Event of Interest
1578 Queen Elizabeth I of England gives Johan Casimir £20,000 to aid Dutch rebellion
Elizabeth I
- 1624 England declares war on Spain
- 1783 USS Alliance under Captain Barry fights and wins last naval battle of US Revolutionary War off Cape Canaveral
- 1791 John Stone of Concord, Massachusetts, patents a pile driver
- 1791 Pope condemns France's Civil Constitution of the clergy
- 1801 First official census in Great Britain, revealing a population of approximately 10 million
- 1830 The KNIL also known as the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army is created
- 1831 The French Foreign Legion is established by King Louis-Philippe to support his war in Algeria
- 1847 1st money minted in Hawaii
Historic Invention
1849 Abraham Lincoln applies for a patent (only US President to do so) for a device to lift a boat over shoals and obstructions
Abraham Lincoln
- 1861 West African political leader El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Segou, destroying the Bambara Empire of Mali
- 1862 Great Britain & France recognise independence of Zanzibar
- 1862 US issues 1st paper money ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100, $500 & $1000)
- 1864 Ullyses Grant is named commander of the Union armies
- 1864 Red River campaign begun in Louisiana by Union forces
- 1865 Battle of Monroe's Crossroads, NC
- 1874 Purdue University (Indiana) admits its 1st student
Article: Mr. Watson come here, I want you
1876 First telephone call; Alexander Graham Bell says "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you" to his assistant Thomas Watson
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- 1880 Salvation Army of England sets up US welfare & religious activity
- 1888 1st performance of Caesar Franck's "Psyche"
- 1888 Heavyweight Boxing champ John L Sullivan draws Charlie Mitchell in 30 rounds
- 1891 Almon Strowger, an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas, patents the strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching
- 1893 Ivory Coast becomes a French colony (Cote d'Ivoire)
- 1893 New Mexico State University cancels its 1st graduation ceremony; its only graduand Sam Steele was robbed & killed the night before
- 1896 Bronx acquires O'Brien Square
- 1900 Stanley Cup, Montreal Arena, Westmount, Quebec: Montreal Shamrocks outclass Halifax Crescents, 11-0 to sweep challenge series, 2-0
- 1900 Battle at Driefontein, South Africa (Boers vs British army)
- 1900 Regents for the King of Uganda and leading chiefs sign a treaty with Great Britain agreeing to the organization of the government, taxation, courts, military, and other functions of their country, which is under British protection.
- 1902 Earthquake destroys Turkish city of Tochangri
Event of Interest
1902 A United States court of appeals rules that Thomas Edison did not invent the movie camera
Thomas Edison
- 1903 Harry Gammeter, Cleveland, patents multigraph duplicating machine
- 1905 Japanese Army captures Mukden (Shenyang)
- 1906 1st performance of Maurice Ravel's "Sonatine"
- 1906 Coal dust explosion kills 1,060 at Courrieres, France
- 1906 Baker Street & Waterloo Railway opens, constructed by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London. The contraction Bakerloo became the official name in July 1906.
