On March 31st 1959, the Dalai Lama fled the Chinese suppression of a national uprising in Tibet, and crossed the border into India, where he was granted political asylum. Born as Tensin Gyatso on 6th July 1935 in Taktser, China, he was designated the 14th Dalai Lama in 1940, a position that eventually made him … Continue reading March 31 1959 Dalai Lama Exile Begins
Category: News and Features
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March 30 1981 President Reagan Shot
On March 30th 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by a deranged drifter named John Hinckley Jr. The president had just finished addressing a labour meeting at the Washington Hilton Hotel and was walking with his entourage to his limousine when Hinckley, standing among a group of … Continue reading March 30 1981 President Reagan Shot
March 29 2009 General Motors CEO Ousted By White House
On March 29, 2009, US President Obama and his administration requested and received the resignation of Rick Wagoner, the chairman and chief executive of troubled auto giant General Motors (GM). Wagoner spent more than 8 years in the top job at GM, during which the company lost billions of dollars. In 2008, GM was surpassed … Continue reading March 29 2009 General Motors CEO Ousted By White House
March 28 1939 Civil War Ends In Spain
On March 28th 1939, the Spanish Civil War came to an end after three years of bloody fighting, when the Republican defenders of Madrid raised the white flag over the city. In 1931, Spanish King Alfonso XIII approved elections to decide the government of Spain, and voters overwhelmingly chose to abolish the monarchy in favour … Continue reading March 28 1939 Civil War Ends In Spain
March 27 1977 Two Jumbos Collide In Canary Islands
On March 27th 1977, on the runway at a Canary Islands airport, two 747 jumbo jets crashed into each other, killing 583 passengers and crew members. The crash still stands as the worst in aviation history. The airport was the Los Rodeos Airport on Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The Boeing 747s were both charter jets … Continue reading March 27 1977 Two Jumbos Collide In Canary Islands
March 26 1953 Jonas Salk Announces Polio Vaccine
On March 26th 1953, American medical researcher Dr Jonas Salk made public that a vaccine he had developed for poliomyelitis had been successfully tested. The crippling disease had reached epidem9ic proportions in 1952, with 58,000 new cases reported in the Unites States, of which over 3,000 had died. The disease is also called "infant paralysis" … Continue reading March 26 1953 Jonas Salk Announces Polio Vaccine
March 25 1932 Scottsboro Case Verdict Announced
On March 25th 1932, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Powell v. Alabama. The case arose out of the infamous Scottsboro case. Nine young black men were arrested and accused of raping two white women on train in Alabama. The boys were fortunate to barely escaped a lynch mob sent … Continue reading March 25 1932 Scottsboro Case Verdict Announced
March 24 1958 Elvis Presley Inducted Into Army
On March 24th 1958, after several deferments, Elvis Aaron Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, was finally inducted into the United States Army. In effect, he started the day as the King, but ended it as a lowly army private. After turning 18 on January 8, 1953, he fulfilled his patriotic duty and legal … Continue reading March 24 1958 Elvis Presley Inducted Into Army
March 23 1998 Titanic Wins 11 Oscars
On March 23rd 1998, as James Cameron took the stage to accept his Academy Award for Best Director, it was clear that the blockbuster film Titanic was dominating the Oscars. Titanic had already tied with 1950's All About Eve for the record of most Oscar nominations, at 14. By the end of the night, it … Continue reading March 23 1998 Titanic Wins 11 Oscars
March 22 1947 Novelist James Patterson Born
On March 22nd 1947, one of the world’s top-selling novelists, James Patterson, was born. Best known for his thrillers, Patterson, the creator of the Alex Cross detective series and the Women’s Murder Club series, among others, has written books in a variety of genres, from historical fiction to young adult. His novels have sold an … Continue reading March 22 1947 Novelist James Patterson Born
March 21 1963 Alcatraz Closes
On March 21st 1963, Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay closed down and transferred all it's prisoners to other institutions, according to official government sources. At it's peak period of use in the 1950s, "The Rock," or "America's Devil Island" housed over 200 inmates at the maximum-security facility. Alcatraz remains an icon of American prisons … Continue reading March 21 1963 Alcatraz Closes
March 20 1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin Published
On March 20th 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, was published. Within three months, the novel had sold 300,000 copies and was so widely read that when President Abraham Lincoln met Stowe in 1862, he reportedly said, "so you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war." … Continue reading March 20 1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin Published
March 19 1953 Cecil B DeMille Wins His First And Only Oscar
On March 19th 1953, Cecil B. DeMille won the only Academy Award of his career. The legendary film maker won with The Greatest Show on Earth, taking home the Oscar for Best Picture. The big-budget film extravaganza about circus life starred Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, and Cornel Wilde. Born in Ashfield, Massachusetts, in 1881, DeMille … Continue reading March 19 1953 Cecil B DeMille Wins His First And Only Oscar
March 18 1950 Taiwan Nationalists Invade Mainland China
On March 18th 1950, military forces of the Nationalist Chinese government on Taiwan made a surprise invasion of the communist People's Republic of China (PRC), and captured the mainland town of Sungmen. Because the United States supported the attack, it resulted in even deeper tensions and ill feeling between the U.S. and the PRC. In … Continue reading March 18 1950 Taiwan Nationalists Invade Mainland China
March 17 461 Saint Patrick Dies
On March 17th 461, Saint Patrick, Christian missionary, bishop and apostle of Ireland, died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland. Much of what is known about Patrick's legendary life comes from the Confessio, a book he wrote during his last years. Born in Great Britain, probably in Scotland, to a rich Christian family of Roman citizenship, Patrick … Continue reading March 17 461 Saint Patrick Dies
March 16 2005 Robert Blake Acquitted of Murdering Wife
On March 16th 2005, a Los Angeles Superior Court acquitted Robert Blake of the murder of his younger wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, after a three month trial. Blake had previously won fame for his performance as a cop in the 70s TV series Baretta, but his performance as a murderer in the real life court … Continue reading March 16 2005 Robert Blake Acquitted of Murdering Wife
March 15 44 BCE The Ides of March and Julius Caesar Murdered
On March 15th 44 BCE, Julius Caesar, the "dictator for life" of the Roman Empire, was murdered by his own senators at a meeting in a hall next to Pompey's Theatre. The conspiracy against Caesar encompassed as many as sixty noblemen, including Caesar's own protege, Marcus Brutus. Caesar planned to leave Rome to fight in … Continue reading March 15 44 BCE The Ides of March and Julius Caesar Murdered
March 14 1879 Albert Einstein Born
On March 14th 1879, Albert Einstein was born, the son of a Jewish electrical engineer in Ulm, Germany. Einstein's theories of special and general relativity drastically altered man's view of the universe, and his work in particle and energy theory helped make possible quantum mechanics and ultimately, the atomic bomb. After a childhood in Germany … Continue reading March 14 1879 Albert Einstein Born
March 13 1868 Andrew Johnson Impeachment Trial Begins
On March 13th 1868, for the first time in US history, the impeachment trial of an American president got underway in the US Senate. President Andrew Johnson, reviled by the Republican-dominated Congress for his views on Reconstruction, stood accused of having violated the controversial Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress over his veto in … Continue reading March 13 1868 Andrew Johnson Impeachment Trial Begins
March 12 1969 London Police Drug Raid On George Harrison
On March 12th 1969, the London drug squad appeared at house of George Harrison and Pattie Boyd with a warrant and drug-sniffing canines. Boyd immediately used the direct hotline to Beatles headquarters, and George returned to find his home turned upside down. He is reported to have told the officers "You needn't have turned the … Continue reading March 12 1969 London Police Drug Raid On George Harrison
March 11 1997 Paul McCartney Knighted
On March 11th 1997, Paul McCartney, a former member of the most successful rock band in history, The Beatles, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his "services to music." The 54-year-old lad from Liverpool became Sir Paul in a centuries-old ceremony of pomp and solemnity at Buckingham Palace in central London. Fans waited outside … Continue reading March 11 1997 Paul McCartney Knighted
March 10 1959 Tibetans Revolt Against China
On March 10th 1959, Tibetans banded together in revolt, surrounding the summer palace of the Dalai Lama in defiance of Chinese occupation forces. China's occupation of Tibet began nearly a decade before, in October 1950, when troops from its People's Liberation Army (PLA) invaded the country, barely one year after the Communists gained full control … Continue reading March 10 1959 Tibetans Revolt Against China
March 9 1959 First Barbie Doll
On March 9th 1959, the first Barbie doll went on display at the American Toy Fair in New York City. Eleven inches tall, with a waterfall of blond hair, Barbie was the first mass-produced toy doll in the United States with adult features. The woman behind Barbie was Ruth Handler, who co-founded Mattel, Inc. with … Continue reading March 9 1959 First Barbie Doll
March 8 1669 Mount Etna Erupts
On March 8th 1669, Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily in modern-day Italy, began rumbling. Multiple eruptions over the next few weeks killed more than 20,000 people and left thousands more homeless. Most of the victims could have saved themselves by fleeing, but stayed, in a vain attempt to save their city. Mount Etna … Continue reading March 8 1669 Mount Etna Erupts
March 7 1876 Alexander Graham Bell Patents Telephone
On March 7th 1876, 29-year-old Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his revolutionary new invention, the telephone. The Scottish-born Bell worked in London with his father, Melville Bell, who developed Visible Speech, a written system used to teach speaking to the deaf. In the 1870s, the Bells moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where the younger … Continue reading March 7 1876 Alexander Graham Bell Patents Telephone
Craig Hill 