This Day in History
March 16

Copyright © 2006-2024 Ken Polsson
internet e-mail: ken@kpolsson.com
URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/
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What happened in history on this day: March 16?

On March 16 in ...

  • 37 - Tiberius Claudius Nero, emperor of Rome (14-37), dies at age 77.
  • 1021 - Death of St. Heribert von Köln; Archbishop of Cologne.
  • 1072 - Adalbert archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg, dies.
  • 1079 - Iran adopts solar Hijrah calendar.
  • 1190 - Jews of York England commit mass sucide rather than submit to baptism.
  • 1345 - Holy spirit glides above fire; "the miracle of Amsterdam" (legend).
  • 1517 - Pope Leo X signs 5th Council of Lateranen.
  • 1521 - Magelhaes' fleet discovers Zamal (Samar).
  • 1521 - Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches Philippines.
  • 1527 - Battle at Khanua: Mogol Emperor Babur beats Rajputen.
  • 1536 - Ibrahim Pasha grand-visier of Osmaanse Rich, murdered at about age 45.
  • 1585 - Birth of Gerbrant A Bredero Holland, poet/playwright (Klucht van de Koe).
  • 1609 - Birth of Michael Franck composer.
  • 1621 - Native American chief visits colony of Plymouth Massachusetts.
  • 1629 - Emilia of Nassau daughter of Willem of Orange, dies at age 59.
  • 1634 - Birth of Contessa Marie Madeleine La Fayette novelist.
  • 1641 - General court declares Rhode Island a democracy and adopts new constitution.
  • 1651 - Birth of Zaccaria Tevo composer.
  • 1660 - English Long Parliament disbands, after holding sessions for over 19 years.
  • 1663 - Birth of Nicholas Siret composer.
  • 1690 - French king Louis XIV sends troops to Ireland.
  • 1729 - Birth of Georg W "Franz" Panzer German vicar/librarian (Annales typographic).
  • 1730 - Willem Charles Henry Friso installed as viceroy of Drenthe.
  • 1731 - Treaty of Vienna: Emperor Charles VI of England and Netherlands.
  • 1736 - Giovanni B Pergolesi Italian composer (Stabat Mater), dies at age 26.
  • 1738 - Death of George Bähr at age 72; German architect (Baroque Frauenkirche in Dresden).
  • 1739 - Birth of George Clymer US merchant (signed Declaration of Independence, Constitution).
  • 1751 - Birth of James Madison in Port Conway, Virginia; co-author of The Federalist Papers, Representative in Congress for Virginia (1789-), Secretary of State (1801-), 4th US President (1809-17).
  • 1757 - Birth of Bengt Lidner Swedish poet (Medea, Yttersa Domen).
  • 1774 - Birth of Matthew Flinders English navigator/cartographer (coast Australia).
  • 1776 - Birth of Johan G Verstolk van Soelen; Dutch minister of Foreign Affairs.
  • 1787 - Birth of Georg Simon Ohm; physicist (discovered Ohm's Law).
  • 1792 - In Sweden, Jakob Johan Anckarström, former Captain of the Lifeguards, makes an assassination attempt on the King at the Stockholm Opera House. King Gustav III is shot just above the hip. Anckarström was hired by a group of nobles.
  • 1802 - Birth of George Archibald McCall; US Brigadier General (Union volunteers) (dies 1868).
  • 1802 - The United States Military Academy is founded by Congress for the purpose of educating and training young men in the theory and practice of military science.
  • 1802 - US army Corps of Engineers established (second time).
  • 1806 - Birth of Norbert Rillieux; inventor (sugar refiner).
  • 1812 - Birth of Henry Dwight Terry; US Brigadier General (Union volunteers) (dies 1869).
  • 1815 - Willem I proclaimed king of the Netherlands, including Belgium.
  • 1821 - Birth of Ernest Feydeau; French author (Georges Feydeau).
  • 1822 - Birth of John Pope; US Major General (Union volunteers) (dies 1892).
  • 1822 - Birth of Rosa Bonheur; French landscape painter (Buffalo Bill).
  • 1830 - London's re-organised police force (Scotland Yard) forms.
