even though they claimed to know where they were. Listening to them, you got the impression that they had these huge, irrefutable files and photographs and other concrete proof that Iraq had all of those WMD's. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and then serving Secretary of State Colin Powell showed some photographic evidence to the world at the United Nations. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld assured us that American intelligence knew very well the precise location of the WMD's:

"They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."

Iraq was regarded as a truly critical threat to world peace. There was serious mention in the same breath of mushroom clouds hovering over American skies. Also, Saddam Hussein was supposed to have a 45-minute response time, which seemed to place his nation almost as having a superpower status on par with the United States or the former Soviet Union, in terms of military capability.

And yet, we were promised, rather paradoxically, a quick and decisive victory. Rumsfeld kept opening his mouth and making the wrong kinds of headlines in those days. And one of the things which he promised was that the war would be won quickly by the United States. Here again are some of his words of assurance:

"It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months."

Ah, yes. A quick, convincing, seemingly painless military victory, with few if any frills or complications. We would go in, be embraced as heroes and liberators, and then waltz out, victorious, conquering heroes. Beloved as always by the world.

Sure enough, Saddam Hussein was removed. His regime collapsed quickly, and he was on the run. In fact, he would be found in a literal hole on the ground. Meanwhile, Bush had flown to an aircraft carrier anchored near San Diego with a huge banner reading "Mission Accomplished!" There, he gave a speech, assuring the United States that victory had indeed been achieved.

Yet, it wound up being a quagmire, and quite possibly is a strong contender for being the worst foreign policy disaster in American history. The war was not over in six days or six weeks. In fact, it lasted a whole lot longer than six months, even. The war began on this day in 2003, and we were still there until the first Trump administration. To put it another way, we were there for over a decade and a half, qualifying it as one of the longest wars in American history. Second longest, in fact, to the Afghanistan war, which we fought simultaneously. 

Meanwhile, we began the process of burning our bridges among our allies. All of the things which Americans are acting absolutely shocked to see now - our national anthem being booed in Canada, European allies questioning our intentions and our president being intensely unpopular among many of our traditional allies - first started right then and there. Almost the entire world stood opposed to the Iraq invasion and subsequent war. In fact, pretty much the only nation that was convinced by the Bush administration's claims that Iraq had a mass arsenal of WMD's and that it posed an immediate threat to world peace which needed to be dealt with immediately and with absolutely no delay was the United States. Even our closest ally in our efforts, Great Britain, seemed lukewarm in their response, as polls showed that most British people were opposed to the invasion. 

So in some ways, those times foreshadowed what was to come. Right now, the Trump administration has provoked allies and consistently belittled their status as independent nations. That is particularly true of Canada, which he insists will be the "51st state." But it is also true of Panama, where he claims he will militarily take over the Canal. It is true of Denmark and Greenland, which he also has suggested the United States will take over with military force (even in his State of the Union). He also claimed that he was going to use American military forces to take over Gaza and send the Palestinian people there packing. He warned that boots on the ground might be necessary to straighten things out in Mexico. And he has of course accused our allies in Europe of not pulling it's own weight in regards to Ukraine, and seemingly leaning towards pulling the United States out of NATO. 

All of this might feel shocking right now. Yet we had a foretaste of things to come during the years of George W. Bush, and especially during the Iraq War, which began with the invasion. That invasion was, in retrospect, a sort of crossing of the Rubicon for American foreign policy, one in which we were no longer regarded by the outside world in the heroic, or at least responsible, manner in which we felt entitled to be viewed, and began to actively flirt with playing a more villainous role. And it was 22 years ago on this day when we took the plunge by going ahead and invading Iraq.

Below are the sources for the quotes used above:

Rumsfeld’s Revisionist History: ‘We Know Where The WMD Suspect Sites Are’ by Faiz Shakir , Aaron Rupar May 26, 2006:

https://archive.thinkprogress.org/rumsfelds-revisionist-history-we-know-where-the-wmd-suspect-sites-are-72ccf0f2d8a0/

Over in six days: Who said what published in The Guardian, Sat 29 Mar 2003:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/mar/30/iraq4

On this day in 1227, Count Ugolino of Segna was elected Pope Gregory IX. In 1279 on this day, a Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ended the Song Dynasty in China. Frederick III of the Hapsburgs was crowned Roman German Emperor on this day in 1452. Giovanni de Varrazano of France caught sight of land around the area of the Carolinas on this day in 1524. French writer Honore de Balzac's play "Les Ressources de Quinola" opened to an empty house thanks to a failed publicity stunt on this day in 1842. In 1942 on this day, American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered men between 45 & 64 to register for non military duty. On this day in 1945 with the war going very badly by then for the Axis powers, German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler issued the Nero Decree to destroy all German factories. Also on this day in 1945, General Fromm was executed for his role in the plot against Hitler. In 1949 on this day, East Germany approved its new constitution, which was effectively a precursor to the establishment of a separate, Soviet-dominated East Germany, the People's Council of the Soviet Zone of Occupation approves a new constitution. On this day in 1970, a national emergency was declared in Cambodia. Also on this day in 1970, the West German Chancellor & East German Premier met. On this day in 2003, the invasion of Iraq by American and British led coalition forces began without United Nations support and in defiance of the vast majority of world opinion.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 1227, Count Ugolino of Segna was elected Pope Gregory IX

• In 1279 on this day, a Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ended the Song Dynasty in China.

• Frederick III of the Hapsburgs was crowned Roman German Emperor on this day in 1452. 

• Giovanni de Varrazano of France caught sight of land around the area of the Carolinas on this day in 1524.

• 1540 - Court of Holland names Amsterdam sheriff John Hubrechtsz a "heretic"

• 1563 - Peace of Amboise: Rights for Huguenots

• 1571 - Spanish troops occupy Manila

• 1628 - Massachusetts colony founded by Englishmen

• 1644 - 200 members of Peking imperial family/court commit suicide in loyalty to the Emperor

• 1682 - Nationally Council accept independence of French church

1687 - French explorer La Salle was murdered by his own men while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, in the Gulf of Mexico.  

• 1687 - Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men.

• 1702 - James II's daughter Anne Stuart becomes queen of England

• 1748 - English Naturalization Act passes granting Jews right to colonize US

• 1775 - 4 people buried by avalanche for 37 days, 3 survive (Italy)

• 1775 - Poland & Prussia sign trade agreement

• 1799 - Joseph Haydn's "Die Schopfung," premieres in Vienna

• 1803 - Friedrich Schiller's "Die Braut von Messina," premieres in Weimar

• 1822 - Boston, Mass incorporated as a city

• 1831 - 1st US bank robbery (City Bank, NY/$245,000)

Bust of Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright

• French writer Honore de Balzac's play "Les Ressources de Quinola" opened to an empty house thanks to a failed publicity stunt on this day in 1842. Hoping to create a buzz for the play, the writer circulated a rumor that tickets were sold out. Unfortunately, most of his fans stayed home.    By this time, Balzac was already a well-known literary figure. Born in Tours, France, Balzac was educated in Paris, where he started writing plays at the age of 20 while working as a lawyer's apprentice. His plays bombed, and he took to writing thrillers under an assumed name. Needing money, he launched disastrous ventures in printing and silver mining and went bankrupt. While struggling under his debts, he resumed writing, and by 1929 he was publishing under his own name, convinced he was a genius. By 1830, he had become a celebrated writer who frequented literary salons. Balzac drove himself ruthlessly, working 14 to 16 hours at a stretch, aided by some 50 cups of coffee a day. He completed 90 novels, all part of a single series, "La Comedie Humaine," and died in Paris in 1850.

• 1853 During the Taiping Rebellion in China, the rebels captured Nanking and renamed it T'en-ching (Heavenly Capital). 

• 1859 - Opera "Faust" by Charles Gounod premieres in Paris

• 1861 - The First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand.

1863 - The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000. The wreck was discovered on the same day and month, exactly 102 years later by then teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence.

1864 - Opera "Mireille" premieres in Paris

1865 - Battle of Bentonville-Confederates retreat from Greenville NC

1866 - Immigrant ship Monarch of the Seas sinks in Liverpool; 738 die

1870 - The opera "Guarany," premieres in Milan

1877 - Australia beat England by 45 runs in very 1st Test match

1883 - Jan Matzeliger invents 1st machine to manufacture entire shoes

1885 - Louis Riel returns to Canada, proclaims provisional government, Sask

1892 - 3 brothers Hearne play in same Test Cricket Eng v SA (Cape Town)

1895 - Los Angeles Railway established to provide streetcar service

1897 - Yale defeated Penn, 30-10 in 1st major college basketball game

1906 - Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's "Quattro Rusteghi," premieres in Munich

1907 - 18.8 cm precipitation at Lewer's Ranch, Nevada (state record)

1914 - Stanley Cup: Tor Blueshirts (NHA) sweep Vict Capitals (PCHA) in 3 game

1915 - Pluto photographed for 1st time (although unknown at the time)

1917 - US Supreme Court upheld 8-hr work day for railroad employees

1918 - Congress authorizes time zones & approves daylight saving time

1918 - S Potter becomes 1st US pilot to shoot down a German seaplane

1920 - US Senate rejects Treaty of Versailles for 2nd time refusing to ratify League of Nations' covenant (maintaining isolation policy)

1921 - Italian Fascists shoot from the Parenzana train at a group of children in Strunjan (Slovenia): two children are killed, two mangled and three wounded.