Event of Interest
1909 Jack Johnson fights Victor McLaglen to no decision in 6 for box title
Victor McLaglen
- 1910 Republic of China officailly abolishes slavery
- 1910 Pittsburgh Courier begins publishing
- 1913 Stanley Cup, Quebec Skating Rink, Quebec City, Quebec: Quebec Bulldogs retain trophy; defeat Sydney Millionaires (NS), 6-2 for a 2-0 sweep of the challenge series
- 1913 William Knox becomes 1st in American Bowling Congress to bowl 300
- 1914 Suffragettes in London damage Rokeby's painting Venus of Velasquez
- 1915 British Army captures Neuve Chapelle, Belgium
- 1917 Batangas was formally founded as one of the Philippines's earliest encomiendas
Event of Interest
1920 NHL's Quebec Bulldog Joe Malone scores 6 goals vs Ottawa Senators
Joe Malone
- 1920 Home Rule Act passed by the British Parliament, dividing Ireland into two parts; it is rejected by the southern counties, where the Ango-Irish war continues for a year
- 1922 KLZ-AM in Denver CO begins radio transmissions
- 1922 State of siege proclaimed during mine strike Johannesburg, South Africa
- 1925 Walter Mittelholzer is 1st to flies over Demawend mountain, Iran
- 1926 Run on Belgian banks
- 1927 Albania mobilizes due to threats from the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Event of Interest
1927 Bavaria lifts ban on Adolf Hitler's speeches
Adolf Hitler
- 1928 Christine Collins' son, Walter Collins, disappears in Los Angeles
- 1931 Oswald Mosley leaves British Labour party and founds the "New Party"
- 1933 Major earthquake in Long Beach, California
- 1933 Nevada becomes 1st US state to regulate narcotics
- 1934 Longest undefeated streak in Toronto Maple Leaf history ends - 18 games with 15 wins, 3 ties
- 1934 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Suzanne Davis
- 1934 US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Roger Turner
Academy Awards
1938 10th Academy Awards: "The Life of Emile Zola", Spencer Tracy & Luise Rainer win
Spencer Tracy
Luise Rainer
Film Premier
1938 "Jezebel" film premieres directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, from the play by Owen Davis
Bette Davis
Henry Fonda
Event of Interest
1945 Fieldmarshal Albert Kesselring succeeds Gerd von Rundstedt as commander of German Army Command in the West
Albert Kesselring
Gerd von Rundstedt
George S. Patton
Firebombing of Tokyo
1945 Tokyo in fire after night time B-29 bombings, more than 100,000 people die, mostly civilians.
Learn More >>
Golden Globes
1948 5th Golden Globes: "Gentleman's Agreement", Ronald Colman, & Rosalind Russell win
Ronald Colman
Event of Interest
1951 FBI director J. Edgar Hoover declines post of baseball commissioner
J. Edgar Hoover
- 1951 Ireland clinches their 7th Five Nations Rugby Championship with a 3-3 draw against Wales at the National Stadium, Cardiff
Coup d'état
1952 Military coup led by General Fulgencio Batista in Cuba
Fulgencio Batista
Event of Interest
1959 Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth" premieres in NYC
Tennessee Williams
Golden Globes
1960 17th Golden Globes: "Ben-Hur", Anthony Franciosa, & Elizabeth Taylor win
Elizabeth Taylor
- 1962 Due to its no black policy, Phillies leave Jack Tar Harrison Hotel & move to Rocky Point Motel, 20 miles outside Clearwater, Florida
Event of Interest
1963 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA SF Warriors scores 70 points vs Syracuse
Wilt Chamberlain
- 1964 US reconnaissance plane shot down over East Germany
- 1964 Simon and Garfunkel record the first version of "The Sound of Silence" at Columbia Studios in New York City
- 1965 Dutch Princess Margriet & Pieter van Vollenhoven get engaged
- 1965 "I've Got a Tiger By the Tail" album by Buck Owens is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1965)
- 1966 5 time Horse of the Year, Kelso, retires
- 1966 North Vietnamese capture US Green Beret Camp at Ashau Valley
- 1968 North Vietnamese and communist Laotion troops overrun a secret US radar facility, Lima Site 85, on a Laos mountaintop
- 1969 James Earl Ray pleads guilty to murder of Martin Luther King Jr
Music Recording
1970 Barbra Streisand records "The Singer" & "I Can Do It"
Barbra Streisand
- 1970 South Africa complete 4-0 series drubbing of Australia
- 1970 Members of the Stormont Parliament of Northern Ireland given police protection
- 1971 US Senate approves amendment lowering voting age to 18
- 1971 Three members of the Royal Highland Fusiliers (a regiment of the British Army) are killed by members of the Irish Republican Army
- 1972 1st black US political convention opens in Gary, Indiana
- 1972 General Lon Nol becomes President & Prince Sirik Matak premier of Cambodia
- 1972 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
- 1973 Morocco adopts constitution
- 1973 20th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: NC State beats Maryland, 76-74
- 1974 "Sextet" closes at Bijou Theater NYC after 9 performances
- 1974 Christian Democrats win Belgium parliamentary election
- 1974 Lawrence Rowe completes 302 v Eng Bridgetown, 36 fours 1 six
- 1975 "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 45 performances
- 1975 Dog spectacles patented in England
- 1975 Sanyo Shinkansen open between Osaka and Fukuoka.