  • 1830 - New York Stock Exchange has slowest day ever (31 shares traded).
  • 1832 - Birth of Charles Camp Doolittle; US Brevet Major General (Union volunteer).
  • 1836 - Birth of Andrew S Hallidie; inventor (cable car).
  • 1836 - Texas approves a constitution.
  • 1839 - Birth of René François Armand Prudhomme AKA Sully Prudhomme in Paris, France; poet, first Nobel winner (1901).
  • 1843 - Anton R Falck, Dutch minister of Education/Colonies, dies at age 65.
  • 1856 - Birth of E Louis YY Napoleon Bonaparte; French/English prince.
  • 1861 - Arizona Territory votes to leave the USA.
  • 1861 - Confederate government appoints commissioners to Britain.
  • 1865 - Battle of Averasboro, North Carolina (1,500 casualities).
  • 1872 - First FA Cup Final: Wanderers-Royal Engineers 1-0 in Bolton, England.
  • 1873 - Birth of Hippoliet Daeye; Flemish painter (Sereniteit).
  • 1876 - Birth of Charles Halton in Washington, DC, USA; actor (Dr Cyclops, Tugboat Annie Sails Again).
  • 1876 - Nelly Saunders and Rose Harland fight first female boxing match (New York).
  • 1877 - Charles Bannerman completes first Test cricket century, 165 versus England.
  • 1878 - King Oskar II of Sweden sells Saint Barthelemew island to France.
  • 1878 - Birth of Clemens A Graaf von Galen; cardinal/bishop of Munster/anti-Nazi.
  • 1878 - Birth of Henry B Walthall in Shelby City, Alabama, USA; actor (Birth of a Nation, Klondike).
  • 1878 - Birth of Reza Sjah Pahlawi [Reza Chan]; shah of Iran.
  • 1881 - Modest P Mussorgsky, Russian composer (Boris Godunov), dies at age 42.
  • 1882 - US Senate ratifies treaty establishing the Red Cross.
  • 1884 - Birth of Harrison Ford in Kansas City, Missouri, USA; silent screen actor (Just Married, Vanity Fair, Love In High Gear, Rubber Tires).
  • 1885 - Birth of Sydney Chaplin in South Africa; actor (Limelight).
  • 1889 - A typhoon strikes in Apia Harbor, Samoan Islands, with German, and US warships lying at anchor, neither wishing to leave to allow the other to claim exclusive rights to the harbor. German merchantman barque Peter Godeffroy sinks after collision with Danish merchant ship Santiago. 550-ton German gunboat Eber is thrown onto reefs, sinking with loss of 76 sailors. 1375-ton USS Nipsic rams and sinks schooner Lily then is beached. 884-ton German gunboat Adler breaks up on a shoal with 20 sailors killed. 981-ton USS Vandalia gunboat strikes reef and sinks, 43 crew drowned. USS Trenton is wrecked on a reef. German gunboat Olga is wrecked on a reef and sinks. Total over 200 servicemen dead.
  • 1892 - Birth of César Vallejo; Peruvian/French poet (Los Heraldos Negros).
  • 1893 - Birth of Isobel Elsom; actress (My Fair Lady, Love From a Stranger).
  • 1893 - Death of Tivadar Puská in Hungary; inventor of telephone-newspaper.
  • 1896 - Birth of Conrad Nagel in Keokuk, Iowa, USA; actor (Celebrity Time).
  • 1898 - Aubrey (Vincent) Beardsley, English illustrator (Salome), dies at age 23.
  • 1900 - American League meets in Chicago, Illinois; Ban Johnson announces that American League teams will be in Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Cleveland, and Buffalo.
  • 1900 - Sir Arthur Evans finds old city of Knossus.
  • 1903 - Birth of Mike Mansfield; American politician (Senator-Democrat-Montana) majority whip.
  • 1903 - Birth of Morgan Conway; actor (Dick Tracy).
  • 1903 - Birth of Nicolai Lopatnikoff in Revel, Estonia; composer (Variaioni Concertanto).
  • 1904 - Birth of Clive Morton in London, England; actor (Goodbye Mr Chips, Moonraker).