262nd Pope John XXIII262nd Pope John XXIII 1925 - Angelo G Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) becomes a bishop

1927 - Bloody battles between communists & nazis in Berlin

1928 - "Amos & Andy" debuts on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago)

1930 - Nakagawa Soen accepted as a student of Katsube Keigaku Roshi

1931 - Nevada legalizes gambling

1932 - The Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened.

1937 - Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Divini redemptoris against communism

1938 - Toronto Maple Leafs score 8 goals in 5 minutes

1940 - Failed British air raid on German base at Sylt

1940 - French government of Daladier, falls

1941 - Jimmy Dorsey & orchestra record "Green Eyes" & "Maria Elena"

Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial in Washington, D.C.

• In 1942 on this day, American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered men between 45 & 64 to register for non military duty.

1942 - Thoroughbred Racing Association of US formed in Chicago

1943 - Airship Canadian Star torpedoed & sinks

1943 - Frank Nitti, the Chicago Outfit Boss after Al Capone, commits suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard.

32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 

1944 - Tippett's oratorium "Child of Our Time," premieres in London

1945 - 800 killed as Kamikaze attacked USS Franklin off Japan

• On this day in 1945 with the war going very badly by then for the Axis powers, German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler issued the Nero Decree to destroy all German factories.

• Also on this day in 1945, General Fromm was executed for his role in the plot against Hitler. On this day, the commander of the German Home Army, Gen. Friedrich Fromm, is shot by a firing squad for his part in the July plot to assassinate the Fuhrer. The fact that Fromm's participation was half-hearted did not save him.    By 1944, many high-ranking German officials had made up their minds that Hitler must die. He was leading Germany in a suicidal war on two fronts, and they believed that assassination was the only way to stop him. According to the plan, coup d'etat would follow the assassination, and a new government in Berlin would save Germany from complete destruction at the hands of the Allies. All did not go according to plan, however. Col. Claus von Stauffenberg was given the task of planting a bomb during a conference that was to be held at Hitler's holiday retreat, Berchtesgaden (but was later moved to Hitler's headquarters at Rastenburg). Stauffenberg was chief of staff to Gen. Friedrich Fromm. Fromm, chief of the Home Army (composed of reservists who remained behind the front lines to preserve order at home), was inclined to the conspirators' plot, but agreed to cooperate actively in the coup only if the assassination was successful.    On the night of July 20, 1944, Stauffenberg planted an explosive-filled briefcase under a table in the conference room at Rastenburg. Hitler was studying a map of the Eastern Front as Colonel Heinz Brandt, trying to get a better look at the map, moved the briefcase out of place, farther away from where the Fuhrer was standing. At 12:42 p.m. the bomb went off. When the smoke cleared, Hitler was wounded, charred, and even suffered the temporary paralysis of one arm—but was very much alive.    Meanwhile, Stauffenberg had made his way to Berlin to meet with his co-conspirators to carry out Operation Valkyrie, the overthrow of the central government. Once in the capital, General Fromm, who had been informed by phone that Hitler was wounded but still alive, ordered Stauffenberg and his men arrested, but Fromm was located and locked in an office by Nazi police. Stauffenberg and Gen. Friedrich Olbricht began issuing orders for the commandeering of various government buildings. Then the news came through from Herman Goering that Hitler was alive. Fromm, released from confinement by officers still loyal to Hitler, and anxious to have his own association with the conspirators covered up quickly, ordered the conspirators, including two Stauffenberg aides, shot for high treason that same day. (Gen. Ludwig Beck, one of the conspiracy leaders and an older man, was allowed the "dignity" of committing suicide.)    Fromm's last-ditch effort to distance himself from the plot failed. Within the next few days, on order of Heinrich Himmler, who was now the new head of the Home Army, Fromm was arrested. In February 1945, he was tried before the People's Court and denigrated for his cowardice in refusing to stand up to the plotters. But because he went so far as to execute Stauffenberg and his partners on the night of July 20, he was spared the worst punishment afforded convicted conspirators—strangulation on a meat hook. He was shot by a firing squad on March 19.

1945 - British 36th division conquers Mogok (ruby mine)

1945 - US Task Force 58 attacks ships near Kobe/Kure

1946 - Fr Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique & Reunion become overseas depts

1946 - Nicolai Schwernik succeeds Kalinin as president of USSR

1947 - Belgian government of Spaak, forms

1947 - Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek conquers Jenan

1948 - Lee Savold KOs Gino Buonvino in 54 seconds at Madison Square Garden, NYC

1949 - 1st museum devoted exclusively to atomic energy, Oak Ridge, Tn

Flag of East Germany

• In 1949 on this day, East Germany approved its new constitution, which was effectively a precursor to the establishment of a separate, Soviet-dominated East Germany, the People's Council of the Soviet Zone of Occupation approves a new constitution. This action, together with the U.S. policy of pursuing an independent pathway in regards to West Germany, contributed to the permanent division of Germany.    The postwar status of Germany had become a bone of contention between the United States and the Soviet Union even before World War II ended. The Soviet Union wanted assurances that Germany would be permanently disarmed and demanded huge reparations from the postwar German government. The United States, however, was hesitant to commit to these demands. By 1945, many U.S. officials began to see the Soviet Union as a potential adversary in the postwar world and viewed a reunified-and pro-West-Germany as valuable to the defense of Europe. When the war ended in May 1945, Russian forces occupied a large portion of Germany, including Berlin. Negotiations between the United States, Russia, Britain, and France resulted in the establishment of occupation zones for each nation. Berlin was also divided in zones of occupation. While both the United States and Russia publicly called for a reunified Germany, both nations were coming to the conclusion that a permanently divided Germany might be advantageous.    For the United States, West Germany, with its powerful economy and potential military strength, would make for a crucial ally in the developing Cold War. The Soviets came to much the same conclusion in regards to East Germany. When, in 1949, the United States proposed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (a military and political alliance between America and several European states) and began to discuss the possible inclusion of a remilitarized West Germany in NATO, the Soviets reacted quickly. The new constitution for East Germany, approved by the People's Council of the Soviet Zone of Occupation (a puppet legislative body dominated by the Soviets), made clear that the Russians were going to establish a separate and independent East Germany. In October 1949, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was declared. Months earlier, in May, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) had been formally proclaimed. Germany remained a divided nation until the collapse of the communist government in East Germany and reunification in 1990.

1950 - 5th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Babe Didrikson-Zaharias

1950 - City College of NY defeats Bradley to win the NIT

1951 - Herman Wouk's "Caine Mutiny," published

1953 - Tennessee Williams' "Camino Real," premieres in NYC

Playwright Tennessee WilliamsPlaywright Tennessee Williams 1953 - 25th Academy Awards - "Greatest Show on Earth," Gary Cooper & Shirley Booth win (1st time televised)

1954 - 1st color telecast of a prize fight, Giardello vs Troy in Madison Square Garden, NYC

1954 - 1st rocket-driven sled on rails was tested in Alamogordo, NM

1954 - US Ladies Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright

1954 - US Mens Figure Skating championship won by Hayes A Jenkins

1954 - Weekes, Worrell & Walcott complete tons in innings v England

1955 - 17th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: SF beats La Salle 77-63

1956 - Biggest NBA margin of victory - Minn Lakers-133, St Louis Hawks-75

1957 - Indians reject Boston's offer of $1 million for Herb Score

1958 - Britain's 1st planetarium opens at Madame Tussaud's in London

1958 - Sobers completes a century in each innings v Pakistan

1959 - "1st Impressions" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 84 performances

1960 - "Redhead" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 455 performances

1960 - 22nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Ohio State beats California 75-55

1962 - "All American" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 80 performances

1962 - Archbishop Suenens of Mechelen-Brussels appointed cardinal

Actor Sean ConneryActor Sean Connery 1964 - Sean Connery's 1st day of shooting on "Goldfinger"

• 1965 - Indonesia nationalizes all foreign oil companies

• 1965 - Rembrandt's "Titus" sells for then record 7,770,000 gulden

1965 - Stoica becomes president & Ceausescu party leader of Romania

• 1965 - The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000 and said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, was discovered by then teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence exactly 102 years after its destruction.

1966 - "Pousse Cafe" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 3 performances

1966 - 28th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Texas Western beats Ky 72-65

1966 - Belgium government of Vanden Boeynants begins

1967 - Fr Somaliland (Djibouti) votes to continue association with France

1967 - Marilynn Smith wins LPGA St Petersburg Orange Golf Classic

1968 - Howard University students seize administration building

• 1969 - British invade Anguilla

1969 - Chicago 8 indicted in aftermath of Chicago Democratic convention

1969 - The 385 metre tall TV-mast at Emley Moor, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build- up.

• On this day in 1970, a national emergency was declared in Cambodia. The National Assembly grants "full power" to Premier Lon Nol, declares a state of emergency, and suspends four articles of the constitution, permitting arbitrary arrest and banning public assembly. Lon Nol and First Deputy Premier Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak had conducted a bloodless coup against Prince Norodom Sihanouk the day before and proclaimed the establishment of the Khmer Republic.    Between 1970 and 1975, Lon Nol and his army, the Forces Armees Nationale Khmer (FANK), with U.S. support and military aid, fought the communist Khmer Rouge for control of Cambodia. When the U.S. forces departed South Vietnam in 1973, both the Cambodians and South Vietnamese found themselves fighting the communists alone. Without U.S. support, Lon Nol's forces succumbed to the Khmer Rouge in April 1975. The victorious Khmer Rouge evacuated Phnom Penh and began reordering Cambodian society, which resulted in a killing spree and the notorious "killing fields." Eventually, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians were murdered or died from exhaustion, hunger, and disease. During the five years of bitter fighting, approximately 10 percent of Cambodia's 7 million people died.

