This Day in History
March 31

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 31?

On March 31 in ...

  • 1084 - Anti-pope Clemens crowns German emperor Hendrik IV.
  • 1201 - Absalon Asserssön Danish archbishop of Lund/statesman, dies.
  • 1340 - Ivan I Kalita grand-duke of Vladimir, dies.
  • 1389 - Everhard Tserclaes sheriff of Brussels, murdered.
  • 1492 - Queen Isabella of Castilia and Ferdinand of Aragon expels Jews.
  • 1499 - Birth of Pius IV [Gianangelo de' Medici], Italian lawyer/pope (1559-65).
  • 1504 - France and Spain signs ceasefire.
  • 1519 - Birth of Henry II King of Germany (1547-59).
  • 1521 - Magelhaes takes possession of Homohon, Archipelago of Saint Lazarus.
  • 1547 - Henry II succeeds François I as king of France.
  • 1567 - Death of Philip, Landgraf of Hesse, at age 62 in Kassel, Germany; leader of Protestant princes against Emperor Karl V.
  • 1570 - Birth of Louise Juliana countess of Nassau.
  • 1578 - Juan de Escobedo Secretary of Spanish land guardian Don Juan, murdered.
  • 1596 - Birth of René Descartes France, philosopher (he thought, therefore he was).
  • 1621 - Birth of Andrew Marvell England, poet (To His Coy Mistress).
  • 1621 - Felipe III King of Spain (1598-1621), dies at age 42.
  • 1631 - John Donne Metaphysical poet, dies (birth date unknown).
  • 1644 - Pope Urbanus VIII and duke of Parma signs Peace of Ferrara.
  • 1651 - Great earthquake at Cuzco Peru.
  • 1657 - English Humble Petition offers Lord Protector Cromwell the crown.
  • 1667 - France/England sign anti-Dutch military accord.
  • 1675 - Birth of Benedict XIV [Prospero L Lambertini], Italy, Pope (1740-58).
  • 1683 - Emperor Leopold I/Poland signs covenant against Turkey.
  • 1722 - Campegius Vitringa Dutch theologist/exegete, dies at age 62.
  • 1723 - Birth of Frederik V King of Denmark/Norway (1746-66).
  • 1732 - Birth of Franz Joseph Haydn Austria, composer, helped develop classical style.
  • 1741 - Peter Burmannus [Peter Burman], Dutch attorney/classicist, dies at age 72.
  • 1745 - Jews are expelled from Prague.
  • 1747 - Birth of Johann Abraham Peter Schulz German composer (Moon has Risen).
  • 1808 - French-created Kingdom of Westphalia orders Jews to adopt family names.
  • 1809 - Birth of Edward FitzGerald in England; writer (Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam).
  • 1809 - Birth of Nikolai Gogol; writer, father of 19th-century Russian realism (Dead Souls).
  • 1811 - Birth of Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen in Germany; chemist (Bunsen Burner).
  • 1831 - Québec and Montréal are incorporated.
  • 1837 - Birth of Robert Ross McBurney; first paid secretary of the YMCA.
  • 1837 - Birth of Stephen Dodson Ramseur; Major General (Confederate Army) (dies 1864).
  • 1839 - Birth of Nikolay Przhevalsky; naturalist, explorer of east central Asia.
  • 1840 - Birth of John Herbert Kelly; Brigadier General (Confederate Army) (dies 1864).
  • 1844 - Birth of Andrew Lang in Scotland; author (The Blue Fairy Book).
  • 1848 - Birth of Viscount William Astor, British financier and statesman (dies 1919).
  • 1850 - US population hits 23,191,876 (Black population: 3,638,808 (15.7%)).
  • 1854 - Birth of Dugald Clerk; inventor (2-stroke motorcycle engine).
  • 1854 - Treaty of Kanagawa: US Commodore Matthew Perry forces Japan to opens ports to foreign trade.
  • 1855 - Charlotte Brontë, English author (Jane Eyre), dies at age 38.
  • 1865 - Confederate General Pickette moves to Five Forks, abandoning the defense of Peterburg.
  • 1868 - Birth of Karl Bonhoeffer German psychiatrist/neurologist.
  • 1872 - Birth of Arthur Griffith; Irish journalist, founder of Sinn Féin.
  • 1872 - Birth of Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev in Russia; dance master (Imperial Ballet).
  • 1877 - Antoine A Cournot, French mathematician (rule of C), dies at age 75.
  • 1877 - British high director/Governor sir Bartle Frere arrives in Capetown.