- 1977 Rings of Uranus discovered during occulation of SAO
- 1977 CBS' premiere of "A Circle of Children", starring Jane Alexander and based on the life and book about this by Mary Mac Cracken
- 1978 Soyuz 28 returns to Earth
Film Premier
1978 "The Incredible Hulk", starring Bill Bixby as David Banner, premieres on CBS
Bill Bixby
Jack Kirby
Event of Interest
1982 US President Reagan proclaims economic sanctions against Libya
Ronald Reagan
- 1982 Saleem Malik scores 100 in 2nd inning of Test Cricket debut (v SL)
- 1982 Sygyzy: all 9 planets aligned on same side of Sun
- 1982 Travis Jackson & Happy Chandler elected to Hall of Fame
- 1982 The United States places an embargo on Libyan petroleum imports because of their support of terrorist groups.
Film and TV Awards
1982 8th People's Choice Awards: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field & Jane Fonda win (Motion Picture) and Alan Alda & Barbara Mandrell win (TV)
- 1983 Walter Alston, Los Angeles Dodgers manager is elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
- 1984 Heavyweight Tim Witherspoon KOs Greg Page
- 1984 25th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats Auburn, 51-49
- 1984 5th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Georgetown beats Syracuse, 82-71 (OT)
- 1985 Dallas Maverick coach Dick Motta is 4th NBA coach to win 700 games
- 1985 French socialists lose election (National Front 9%)
- 1985 Ice Pairs Championship at Tokyo won by Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev (Soviet Union)
- 1985 India beat Pakistan to win "World Championship of Cricket"
- 1985 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Tokyo won by Alexandr Fadeev (URS)
- 1985 32nd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Georgia Tech beats North Carolina, 57-54
- 1986 Ernie Lombardi, NL MVP in 1938, & Bobby Doerr, elected to Hall of Fame
- 1987 Vatican formal opposition to test-tube fertilization & embryo transfer
Event of Interest
1988 Avalanche at Swiss Ski resort Klosters nearly kills Prince Charles
Prince Charles
Event of Interest
1988 NY Islanders celebrate Mike Bossy night
Mike Bossy
- 1990 4th American Comedy Award: "When Harry Met Sally"
- 1990 Ice Dance Championship at Halifax won by Klimova & Ponomarenko (Soviet Union)
- 1990 Ice Pairs Championship at Halifax won by Gordeeva & Grinkov (URS)
- 1990 Ladies Figure Skating Champions in Halifax won by Jill Trenary (USA)
- 1990 Prosper Avril resigns as President of Haiti
- 1990 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Halifax won by Kurt Browning (CAN)
- 1990 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1991 Eddie Sutton is 1st NCAA coach to lead 4 schools into playoffs
- 1991 Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg clinches his 4th slalom World Cup
- 1991 Merlene Ottey runs world record 200 m indoor (22.24 sec)
- 1991 Rico Lieder, Jens Carlowitz, Karsten Just and Thomas Schonlebe walk 4x400m indoor world record (3:03.05)
- 1991 38th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #7 North Carolina beats #6 Duke, 96-74
- 1991 32nd SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Alabama beats Tennessee, 88-69
- 1991 12th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Seton Hall beats Georgetown, 74-62
Music Awards
1992 6th Soul Train Music Awards: Natalie Cole, Color Me Badd win
Natalie Cole
- 1992 Sandra Seuser, Katrin Schreiter, Annet Hesselbarth and Grit Breuer walk female indoor world record 4x400m (3:27.22)
- 1992 "Come and Talk to Me" single released by Jodeci (Billboard Song of the Year 1992)
- 1994 1 million Greeks attend actress and activist Melina Mercouri's funeral
- 1995 Car bomb explodes in Karachi at shiite mosque, 17+ killed
- 1995 Chiel Meijering's "St Louis Blues" premieres in Arnhem
- 1996 22nd People's Choice Awards: Tom Hanks & Demi Moore win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Tim Allen & Candice Bergen win (TV)
- 1996 NYC Mayor Rudy Guiliani visits Israel
- 1996 43rd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #12 Wake Forest beats #18 Georgia Tech, 75-74