• Also on this day in 1970, the West German Chancellor & East German Premier met.

1971 - Phila 76ers outscore Cincinnati Royals 90-8 in 1 half

1972 - "To Live Another Summer" closes at Helen Hayes NYC after 173 perfs

1972 - Carol Mann wins LPGA Orange Blossom Golf Classic

1972 - India & Bangladesh sign friendship treaty

1972 - LA Lakers beat Golden State Warriors, 162-99, by then record 63 pts

• 1973 - Dean tells Nixon, "There is a cancer growing on the Presidency"

1974 - Jefferson Starship begins their 1st tour

1975 - "Dr Jazz" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 5 performances

1975 - Penn is 1st state to allow girls to compete with boys in HS sports

1977 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1977 - Jevgeni Kulikov skates world record 1000m (1:15.33)

1978 - 50,000 demonstrate in Amsterdam against neutron bomb

1978 - Sally Little wins LPGA Kathryn Crosby/Honda Civic Golf Classic

1979 - House of Reps begins live TV broadcasts via C-SPAN

1981 - -21] Emmy 8th Daytime Awards - Susan Lucci loses for 2nd time

1981 - 2 workers killed in space shuttle Columbia accident

1981 - Buffalo Sabres beat Toronto Maple Leafs 14-4

1982 - National Guard jet tanker crashes killing 27

• 1982 - Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the U.K..

1984 - "Kate & Allie," premieres

1984 - John J O'Connor named 8th archbishop of NY

1984 - KSD-AM in St Louis MO changes call letters to KUSA

1984 - Mobil oil tanker spills 200,000 gallons into Columbia River

1984 - Pitcher Denny McLain, indicted on various charges of racketeering

1984 - STS 41-C vehicle moves to launch pad

1985 - "Spin Magazine" begins publishing

1985 - NSW wins cricket Sheffield Shield by beating Queensland by 1 wicket

1985 - Senate votes 55-45, to authorize production of the MX missile

1987 - Bonnie Blair skates ladies world record 500 m (39.43 sec)

1987 - Fred Currey acquires Greyhound Bus Company

1987 - Hassanali inaugurated as president of Trinidad & Tobago

• 1987 - PTL leader Jim Bakker resigns after sex scandal with Jessica Hahn

1987 - Yvonne van Gennip skates ladies world record 3 km (4:16.85)

1988 - 2 British soldiers lynched in Belfast North Ireland

1988 - Yvonne van Gennip skates un-official world record 10 km (15:25.25)

1989 - Boeing B-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft makes maiden flight

1989 - Ice Dance Championship at Paris won by M Klimova & S Ponomarenko (USR)

1989 - Ice Pairs Championship at Paris won by E Gordeeva & S Grinkov (USSR)

1989 - Lori Garbacz wins Circle K LPGA Golf Open Tucson

1989 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Kurt Browning (CAN)

1989 - Worlds Ladies Figure Skating Champ in Paris won by Midori Ito (Japan)

1990 - 1st world ice hockey tournament for women held (Ottawa)

1991 - KC Royals announce they are putting Bo Jackson on waivers

1991 - Sacramento Kings set NBA record of 29 consecutive road loses

1991 - St Louis Blue Brett Hull is 3rd NHLer to score 80 goals in a season

Clergyman and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr.Clergyman and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr. 

 

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1991 - NFL owners strip Phoenix of 1993 Super Bowl game due to Arizona Not recognizing Martin Luther King Day

1992 - "Master Builder" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 45 performances

1992 - British Prince Andrew & Princess Sarah Ferguson announce separation

1993 - Ice Dance Championship at Prague won by M Usova & A Zhulin (RUS)

1993 - Ice Pairs Championship at Prague won by I Brasseur & L Eisler (CAN)

1993 - Supreme Court Justice Byron R White announced plans to retire

1994 - 2500 kilograms of cocaine intercepted in Zeewolde Neth

1994 - Lara scores 167 for WI v England at Georgetown

1994 - Largest omelet (1,383sq ft) made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama Japan

1994 - NJ Devils club record 41st win of the season

1995 - "Translations" opens at Plymouth Theater NYC for 25 performances

1995 - "Uncle Vanya" closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC after 29 performances

1995 - 5 die by poison gas in Japanese subway

1995 - Arizona outside of Phoenix begins using new area code 520

1995 - Bonnie Blair skates female world record point total (156.450)

1995 - Finland Social-Democratic Party wins parliamentary election

1995 - Laura Davis wins LPGA Standard Register PING Golf Tournament

Basketball Superstar Michael JordanBasketball Superstar Michael Jordan 1995 - Michael Jordan rejoins Chicago Bulls after 17 months, beats Pacers

1995 - NBA NY Knicks beat NY Nets in 100th meeting (Knicks 53 Nets 47)

1995 - Neil Marshall skates world record 3 km (3:54.08)

Nelson Mandela

• 1996 - Winnie Mandela divorces Nelson after 38 years of marrage

1997 - Ice Pairs won by Mandy Woetzel & Ingo Steuer (GER)

1997 - Major League Baseball announces 5 year/$50M deal with Pepsi

1997 - Supreme Court hears Internet indecency arguments

1998 - "Ah Wilderness!," opens at Vivian Beaumont theater

2001 - The Bank of Japan issued a monetary policy known as quantitative easing, which stimulated the Japanese economy after the burst of the dot-com bubble.

• 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 2) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities.

2003 - Invasion of Iraq by American and British led coalition begins without United Nations support and in defiance of world opinion

• On this day in 2003, the invasion of Iraq by American and British led coalition forces began without United Nations support and in defiance of the vast majority of world opinion. Mar 19, 2003: War in Iraq begins  On this day in 2003, the United States, along with coalition forces primarily from the United Kingdom, initiates war on Iraq. Just after explosions began to rock Baghdad, Iraq's capital, U.S. President George W. Bush announced in a televised address, "At this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger." President Bush and his advisors built much of their case for war on the idea that Iraq, under dictator Saddam Hussein, possessed or was in the process of building weapons of mass destruction.    Hostilities began about 90 minutes after the U.S.-imposed deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face war passed. The first targets, which Bush said were "of military importance," were hit with Tomahawk cruise missiles from U.S. fighter-bombers and warships stationed in the Persian Gulf. In response to the attacks, Republic of Iraq radio in Baghdad announced, "the evil ones, the enemies of God, the homeland and humanity, have committed the stupidity of aggression against our homeland and people."    Though Saddam Hussein had declared in early March 2003 that, "it is without doubt that the faithful will be victorious against aggression," he went into hiding soon after the American invasion, speaking to his people only through an occasional audiotape. Coalition forces were able to topple his regime and capture Iraq's major cities in just three weeks, sustaining few casualties. President Bush declared the end of major combat operations on May 1, 2003. Despite the defeat of conventional military forces in Iraq, an insurgency has continued an intense guerrilla war in the nation in the years since military victory was announced, resulting in thousands of coalition military, insurgent and civilian deaths.    After an intense manhunt, U.S. soldiers found Saddam Hussein hiding in a six-to-eight-foot deep hole, nine miles outside his hometown of Tikrit. He did not resist and was uninjured during the arrest. A soldier at the scene described him as "a man resigned to his fate." Hussein was arrested and began trial for crimes against his people, including mass killings, in October 2005.    In June 2004, the provisional government in place since soon after Saddam's ouster transferred power to the Iraqi Interim Government. In January 2005, the Iraqi people elected a 275-member Iraqi National Assembly. A new constitution for the country was ratified that October. On November 6, 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging. After an unsuccessful appeal, he was executed on December 30, 2006.    No weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq.

2004 - Äänekoski bus disaster: A semi-trailer truck and a bus crash head-on in Äänekoski, Finland. 24 people are killed and 13 injured.

2004 - A Swedish DC-3 shot down by a Russian MiG-15 in the 1950s is finally recovered after years of work. The remains of the crew are left in place, pending further investigations.

2004 - 3-19 Shooting Incident: Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is shot just before the country's presidential election on March 20.

2008 - GRB 080319B: A cosmic burst that is the farthest object visible to the naked eye was briefly observed on this day.

