http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
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.
Mar 19, 1970: National emergency 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.
Mar 19, 1949: East Germany approves new constitution
In 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.
Mar 19, 1945: General Fromm executed for 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.
Mar 19, 1842: Balzac botches a publicity stunt
French writer Honore de Balzac's play Les Ressources de Quinola opens 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.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
1227 - Count Ugolino of Segna elected Pope Gregory IX
1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the
Song Dynasty in China.
1452 - Frederick III of Hapsburg crowned Roman German
Emperor
1524 - Giovanni de Varrazano of France sights land around
area of Carolinas
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 - 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)
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"
1942 - FDR orders 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
1945 - Adolf Hitler issues Nero Decree to destroy all German
factories
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
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.
1970 - W German chancellor & E German premier meet
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. 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)
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
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. 1644 - 200 members of the Peking imperial family/court committed suicide. 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. 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
No comments:
Post a Comment