Today in History

Births On This Day, March 11th 🎂

1978 Didier Drogba
Ivorian footballer

1952 Douglas Adams
English/American author, playwright

1950 Bobby McFerrin
American singer-songwriter, producer, conductor

1931 Rupert Murdoch
Australian/American businessman, founded News Corporation

1916 Harold Wilson
English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Deaths On This Day, March 11th 🪦

2006 Slobodan Milošević
Serbian politician, 3rd President of Serbia, Montenegro

1971 Philo Farnsworth
American inventor invented the Fusor

1955 Alexander Fleming
Scottish scientist, Nobel Prize laureate

1898 William Rosecrans
American general, diplomat

1874 Charles Sumner
American politician
 

11th March

1702 The Daily Courant, the first successful English newspaper, was first published. It consisted of only 1 sheet but lasted until 1735 when it was merged with the Daily Gazetteer.

1845 A Maori uprising against the British began in New Zealand .The Flagstaff War, also known as Heke's War, Hōne Heke's Rebellion and the Northern War, was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of Hōne Heke who challenged the authority of the British by cutting down the flagstaff on Flagstaff Hill at Kororāreka.

1864 The Great Sheffield Flood: The largest man-made disaster ever to befall England destroyed 800 houses and killed at least 240 people and left more than 5,000 homes and businesses under water when the poorly constructed Dale Dyke Dam at Bradfield collapsed. Shortly before midnight, on 11 March, more than 690 million gallons (3.14 billion litres) of water surged into the Loxley and Don Valleys and on towards the city. As families slept, the raging torrent smashed into their homes, killing them instantly and washing away all but the faintest traces of scores of buildings.

2014 Dozens of firefighters were called out to deal with a blaze .... at a fire station. The retained fire crew at Downham Market in Norfolk could do nothing, because their own fire engine was caught up in the blaze that started in their own building.
 
On This Day In History, March 11th

1708 – Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.

1848 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.

1861 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.

1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400 people.

1917 – World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Frederick Stanley Maude.

1941 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.

1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.

1946 – Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.

1977 – The 1977 Hanafi Siege: Around 150 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
 

On This Day In History, March 12th

1967 Suharto rises to power in Indonesia
His presidency, which lasted 31 years, was overshadowed by crass human rights violations and the occupation of East Timor.

1947 The Truman doctrine is proclaimed
In his speech before Congress, U.S. President Harry S. Truman defined his foreign relations priorities, which included military and economic support to Turkey and Greece to prevent the spread of communism there.

1938 Hitler invades Austria
The occupation of Hitler's homeland is known as Anschluss, which is the German word for annexation.

1930 Mahatma Gandhi embarks on his Salt March
The 240-mile march was an act of civil disobedience to protest the British monopoly on salt. It was one of the most significant events during the Indian independence movement.

1918 Moscow becomes Russia's capital city
St. Petersburg lost its status as the Russian capital following the Revolution of 1917, which dismantled the Tsarist autocracy.
 
Births On This Day, March 12th 🎂

1979 Pete Doherty
English singer-songwriter, guitarist

1947 Mitt Romney
American businessman, politician, 70th Governor of Massachusetts

1946 Liza Minnelli
American actress, singer, dancer

1922 Jack Kerouac
American author, poet

1864 W. H. R. Rivers
English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, psychiatrist

Deaths On This Day, March 12th 🪦

2015 Terry Pratchett
English author

1999 Yehudi Menuhin
American/Swiss violinist, conductor

1955 Charlie Parker
American saxophonist, composer

1925 Sun Yat-sen
Chinese revolutionary, politician, 1st President of the Republic of China

1914 George Westinghouse
American engineer, inventor
 
1609
Bermuda becomes a English Colony
1894
in a Vickesburg, Mississippi candy store Coca- Cola is sold in bottles for the 1st time
1912
Girl Scouts of USA is founded by Juliette Gordon Low in Savannah, Georgia
1947
Pres Harry Truman gives a dramatic speech in front of joint session of U.S. Congress asking for help to fight communism in Greece&Turkey. Some historians cite his address as the start of the Cold War
1994
The Church of England ordains its first ever 33 female priests
2008
streaming service, Hulu launches for public access in U.S.
 
March 12th Birthdays:
1710
Thomas Arne- British composer' Rule Britania, 'A Hunting- We Will Go'
1831
Clement Studebaker- U.S. manufacturer of horse drawn carriages, early automobile maker
1921
Gordon MacRae- actor/ singer' Oklahoma,Carousel
1933
Barbara Feldon- actress ,best known TV role' Agent 99' in NBC spy spoof show' Get Smart
1948
James Taylor- gutiarist/singer/songwriter 'Fire&Rain, Shower the People, Sweet Baby James, Carolina on My Mind You've Got a Friend
1950
Jon Provost- former child actor best known TV role' Timmy' on CBS drama' Lassie' 57-'64
Deaths:
1955
Charlie' Bird' Parker- jazz saxophonist 34
1987
Woody Hayes- U.S College Hall of Fame,head coach at Ohio State 74
2001
Robert Ludlum - spy novelist' The Bourne Identity 73
 
On This Day In History, March 13th

2013 Pope Francis succeeds Pope Benedict XVI
Jorge Mario Bergoglio from Argentina became the 266th leader of the Catholic Church, which has 1.2 billion members around the world.