2012 - Wendy's overtakes Burger King to become the second best selling hamburger chain

2013 - 27 people are killed and 14 are injured in a bus crash in Maharashtra, India

2013 - 16 people are killed by mudslides in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

2013 - NASA's Mars rover Curiosity discovers further evidence of water-bearing minerals

1571 - Spanish troops occupied Manila.   1628 - The Massachusetts colony was founded by Englishmen.     1702 - Upon the death of William III of Orange, Anne Stuart, the sister of Mary, succeeds to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.   1748 - The English Naturalization Act passed granting Jews right to colonize in the U.S.   1775 - Poland & Prussia signed a trade agreement.   1822 - The city of Boston, MA, was incorporated.   1831 - The first bank robbery in America was reported. The City Bank of New York City lost $245,000 in the robbery.   1865 - The Battle of Bentonville took place. The Confederates retreated from Greenville, NC.   1866 - The immigrant ship Monarch of the Seas sank in Liverpool killing 738.   1879 - Jim Currie opened fire on the actors Maurice Barrymore and Ben Porter near Marshall, TX. The shots wounded Barrymore and killed Porter.   1895 - The Los Angeles Railway was established to provide streetcar service.   1900 - U.S. President McKinley asserted that there was a need for free trade with Puerto Rico.   1900 - Archeologist Arthur John Evans began the excavation of Knossos Palace in Greece.   1903 - The U.S. Senate ratified the Cuban treaty, gaining naval bases in Guantanamo and Bahia Honda.   1905 - French explorer S. de Segonzac was taken prisoner by Moroccans.   1906 - Reports from Berlin estimated the cost of the German war in S.W. Africa at $150 million.   1908 - The state of Maryland barred Christian Scientists from practicing without medical diplomas.   1915 - Pluto was photographed for the first time. However, it was not known at the time.   1917 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Adamson Act that made the eight-hour workday for railroads constitutional.   1918 - The U.S. Congress approved Daylight-Saving Time.   1918 - A German seaplane was shot down for the first time by an American pilot.   1920 - The U.S. Senate rejected the Versailles Treaty for the second time maintaining an isolation policy.   1924 - U.S. troops were rushed to Tegucigalpa as rebel forces took the Honduran capital.   1931 - The state of Nevada legalized gambling.   1940 - The French government of Daladier fell.   1942 - The Thoroughbred Racing Association was formed in Chicago.   1944 - Tippett's oratorium "Child of Our Time," premiered in London.   1945 - About 800 people were killed as Japanese kamikaze planes attacked the U.S. carrier Franklin off Japan.   1945 - Adolf Hitler issued his "Nero Decree" which ordered the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands as German forces were retreating.   1947 - Chiang Kai-Shek's government forces took control of Yenan, the former headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party.   1948 - Lee Savold knocked out Gino Buonvino in 54 seconds of the first round of their prize fight at Madison Square Gardens.   1949 - The Soviet People's Council signed the constitution of the German Democratic Republic, and declared that the North Atlantic Treaty was merely a war weapon.   1953 - The Academy Awards aired on television for the first time.   1953 - Tennessee Williams' "Camino Real" premiered in New York City.   1954 - Viewers saw the first televised prize fight shown in color when Joey Giardello knocked out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in New York City.   1954 - The first rocket-driven sled that ran on rails was tested in Alamogordo, NM.   1963 - In Costa Rica, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and six Latin American presidents pledged to fight Communism.   1964 - Sean Connery began shooting his role in "Goldfinger."   1965 - Indonesia nationalized all foreign oil companies.   1965 - Rembrandt's "Titus" sold for $7,770,000.   1968 - Students at Howard University students seized an administration building.   1969 - British invaded Anguilla.   1972 - India and Bangladesh signed a friendship treaty.   1976 - Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, after 16 years of marriage.  1977 - Congo President Marien Ngouabi was killed by a suicide commando.   1977 - France performed a nuclear test at Muruora Island.   1977 - The last episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" aired.   1979 - The U.S. House of Representatives began broadcasting its daily business on TV.   1981 - During a test of the space shuttle Columbia two workers were injured and one was killed.   1981 - The Buffalo Sabres set an NHL record when they scored 9 goals in one period against Toronto.   1984 - The TV show "Kate and Allie" premiered.   1984 - A Mobile oil tanker spilled 200,000 gallons into the Columbia River.   1985 - IBM announced that it was planning to stop making the PCjr consumer-oriented computer.   1985 - The U.S. Senate voted to authorize production of the MX missile.   1987 - Televangelist Jim Bakker resigned from the PTL due to a scandal involving Jessica Hahn.   1988 - Two British soldiers were killed by mourners at a funeral in Belfast, North Ireland. The soldiers were shot to death after being dragged from a car and beaten.   1990 - Latvia's political opposition claimed victory in the republic's first free elections in 50 years.   1990 - The first world ice hockey tournament for women was held in Ottawa.   1991 - Brett Hull, of the St. Louis Blues, became the third National Hockey League (NHL) player to score 80 goals in a season.   1994 - The largest omelet in history was made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama, Japan.   1998 - The World Health Organization warned of tuberculosis epidemic that could kill 70 million people in next two decades.   1999 - 53 people were killed and dozens were injured when a bomb exploded in a market place in southern Russia.   2000 - Vector Data Systems conducted a simulation of the 1993 Branch Davidian siege in Waco, TX. The simulation showed that the government had not fired first.   2001 - California officials declared a power alert and ordered the first of two days of rolling blackouts.   2002 - Operation Anaconda, the largest U.S.-led ground offensive since the Gulf War, ended in eastern Afghanistan. During the operation, which began on March 2, it was reported that at least 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters were killed. Eleven allied troops were killed during the same operation.   2002 - Actor Ben Kingsley was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.   2003 - U.S. President George W. Bush announced that U.S. forces had launched a strike against "targets of military opportunity" in Iraq. The attack, using cruise missiles and precision-guided bombs, were aimed at Iraqi leaders thought to be near Baghdad.

1853 During the Taiping Rebellion in China, the rebels captured Nanking and renamed it T'en-ching (Heavenly Capital). 1920 The United States Senate voted down signing the Treaty of Versailles for the second time. 1931 Nevada state legislature legalized gambling. 1953 The Academy Awards were first televised. 1996 Sarajevo became a united city again after four years when Moslem-Croat authorities took control of the last district held by Serbs. 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom is launched with air strikes on Baghdad, the beginning of the war with Iraq (March 20 in Iraq). 2003 Mahmoud Abbas became prime minister of Palestine. He would later succeed Yasir Arafat as head of the PLO and president of the Palestinian Authority.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar19.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory 

"Very Stable Genius" Trump Apparently Fails to Understand the Bridges He Burns When He Systematically Undermines and Insults Traditional Allies

Now this is an interesting article. Anne Applebaum points out something which should be obvious, and which on some level, we probably all know. Specifically, it is that Trump, far from being the "very stable genius" that he claims to be, actually has very limited understanding. Especially when it comes to how people will respond to his counterproductive words and actions, which more often than not prove to be quite destructive.

Case in point, look at how he treats our allies. Apparently, he knows that they are supposed to be our allies, because he used that word, specifically, recently when asking for help. Prior to that, however, he lambasted Europe and other allies for not stepping up more in terms of NATO spending, added them among the very long list of countries which he was imposing tariffs on, and then threatened to invade and take over Greenland. He also blasted them for not being appreciative of American efforts in World War II, a conflict which ended 80 years ago, although you might not know that listening to Trump. It was as if that conflict had just happened.

Trump keeps burning bridges with people, being abusive and so on. Then, he expects people to be willing to work with him later on, even though his behavior shows a decided lack of loyalty from him, as well as, frankly, a serious lack of stability.

Who would want to work with someone like that?

Yet it seems like Trump gets outraged and acts shocked - Shocked! - when our allies (honestly, I was kind of surprised he was familiar with that term) seemed hesitant to get involved in a war which Trump himself started, and which they were not even informed of. Trump belittles the efforts that other allies put in recent wars in the Middle East, particularly Afghanistan, which clearly suggests that he won't take their efforts - should they decide to get involved  - seriously, either. Plus, he already declared victory, saying that it was won within the first hour. So why would he even need help?

Still, he asked for help. And then, according to reports, he exploded with outrage when every single ally rebuked him. This guy has such an outrageous sense of entitlement, that he seems to think that they should all drop and give him exactly what he wants precisely when he wants it, or else they will be subjected to one of his trademark temper tantrums.

As Applebaum explains:

This week, something broke. Maybe Trump does not understand the link between the past and the present, but other people do. They can see that, as a result of decisions that Trump made but cannot explain, the Strait of Hormuz is blocked by Iranian mines and drones. They can see oil prices rising around the world and they understand that it is difficult and dangerous for the U.S. Navy to solve this problem. They can also hear the president lashing out, as he has done so many times before, trying to get other people to take responsibility, threatening them if they don’t.

Exactly.

Why should allies get involved in what sure seems like a high risk/low reward situation, which surely Trump would not appreciate, anyway. At best, he would take credit for any and all successes, and at worst, he would not hesitate - not for a moment - to blame them as a scapegoat if things go wrong.

Trump, I suspect, is his own worst enemy. He has a big mouth, and just cannot ever keep his mouth shut or insert his foot into his mouth, time and time again. Maybe he does not act ashamed (although he should), but everyone else sure recognizes the gaffes and inconsistencies. And apparently, they might just finally be catching up with this man, the "real Teflon President" if ever there was one.

Everyone but Trump Understands What He’s Done by Anne Applebaum, March 17, 2026:

Allied leaders know that any positive gesture they make will count for nothing.  By Anne Applebaum

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/03/trump-iran-war-allies/686423/

Everyone but Trump Understands What He’s Done - The Atlantic

MAGA Senator Lindsey Graham Blasts European Allies For Not Getting Involved in Mr. Trump's War

 

This is a picture of a magnet that was being sold at Strand's Book Store in New York City a few years ago. No, I did not buy it, but I liked it and took a picture, which I am sharing here now. 

MAGA Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina blasted European allies yesterday due to their reluctance and rejection of the notion of getting militarily involved with Mr. Trump's war with Iran, particularly sending ships and other military necessities to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Graham also suggested in an X post that he had never seen Donald Trump as angry as he had after all of the European allies had rejected involvement. Here, specifically, is what he said:

"Just spoke to President Trump about our European allies’ unwillingness to provide assets to keep the Strait of Hormuz functioning, which benefits Europe far more than America.    