  • 1877 - Test Cricket debut of Fred "Demon" Spofforth, Australia versus England at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
  • 1880 - Wabash, Indiana, USA is first town completely illuminated by electric lighting.
  • 1884 - Jan T Beelen, Netherlands/Belgian catholic bible expert, dies at age 77.
  • 1885 - Great Britain declares Bechuanaland a protectorate.
  • 1886 - The North, Central, and South American Exposition closes in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
  • 1887 - Birth of Saint-John Perse [MRA Alexis Léger]; French poet (Nobel Prize 1960).
  • 1889 - The Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris, France, in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel, the tower's designer, and attended by French Prime Minister Pierre Tirard.
  • 1891 - Birth of Ion Pillat; Romaniams poet/senator (Umbra timpului).
  • 1891 - Birth of Victor Varconi in Hungary; actor (Divine Lady, King of Kings, Big City).
  • 1892 - Birth of Stanislav Wladyslaw Maczek; Polish/British General-Major/commandant.
  • 1893 - Birth of Clemens Krauss in Vienna, Austria; conductor (Berlin State Orchestra-1937).
  • 1895 - Birth of John Jay McCloy; lawyer/banker (Assistant Secretary of War 1941-45, president-Chase Manhattan Bank (1953-60)).
  • 1895 - Birth of Vardis A Fisher; US author (Darkness and Deep).
  • 1896 - Whitcomb Judson, of Chicago, Illinois, USA, patents a hookless fastening (zipper).
  • 1898 - Edward Noyes Westcott, US attorney/writer (David Harum), dies.
  • 1900 - Birth of Henry; English duke of Gloucester, earl of Ulster.
  • 1900 - Birth of Lörinc Szabó in Hungary; poet (Huszonhatodik év).
  • 1900 - Brigadier-General Broadwoods' troops fall into guerrilla hands.
  • 1900 - Frank Milligan, cricket player (Mafeking 2 Tests England versus South Africa 1898-99), dies.
  • 1903 - Birth of Arthur Godfrey in New York City, New York, USA; TV host (Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts).
  • 1903 - Richard Pearse flies monoplane several hundred yards (New Zealand).
  • 1907 - Birth of Eddie Quillan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; actor (Julia, Hell Town).
  • 1907 - Romanian Army puts down Moldavian farmers' revolt.
  • 1909 - Birth of Pieter Jongeling; Dutch Member of Parliament (GVP)/editor (Netherlands Daily).
  • 1909 - Birth of Robert Brasillach; French author/Nazi collaborator.
  • 1909 - In Belfast, Ireland, the keel of the Titanic is laid down at Harland and Wolff Shipyard.
  • 1913 - John Pierpont Morgan, US banker/CEO (US Steel Corp), dies at age 75.
  • 1914 - Birth of Octavio Paz in Mexico; writer/diplomat (Salamandra, Topoemas).
  • 1915 - Birth of Henry Morgan in New York City, New York, USA; comedian/TV panelist (I've Got a Secret, Arena).
  • 1916 - Birth of John Vivyan in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actor (Imitation of Life, Mr Lucky).
  • 1916 - Dutch government ends all military engagements.
  • 1917 - The USA assumes control of the Danish West Indies.
  • 1918 - First daylight savings time in US goes into effect.
  • 1918 - Birth of Ted Post in Brooklyn, New York, USA; director (Peacemaker, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Gunsmoke).
  • 1919 - French Marshal Ferdinand Foch says to leaders of Great Britain and the USA that without the Rhine frontier in French possession, the Versailles settlement would be no more than "the armistice for twenty years".
  • 1920 - Birth of Marga [Sara Voeten-] Minco; Dutch writer (Bitter Herb).
  • 1920 - British parliament accepts Irish "Home Rule"-law.
  • 1921 - British coal miners goes on strike.
  • 1922 - Birth of Patrick J G McGee in North Ireland; actor (A Clockwork Orange).
  • 1922 - Birth of Richard Kiley in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actor (Man of La Mancha, Endless Love).
  • 1923 - First dance marathon-New York City-Alma Cummings sets record of 27 hours.
  • 1923 - Birth of Donald Argee Barksdale in Berkley, California, USA; basketball player (Olympics-gold-1948).
  • 1923 - Birth of Lawrie Miller in New Zealand; cricket player (opening bat in 13 Tests).
  • 1923 - French soldiers fire on workers at Krupp factory in Essen; 13 die.
  • 1923 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Senators (NHL) sweep Edmonton Eskimos (WCHL) in two games.