1997 A series of unidentified lights appeared over Phoenix, Arizona
The Phoenix Lights caused heated debate in the UFO community. It emerged later that some of the lights were caused by illumination flares dropped from a U.S. Air Force plane.

1943 German troops liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Kraków
Thousands of men, women, and children were murdered by the nazis or deported to extermination camps. The horrific event is portrayed in the film, Schindler's List.

1845 Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto is premiered
The German composer's opus 64 is one of the most frequently performed violin concertos in history.

1781 Uranus is discovered
German-born British astronomer William Herschel is credited with the planet's discovery. It is the third largest planet by radius in the solar system.
 
Births On This Day, March 13th 🎂

1985 Matt Jackson
American wrestler

1939 Neil Sedaka
American singer-songwriter, pianist

1911 L. Ron Hubbard
American religious leader, and author, founded the Church of Scientology

1907 Mircea Eliade
Romanian historian, author

1733 Joseph Priestley
English chemist, minister, philosopher

Deaths On This Day, March 13th 🪦

1906 Susan B. Anthony
American activist

1901 Benjamin Harrison
American politician, 23rd President of the United States

1881 Alexander II of Russia

1879 Adolf Anderssen
German chess player

1842 Henry Shrapnel
English army officer
 
March 13th

1927 The lance ceased to be an official weapon in the British Army.

1961 Three men and two women went on trial at the Old Bailey charged with plotting to pass official secrets to the Russians. All 5 were found guilty and sentences were passed, up to 25 years. An official report blamed lax security at the Admiralty for the spy ring. The Attorney General, Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller QC, opening the case for the prosecution, said the five were involved in a plot to sell secrets on Britain's first nuclear submarine to the Soviet Union.

1972 Britain and China resumed full diplomatic relations after a break of 22 years.The UK and China agree to establish full diplomatic ties with the exchange of Ambassadors, signalling their commitment to a strong and constructive bilateral relationship.

1996 Thomas Hamilton, a lone gunman carrying 4 handguns killed 16 children and their teacher at a school in Dunblane, Scotland. The killer fired randomly around the school gym in an attack that lasted just three minutes, but caused carnage in the class of five and six year olds. He then turned the gun on himself. Hamilton had been a scout master briefly before being sacked by the Scout Association. The event became a rallying point for anti-gun legislation.

2015 Lesley Simpson became the first female Guizer Jarl (chief Viking) in the 130-year history of Shetland's world famous fire festivals. The event is one of several Viking-themed torchlit processions that are held on Shetland every year.
 
1852
"Uncle Sam' cartoon figure makes its debut in NY Lantern weekly
1877
15 yr old, Chester Greenwood patents his invention of 'earmuffs'
1942
Julia Flikke of Nurse Corps becomes the 1st female Colonel in U. S. Army
1986
Microsoft has its Inital Public Offering{IPO} 1 share cost $21
1991
Exxon pays $1billion in fines& cleanup due to the Valdez Oil Spill which happened off Prince Edward Sound, Alaska. 11 million gallons of oil spilled
 
March 13th Birthdays:
1908
Walter Annenberg- U.S. publisher of TV Guide
1929
Peter Beck- actor best known TV role' Nick Barkley in ABC Western' The Big Valley'
1950
William H. Macy- actor, Fargo, Pleasantville, Seabiscuit,Boogie Nights, Jurassic Park 3
1956
Jamie Dimon- U.S. businessman/CEO of JPMorgan Chase
1960
Adam Clayton- British rock bassist with band U2
Deaths:
1906
Susan B. Anthony- social reformer/ suffrage leader 86
1978
JOhn Cazale- actor The Godfather, The Deer Hunter, Dog Day Afternoon 42{lung&bone cancer}
2020
Barbara Harris 1st U.S. Episcopal female Bishop 89
 
On This Day In History, March 14th

1991 The Birmingham Six are released
The 6 men had been wrongly sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 for the IRA Birmingham pub bombings.

1979 Factory Plane Crash in China
At least 200 people are killed when a plane crashes into a factory in China. According to some sources, the plane had previously been stolen by the pilot who was not qualified to fly it.