I have never heard him so angry in my life.     

I share that anger given what’s at stake.       

The arrogance of our allies to suggest that Iran with a nuclear weapon is of little concern and that military action to stop the ayatollah from acquiring a nuclear bomb is our problem not theirs is beyond offensive.     

The European approach to containing the ayatollah’s nuclear ambitions have proven to be a miserable failure.  

The repercussions of providing little assistance to keep the Strait of Hormuz functioning are going to be wide and deep for Europe and America.    

I consider myself very forward-leaning on supporting alliances, however at a time of real testing like this, it makes me second guess the value of these alliances.     

I am certain I am not the only senator who feels this way."  

You have the audacity to refer to "our allies" as arrogant? Meanwhile, you let the king of arrogance, Donald Trump, start this war alone, without allies and without even bothering to ask Congress for approval - making this war illegal - and all of that after not holding him accountable for another war in Venezuela, or trying to rein him in when he started ramping up talk about militarily taking over Greenland. This man who personifies arrogance, and you back him up every step of the way, without ever once calling him out on it since he came to power.

But you call out arrogance among our allies - who Donald Trump, in his actual arrogance, never stopped insulting - for hesitating to get involved in a war that they did not start or have any say in, and which Trump seemed to assure them had already been won, so they were not needed? All because you are too weak and cowardly to ever even so much as attempt to hold Trump accountable for his own actions, or force him to own up to his mistakes?

Let's make some things very clear. Trump started this war. He did it alone, and without doing some fundamental things that presidents have done in the past when pursuing a war. Trump launched this war without first bothering to build a case for it to the American people, or to our allies, European or otherwise. He did it without trying to build a coalition or going through the proper channels, either the United Nations on an international level, or making the case in order to obtain Congressional approval domestically. It sure appears that he overstated the urgency of the threat that Iran posed. After all, just months ago, Trump and his team not only declared, but insisted when challenged that they had "totally obliterated" Iran's nuclear weapons capability. Iran had been trying to obtain nuclear weapons for decades now, and again, just a few months ago, he had apparently completely destroyed their entire nuclear capabilities. Yet just a few months later, while facing compromising scandals at home and politically losing popularity and ground in an election year, he suddenly makes the urgent case for outright war with Iran. 

After launching the war, the justifications seemed to fluctuate. It was about stopping their nuclear capabilities. It was about regime change, because those are very bad men. It was a pre-emptive attack, cutting Iran's capabilities of attacking the United States, an attack which they claimed to be sure was to come. 

They also had conflicting reports of how the war was going, or even what it as. Both Trump and Hegseth outright referred to it as a "war" in the first few days. Then they seemed to back off from that, saying it was a war for Iran, but not for the United States (then what, exactly, is this for the United States?). Trump claimed that this was was won within the first hour. He said both before and after  his recent request help from allies, much like he said that he did not actually need their help both before and after asking them for help. 

With such inconsistency and a total lack of clarity, and with Trump seemingly acting hastily and without apparently having thought about any potential pitfalls before he jumped into the fire of war, why would anyone trust that Trump and company actually know what they are doing? Also, he continually and relentlessly takes every opportunity to insult allies - or rather, former allies, evidently. Then he acts shocked - Shocked! - that they would show less than wild enthusiasm to join up in his war games?

But of course, Graham does not address any of those questions regarding Trump. Just as pretty much always, he is too cowardly to ever question or criticize Trump. Graham, as always, is personally too cowardly to demand that Trump do what he, in fact, is legally obligated to do when pursing a war. Namely, to ask Congress for approval. But then, Graham always and forever is giving Trump a pass on all of his ridiculous behavior and bad ideas.  

Of course, Trump himself had plenty to say. Unfortunately. And of course, it reflects his blatant immaturity and false sense of entitlement, as well as his lack of ability to admit to any mistakes or less than perfect actions on his end:

“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post.  

He added that the U.S. no longer “‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID!”

Then why bother asking them for help, asshole? If you make such a point of continually insulting and undermining allies, why should you then get so upset and throw a tantrum when you don't get your way after asking them for assistance? And if you did need their assistance, why not try to build a case for war before launching into one? For that matter, if you did need their help - and it sure seems like he wants it now - why insult them to their faces just weeks before asking for help? Why bother continually making arguments that we don't need them and we're so strong, we can do it all on our own, and then get hot and bothered when they take you at your word and leave you to do it?

If Trump wanted NATO involved, then he has to find a way to drop his ego and let it be a NATO operation. Quite frankly, I am not even sure that Trump is capable of that, and I am not trying to be funny or clever when I say that. No, I literally do not believe that Trump would allow anyone other than Trump to be in charge of such an operation, which means that it cannot be done under NATO. Trump's own ego would not allow it. That said, this is in the Middle East, and is not a defensive war for NATO countries. So it likely could not be a NATO operation. In any case, Trump has done so much to fracture the suddenly fragile NATO alliance that they almost assuredly were not going to go along with this, one way or the other. 

So maybe Trump should have done what he claimed to do to begin with, and forget NATO involvement. After all, it is clear that, as far as he is concerned, NATO is an afterthought. So be it. I am sure NATO countries don't want to join Trump and sink in the quicksand which Trump foolishly rushed into.

Why also repeat Mr. Bush's mistake of declaring victory very prematurely in this war in the Middle East? For that matter, why repeat Mr. Bush's mistake of launching a war in the Middle East, of all places, to begin with? 

As for Mr. Graham, if he can be bothered to surgically remove his lips from Trump's ass long enough to possibly gain a different perspective. Then maybe, just maybe, he might stop his apparently relentless march to discredit himself and stain his name further for posterity. 

What awful times for this country, and indeed, for the world, with such pathetic "leaders" in charge at the moment. 

Below are the links to Graham's X page, as well as a related article. All quotes used above were taken from these two sources:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) X Post from earlier:

https://x.com/kyg_best/status/2033930724441518423

Am Yisrael Chai 🇮🇱 on X: "🇺🇸 US Senator Lindsey Graham: "Just spoke to President Trump about our European allies’ unwillingness to provide assets to keep the Strait of Hormuz functioning, which benefits Europe far more than America. I have never heard him so angry in my life. I share that anger https://t.co/sV5ff5QvSk" / X

Graham tears into European allies over Strait of Hormuz reluctance by Ellen Mitchell - 03/17/26 12:58 PM ET

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5787883-lindsey-graham-trump-european-allies/

Lindsey Graham slams Europe over Strait of Hormuz reluctance

March 18th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

On this day in 37, the Roman Senate annulled Tiberius' will and proclaimed Caligula Emperor. On this day in 1229, German Emperor Frederick II crowned himself King of Jerusalem. The city of Kraków in Poland was ravaged by Mongols on this day in 1241. In 1532 on this day, the English Parliament banned payments by English churches to Rome. Russian Czar Ivan IV, often better known historically as Ivan “The Terrible,” died at age 53 on this day in 1584. On this day in 1766, following four months of widespread protest in the American colonies, the British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, a taxation measure enacted to raise revenues for a standing British army in America. On this day in 1932, Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike was born in the small town of Shillington, Pennsylvania. The War Relocation Authority was established in United States on this day in 1942. In 1950 on this day, military forces of the Nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan invaded communist (PRC) People's Republic of China (mainland) China in a surprise raid and capture the town of Sungmen. On this day in 1962, there was a French-Algerian truce ending the war that had lasted for 7½ years, and saw over a quarter of a million people killed. On this day in 1967, the Beatles' "Penny Lane" single went up to #1. On this day in 1990, the first free elections were held in East Germany, in which Conservatives defeated the Communists.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

• On this day in 37, the Roman Senate annulled Tiberius' will and proclaimed Caligula Emperor.

• 417 - St Zosimus begins his reign as Catholic Pope

• 731 - St Gregory III begins his reign as Catholic Pope

1123 - 1st Latern Council (9th ecumenical council) opens in Rome

1167 - Battle of El-Babein, Egypt: Franks under Amalrik vs Syrians

1184 - Battle of Ichi-no-Tani near Kobe, Japan

1190 - Crusaders kill 57 Jews in Bury St Edmonds England

• On this day in 1229, German Emperor Frederick II crowned himself King of Jerusalem.

The Barbica in Kraków, Poland

• The city of Kraków in Poland was ravaged by Mongols on this day in 1241.

1314 - Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake.

1325 - According to legend, Tenochtitlan is founded on this date. The event is depicted on the Mexican coat of arms.

1438 - Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes king of Germany

1509 - Emperor Maximilian I names Margaretha land guardians of Netherlands

• In 1532 on this day, the English Parliament banned payments by English churches to Rome.

1541 - Hernan de Soto observes 1st recorded flood in America (Mississippi R)

1582 - Prince William of Orange injured in attack at Antwerp

1583 - Dutch States General & Anjou sign treaty

•  Russian Czar Ivan IV, often better known historically as Ivan “The Terrible,” died at age 53 on this day in 1584.

Flag of Ethiopia

The Lion of Judah Emblem of the Ethiopian Empire

1608 - Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia.