  • 1924 - Birth of Harry Cubitt; 4th Lord Ashcombe ("Mad Harry"), English landowner.
  • 1924 - Birth of Leo Buscaglia in Los Angeles, California, USA; "Dr Hug", psychologist (Love).
  • 1924 - London public transport strike ends.
  • 1926 - Birth of John Fowles in England; novelist (Collector, French Leiutenent's Woman).
  • 1926 - Birth of Sydney Chaplin, son of Charlie Chaplin; actor (Adding Machine, Psycho Sisters).
  • 1926 - German Special Court of Justice for state security disbands.
  • 1927 - Birth of Cesar Chavez in Yuma, Arizona, USA; farm labor leader (United Farm Workers).
  • 1927 - Birth of William Daniels in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Dr Mark Craig - St Elsewhere, 1776).
  • 1928 - Birth of Gordie Howe in Floral, Saskatchewan, Canada; NHL right wing (Detroit Red Wings).
  • 1928 - Gustave Ador, President of Austria (1919), dies at age 82.
  • 1928 - Medardo Rosso, Italian sculptor (portraits), dies at age 69.
  • 1929 - Birth of Lee Patterson in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; actor (Dave - Surfside Six, Another World).
  • 1929 - Birth of Liz Claiborne in Brussels, Belgium; fashion designer.
  • 1931 - French post offices in Egypt close permanently.
  • 1931 - Birth of Miller Barber in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA; PGA golfer (1968 Byron Nelson Classic).
  • 1931 - Knute Rockne, American football player/coach, dies in a plane crash at age 43.
  • 1931 - An earthquake destroys Managua, Nicaragua, killing 2,000 people.
  • 1932 - 150 wild swans die in Niagara waterfall.
  • 1932 - Birth of Godfrey Lawrence; cricket player (South African fast bowler, 8-53 versus New Zealand 1961).
  • 1932 - Birth of John Jakes in Chicago, Illinois, USA; writer (Sir Scoundrel, Great Women Reporters).
  • 1932 - Birth of Nagisa Oshima in Kyoto, Japan; director (Town of Love and Hope).
  • 1932 - Ford publicly unveils its V-8 engine.
  • 1933 - First newspaper published on pine pulp paper, Soperton News (Georgia, USA).
  • 1933 - Birth of Bob Simmons in Fulham, England; stuntman (double for James Bond).
  • 1933 - Birth of Shirley Jones in Smithton, Pennsylvania, USA; actress (The Partridge Family, Elmer Gantry).
  • 1933 - US Congress authorizes Civilian Conservation Corps.
  • 1934 - Birth of Grigori Grigoyevich in Nelyubov, Russia; cosmonaut (Vostok 1 backup).
  • 1934 - Birth of John D Loudermilk; rock drummer/vocalist ("Language of Love", "Norman").
  • 1934 - Birth of Wim H Sinnige; Dutch alderman of finance (social democratic).
  • 1934 - Franz Ehrle, German jesuit/head of Vatican library, dies at age 88.
  • 1935 - Birth of Herb Alpert; bandleader/trumpeter (Tijuana Brass)/CEO (A&M Records).
  • 1935 - Birth of Judith Rossner; American writer (August).
  • 1935 - Birth of Richard Chamberlain in Beverly Hills, California, USA; actor (Dr Kildare).
  • 1935 - Fusahige Suzuki runs world record marathon (2:07:09).
  • 1936 - Birth of Marge Piercy; author (Small Changes, Gone for Soldiers).
  • 1937 - Birth of Willem Duyn [Mouth]; Dutch singer (Mouth and MacNeal).
  • 1938 - Birth of John Jakes in Chicago, Illinois, USA; writer (Sir Scoundrel, Great Women Reporters).
  • 1938 - Birth of Nathaniel Taylor in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; actor (Rollo - Sanford and Son).
  • 1938 - In Kasamatsu, Japan, a meteorite pierces the roof of a ship.
  • 1938 - Willem J T Kloos, Dutch poet/critic (New Guide), dies at age 78.
  • 1939 - Indrið Einarsson, Iceland playwright (Skipið Sekkur), dies at age 87.
  • 1940 - Birth of Barney Frank; American politician (Representative-Democrat-Massachusetts, 1981-).
  • 1940 - Birth of Jim Criner; WLAF head coach (Scottish Claymores).
  • 1940 - Birth of Patrick J Leahy; American politician (Senator-Democrat-Vermont, 1975-).
  • 1940 - Karelo-Finnish SSR becomes 12th Soviet republic (lasts until 1956).
  • 1943 - Birth of Christopher [Ronald] Walken in Astoria, Queens, New York, USA; actor (Deer Hunter, Brainstorm).
  • 1943 - Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! opens on Broadway.
  • 1943 - US errantly bombs Rotterdam, kills 326.
  • 1944 - Birth of Rod Allen [B Rodney Bainbridge]; rock bassist/vocalist (Fortunes).
  • 1944 - Hungary orders all Jews to wear yellow stars.
  • 1944 - Mineichi Koga, Admiral of Japanese fleet, dies.
  • 1945 - Third Algerian division crosses the Rhine.
  • 1945 - Birth of Valerie Curtin in Jackson Heights, New York, USA; actress (Judy - 9 to 5).
  • 1945 - Hans Fischer, German physicist (Nobel Prize 1930), dies at age 63.
  • 1945 - Maurice Rose, first US General in Germany, killed in action at age 45.
  • 1945 - Sicherheitsdienst murders ten political prisoners in Zutphen.
  • 1945 - US artillery lands on Keise Shima; begins firing on Okinawa.
  • 1946 - Belgian government of Acker forms.
  • 1946 - Birth of Aftab Gul; cricket player (Pakistani opening batsman in six Tests 1969-71).
  • 1946 - Birth of Al Nichol Winston in Salem, North Carolina, USA; rock guitarist/vocalist (The Turtles).
  • 1946 - Birth of Gabe Kaplan in Brooklyn, New York, USA; comedian/actor (Welcome Back Kotter).
  • 1947 - Birth of Al Goodman; rock vocalist (Ray, Goodman, Brown).
  • 1947 - Birth of César Gaviria Trujillo; President of Colombia (1990-94).
  • 1947 - Birth of Jon-Jon Poulos in Chicago, Illinois, USA; rocker (The Buckinghams).
  • 1948 - Birth of Albert Gore Junior in Washington DC, USA; American politician (Senator-Democrat-Tennessee, 1985-92)/45th US Vice President (1993-).
  • 1948 - Birth of Mick Ralphs in Hereford and Worcester, England; guitarist (Bad Company, Mott the Hoople).
  • 1948 - Birth of Rhea Perlman in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actress (Zena - Taxi, Carla - Cheers).
  • 1948 - Birth of Thijs van Leer, Dutch singer, flutist (Focus - "Hocus Pocus", Introspection).
  • 1948 - US Congress passes Marshall Aid Act to rehabilitate war-torn Europe.
  • 1948 - Egon E Kisch, Czechoslovakian writer/journalist (Raging Reporter), dies at age 62.
  • 1949 - Newfoundland becomes Canada's 10th province.
  • 1950 - Birth of Alison McCartney; pathologist/Breast Cancer campaigner.
  • 1950 - Birth of Ed Marinaro in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Joe - Hill Street Blues, Sonny - Laverne and Shirley).
  • 1950 - Birth of Richard Hughes; rocker (Johnny Winter Band).
  • 1951 - Ralph Forbes, actor (Riptide, Shock), dies at age 45.
  • 1951 - US tanks cross 38 degrees of latitude in Korea.
  • 1953 - Birth of Greg Martin in Louisville, Kentucky, USA; singer (Kentucky Headhunters - "Davy Crockett").
  • 1953 - Birth of Sean Hopper in California, USA; rock keyboardist (Huey Lewis and The News).
  • 1953 - US Department of Health, Education and Welfare established.
  • 1953 - United Nations Security Council nominates Dag Hammarskjöld for Secretary-General.
  • 1954 - Birth of Tony Brock in England; rock drummer (Babys - "Missing You").
  • 1954 - US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is established.
  • 1954 - USSR offers to join NATO.
  • 1955 - American banks Chase National (third largest bank) and Bank of the Manhattan Company (15th largest bank) merge to form Chase Manhattan Bank.
  • 1955 - Collie Smith scores 104 on cricket debut West Indies versus Australia, Kingston.
  • 1955 - US Assay Office in Seattle, Washington, USA closes.
  • 1957 - Birth of Marc McClure in San Mateo, California, USA; actor (Ross - California Fever).
  • 1957 - Birth of Mary Cadorette in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA; actress (Vicky - Three's a Crowd).
  • 1957 - Birth of Patrick G Forrester in El Paso, Texas, USA; Lieutenant Colonel Army/astronaut.
  • 1957 - Gene Lockhart, American actor (Going My Way), dies at age 65.
  • 1958 - The Grand Canyon Diorama attraction opens in Disneyland, part of the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad. At 306 feet long, it is the world's longest seamless hand-woven canvas.
  • 1958 - Birth of Jay Feenan in Windham, New Hampshire, USA; rower (Olympics-1996).
  • 1958 - Birth of Ken Meeker in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Rafe Garretson - One Life to Live).
  • 1958 - Birth of Pat McGlynn in Edinburgh, Scotland; rock guitarist (Bay City Rollers - "Saturday Night").
  • 1958 - US Navy forms atomic submarine division.
  • 1958 - USSR suspends nuclear weapons tests, and urges US and Britain to do same.
  • 1959 - Birth of Angus Young in Glasgow, Scotland; rock guitarist (AC/DC - "Highway to Hell").
  • 1959 - Peter Suhrkamp, German publisher (Suhrkamp Verlag), dies at age 68.
  • 1960 - Birth of Anne Howard in San Diego, California, USA; actress (Nicole Love - Another World).
  • 1960 - Birth of Mark Tuinei; NFL tackle (Dallas Cowboys).
  • 1960 - Joseph Haas, German (opera) composer (Totenmesse), dies at age 81.
  • 1961 - Aklilou Habtewold becomes first premier of Ethiopia.
  • 1961 - Birth of Ron Brown in Los Angeles, California, USA; 4x100 metre runner (Olympics-gold-1984).
  • 1961 - Seerp Anema, Dutch poet/writer (Modern Art and Degenerating), dies at age 85.
  • 1962 - Birth of John Taylor; NFL wide receiver (San Francisco 49ers).
  • 1963 - Los Angeles, California, ends streetcar service after 90 years.
  • 1964 - Birth of Dave Wyman; NFL linebacker (Denver Broncos).
  • 1964 - Birth of David Diaz-Infante; NFL guard (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32).
  • 1964 - Birth of Erik Turner in Omaha, Nebraska, USA; rock guitarist (Warrant - "Cherry Pie").
  • 1964 - Birth of Isabelle Ferrari in Italy, Italy's Miss Teenager.
  • 1964 - Birth of Rod Jones; NFL cornerback (Cincinnati Bengals).
  • 1964 - President Jango Goulart of Brazil chased out of office by military.
  • 1965 - Birth of Marlon Vonhagt; cricket player (one ODI Sri Lanka 1984-85 World Series Cup).
  • 1965 - Birth of Patty Fendick in Sacramento, California, USA; tennis star (1989 Auckland).
  • 1965 - Birth of Tom Barrasso in Boston, Massachusetts, USA; NHL goalie (Pittsburgh Penguins).
  • 1965 - Birth of William McNamara in Dallas, Texas, USA; actor (Texasville, Beat, Stealing Home).
  • 1965 - US orders the first combat troops to Vietnam.
  • 1966 - 25,000 anti-war demonstrators march in New York City, New York.
  • 1966 - Birth of Natalie Gosselin in Levis, Québec, Canada; 52kg judoka (Olympics-1996).
  • 1966 - Birth of Thomas Fitzgerald in Brooklyn, New York, USA; team handball left wing (Olympics-1996).
  • 1966 - Labour Party wins British parliamentary election.
  • 1966 - In England, the BBC first transmits live color television.
  • 1966 - USSR launches Luna 10, first lunar orbiter.
  • 1967 - Birth of Glenn Montgomery; NFL defensive tackle (Seattle Seahawks, Houston Oilers).
  • 1967 - Birth of Nanci Bowen in Tifton, Georgia, USA; LPGA golfer (1995 Nabisco Dinah Shore).
  • 1967 - Don Alvarado, actor (Morning Glory, Big Steal), dies at age 62.
  • 1967 - Jimi Hendrix begins his tradition of burning his guitar.
  • 1968 - Birth of J R Reid; NBA forward (New York Knicks, Charlotte Hornets).
  • 1968 - US President Lyndon Johnson announces that he would neither seek nor accept the nomination of his party for re-election.
  • 1968 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA Palm Beach County Golf Open.
  • 1968 - Seattle's American League club is named Pilots.
  • 1969 - Birth of Kevin Sargent; NFL tackle/guard (Cincinnati Bengals).
  • 1969 - Birth of Steve Smith; NBA guard (Atlanta Hawks).
  • 1970 - Birth of Derek Brown; NFL tight end (Jacksonville Jaguars).
  • 1970 - Birth of Oleg Romanov; NHL defenseman (Belarus, Olympics-1998).
  • 1970 - Birth of Stuart Carruthers; Australian field hockey fullback (Olympics-1996).
  • 1970 - US Federal bankruptcy court allows Seattle Pilots to be sold to Milwaukee.
  • 1970 - Semjon Konstantinovich Timoshenko, Russian Marshal/Inspector-General (WWII), dies at age 75.
  • 1971 - Birth of Ewan McGregor in Perth, Australia; actor (Trainspotting).
  • 1971 - Birth of Pavel Bure in Moscow, Russia; NHL left wing (Team Russia Olympics-Silver-1998, Vancouver Canucks).
  • 1971 - Liselotte Liselot Beekmeyer, Dutch actress (Child Crying), dies at age 31.
  • 1971 - South Africa national debt hits US$5.45 billion.
  • 1971 - American Lieutenant William L Calley Junior sentenced to life for My Lai Massacre.
  • 1971 - From Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA launches a rocket with Canadian ISIS-B satellite into space, to conduct twelve experiments studying the ionosphere.
  • 1971 - In Quito, Ecuador, ousted General Luis Jacome Chavez leads a military revolt against President Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra.
  • 1972 - Birth of John Godina in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, USA; shot putter/discus thrower (Olympics-silver-1996).
  • 1972 - Birth of Kelly O'Leary in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; kayaker (Olympics-1996).
  • 1972 - Official Beatles Fan Club closes down.
  • 1973 - Birth of Vanessa Mambi; Miss Curaçao-Universe (1996).
  • 1973 - Philadelphia Flyers score 8 goals in one period vs New York Islanders, on 60 shots.
  • 1973 - Ken Norton defeats Muhammad Ali in a 12-round split decision.
  • 1974 - Andrea Checci, actress (Two Women, Assassin, Black Sunday), dies at age 57.
  • 1974 - Birth of Anthony Hicks; NFL linebacker (Green Bay Packers-Superbowl 31).
  • 1974 - Birth of Carol Ann Plante; actress (Sara Henderson - Harry and the Hendersons).
  • 1974 - Birth of James Burgess; linebacker (San Diego Chargers).
  • 1974 - Birth of Jason Odom; tackle (Tampa Bay Buccaneers).
  • 1974 - Birth of Nina Georgala; Miss Greece-Universe (1996).
  • 1975 - The Republic of Malta issues its first postage stamps.
  • 1975 - 37th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA beats Kentucky 92-55; this is John Wooden's final game and UCLA's 10th NCAA championship in 12 years.
  • 1976 - Birth of Amanda Moody in Orem, Utah; Miss Utah-America (1995).
  • 1976 - Birth of Josh Saviano; actor (Paul Pfeiffer - The Wonder Years).
  • 1976 - Cleveland Cavaliers clinch their first ever NBA playoff berth.
  • 1976 - New Jersey Court rules Karen Anne Quinlan may be disconnected from respirator.
  • 1978 - Astrid Allwyn, actress (Love Affair, Girl for Calgary), dies at age 68.
  • 1978 - Red Rum wins third consecutive Grand National and retires.
  • 1978 - USSR launches Kosmos 1000 navigational satellite.
  • 1979 - Gali Atari and Milk and Honey win the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 for Israel, with the song "Hallelujah".
  • 1979 - The last British soldier (belonging to the Royal Navy) leaves the Maltese Islands, after 179 years of presence. Malta declares its Freedom Day (Jum il-Helsien).
  • 1980 - Birth of Jenny Smith in Western Australia; gymnast (Olympics-1996).
  • 1980 - Jesse Owens, American athlete (Olympics-gold-1936), dies in Tucson, Arizona at age 66 (born 1913).
  • 1980 - Larry Holmes TKOs Leroy Jones in 8 rounds for WBC heavyweight boxing title.
  • 1980 - Mike Weaver knocks out John Tate in 15 rounds for WBA heavyweight boxing title.
  • 1980 - US President Jimmy Carter deregulates banking industry.
  • 1980 - Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operate final train.
  • 1980 - Birth of Chien-Ming Wang; Taiwanese Major League Baseball player.
  • 1980 - Death of Vladimír Holan, Czech poet (born 1905).
  • 1981 - Death of Frank Tieri, American gangster (born 1904).
  • 1981 - First Golden Raspberry Awards: Can't Stop the Music wins.
  • 1981 - The 53rd Academy Awards, hosted by Johnny Carson, are held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Robert Redford's directorial debut in Ordinary People wins Best Picture and Best Director. Robert De Niro wins Best Actor; Sissy Spacek wins Best Actress.
  • 1982 - Birth of Jessica Joseph in Royal Oak, Michigan; dance skater (and Butler-1997 National).
  • 1982 - Rock group Doobie Brothers split up.
  • 1982 - Death of Dave Clement, Queens Park Rangers football player - suicide.
  • 1982 - Arkas tanker at Montz, Louisiana, spills 1.47 million gallons of oil.
  • 1983 - Stephen Murray, actor (Guilty, Silent Dust, Master Spy), dies at age 70.
  • 1983 - In Colombia, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurs. 250-350 people killed, many injured and extensive damage in the Popayan area.
  • 1984 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
  • 1985 - 15th Easter Seal Telethon raises US$27,400,000.
  • 1985 - 4th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Old Dominion beats Georgia 70-65.
  • 1985 - El Salvador's President José Napoleón Duarte's Christian-Democrats win election.
  • 1985 - Wrestlemania I debuts at Madison Square Garden in New York. Hogan and Mr T beat Piper and Orndorf.
  • 1985 - ABC-TV celebrates the 200th episode of TV show The Love Boat, with 1000th guest star Lana Turner.
  • 1986 - 167 die when Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 crashes.
  • 1986 - 48th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Louisville beats Duke 72-69.
  • 1986 - Hampton Court palace in Surrey, England, destroyed by fire, one dead.
  • 1986 - In Central California, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurs.
  • 1986 - Jerry Paris, director/actor (Jerry - Dick Van Dyke Show), dies at age 60.
  • 1986 - Death of O'Kelly Isley of heart attack at age 48; American singer (Isley Brothers).
  • 1987 - 49th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Indiana beats Syracuse 74-73.
  • 1988 - Last East Limburg coal mine closes in Gent, Belgium.
  • 1988 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Toni Morrison for Beloved.
  • 1988 - Death of Sir William McMahon, twentieth Prime Minister of Australia (born 1908).
  • 1989 - Donald Trump purchases Eastern Airlines' Northeast Shuttle.
  • 1990 - NBC-TV debuts the Carol and Company TV show, hosted by Carol Burnett.
  • 1990 - Dionisio Castro cycles world record 20 km (57:18.4).
  • 1990 - A massive anti-poll tax demonstration in Trafalgar Square, London, turns into a riot; 471 people are injured, and 341 arrested.
  • 1991 - 10th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Tennessee beats Virginia 70-67.
  • 1991 - 20th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Amy Alcott.
  • 1991 - Albania offers first multi-party election in 50 years.
  • 1991 - John Carter, US jazz clarinetist (Roots and folklore), dies.
  • 1991 - Soviet Republic of Georgia endorses independence.
  • 1991 - Saint Louis Blues' Brett Hull scores his 86th goal.
  • 1992 - Delhi beats Tamil Nadu on first innings to win cricket Ranji Trophy.
  • 1992 - United Nations Security Council votes to ban flights and arms sales to Libya.
  • 1993 - Brandon Lee, actor, son of martial artist Bruce Lee, dies at age 28 during the filming of The Crow when a dummy bullet tip and blank fired from a .44 magnum revolver fells him.
  • 1993 - Jose Maria Lemus, President of El Salvador (1956-60), dies.
  • 1994 - Léon J Ramirez Reine [Degrelle], Belgian/Spanish Nazi (Rex), dies at age 87.
  • 1994 - Walkway from Cleveland's Tower City to Jacobs Field officially opens.
  • 1994 - The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull.
  • 1994 - Panamanian-flagged supertanker Seki collides with the UAE tanker Baynunah, leaking 18.5 million litres of crude oil into the Arabian Sea 16km off the UAE port of Fujairah.
  • 1995 - First game at Coors Stadium, Colorado (replacement Colorado Rockies beat New York Yankees 4-1).
  • 1995 - Bombay beats Punjab on first innings to win cricket Ranji Trophy.
  • 1995 - Carl M Story, fiddler, dies at age 78.
  • 1995 - Federal judge orders injunction to end US baseball strike.
  • 1995 - In Corpus Christi, Texas, Latin superstar Selena Quintanilla Perez is shot and killed by Yolanda Saldivar, the president of her own fan club.
  • 1996 - 15th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Tennessee beats Georgia 83-65.
  • 1996 - First baseball Opening Day in March takes place in Seattle.
  • 1996 - 25th Nabisco Dinah Shore Golf Championship won by Patty Sheehan.
  • 1996 - Dante Giacosa, engineer/designer, dies at age 91.
  • 1996 - Dario Bellezza, poet, dies at age 51.
  • 1996 - Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American musician (The Gun Club, The Cramps), dies at age 37 (born 1958).
  • 1996 - Julius Young, fast food entrepreneur, dies at age 73.
  • 1996 - Karnataka defeats Tamil Nadu on first innings to win Ranji Trophy.
  • 1996 - Radio Canada International's final shortwave broadcast.
  • 1996 - Space Shuttle STS 76 (Atlantis 16), lands.
  • 1996 - Wrestlemania XII: Shawn Michaels beats Brett Hart for WWF title.
  • 1997 - ABC begins airing the Daytime to Remember TV series.
  • 1997 - 59th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Arizona beats Kentucky 84-79 (overtime).
  • 1997 - Edwin Alberian, TV celebrity (Clarabell), dies at age 76.
  • 1997 - Laxmishankar Pathak, food retailer, dies at age 62.
  • 1997 - Pioneer 10 ends its mission.
  • 1998 - Death of Bella Abzug, American politician (born 1920).
  • 1998 - Tampa Bay Devil Rays' first game; they host Detroit Tigers.
  • 1999 - Warner Bros. releases the film The Matrix to theaters.
  • 2000 - At its annual meeting, the jury of the German Academy of Language and Literature designates the 2000 Büchner Prize winner as Volker Braun.
  • 2000 - The German ministry of justice determines that drunkenness will no longer be an excuse. It had been a tradition that crimes committed while under the influence of alcohol were sentenced more mildly than in other circumstances.
  • 2001 - Death of Clifford Shull, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1915).
  • 2002 - Ukraine holds parliamentary elections.
  • 2002 - A Belize-registered cargo ship collides with a fishing boat and sinks, leaving a 10km long oil slick.
  • 2003 - In Hong Kong, police cordon off Block E of the Amoy Gardens housing estate, placing those inside under quarantine, to contain SARS.
  • 2003 - The European Union launches its first military mission, taking over peace-keeping duties in Macedonia from NATO.
  • 2003 - Japan's Mizuho bank, the world's largest, posts a net loss of 2 trillion yen (US$16.7 billion) in the past twelve months, the largest loss in Japanese corporate history.
  • 2004 - Four American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA are killed, and their bodies mutilated, after being ambushed in Fallujah, Iraq.
  • 2005 - Death of Terri Schiavo, American right-to-die cause célèbre (born 1963).
  • 2006 - Fox releases the film Ice Age: The Meltdown to theaters.
  • 2007 - Sydney, Australia, turns off its lights for one hour between 7:30PM and 8:30PM as a political statement for Global Climate Change.
  • 2008 - In Vietnam, the Ho Chi Minh City's stock market's value is 44 percent lower than the value of January 1.
  • 2008 - Pernod Ricard, French drink company, wins an auction to buy Sweden's Vin & Sprit company for 5.6 billion euros (US$8.9 billion).
  • 2008 - Death of Jules Dassin, American film director (born 1911).
  • 2009 - A boat carrying about 250 African migrants sinks off the coast of Libya in stormy seas and high winds. 23 are rescued.
  • 2009 - Death of Raúl Alfonsín, 49th President of Argentina (born 1927).
  • 2009 - In Moscow, Russia, six volunteer "astronauts" are locked inside a mock spacecraft, to see if they can stand the simulated conditions of a manned flight to Mars, which would take over 100 days. Those who last more than 100 days experiencing the same isolation and claustrophobia as astronauts will earn a US$20,000 reward.
  • 2010 - Anglo Irish Bank posts a 12.7 billion euro (US$17 billion) loss, the largest in Irish corporate history.
  • 2012 - Car bombs in Yala, Thailand, shophouses kill 11 people and injure 100.
  • 2014 - The United Nations International Court of Justice rules that Japan's Antarctic whaling program is not scientific but commercial and forbids grants of further permits.
  • 2019 - The Republic of China (Taiwan) scrambles its fighter aircraft after two Chinese jets crossed a maritime border between the two nations.
  • 2020 - President Anies Baswedan of Singapore declares national emergency due to the spreading COVID-19 virus.
  • 2020 - Death of Abdul Halim Khaddam, Acting President of Syria (born 1932).
  • 2021 - Death of Kamal Ganzouri, 46th Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1933).
  • 2022 - Death of Patrick Demarchelier at age 78; fashion photographer (Paris, New York City, Princess Diana).
  • 2022 - Death of Moana Jackson at age 76; Maori lawyer and academic.

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