- 1996 37th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Mississippi State beats Kentucky, 84-73
Television Premiere
1997 "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" created by Joss Whedon and starring Sarah Michelle Geller premieres on WB Television Network
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Event of Interest
1997 The PalmPilot, as developed by Jeffrey Hawkins, is released
Jeffrey Hawkins
- 2000 The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5132.52, signalling the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom
- 2000 16th Soap Opera Digest Awards - General Hospital wins
- 2001 22nd Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Boston College beats Pittsburgh, 79-57
- 2002 49th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #3 Duke beats NC State, 91-61
- 2002 43rd SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Mississippi State beats Alabama, 61-58
- 2003 "My Front Porch Looking In" single released by Lonestar (Billboard Song of the Year 2003)
- 2006 The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.
- 2006 Mass unrest by the PCC started in São Paulo (the biggest city in Brazil) which would eventually kill more than 152 people.
Music Awards
2007 21st Soul Train Music Awards: Jermaine Dupri, Jennifer Hudson win
Jennifer Hudson
- 2007 28th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Georgetown beats Pittsburgh, 65-42
Event of Interest
2009 Billy Corgan testifies in front of Congress, on behalf of the musicFIRST Coalition, in support of H.R. 848, the Performance Rights Act
Billy Corgan
Event of Interest
2010 Carlos Slim becomes the first Mexican and person from an emerging economy to top Forbes Richest Person list, with net worth of US$53.5 billion
Carlos Slim
Election of Interest
2013 Aung San Suu Kyi is re-elected leader of the Burmese National League for Democracy
Aung San Suu Kyi
Event of Interest
2014 German Chancellor Angela Merkel warns Russia's Vladimir Putin that making Crimea part of Russia is illegal and in violation of Ukraine's constitution
Angela Merkel
Vladimir Putin
Event of Interest
2015 The family of Marvin Gaye win a record $7.3 million lawsuit for music copyright infringement against Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and T.I.
Marvin Gaye
Pharrell Williams
Film Release
2015 "See You Again" released by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth commissioned by film "Furious 7" as tribute to Paul Walker (Billboard Song of the Year 2015)
Paul Walker
- 2016 Twelfth Republican presidential candidates debate hosted by CNN, held in Coral Gables, Florida
- 2017 South Korean judges uphold parliaments' decision to impeach President Park Geun-hye
- 2018 16 people die after being struck by lightening at a church in Nyaruguru District, Rwanda
- 2018 Two girls aged 8 and 6 become the first female weightlifters to appear on Iranian television after a protest
- 2019 Taliban force attacks Afghan army base killing or capturing about 50 soldiers in Badghis Province, Afghanistan
- 2019 Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 crashes just after take-off from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 on board
March in History
Sinatra Snaps the Fight of the Century
Sinatra does it his way and secures a ringside seat as a photographer for the "Fight of the Century" between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
March 8, 1971One-Man War Finally Ends
Japanese soldier Hiroo Onoda finally surrendered on this day – nearly 30 years after the Second World War had ended.
March 9, 1974Mr. Watson come here, I want you
Alexander Graham Bell spoke only briefly by phone to his assistant on this day in 1876, but it proved to be a pioneering moment in telecoms history.
March 10, 1876Wave of Doubt over Britannia
The composer who put "Rule, Britannia!" to music was born on this day, but the original words are not quite what they bellow out at the Last Night of the Proms.
March 12, 1710