• 1673 - Lord Berkley sells his half of New Jersey to the Quakers

3rd Roman Emperor Caligula3rd Roman Emperor Caligula 

1754 - Duke of Newcastle becomes English premier

• On this day in 1766, following four months of widespread protest in the American colonies, the British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, a taxation measure enacted to raise revenues for a standing British army in America.  The Stamp Act was passed on March 22, 1765, leading to an uproar in the colonies over an issue that was to be a major cause of the Revolution: taxation without representation. Enacted in November 1765, the controversial act forced colonists to buy a British stamp for every official document they obtained. The stamp itself displayed an image of a Tudor rose framed by the word "America" and the French phrase Honi soit qui mal y pense--"Shame to him who thinks evil of it."  The colonists, who had convened the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765 to vocalize their opposition to the impending enactment, greeted the arrival of the stamps with outrage and violence. Most Americans called for a boycott of British goods, and some organized attacks on the customhouses and homes of tax collectors. After months of protest, and an appeal by Benjamin Franklin before the British House of Commons, Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766. However, the same day, Parliament passed the Declaratory Acts, asserting that the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies.

1773 - Oliver Goldsmith' "She Stoops to Conquer," premieres in London

1781 - Charles Messier rediscovers global cluster M92

1793 - 2nd Battle at Neerwinden: Austria army beats France

1793 - The first republican state in Germany, the Republic of Mainz, is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann.

1810 - "Converse," 1st US opera, premieres in NY

1813 - David Melville, Newport, RI, patents apparatus for making coal gas

1818 - Congress approves 1st pensions for government service

1834 - 1st railroad tunnel in US completed, in Penn (275 m long)

1834 - Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union.

British Botanist Charles Darwin

• 1835 - Charles Darwin departs Santiago Chile on his way to Portillo Pass

1847 - 1st Dutch public telegram

1850 - Henry Wells & William Fargo forms American Express in Buffalo

1858 - Dutch Van der Brugghen government resigns

1859 - Vera Cruz besieged by Miramon (Cons) in Mexican War of Reform

1864 - Dale Dike on Humber River crumbles drowning some 240

1865 - Battle of Wilson's raid to Selma, AL

1865 - Congress of Confederate States of American adjourns for last time1865 - The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourned for the last time.  

1870 - 1st US National Wildlife Preserve (Lake Meritt in Oakland California)

• 1871 - Communards revolt in Paris

1874 - Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.

Bust of Abolitionist Frederick Douglass

• 1877 - President Hayes appoints Frederick Douglass marshal of Wash DC

1881 - Barnum & Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth opens (Madison Square Garden)

1890 - 1st US state naval militia organized (Massachusetts)

1891 - Britain is linked to the continent by Telephone

1892 - Lord Stanley presents silver challenge cup for hockey (Stanley Cup)

1895 - 200 blacks leave Savannah, Ga for Liberia

1899 - Phoebe, a moon of Saturn is discovered by Pickering

1900 - Ajax (Amsterdam Football Club), forms

1902 - Enrico Caruso becomes 1st well-known performer to make a record

Abolitionist Frederick DouglassAbolitionist Frederick Douglass 1902 - Schoenberg's "Verklärte Nacht," premieres in Vienna

1904 - 1st performance of Edward Elgar's "In the South (Alassio)"

1909 - Einar Dessau of Denmark makes 1st ham broadcast

1910 - 1st opera by an US composer (Converse) performed at the Met, NYC

1911 - North Dakota enacts a hail insurance law

1913 - King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki.

1914 - White Wolf gang beats government army in Jingdezhen China

1915 - Failed British attack in Dardanelles

1915 - French battleship Bouvet explodes, 640 killed

1918 - Soccer team SON OF Meerssen forms

1918 - Socialist Youth AJC organizes in Amsterdam

1919 - Order of DeMolay forms in Kansas City

1920 - Greece adopts the Gregorian calendar

1921 - 2nd Peace of Riga, Poland enlarged

1921 - Steamer "Hong Koh" runs aground off Swatow China killing 1,000

1922 - 1st intercollegiate indoor polo championship (Princeton vs Yale)1922 - Princeton and Yale played the first intercollegiate indoor polo championship. 

Pacifist and Spiritual Leader Mahatma GandhiPacifist and Spiritual Leader Mahatma Gandhi 

Statue of Gandhi in State Parliament Square, London, UK

1922 - Mohandas K. Gandhi was sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience in India. He served only 2 years of the sentence.   

1922 - British magistrates in India sentence Mahatma Gandhi to 6 years imprisonment for disobedience

1922 - WBT-AM in Charlotte NC begins radio transmissions

1922 - The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah, for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is held in New York City.

1925 - (8) 60-MPH tornadoes speed Mo, In, Il, Ky, & Tn kills 689

1929 - Dmitri Shostakovitch' "The new Babylon," premieres in Leningrad

1930 - Boston Bruins win record 20th NHL home game

1931 - 1st electric shavers go on sale in US (Schick)

1931 - Juan Bautista Aznar becomes premier of Spain

• On this day in 1932, Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Updike was born in the small town of Shillington, Pennsylvania. The only child of a math teacher father and aspiring writer mother, Updike developed an early love for reading and drawing and won a scholarship to Harvard. He became editor of the famous Harvard Lampoon and married as an undergraduate.  After graduating in 1953, Updike went to England for a year to study art. In England, he met New Yorker writers and editors E.B. and Katherine White, who offered him a job.  Updike worked on staff for the illustrious magazine until 1957, when he quit and moved to Ipswich, Massachusetts, to concentrate on fiction and poetry. He supported his wife and children with contributions to the New Yorker and in 1958 published his first novel, The Poorhouse Fair, to favorable reviews. Two years later, he published Rabbit, Run, considered one of his best novels, about a former high school basketball star named Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom. He wrote a sequel, Rabbit Redux, in 1971 and won Pulitzer Prizes for Rabbit Is Rich (1981) and Rabbit at Rest (1990). Updike's 1968 novel, Couples, detailing the sexual high-jinx of married couples in a small town, topped the bestseller chart for several weeks.  The prolific Updike published some 60 books during his lengthy career, including novels, children's books, poetry, short story collections and non-fiction. He also wrote frequently for magazines. He died of lung cancer on January 29, 2009, at age 76.

1933 - Radio Clube de Mocambique's, 1st radio transmission

1937 - Gas explosion in school in New London Texas: 294 die

1937 - The human-powered aircraft, Pedaliante, flies 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) outside Milan.

• 1938 - Mexico takes control of foreign-owned oil properties

1938 - NY 1st requires serological blood tests of pregnant women

• 1938 - Pres Cardena of Mexico nationalizes US & British oil companies

Italian Dictator Benito MussoliniItalian Dictator Benito Mussolini 

• 1940 - Benito Mussolini joins Hitler in Germany's war against France & Britain  1940 - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini held a meeting at the Brenner Pass. The Italian dictator agreed to join in Germany's war against France and Britain during the meeting. 

1942 - Illegal Free Netherlands announces boycott of theaters

1942 - 2 black players, Jackie Robinson & Nate Moreland, request a tryout with the Chicago White Sox, they are allowed to work out

• The War Relocation Authority was established in United States on this day in 1942.  On this day, the War Relocation Authority is created to "Take all people of Japanese descent into custody, surround them with troops, prevent them from buying land, and return them to their former homes at the close of the war."  Anger toward and fear of Japanese Americans began in Hawaii shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor; everyone of Japanese ancestry, old and young, prosperous and poor, was suspected of espionage. This suspicion quickly broke out on the mainland; as early as February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered that German, Italian, and Japanese nationals—as well as Japanese Americans—be barred from certain areas deemed sensitive militarily. California, which had a significant number of Japanese and Japanese Americans, saw a particularly virulent form of anti-Japanese sentiment, with the state's attorney general, Earl Warren (who would go on to be the chief justice of the United States), claiming that a lack of evidence of sabotage among the Japanese population proved nothing, as they were merely biding their time.  While roughly 2,000 people of German and Italian ancestry were interned during this period, Americans of Japanese ancestry suffered most egregiously. The War Relocation Authority, established on March 18, 1942, was aimed at them specifically: 120,000 men, women, and children were rounded up on the West Coast. Three categories of internees were created: Nisei (native U.S. citizens of Japanese immigrant parents), Issei (Japanese immigrants), and Kibei (native U.S. citizens educated largely in Japan). The internees were transported to one of 10 relocation centers in California, Utah, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming.  The quality of life in a relocation center was only marginally better than prison: Families were sardined into 20- by 25-foot rooms and forced to use communal bathrooms. No razors, scissors, or radios were allowed. Children attended War Relocation Authority schools.  One Japanese American, Gordon Hirabayashi, fought internment all the way to the Supreme Court. He argued that the Army, responsible for effecting the relocations, had violated his rights as a U.S. citizen. The court ruled against him, citing the nation's right to protect itself against sabotage and invasion as sufficient justification for curtailing his and other Japanese Americans' constitutional rights.  In 1943, Japanese Americans who had not been interned were finally allowed to join the U.S. military and fight in the war. More than 17,000 Japanese Americans fought; the all-Nisei 442nd Regiment, which fought in the Italian campaign, became the single most decorated unit in U.S. history. The regiment won 4,667 medals, awards, and citations, including 1 Medal of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 560 Silver Stars. Many of these soldiers, when writing home, were writing to relocation centers.  In 1990, reparations were made to surviving internees and their heirs in the form of a formal apology by the U.S. government and a check for $20,000.

