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,… Read More ›
Month: March 2012
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
Hong Kong Avenue Of Stars
January 31st 2011: The Avenue of Stars is a salute to eminent Hong Kong film workers for their devoted contribution to local and world theatres. With many visitors to Hong Kong being fans of Hong Kong’s movies, the Avenue of… Read More ›
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”… Read More ›
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,… Read More ›
Chengdu China Giant Panda Breeding Base
July 29 2010: The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is a non-profit organisation engaged in wildlife research, captive breeding, conservation education, and educational tourism. It’s go.al is to be a world-class research facility in all these areas The… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
Oahu Hawaii Sea Life Park
November 16 2007: Sea Life Park Hawaii is located on O’ahu, one of Hawaii’s most famous islands. Oahu is known for its natural beauty, history, culture, and attractions. Sea Life Park adds to Oahu’s magic by providing a unique opportunity… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
Bandung Indonesia Tangkuban Perahu
September 2nd 1977: Tangkuban Perahu is a volcano 30 km north of the city of Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, Indonesia. It is a popular tourist attraction where tourists can hike or ride to the edge of the crater… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
Jakarta Indonesia "Seven-Up Man" Monument
August 31st 1977: The monuments in Jakarta, many of which are built on roundabouts, are usually called by local names, and are most often referred to as a way of giving directions. Many of the locals don’t actually know what… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
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… Read More ›
March 6 1857 Supreme Court Rules In Dred Scott Case
On March 6th 1857, the US Supreme Court handed down its decision on Sanford v Dred Scott, a case that intensified national divisions over the issue of slavery. In 1834, Dred Scott, a slave, had been taken to Illinois, a… Read More ›
March 5 1963 Hula-hoop Patented
On March 5th 1963, the Hula-Hoop was patented by Wham-O co-founder Arthur “Spud” Melin. The hip-swiveling toy became a huge fad across America when it was first marketed in 1958, and sold an estimated 25 million in its first four… Read More ›
What is the Renminbi’s Fair Value?
Spats between the US and China over the value of the renminbi seem to wax and wane with the regularity of the moon. The yuan has appreciated by around 8% in nominal terms since it was effectively de-pegged from the… Read More ›
March 4 1952 Ernest Hemingway Completes The Old Man and the Sea
On March 4th 1952, Ernest Hemingway completed his short novel The Old Man and the Sea. He wrote his publisher the same day, saying he had finished the book and that it was the best writing he had ever done…. Read More ›
March 3 1887 Helen Keller Meets Anne Sullivan
On March 3rd 1887, Anne Sullivan began teaching six-year-old Helen Keller, who had lost her sight and hearing after a severe illness at the age of 19 months. Under Sullivan’s tutelage, including her pioneering “touch teaching” techniques, the previously uncontrollable… Read More ›
John Cleese On Security
How we Brits Cope with Terrorism. Reposted from: “John Cleese On Security” at This Day – One Day The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Syria and have therefore raised their security level from “Miffed”… Read More ›
March 2 1904 Dr Seuss Born
On March 2nd 1904, Theodor Geisel, better known to the world as Dr Seuss, the author and illustrator of such beloved children’s books as “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham,” was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. Geisel,… Read More ›
March 1 1692 Salem Witch Hunt Begins
On March 1st 1692, in Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an Indian slave from Barbados, are charged with the illegal practice of witchcraft. Later that day, Tituba, possibly under coercion, confessed to… Read More ›
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