  • 1908 - Birth of Robert Rossen; director/writer (Hustler All the King's Men, Mambo).
  • 1909 - George Thorndike Angell; lawyer (ASPCA), dies at age 85.
  • 1910 - Barney Oldfield sets land speed record of 131.7 mph at Daytona, Florida.
  • 1910 - Birth of Aladar Gerevich in Hungary; sabres (Olympics-gold-1948).
  • 1910 - Birth of Andrew Miller-Jones; British TV pioneer.
  • 1910 - Birth of Iftikhar Ali Khan; cricket player (Nawab of Pataudi, England and India).
  • 1910 - Birth of Martijn Lijnema; boer/resistance fighter (WWII).
  • 1910 - Birth of Norman Wooland in Düsseldorf, Germany; actor (Hamlet).
  • 1911 - Birth of Harper Goff in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; designed interior of Nautilus of film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, designed many Disneyland and EPCOT buildings and attractions, named a Disney Legend in 1993.
  • 1912 - Birth of Patricia Nixon [Thelma Catherine] in Ely, Nevada, USA; first lady (1969-74).
  • 1914 - Gaston Calmette, editor (Le Figaro), killed by Madame Caillaux at age 55.
  • 1915 - British battle cruisers Inflexible and Irresistible hit mines in Dardanelle.
  • 1915 - Federal Trade Commission organizes.
  • 1916 - US General John Pershing begins the Punitive Expedition of 15,000 US troops into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa.
  • 1916 - Birth of Lloyd McBride; union president (United Steelworkers).
  • 1916 - US and Canada sign Migratory Bird treaty.
  • 1918 - Birth of Aldo E van Eyck; Dutch architect (City Hall).
  • 1920 - Birth of John Addison in Surrey, England; composer (Tom Jones - Academy Award).
  • 1920 - Birth of Leo McKern in Sydney, Australia; actor (The Blue Lagoon, Help, The Mouse that Roared).
  • 1920 - Birth of Percy Mansell; cricket player (leg-spin all-rounder in 13 Tests for South Africa).
  • 1922 - Birth of Harding Lemay in North Bangor, New York, USA; headwriter (Another World).
  • 1922 - Sultan Fuad I is crowned king of Egypt; England recognizes Egypt.
  • 1923 - Birth of George Bean; cricket player (92 runs in 3 Tests for England versus Australia).
  • 1925 - Birth of Cornell Borchers [Cornelia Bruch] in Heydekrug, Germany; actress (Big Lift, Floodtide, Istanbul).
  • 1926 - Birth of Jerry Lewis [Joseph Levitch] in Newark, New Jersey, USA; entertainer/fund raiser (MDA).
  • 1926 - In Auburn, Massachusetts, USA, Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, which rises 41 feet, flies 2.5 seconds, travelling 184 feet (56m).
  • 1927 - Birth of Daniel Patrick Moynihan; US ambassador to United Nations, American politician (Senator-Democrat-New York, 1977-2001).
  • 1927 - Birth of Karlheinz Böhm in Darmstadt, Germany; actor (Face of Fear, Peeping Tom, Unnatural).
  • 1927 - Birth of Olga San Juan in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Variety Girl, One Touch of Venus).
  • 1927 - Birth of Vladimir M Komarov in Moscow, Russia; cosmonaut (Voshkod I, Soyuz 1).
  • 1928 - Birth of Christa Ludwig in Berlin, Germany; soprano (Vienna State Opera).
  • 1930 - Miguel Primo de Riveray Orbaneja, Spanish dictator (1923-30), dies at age 60.
  • 1930 - USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) floated out to become a national shrine.
  • 1931 - Birth of Betty Johnson in Guilford County, North Carolina, USA; singer (Jack Paar Show, "I Dreamed").
  • 1931 - Genootschap Onze Taal (Our Language) organizes (Netherlands).
  • 1932 - Birth of Ronnie Walter Cunningham in Creston, Iowa, USA; Colonel US Marine Corp/astronaut (Apollo 7).
  • 1933 - Alfred Her, Hungarian mathematician, dies at age 47.