1943 - James Oglethorpe (US) & Terkolei (Neth), torpedoed & sinks

1943 - Red Army evacuates Belgorod

1944 - Nazi Germany occupies Hungary

1944 - 2,500 women trample guards & floorwalkers to purchase 1,500 alarm clocks announced for sale in a Chicago Illinois dept store

1945 - 1,250 US bombers attacks Berlin

1945 - Maurice "Rocket" Richard becomes the 1st NHLer to score 50 goals

1945 - US Task Force 58 attacks targets on Kiushu

1948 - France & Great Britain & Benelux sign Treaty of Brussels

1948 - Philips begin experimental TV broadcasting

1948 - Soviet consultants have left Yugoslavia in first sign of Tito-Stalin split.

1949 - NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Org) ratified

1949 - WGAL TV channel 8 in Lancaster, PA (NBC) begins broadcasting

Soviet Union Premier Joseph StalinSoviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin 1950 - "Touch & Go" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 176 performances

1950 - CCNY beats Bradley 69-61 for the NIT championship

• In 1950 on this day, military forces of the Nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan invaded communist (PRC) People's Republic of China (mainland) China in a surprise raid and capture the town of Sungmen. Because the United States supported the attack, it resulted in even deeper tensions and animosities between the U.S. and the PRC.  In October 1949, the leader of the communist revolution in China, Mao Zedong, declared victory against the Nationalist government of China and formally established the People's Republic of China. Nationalist troops, politicians, and supporters fled the country and many ended up on Taiwan, an island off the Chinese coast. Once there, they declared themselves the real Chinese government and were immediately recognized as such by the United States. Officials from the United States refused to have anything to do with the PRC government and adamantly refused to grant it diplomatic recognition.  Nationalist Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek bombarded the mainland with propaganda broadcasts and pamphlets dropped from aircraft signaling his intention of invading the PRC and removing what he referred to as the "Soviet aggressors." In the weeks preceding the March 18, 1950 raid, Chiang had been particularly vocal, charging that the Soviets were supplying the PRC with military advisors and an imposing arsenal of weapons. On March 18, thousands of Nationalist troops, supported by air and sea units, attacked the coast of the PRC, capturing the town of Sungmen that lay about 200 miles south of Shanghai. The Nationalists reported that they killed over 2,500 communist troops. Battles between the raiding group and communist forces continued for weeks, but eventually the Nationalist forces were defeated and driven back to Taiwan.  Perhaps more important than the military encounter was the war of words between the United States and the PRC. Communist officials immediately charged that the United States was behind the raid, and even suggested that American pilots and advisors accompanied the attackers. (No evidence has surfaced to support those charges.) American officials were cautiously supportive of the Nationalist attack, though what they hoped it would accomplish beyond minor irritation to the PRC remains unknown. Just eight months later, military forces from the PRC and the United States met on the battlefield in Korea. Despite suggestions from some officials, including the commander of U.S. troops Gen. Douglas MacArthur, that the United States "unleash" the Nationalist armies against mainland China, President Harry S. Truman refrained from this action, fearing that it would escalate into World War III.

1951 - Pat O'Sullivan wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship

1952 - 1st plastic lens for cataract patients fitted (Phila)

• 1952 - Communist offensive in Korea

1953 - 15th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Kansas 69-68

1953 - Boston Braves move to Milwaukee

1953 - Earthquake strikes West Turkey, 250 die

1953 - KGNC (now KAMR) TV channel 4 in Amarillo, TX (NBC) begins broadcasting

1953 - NL approves Boston Braves move to Milwaukee (1st shift since 1903)

1955 - I Hatojama recognized as premier of Japan

1957 - WTWV (now WTVA) TV channel 9 in Tupelo-Columbus, MS (NBC) begins

1958 - Dodgers announces mascot/clown Emmett Kelly will not perform in 1958

1959 - Boston Celtic's Bill Sharman begins record of 56 straight free-throws

General Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States

• 1959 - President Dwight D Eisenhower signs Hawaii statehood bill

1961 - Poppin' Fresh Pillsbury Dough Boy introduced

Flag of Algeria

• On this day in 1962, there was a French-Algerian truce ending the war that had lasted for  7½ years, and saw over a quarter of a million people killed.    On March 18, 1962, France and the leaders of the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) sign a peace agreement to end the seven-year Algerian War, signaling the end of 130 years of colonial French rule in Algeria.  In late October 1954, a faction of young Algerian Muslims established the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) as a guerrilla organization dedicated to winning independence from France. They staged several bloody uprisings during the next year, and by 1956 the FLN was threatening to overrun the colonial cities, home to Algeria's sizable European settler population. In France, a new administration, led by Guy Mollet, promised to quell the Muslim rebellion and sent 500,000 French troops to Algeria to crush the FLN.  To isolate the rebels and their area of operations, France granted Tunisia and Morocco independence, and their borders with Algeria were militarized with barbed wire and electric fencing. When FLN leaders attempted to travel to Tunisia in October 1956 to discuss the Algerian War, French forces diverted their plane and jailed the men. In response, the FLN launched a new campaign of terrorism in the colonial capital of Algiers. General Jacques Massu, head of France's crack parachute unit, was given extraordinary powers to act in the city, and through torture and assassination the FLN presence in Algiers was destroyed. By the end of 1957, the rebels had been pushed back into rural areas, and it seemed the tide had turned in the Algerian War.  However, in May 1958, a new crisis began when European Algerians launched massive demonstrations calling for the integration of Algeria with France and for the return of Charles de Gaulle to power. In France, the Algerian War had seriously polarized public opinion, and many feared the country was on the brink of army revolt or civil war. On June 1, de Gaulle, who had served as leader of France after World War II, was appointed prime minister by the National Assembly and authorized to write a new national constitution.  Days after returning to power, de Gaulle visited Algiers, and though he was warmly welcomed by the European Algerians he did not share their enthusiasm for Algerian integration. Instead, he granted Muslims the full rights of French citizenship and in 1959 declared publicly that Algerians had the right to determine their own future. During the next two years, the worst violence in Algeria was perpetrated by European Algerians rather than the FLN, but scattered revolts and terrorism did not prevent the opening of peace negotiations between France and the FLN-led provisional government of the Algerian Republic in 1961.  On March 16, 1962, a peace agreement was signed at Evian-les-Bains, France, promising independence for Algeria pending a national referendum on the issue. French aid would continue, and Europeans could return to their native countries, remain as foreigners in Algeria, or take Algerian citizenship. On July 1, 1962, Algerians overwhelmingly approved the agreement, and most of the one million Europeans in Algeria poured out of the country. More than 100,000 Muslim and 10,000 French soldiers were killed in the seven-year Algerian War, along with thousands of Muslim civilians and hundreds of European colonists.

1962 - Dmitri Shostakovitch becomes member of Supreme Soviet of USSR

1963 - "Tovarich" opens at Broadway Theater NYC for 264 performances

1963 - France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria

1963 - The U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Miranda decision concerning legal council for defendants.  

1965 - Rolling Stones fined £5 each for public urination

1965 - USSR launches Voshkod 2; Alexei Leonov makes 1st spacewalk (20 mins)

1965 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.

1966 - "Pousse Cafe" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 3 performances

1966 - General Suharto forms government in Indonesia

1966 - Scott Paper begins selling paper dresses for $1

    

• On this day in 1967, the Beatles' "Penny Lane" single went up to #1.

1967 - Oil tanker Torrey Canyon hits a rock & spills oil

1968 - Congress repeals requirement for a gold reserve

1970 - -25) US Postal begins strike

• 1970 - Cambodia military coup under Gen Lon Nol, prince Sihanuk flees

1970 - Mail service paralyzed by 1st major postal strike

1970 - NFL selects Wilson as official football & scoreboard as official time

1971 - 200 die in landslide into Lake Yanahuani, Chungar Peru

1972 - AIAW 1st basketball champs, Immaculata beats West Chester State 52-48

1972 - China PR performs nuclear test at Lop Nor PRC

1974 - Most Arab oil producing nations end embargo against US

1975 - Kurds end fight against Iraqi army

• 1977 - Clash releases their 1st recording "White Riot"

• 1977 - US restricts citizens from visiting Cuba, Vietnam, N Korea & Cambodia

• 1977 - Vietnam hands over MIA to US

1978 - 250,000 attend rock concert California Jam II in Ontario Calif

1978 - Pakistani former premier Ali Bhutto sentenced to death

1979 - "On the 20th Century" closes at St James Theater NYC after 460 perfs

• 1979 - Battles between Kurds & Iranians break in Sananday Iran

1979 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA Honda Civic Golf Classic

1980 - Vostok rocket exploded on launch pad while being refueled, killing 50

1981 - Buffalo Sabres sets NHL record of 9 goals in 1 period (vs Toronto)

1982 - Singer Teddy Pendergrass' spinal cord severed in a car accident

1984 - Chris Johnson wins LPGA Tucson Conquistadores Golf Open

1985 - Capital Cities Communications Inc acquires ABC

1985 - Commissioner Peter Ueberroth reinstates Willie Mays & Mickey Mantle

1986 - Exciting draw in final gives NSW the Sheffield Shield over Qld

1986 - Treasury Dept announces plans to alter paper money

1987 - Gerber survey find most popular names for newborns (Jessica & Matthew)

1987 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

• 1989 - 27th space shuttle mission, STS-29 (Discovery 8), returns to Earth

1989 - California Quake amusement ride opens at Universal Studios

1989 - Dino Ciccarelli sets Wash Cap record of 7 pts in a game

1989 - In Egypt, a 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Pyramid of Cheops.