1960 The leaders of Germany and Israel confer for the first time
15 years after the end of World War II, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion met at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

1942 For the first time in history, a dying patient's life is saved by penicillin
Although some claim that the pioneering trials at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, England resulted in the first cures using penicillin, Orvan Hess and John Bumstead is generally credited with the first documented successful treatment.

1910 The Lakeview Gusher causes the largest accidental oil spill in history
The spill lasted 18 months and 9 million barrels of crude oil were released.
 
Births On This Day, March 14th 🎂

1933 Michael Caine
English actor, author

1879 Albert Einstein
German/American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

1854 Alexandru Macedonski
Romanian author, poet

1854 Paul Ehrlich
German physician, Nobel Prize laureate

1681 Georg Philipp Telemann
German composer

Deaths On This Day, March 14th 🪦

2014 Tony Benn
English politician

1980 Mohammad Hatta
Indonesian politician, 1st Vice President of Indonesia

1883 Karl Marx
German philosopher

1823 John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
English Admiral

1803 Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock
German poet
 
1794
Eli Whitney's patent for cotton gin machine which changed the cotton industry in southern U.S.
1923
Warren G.Harding becomes the 1st U.S. President to pay taxes
1940
movie' Road to Singapore' is released starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour,the 1st of these comedic movies final one was 'Road to Hong Kong' 62
1964
Jack Ruby is sentenced to death for killing Pres Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
1973
John McCain is released after spending 5 yrs in a N. Vietnamese Prisoner of War Camp. He later would become U.S. Senator{R} from Arizona
2017
world's oldest Golf Club,Muirfield in Scotland votes for the 1st time admitting women as members after 273 yrs
 
March 14th Birthdays:
1912
Les Brown- big band leader,'Band of Renown'
1916
Horton Foote- playwright/ screenwriter' To Kill a Mockingbird'-won Oscar
1933
Michael Caine- British actor' Alfie, The Man Who Would be King, Hannah&Her Sisters, The Cider House Rules, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Now You See Me, has 2 Best Supporting Actor Oscars for 'Sisters, House Rules
1941
Wolfgang Petersen- German film director' Das Boot, Airforce One, The Perfect Storm
1951
Jerry Greenfield- U.S businessman co founder of Ben&Jerry's ice cream
1994
Ansel Elgort- actor 'Fault of our Stars, Baby Driver, West Side Story{updated version}
Deaths:
1883
Karl Marx- German philosopher 'Communist Manifesto' 64
1932
George Eastman- U.S. inventor of Kodak Camera/founder of Eastman Kodak Company 77
1975
Susan Hayward- actress Beau Geste, I Want to Live, I'll Cry Tomorrow,Valley of the Dolls 57{brain cancer}
2010
Peter Graves- actor best known TV role' Jim Phelps' on CBS drama' Mission Impossible' 83
 
14th March

1757 British admiral John Byng was court-martialled and executed by firing squad on board HMS Monarch at Plymouth, for "failing to do his utmost" to relieve Minorca from the French fleet following the Battle of Minorca. In practice, his ships badly needed repair and he was relieved of his command before he could see to his ships or secure the extra forces he required.

1864 the English explorer Samuel White Baker (1821-1893) became the first European to sight Lake Albert Nyanza (now Lake Mobutu Sese Seko) in Central Africa and to discover that the Nile flows through it.

1891 HMTS Monarch laid a telephone cable along the English Channel bed to prepare for the first telephone links across the Channel. Monarch was launched in 1884, was the first cable ship designed specifically for the GPO and was fitted with three cable tanks, two forward and one aft. The length of the cable is 20 N.M.: it extends from St Margaret's Bay, near Dover, to Sangatte, near Calais.

1963 Gerry and the Pacemakers released their first British single, "How Do You Do It?" a song the Beatles had rejected. Their biggest hit was "You'll Never Walk Alone", from the musical Carousel, which has been the adopted anthem of Liverpool Football Club since the mid 1960s.
 
On This Day In History, March 15th

1990 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes President of the Soviet Union
His economic and political reforms, as well as his advocacy of free speech, strengthened pro-democracy movements in other Eastern European countries and ultimately led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

1985 The world's first internet domain name is registered
symbolics.com was registered by the Symbolics Computer Corporation of Massachusetts. There are over 1 billion domains today.

1972 Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather is premiered
The gangster movie based on Mario Puzo's novel is one of the most popular films of all time.

1917 The last emperor of Russia abdicates
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated following the February Revolution. He was later executed together with his family and some of his servants.

1895 Enrico Caruso makes his stage debut
The Italian tenor is arguably the most famous opera singer of all time.
 
The Ides of March is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15th March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became notorious as the date of the assassination of Julius Caesar, which made the Ides of March a turning point in Roman history.

You've probably heard the soothsayer’s warning to Julius Caesar in William Shakespeare's play of the same name: “Beware the Ides of March.” Not only did Shakespeare’s words stick, they branded the phrase and the date, March 15th with a dark and gloomy connotation. It’s likely that many people who use the phrase today don’t know its true origin.

Did the death of Caesar curse the day, or was it just Shakespeare’s mastery of language that forever darkened an otherwise normal box on the calendar? If you look through history, you can certainly find enough horrible things that happened on March 15th, but is it a case of life imitating art? Or art imitating life?

ides.jpg
The death of Julius Caesar.
 
March 15th:
1493
Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his 1st voyage to the New World
1906
British motor pioneers Henry Rolls, Charles Royce&Claude Johnson formalize their partnership Rolls, Royce LTD
1912
pitcher CY Young retires from baseball with 511-315 win/loss record
1960
Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve is established off the coast of Florida as 1st underwater park
1968
Life Magazine calls Jimi Hendrix' most spectacular guitarist in the world'
2019
'The Vessel' a honeycomb viewing structure opens at Hudson Yards development in NYC,was designed by Thomas Heathewick
 
March 15th Birthdays:
1904
J.Pat O'Malley- British character actor' 101 Dalmatians{voice}, The Jungle Book{ voice} Lassie Come Home
1916
Harry James- swing era bandleader/trumpeter
1933
Ruth Bader Ginsberg- U.S Supreme Court Justice 1993-2020
1941
Mike Love- singer with 60's band;The Beach Boys
1961
Fabio Lanzeni- romance novels model
1968
Mark McGrath- singer with band' Sugar Ray' Every Morning'
Deaths:
1889
Melvin Bissell- U.S inventor of carpet sweeper 45
1975
Aristotle Onassis- Greek shipping tycoon 69
1990
Tom Harmon- U.S College Football Hall of Fame half back at Michigan 70{heart attack}
1995
Florence Chatwick- U.S. swimmer, 1st woman to swim the English Channel in both directions 76
2014
David Brenner- stand up comedian 78{cancer}
 
15th March

1672 King Charles II enacted the 'Declaration of Indulgence', a first step at establishing freedom of religion in England to Protestant nonconformists and Roman Catholics. It suspended the laws that punished those who did not attend the services of the Church of England. The following year the Cavalier Parliament compelled him to withdraw this Declaration. When Charles II's Catholic successor (James II) attempted to issue a similar Declaration it led to the Glorious Revolution that ousted him from the throne.

1824 Building work started on the London Bridge designed by John Rennie.

1877 The first cricket test between Australia and England was played in Melbourne. Australia won by 45 runs.

1949 Clothes rationing, which had been introduced during the 2nd World War, was ended.

1976 The driver of a London Underground train was shot dead as he chased a gunman after a bomb exploded on the train.

1983 A letter bomb sent to the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was defused by explosives experts.
 
On This Day In History March 16th

1988 A poison gas attack kills 5000 civilians in the Kurdish town of Halabjah
The war crime was in all likelihood executed on the orders of Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein.

1988 In Northern Ireland, an Ulster loyalist kills 3 people at a Provisional IRA funeral
Michael Stone was later convicted of the Milltown Cemetary attack, which was filmed by news crews.

1968 U.S. troops massacre hundreds of unarmed civilians in Vietnam
The 504 victims of the My Lai Massacre included many children and infants.

1960 Alfred Hitchcock's movie Psycho is premiered
The film starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh is an all-time classic of the suspense movie genre.

1926 Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fuel rocket
The idea for this revolutionary rocket engine first appeared in a book by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.
 
Births On This Day, March 16th 🎂

1986 Daisuke Takahashi
Japanese figure skater

1954 Nancy Wilson
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress

1953 Richard Stallman
American computer programmer

1917 Samael Aun Weor
Colombian author

1912 Pat Nixon
American educator, 39th First Lady of the United States

Deaths On This Day, March 16th 🪦

2008 Bill Brown
Australian cricketer

2006 Minnie Pwerle
Australian painter

2003 Rachel Corrie
American activist

1983 Arthur Godfrey
American radio, and television host

37 Tiberius
Roman Emperor
 
1802
The U.S Military Academy at West Point established through an act of Congress, the Academy opened July 4th,1802
1912
Harriet Herron Taft,1st lady,wife of Pres Taft plants 1st cherry tree in Washington,DC
1934
Academy Award gold statute is 1st called' Oscar' in print by Sidney Solsky
1968
"My Lai' massacre when U.S. Army Soldiers killed over 400 unarmed Vietnamese civilans. Lt William Calley, the platoon leader was charged& convicted of killing 22 of them. He was sentenced to life in prison but served only 3 yr when Pres Richard Nixon commuted his sentenced
1994
figure skater, Tonya Harding pleas guilty to felony attack on her former Olympic team mate, Nancy Kerrigan. Harding was given 3 yrs probation, fined $100,000, banned for life from U.S Figure Skating Association
 


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