  • 1933 - Birth of Ruth Bader Ginsberg; justice (US Supreme Court).
  • 1933 - Adolf Hitler names Hjalmar Shaft president of Bank of Germany.
  • 1934 - US Congress passes Migratory Bird Conservation Act.
  • 1935 - In Germany, Adolf Hitler denounces the disarmament clauses of the Versailles Treaty, and begins open re-armament and conscription of soldiers.
  • 1935 - John J R Macleod, Scottish/Canadian physiologist (Nobel Prize 1923), dies at age 58.
  • 1936 - Birth of Thelma Hopkins in England; high jumper (Olympics-silver-1956).
  • 1937 - Birth of David Del Tredici in Cloverdale, California, USA; composer (1980 Pulitzer).
  • 1937 - J Austen Chamberlain, English Minister of Foreign Affairs (Nobel), dies at age 73.
  • 1939 - Hungary annexes republic of Karpato-Ukraine.
  • 1939 - NHL record ten goals in one period-New York Rangers (7), New York Americans (3) and a record 26 points in the third period.
  • 1940 - Birth of Bernardo Bertolucci in Parma, Italy; film director (Last Tango in Paris).
  • 1940 - Birth of Jan P Pronk; Dutch politician (PvdA).
  • 1940 - Birth of Jan Schaefer; Dutch Assistant Secretary of State (PvdA).
  • 1940 - German air raid on British fleet base Scapa Flow.
  • 1940 - Selma O Lagerlöf, Swedish author (Nils Holgersson, Nobel Prize 1909), dies at age 81.
  • 1941 - Blizzard hits North Dakota and Minnesota killing 60.
  • 1941 - Dmitri Shostakovich receives the Stalin Prize.
  • 1941 - John Murray, Canadian oceanographer (Challenger), dies at age 73.
  • 1942 - Birth of Chuck Woolery in Kentucky, USA; TV game show host (Love Connection).
  • 1944 - Vichy Internal minister Pucheu sentenced to death.
  • 1945 - Pierre Drieu la Rochelle, French writer/poet, commits suicide at age 52.
  • 1946 - In The Hague, Netherlands, Maximilien Blokzijl is executed by firing squad, for betraying the nation as announcer of Nazi radio system in the Netherlands during the occupation. This is the first execution in the Netherlands since 1854.
  • 1946 - Rudolf Hoess, former commandant of the Oswiecim concentration camp, signs a statement saying that he gassed two million persons between June 1941 to end of 1943 under orders from Heinrich Himmler.
  • 1946 - Birth of Erik Estrada in New York City, New York, USA; actor (CHiPs, Cross and Switchblade, Lightblast).
  • 1947 - Convair Liner, first US twin-engine pressurized airplane, tested.
  • 1948 - Birth of Margaret [Edith] Weis; American sci-fi author (Dragons of Spring Dawning).
  • 1948 - Birth of Michael Bruce; rocker/actor (Rudy - Rainbow Drive).
  • 1949 - Birth of Bertha Knox Gilkey; welfare and tenement rights for urban women.
  • 1949 - Birth of Victor Garber in Montréal, Québec, Canada; actor (Days and Nights of Molly Dodd).
  • 1951 - Birth of Kate Nelligan in London, Ontario, Canada; actress (Bethune, Eye of the Needle).
  • 1951 - Birth of Ray Benson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; country singer ("House of Blue Lights").
  • 1952 - Greatest 24-hour rainfall: 187 cm in Cilaos, Réunion, in the Indian Ocean.
  • 1952 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship.
  • 1953 - American League rejects Bill Veeck's request to move Saint Louis Browns to Baltimore.
  • 1954 - Birth of Dav Whatmore; cricket player (Colombo Australia bat 1979, Sri Lanka coach 1995-).
  • 1954 - Birth of Hollis Stacy in Savannah, Georgia, USA; LPGA golfer (US Open 1977, 1978).
  • 1954 - Birth of Jimmy Nail; singer/actor (Evita, Spender, Howling II).
  • 1954 - Birth of Nancy Wilson in San Francisco, California, USA; rocker (Heart - "These Dreams", "Never", "What about Love").
  • 1955 - Birth of Isabelle Huppert in Paris, France; actress (Cactus, Heaven's Gate).
  • 1955 - Josephine Kroesen appointed as first Dutch female judge.
  • 1955 - US President Dwight Eisenhower upholds the use of atomic weapons in case of war.
  • 1956 - Birth of Ozzie Newsome; NFL tight end (Cleveland Browns).
  • 1956 - US Ladies Figure Skating Championship won by Tenley Albright.
  • 1956 - US Men's Figure Skating Championship won by Hayes A Jenkins.
  • 1957 - In Burbank, California, the 9th Annual Emmy Awards are presented, hosted by Desi Arnaz.
    • Best Continuing Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic Series: Robert Young for Father Knows Best
    • Best Continuing Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Series: Loretta Young for Letter to Loretta
    • Best Continuing Performance by a Comedian in a Series: Sid Caesar for Caesar's Hour
    • Best New Program Series: Playhouse 90
    • Best Public Service Series: See It Now
    • Best Series Half Hour or Less: The Phil Silvers Show
    • Best Series One Hour or More: Caesar's Hour
    • Best Single Performance by an Actor: Jack Palance for Playhouse 90
    • Best Single Performance by an Actress: Claire Trevor for Producers' Showcase
    • Best Supporting Performance by an Actor: Carl Reiner for Caesar's Hour
    • Best Supporting Performance by an Actress: Pat Carroll for Caesar's Hour

  • 1957 - Birth of Pearl Moore; Women's Professional Basketball League guard (New York Stars).
  • 1957 - Mosa Pijade, Yugoslavian Member of Parliament (communist), dies at age 67.
  • 1957 - Patty Berg wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship.
  • 1957 - Toronto Maple Leafs tie NHL record 37 points beating New York Rangers 14-1.
  • 1958 - Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship.
  • 1958 - Leon J Cadore, pitched the 26-inning game, dies at age 65.
  • 1959 - Birth of Michael J Bloomfield in Flint, Michigan, USA; Major US Air Force/astronaut (STS 86).
  • 1959 - Birth of Stan Thorn in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA; singer (Shenandoah - "Sunday in the South").
  • 1959 - Iraq and USSR sign economic/technical treaty.
  • 1959 - John Sailling, last documented US Civil War veteran, dies at age 111.
  • 1961 - Buena Vista releases Disney's live-action feature film The Absent Minded Professor to theaters in the USA. The film is based on a story by Samuel W. Taylor.
  • 1961 - Birth of Mel Gray; NFL wide receiver/kick returner (Houston/Tennessee Oilers).
  • 1962 - First launching of Titan 2 rocket.
  • 1962 - Birth of Marcel Brands; soccer player (RKC).
  • 1962 - US Super-Constellation disappears above Pacific Ocean, kills 167.
  • 1963 - Birth of Phung Vuong in Saigon, Vietnam; murderer (FBI Most Wanted List).
  • 1964 - Nicholas Joy, actor (Boss Lady), dies at age 80.
  • 1964 - Paul Hornung and Alex Karras reinstated in NFL after one year suspension.
  • 1965 - Birth of Cindy Brown; American basketball player (Olympics-gold-1988).
  • 1966 - Birth of Brad Bergen in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada; hockey defenseman (Team Germany 1998).
  • 1966 - Birth of Catarina Pollini; WNBA forward (Houston Comets).
  • 1966 - Birth of David Nascimento; soccer player (Roda JC/FC Utrecht).
  • 1966 - Birth of Rodney Peete; NFL quarterback (Philadelphia Eagles).
  • 1966 - Gemini 8 launched with Armstrong and Scott; aborted after 6.5 orbits.
  • 1967 - Birth of Dan Owens; NFL defensive tackle (Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions).
  • 1967 - Birth of John Mangum; NFL safety (Chicago Bears).
  • 1968 - Bengt Gunnar Ekelöf, Swedish poet (Nun Serviam), dies at age 60.
  • 1968 - Birth of Jason van Blerk; soccer player (Go Ahead Eagles).
  • 1968 - June Collyer, actress (June - Stu Erwin Show), dies at age 60.
  • 1968 - Charlie Company of US troops kills over 500 civilians in four hamlets in Son My district, Vietnam, known as the My Lai massacre.
  • 1968 - US Senator Robert F. Kennedy announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
  • 1969 - Birth of Ottis Gibson; cricket player (Barbados fast bowler, West Indies 1995).
  • 1969 - Birth of Pat Harlow; NFL tackle (New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders).
  • 1969 - Birth of Steve Israel; NFL cornerback (San Francisco 49ers, New England Patriots).
  • 1969 - Boston Bruins scores a NHL record eight goals in one period.
  • 1969 - Peter Stone and Sherman Edward's 1776 premieres at 46th Steet Theater in New York City for 1217 performances.
  • 1969 - Viasa DC-9 crashes at Maracaibo's Grano de Oro airport, killing 155.
  • 1970 - Arthur Adamov, Russian/French playwright, dies at age 61.
  • 1970 - Birth of Kelli James in Medford, New Jersey, USA; field hockey forward (Olympics-1996).
  • 1970 - New English Bible published.
  • 1970 - Tammi Terrell, singer ("Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "You're All I Need"), dies from brain tumor at age 23.
  • 1971 - NBC, for the first time, live telecasts the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presentation of the 13th Annual Grammy Awards. Some winners:
    • Record of the Year: Simon And Garfunkel for "Bridge Over Troubled Water";
    • Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Female: Dionne Warwick for "I'll Never Fall In Love Again";
    • Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male: Ray Stevens for "Everything Is Beautiful";
    • Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus: The Carpenters for "Close To You";
    • Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Female: Aretha Franklin for "Don't Play That Song";
    • Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance, Male: B.B. King for "The Thrill Is Gone";
    • Best Rhythm and Blues Performance by a Duo or Group, Vocal or Instrumental: The Delfonics for "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)";
    • Best Country Vocal Performance, Female: Lynn Anderson for "Rose Garden";
    • Best Country Vocal Performance, Male: Ray Price for "For The Good Times";
    • Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group: Johnny Cash And June Carter for "If I Were A Carpenter".

  • 1971 - Bebe Daniels, actress (Silver Dollar, My Past), dies at age 70.
  • 1971 - Birth of Brett Carolan; NFL tight end (San Francisco 49ers).
  • 1971 - Birth of Eric Ravotti; NFL linebacker (Pittsburgh Steelers).
  • 1971 - Leslie "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith, cricket player (Victoria and Australia), dies.
  • 1971 - Thomas E Dewey, US Presidential candidate (Republican 1944, 1948), dies at age 68.
  • 1972 - Harold "Pie" Traynor, hall of fame third baseman (Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at age 72.
  • 1973 - Birth of Bert Zuurman; soccer player (SC Heerenveen).
  • 1973 - Carl Benton Reid, actor (Burke's Law, Trap, Underwater City), dies at age 79.
  • 1973 - M Revis [Willem Fisherman), author (People that Mutiny), dies at age 68.
  • 1974 - First performance at new Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland in Nashville, Tennessee.
  • 1974 - Birth of Heath Streak; cricket player (Zimbabwean pace bowler 1993-).
  • 1974 - Birth of Lamont Burns; guard (New York Jets).
  • 1975 - T-Bone Walker, blues guitarist (Funky Town, Well Done), dies at age 64.
  • 1975 - US Mariner 10 makes third and final fly-by of Mercury.
  • 1976 - Birth of Michelle Rae Collie; Miss Bahamas-Universe (1996).
  • 1976 - British premier Harold Wilson resigns.
  • 1977 - US President Jimmy Carter pleads for Palestinian homeland.
  • 1978 - Former Italian Premier Aldo Moro is kidnapped by the Red Brigades; 5 bodyguards are killed.
  • 1978 - Aldo Moro, five-time Prime Minister of Italy, assassinated by terrorists.
  • 1978 - The oil tanker Amoco Cadiz runs aground near Portsall, France, spilling about 254 million litres of crude oil, creating a slick covering 200km of Breton coast.
  • 1978 - Soyuz 26 returns to Earth.
  • 1978 - US Senate accepts Panamá Canal treaty.
  • 1978 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
  • 1979 - Jean Monnet, French economist/CEO (ECSC), dies at age 90.
  • 1980 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA Honda Civic Golf Classic.
  • 1980 - The first closed captioned television series are broadcast in the US: The ABC Sunday Night Movie (ABC), The Wonderful World of Disney (NBC) and Masterpiece Theatre (PBS).
  • 1982 - In Newport, Rhode Island, Claus von Bülow is found guilty of the attempted murder of his wife.
  • 1983 - The Transmitter Ismaning, the last wooden radio tower in Germany, is demolished.
  • 1983 - Death of Freda Dudley Ward, former royal mistress (born 1894).
  • 1983 - Arthur Godfrey, TV host (Arthur Godrey Show), dies at age 79.
  • 1983 - Smallest crowd (1814) at Cleveland Coliseum for NBA game, Cleveland Caviliers versus New Jersey Nets.
  • 1984 - Birth of Hosea Gear, New Zealand Rugby Union player.
  • 1984 - Islamic Jihad gunmen kidnap William Buckley, US Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Beirut, Lebanon (later dies in captivity).
  • 1984 - South Africa and Mozambique sign non-attack treaty.
  • 1985 - The Heinrich Köhler stamp auction firm of Federal Republic of Germany sells a Baden 1851 9-kreuzer postage stamp, printed on blue-green paper instead of deep rose, postally used on a folder letter, one of four known, for 2.645 million marks (US$833,600).
  • 1985 - In Leeward Islands, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake occurs.
  • 1985 - Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage by Islamic militants in Beirut, Lebanon.
  • 1985 - B V A Röling, Dutch lawyer (WWII Tokyo trials), dies at age 78.
  • 1985 - Denny McLain, pitcher, convicted of racketeering, sentenced to 25 years.
  • 1985 - Roger Huntington Sessions, US composer (Black Masks), dies at age 88.
  • 1986 - Chris Johnson wins LPGA GNA/Glendale Federal Golf Classic.
  • 1987 - Scott McKay, actor (Guest in House, 30 Seconds over Tokyo), dies at age 71.
  • 1988 - Dorothy Adams Foulger, actress (Laura, Devil Commands), dies at age 88.
  • 1988 - Federal grand jury indicts Marine Lieutenant Colonel Oliver L. North and Navy Vice Admiral John M. Poindexter in Iran-Contra affair on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
  • 1988 - North-Ireland Protestant fires on Catholic funeral, three killed.
  • 1988 - US sends 3000 soldiers to Nicaragua's neighbor Honduras.
  • 1988 - The Halabja poison gas attack is carried out by Iraqi government forces.
  • 1989 - Birth of Peaches Geldof, British performer.
  • 1989 - Birth of Theo Walcott, English football player.
  • 1991 - Seven members of Reba McEntire's band are killed in a plane crash.
  • 1991 - Jan H van Roijen, Dutch diplomat/Foreign Minister, dies at age 85.
  • 1991 - Members of Irish Gay and Lesbian Organization march in New York City parade.
  • 1991 - New Jersey Nets' coach Bill Fitch is fourth coach to win 800 NBA games.
  • 1991 - New York Lotto pays US$33.3 million to one winner (numbers are 18-21-32-33-35-38).
  • 1991 - Wim van den Brink, Dutch actor (Turkish Fruit, Red Sien), dies.
  • 1992 - Renzhong Weangn, Chinese politician (1934-45), dies.
  • 1993 - A US patent is granted for what will vecome Post-It Notes.
  • 1993 - Chishu Ryu, Japanese actor (Autumn Afternoon), dies of cancer at age 86.
  • 1993 - Djilalli Lyabès, Algerian minister of Higher Education, murdered.
  • 1993 - Don Randolph, actor (Harem Girl), dies of pneumonia at age 87.
  • 1993 - Giovanni Testori, Italian writer (Arialda), dies at age 69.
  • 1993 - Mohammed Hussein Nagdi, Iran diplomat/resistance fighter, murdered.
  • 1994 - Moravcik forms Slovakia government.
  • 1994 - In Portland, Oregon, Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for trying to cover-up an attack on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. She is fined $100,000 and banned from the sport.
  • 1995 - Albert Maurice Hackett, playwright/screenwriter, dies at age 95.
  • 1995 - Clan Fraser of Lovat, soldier/landowner, dies at age 83.
  • 1995 - Lord Lovat [Shimi], Scottish landowner, dies at age 83.
  • 1995 - Manhattan upsets fourth seeded Oklahoma 77-67.
  • 1995 - Mississippi House of Representatives ratifies 13th Amendement; formally abolishes slavery.
  • 1995 - World best 7th wicket stand 461 by Bhupinder Singh Junior and P Dharmani.
  • 1996 - Mike Tyson knocks out Frank Bruno in second round.
  • 1996 - Olive Netta Parsons, co-founder of Collet's bookshop, dies at age 104.
  • 1997 - Donna Andrews wins LPGA Welch's/Circle K Championship.
  • 1997 - New Jersey Devils' Dave Andreychuk is 26th NHL player to score 500 goals.
  • 1997 - Stuart Appleby wins Honda Golf Classic.
  • 1997 - On Bougainville Island, soldiers of commander Jerry Singirok arrest Tim Spicer and his mercenaries of the Sandline International.
  • 1998 - Death of Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918).
  • 1999 - Sony Online Entertainment releases the EverQuest game for personal computers in the USA.
  • 2000 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises by 499.19 points (4.93 percent), its second-largest one-day point gain.
  • 2002 - The Walt Disney Studios Park opens next to Disneyland Paris in France.
  • 2003 - Voters in Liechtenstein agree to adjust constitution to give more powers to ruling prince Hans-Adams II.
  • 2003 - The leaders of the United States, Britain, Portugal, and Spain meet at a summit in the Azores Islands. U.S. President Bush calls March 17 the "moment of truth", meaning that the "coalition of the willing" will make its final effort to extract a resolution from the U.N. Security Council, giving Iraq an ultimatum to disarm immediately or be disarmed by force.
  • 2003 - General elections in Finland: Anneli Jaatteenmaki's Centre Party wins 55 seats in the 200-seat parliament. Paavo Lipponen's Social Democrats win 53 seats.
  • 2003 - Death of Rem Krasilnikov, at age 76; Soviet KGB, Russian embassy in Canada, rid USSR of American spy network.
  • 2005 - Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, accused of the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, are found not guilty on all counts.
  • 2005 - Death of Anthony George at age 80 of complications from emphysema; actor (The Untouchables, Checkmate, Dark Shadows, Search for Tomorrow, One Life to Live).
  • 2006 - In the second round of the World Baseball Classic, Mexico defeats Team USA 2-1, eliminating the US from the tournament.
  • 2006 - Roy Halladay agrees to a $40 million, three-year contract extension with the Toronto Blue Jays.
  • 2008 - American investment bank Bear Stearns, 5th largest on Wall Street, is bought by JP Morgan Chase for $2 per share, a total of $236 million. In mid-2006, Bear Stearns was worth $200 per share. The Federal Reserve also provides a US$30 billion loan, and announces it will directly loan to other investment banks and brokers.
  • 2008 - In the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Tiger Woods sinks a 24-foot putt on the 18th hole to win with 10 under par.
  • 2009 - Jo Jackson wins the 400m freestyle in a new world record time of 4:00.66 at the British Swimming Championships.
  • 2010 - The Kasubi Tombs, Uganda's only cultural World Heritage Site, are destroyed by fire.
  • 2014 - A referendum on the status of Crimea is held.
  • 2018 - Death of Louise Slaughter at age 88; oldest member of the US Congress, representing New York.
  • 2020 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 2,997.10, the single largest point drop in history and the second-largest percentage drop ever at 12.93%.
  • 2020 - Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro orders lockdown of country, due to Covid-19 pandemic.
  • 2021 - Death of Moudud Ahmed, 7th Prime Minister of Bangladesh (born 1940).
  • 2022 - Russia is expelled from the Council of Europe.
  • 2022 - 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits off the coast of Japan. Over 2 million people in Tokyo and nearby areas lose power.

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