1990 - Largest ever art robbery at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston. 13 works valued over $500 million are stolen

Flag of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), better known as East Germany

• On this day in 1990, the first free elections were held in East Germany, in which Conservatives defeated the Communists.

1990 - 32-day lockout by baseball owners ends

1990 - A Tampa little leaguer, dies, after being struck by a pitch

1990 - Colleen Walker wins Circle K Tucson LPGA Golf Open

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Mike TysonHeavyweight Boxing Champion Mike Tyson 1991 - Mike Tyson beats Razor Ruddock in the 7th round

1991 - Phila '76ers retires Wilt Chamberlain's #13 jersey

1991 - Reggie Miller (Indiana) ends NBA free throw streak of 52 games

1992 - "4 Baboons Adoring the Sun" opens at Beaumont Theater NYC for 38 perf

1992 - Donna Summer gets a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame

1992 - Leona Helmsley sentence to 4 years for tax evasion

1992 - White South Africans voted for constitutional reforms that would give legal equality to blacks. 

1992 - Zimbabwe beat England by 9 runs in World Cup at Albury

1993 - "Sisters Rosensweig" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 556 perfs

1993 - Amsterdam stock exchange hits record Ÿ12.2 billion

1993 - Sri Lanka beat England in Test match by 5 wickets

Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era

• 1994 - South Africa Goldstone committee reveals existence of secret police

• 1994 - Space shuttle STS-62 (Columbia 16), lands

1994 - Zsa Zsa Gabor files for bankruptcy

1995 - Michael Jordan announces he is ending his 17 month NBA retirement

• 1995 - STS 67 (Endeavour 8) lands after 16½ days

Basketball Superstar Michael JordanBasketball Superstar Michael Jordan 1996 - 50,000 swimmers raise 15 million for charity during BT's Swimathon '96

1996 - A nightclub fire in Quezon City, Philippines kills 162.

1997 - Russian AN-24 plane crashes in Turkey, 50 die

The flag of the People's Republic of China

• 2003 - China's new president, Hu Jintao, announced that his country must deepen reforms and raise living standards of workers and farmers.

2003 - FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives.

2003 - British Sign Language is recognised as an official British language.

2005 - Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband.

2012 - Superleague Greece football match between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos is abandoned after fans set fire to Athens' Olympic Stadium

2012 - Joachim Gauck elected President of the Federal republic of Germany by the Federal Assembly

2013 - Explosions kill 25 people at a bus park in Kano, Nigeria

2013 - A car bombing kills 10 people and injures 20 in Mogadishu, Somalia

2013 - 98 people are killed and 248 are injured across Iraq from a series of bombings and shootings

 0037 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius’ will and proclaims Caligula emperor.   1123 - The first Latern Council (9th ecumenical council) opened in Rome.   1190 - Crusaders killed 57 Jews in Bury St. Edmonds England.   1532 - The English parliament banned payments by English church to Rome.   1541 - Hernando de Soto observed the first recorded flood of the Mississippi River.   1583 - Dutch States General & Anjou signed a treaty.   1673 - Lord Berkley sold his half of New Jersey to the Quakers.   1692 - William Penn was deprived of his governing powers.   1766 - Britain repealed the Stamp Act.   1813 - David Melville patented the gas streetlight.   1818 - The U.S. Congress approved the first pensions for government service.   1834 - The first railroad tunnel in the U.S. was completed. The work was in Pennsylvania.   1835 - Charles Darwin left Santiago Chile on his way to Portillo Pass.   1850 - Henry Wells & William Fargo founded American Express.   1874 - Hawaii signed a treaty giving exclusive trading rights with the islands to the U.S.   1881 - Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth opened in Madison Square Gardens.   1891 - Britain became linked to the continent of Europe by telephone.   1899 - Phoebe, a moon of the planet Saturn, was discovered.   1900 - Ajax (Amsterdam Football Club) was formed.   1902 - In Turkey, the Sultan granted a German syndicate the first concession to access Baghdad by rail.   1903 - France dissolved the Catholic religious orders.   1905 - Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt were married.   1906 - In Morocco, it was reported that France and Germany were in a deadlock at the Algeciras Conference.   1909 - Einar Dessau of Denmark used a short wave transmitter to become the first person to broadcast as a "ham" operator.   1910 - The first opera by a U.S. composer performed at the Met in New York City.   1911 - Theodore Roosevelt opened the Roosevelt Dam in Arizona. It was the largest dam in the U.S. at the time.   1911 - North Dakota enacted a hail insurance law.   1913 - Greek King George I was killed by an assassin. Constantine I succeeded him.   1916 - Russia countered the Verdun assault with an attack at Lake Naroch. The Russians lost 100,000 men and the Germans lost 20,000.   1917 - The Germans sank the U.S. ships, City of Memphis, Vigilante and the Illinois, without any warning.   1919 - The Order of DeMolay was established in Kansas City.   1920 - Greece adopted the Gregorian calendar.   1921 - Poland was enlarged with the second Peace of Riga.   1921 - The steamer "Hong Koh" ran aground off of Swatow China. Over 1,000 people were killed.    1931 - Schick Inc. displayed the first electric shaver.   1937 - More than 400 people, mostly children, were killed in a gas explosion at a school in New London, TX.   1938 - Mexico took control of all foreign-owned oil properties on its soil.   1938 - New York first required serological blood tests of pregnant women.   1940 - The soap opera "Light of the World" was first heard on NBC radio.    1942 - The third military draft began in the U.S. because of World War II.   1943 - The Reich called off its offensive in Caucasus.   1943 - American forces took Gafsa in Tunisia.   1944 - The Russians reached the Rumanian border in the Balkans during World War II.   1945 - 1,250 U.S. bombers attacked Berlin.   1945 - Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first National Hockey League (NHL) player to score 50 goals.   1948 - France, Great Britain, and Benelux signed the Treaty of Brussels.   1949 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was ratified.   1950 - Nationalist troops landed on the mainland of China and capture Communist held Sungmen.   1952 - In Philadelphia, PA, the first plastic lenses were fitted for a cataract patient.   1953 - An earthquake hit West Turkey killing 250 people.   1954 - RKO Pictures was sold for $23,489,478. It became the first motion picture studio to be owned by an individual. The person was Howard Hughes.   1959 - U.S. President Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill.   1962 - French and Algerian rebels agreed to a truce.   1963 - "Tovarich" opened at the Broadway Theater in New York City for 264 performances.   1963 - France performed an underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria.     1965 - Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first man to spacewalk when he left the Voskhod II space capsule while in orbit around the Earth. He was outside the spacecraft for about 20 minutes.   1966 - The government of Indonesia was formed by General Suharto.   1966 - Scott Paper began selling paper dresses for $1.   1968 - The U.S. Congress repealed the requirement for a gold reserve.   1969 - U.S. President Nixon authorizes Operation Menue. It was the ‘secret’ bombing of Cambodia.   1970 - The U.S. Postal Service experienced the first postal strike.   1970 - The NFL selected Wilson to be the official football and scoreboard as official time.   1971 - U.S. helicopters airlifted 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers out of Laos.   1971 - A landslide in Lake Yanahuani, Chungar Peru, killed 200.   1974 - Most of the Arab oil-producing nations ended their five-month embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan.   1975 - Saigon abandoned most of the Central Highlands of Vietnam to Hanoi.   1975 - The Kurds ended their fight against Iraq.   1977 - Vietnam turned over an MIA to a U.S. delegation.   1979 - Iranian authorities detained American feminist Kate Millett. The next day she was deported.   1980 - The Vostok rocket exploded on the launch pad killing 50.   1981 - The U.S. disclosed that there were biological weapons tested in Texas in 1966.   1986 - Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson.   1986 - The U.S. Treasury Department announced that a clear, polyester thread was to be woven into bills in an effort to thwart counterfeiters.   1987 - The U.S. performed nuclear tests at a Nevada test site.   1990 - Thirteen paintings were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The value was $100 million making it the largest art robbery in history.   1989 - A 4,400-year-old mummy was discovered at the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.      1990 - The 32-day lockout of baseball players ended.   1990 - In Tampa, FL, a little league player was killed after being hit with a pitch.   1992 - Leona Hemsly was sentenced to 4 years in prison for tax evasion.    1994 - Zsa Zsa Gabor filed for bankruptcy.   1997 - A Russian AN-24 crashed killing 50 people.   

1584 Russian czar Ivan IV, or Ivan “The Terrible,” died at age 53. 1766 After months of American protests, Britain repealed the Stamp Act. 1925 The most violent single tornado in U.S. history, the “Tri-State Tornado,” hit Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois, killing 689 people and injuring 13,000 others. 1963 The Supreme Court held in Gideon v. Wainwright that public defenders must be provided for indigent defendants in felony cases. 1965 Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov made the first spacewalk. 1967 The oil tanker Torrey Canyon was wrecked off the Cornish coast of England, spilling 919,000 barrels of oil into the sea. 1990 The biggest art theft in U.S. history occurs at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The works, including pieces by Vermeer and Rembrandt, were never recovered. 2004 A small asteroid made the closest approach to Earth ever recorded, only about 26,500 miles away. 2005 After a long legal battle, Terry Schiavo's feeding tube was removed. She died 13 days later.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/mar18.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory