This Day in History
March 11

What happened in history on this day: March 11? On March 11 in ... 222 - Varius A Bassianus, Syrian emperor of Rome (218-222), murdered at age 18?. 417 - Zosimus becomes bishop of Rome. 537 - Goths lay siege to Rome. 638 - Sophronius of Jerusalem, saint/patriarch of Jerusalem, dies. 843 - Icon worship officially re-instated in Aya Sofia Constantinople. 1302 - Romeo and Juliet's wedding day, according to Shakespeare. 1486 - Albrecht III Achilles elector of Brandenburg, dies at age 71. 1502 - Tebriz shah Ismail I of Persia crowned. 1513 - Giovanni de' Medici chosen Pope Leo X. 1544 - Birth of Torquato Tasso Italy, Renaissance poet (Aminta, Apologia). 1549 - Birth of Hendrik L Spieghel Dutch merchant/Renaissance poet (Hertspiegel). 1563 - League of High Nobles' second protest against King Philip II. 1567 - Geuzen army leaves Walcheren to return to Oosterweel. 1596 - Birth of Isaac Elsevier book publisher. 1597 - Land guardian Albrecht occupies Amiens on France. 1598 - Countess Charlotte of Nassau marries duke Claude de la Tremoille. 1649 - Treaty of Rueil destroys first Fronde-uprising. 1654 - Birth of Heinrich Georg Neuss composer. 1665 - New York approves new code guaranteeing Protestants religious rights. 1669 - Volcano Etna in Italy erupts killing 15,000. 1683 - Birth of Giovanni Veneziano composer. 1702 - First English daily newspaper, "Daily Courant", is published. 1715 - Jan-Erasmus Quellinus Flemish painter, dies at age 80. 1726 - Birth of Madame Louise-Florence d'Épinay France, writer (Woman, Man and 2 Kingdoms)/salon hostess. 1731 - Birth of Robert Treat Paine judge, signer of Declaration of Independence. 1754 - Birth of Juan Meléndez Valdés Spanish lawyer/poet. 1772 - George Reuter composer, dies at age 63. 1779 - US army Corps of Engineers established (first time). 1781 - Birth of Anthony Philip Heinrich composer. 1786 - Jacobus Bellamy [Zelandus], Dutch/Swiss poet, dies at age 28. 1787 - Maximilian JLP Gardel French ballet dancer/choreographer, dies at age 45. 1789 - Benjamin Banneker with L'Enfant begin to lay out Washington DC. 1791 - Samuel Mulliken, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, is first to obtain more than one US patent. 1793 - Birth of Jan F Willems Flemish writer/philologist. 1794 - Royal Theatre in London's Dury Lane opens. 1795 - Battle at Kurdla India: Mahratten beat Mogols. 1807 - Anton Eberl composer, dies at age 41. 1810 - Emperor Napoleon married by proxy to Archduchess Marie Louise. 1811 - Birth of Marsena Rudolph Patrick Brevet Major General (Union volunteers). 1811 - Birth of Urbain Jean Joseph le Verrier co-discovered Neptune. 1812 - Birth of James Speed Attorney General (Union), died in 1887. 1812 - Birth of Pieter Blussé van Oud-Alblas Dutch liberal minister of Finance. 1812 - Birth of William Vincent Wallace composer. 1812 - Citizenship granted to Prussian Jews. 1818 - Birth of John Wilkins Whitfield Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1879. 1819 - Birth of Henry Tate English sugar producer (Tate Gallery). 1819 - Birth of Marius Petipa French ballet dancer/choreographer (Don Quiotte). 1820 - Benjamin West British painter (Death of General Wolfe), dies at age 81. 1822 - Birth of Allison Nelson Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1862. 1823 - First normal school in US opens, Concord Academy, Concord Vermont. 1824 - US War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 1826 - Gervais-François Couperin composer, dies at age 66. 1827 - Birth of Septimus Winner composer. 1832 - Birth of Franz Melde German physicist (Melde test). 1832 - Birth of William Ruffin Cox Brigadier General (Confederate Army-2nd North Carolina Infantry), died in 1919. 1833 - Fridolin Weber composer, dies at age 71. 1835 - HMS Beagle anchors off Valparaiso, Chile. 1840 - Birth of Edmund Kirby Jr Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1863. 1845 - Agronomist John Chapman [Johnny Appleseed] dies in Allen County, Indiana, USA. 1845 - British citizen Henry Jones invents self-raising flour. 1846 - Birth of António C G Crespo Brazilian/Portuguese poet. 1850 - Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (first female medical school). 1851 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Rigoletto" premieres in Venice. 1857 - Manuel José Quintana Spanish author/poet (A la paz), dies at age 84. 1860 - Birth of Thomas Hastings New York City, New York, architect (New York Public Library). 1861 - Confederate convention in Montgomery, Alabama, adopts constitution. 1862 - General Stonewall Jackson evacuates Winchester, Virginia. 1862 - Lincoln removes McClellen as general-in-chief and makes him head of Army of the Potomac. General Henry Halleck is named general-in-chief. 1863 - Birth of Andrew Stoddart cricketer (My Dear Victorious Stod). 1863 - Birth of Wobbe de Vries Dutch linguist. 1864 - Skirmish at Calfkiller Creek (Sparta), Tennessee. 1865 - General Sherman's Union forces occupy Fayetteville, North Carolina. 1867 - Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Don Carlos" premieres in Paris France. 1867 - Great Mauna Loa eruption (Hawaiian volcano). 1872 - Birth of Abraham van Stolk Jzn lumber merchant/art collector. 1874 - Charles Sumner a white civil rights leader, dies at age 63. 1876 - Birth of Carl Ruggles Marion Massachusetts, composer (Evocations). 1876 - Birth of David Wijnkoop Dutch revolutionary socialist. 1879 - Birth of Justus Hermann Wetzel composer. 1879 - Birth of Niels Bjerrum Danish chemist (ph tests). 1882 - Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association organized in Princeton New Jersey. 1884 - Birth of Jan Lemaire Dutch writer/actor (Beautiful Juliet). 1885 - Birth of Malcolm Campbell first auto racer to travel five miles/minutes (8 km/minute). 1888 - Great blizzard of '88 strikes northeast US. 1890 - Birth of Vannevar Bush developed first electronic analogue computer. 1892 - First public basketball game (Springfield Massachusetts). 1892 - Birth of Raoul Walsh New York City, New York, director (Thief of Baghdad, Battle Cry). 1892 - Birth of Wladyslaw Anders Polish General (WWI, WWII). 1894 - John Selby cricketer (6 Tests for England 1877-82), dies. 1895 - Spanish cruiser Reina Regenta sinks at Gibraltar, 400 killed. 1897 - Berthold Tours composer, dies at age 58. 1897 - Birth of Henry Dixon Cowell Menlo Park California, composer (New Musical Resources). 1897 - Henry Drummond Scottish geologist/evangelist, dies at age 45. 1898 - Birth of Dorothy Gish Massillon Ohio, stage and silent film actress (Orphans of the Storm). 1899 - Birth of Frederick IX king of Denmark (1947-72). 1900 - Edmund Peate cricketer (9 Tests for England 1881-86), dies. 1901 - Cincinnati Enquirer reports Baltimore manager John McGraw signed Cherokee Indian Tokohoma, who is really black second baseman Charlie Grant. 1902 - Birth of Josef Martin Bauer writer. 1903 - Birth of Dorothy Schiff publisher (New York Post). 1903 - Birth of George Dickinson cricketer (bowled for New Zealand in their first three Tests). 1904 - Birth of Cornelis Jan Bakker Dutch/US nuclear physicist. 1904 - Birth of Maurits Wertheim Dutch writer (Isaac De Fuentes). 1904 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Brandon Wheat Kings in two games. 1905 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 beat Rat Portage Thisles, two games to 1. 1906 - Birth of Aasan Ferit Alnar composer. 1907 - Birth of Eleni Gatzoyiannis heroine (saved her kids). 1907 - Birth of Helmuth J von Moltke German politician (July 20th plot). 1907 - Birth of Jessie Matthews London England, actress (Gangway, First a Girl). 1907 - Birth of Margaret Herbison British minister (Labour). 1907 - Nikola Petkow premier (Bulgaria), murdered. 1908 - Birth of Lawrence Welk in Strasburg, North Dakota, USA; orchestra leader (Lawrence Welk Show). 1908 - Peter Milne composer, dies at age 83. 1909 - Birth of Ljubica Maric composer. 1910 - Birth of Robert H G Havemann German chemist. 1910 - Jack Hobbs first Test ton (187 vs South Africa), his only Test hit wicket. 1911 - Birth of Alan Gifford Boston Massachusetts; actor (Time Lock, Up Periscope). 1911 - Birth of Fitzroy Maclean British diplomat soldier politician/historian. 1912 - First Stanley Cup game to be played in three 20-minute periods, formerly played in 30-minute halfs, Québec beats Moncton 9-3 on way to sweep. 1912 - Birth of Robert Clifford Latham Pepys Scholar. 1912 - Birth of Xavier Montsalvatge Spanish composer (El gato con botas). 1913 - Birth of John Jacob Weinzweig Toronto Canada, composer (Enchanted Hill). 1913 - Birth of Thomas Gray professor/anaesthetist. 1914 - Birth of Ralph Ellison writer (Invisible Man, Shadow and Act). 1915 - Birth of Karl Krolow writer. 1915 - Birth of Vijay Hazare cricketer (prolific Indian batsman 1946-54). 1916 - Birth of Sir [James] Harold Wilson (Liberal) British Prime Minister (1964-70, 1974-76). 1917 - First NHL championship game ever played, Toronto Arenas beats Montreal Canadiens 7-3 in first of two game set (second game on March 13). 1917 - Birth of GE Göran Schildt Finnish art historian/writer (Solbåten). 1917 - British troops occupy Baghdad. 1918 - Birth of Al Eben Philadelphia Pennsylvania; actor (Doc Bergman-Hawaii Five-O). 1918 - Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia. 1918 - Save the Redwoods League founded. 1919 - Birth of Mercer Ellington son of Duke Ellington/bandleader. 1919 - General strike in Germany, crushed. 1919 - Harald Fryklof composer, dies at age 36. 1920 - Birth of D J Enright England, poet/novelist (Some Men are Brothers). 1920 - Birth of Henry Marking CEO (British Airways). 1920 - Birth of Kenneth Dover chancellor (Saint Andrews University). 1921 - Birth of Astor Piazzolla Argentina composer (Tango Nuevo). 1921 - Birth of F[rancis] M[arion] Busby Jr US, sci-fi author (Star Rebel). 1921 - Sherburne W Burnham US astronomer (binary stars), dies at age 83. 1922 - Birth of Abdul Razak bin Hussain premier of Malaysia (1970-77). 1922 - Birth of Thom Kelling Dutch singer/guitarist (Programa de Manha). 1922 - Birth of Vinnette Carroll New York City, New York, actress (Alice's Restaurant, Reivers). 1922 - Western Hockey Championship: Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) sweep Regina Capitals, in two games. 1923 - Birth of A Louise Brough Clapp Oklahoma, tennis player (4 time Wimbledon champion). 1923 - Birth of A X Gwerder writer. 1923 - Birth of Ad[rianus C] de Besten Dutch literary (River Basin). 1923 - Birth of Morschi Mirando [Thomas Weiss], German/Dutch gypsy artist. 1923 - Birth of Terence Alexander London England; actor (Tony-Behind the Scenes). 1924 - Third term of Belgium Theunis government begins. 1924 - Eden Phillpotts' "Farmer's Wife" premieres in London. 1924 - NHL Championship: Montreal Canadiens sweeps Ottawa Senators in two games. 1925 - Andreas Hallen composer, dies at age 78. 1925 - Birth of James Miskin QC/recorder of London. 1926 - Birth of Adrienne Keith Cohen travel editor. 1926 - Birth of Ilhan Mimaroglu composer. 1926 - Birth of Patricia Tindaole England, architect. 1926 - Birth of Ralph Abernathy civil rights leader (Southern Christian Leadership). 1926 - Eamon da Valera ends leadership of Sinn Fein. 1926 - John Henry Anderson cricketer (score 32 and 11 in Test for South Africa), dies. 1927 - First armored commercial car hold-up in US, Pittsburgh. 1927 - First golden gloves tournament. 1927 - Birth of Alan Betts emeritus professor (Royal Veterinary College). 1927 - Birth of Raymond Jackson [Jaki], British cartoonist. 1927 - Birth of Robert Mosbacher US politician. 1927 - Birth of Ron Todd British trade unionist. 1927 - Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens famous Roxy Theater (New York City, New York). 1928 - Birth of Albert Salmi Brooklyn New York; actor (Daniel Boone, 79 Park Avenue). 1928 - Birth of Peter Roger Hunt London England, director (Dr No). 1928 - Netherlands and Belgium tie 1-1 (soccer match in Amsterdam). 1929 - Birth of Erskine Childers unofficial/civil servant. 1929 - Birth of Francisco Bernardo Pulgar Vidal composer. 1929 - Birth of Jackie McGlew cricketer (dour South African opening bat of the 50 feet). 1930 - Birth of David Gentleman designer/painter. 1930 - President and Chief Justice William Taft buried in Arlington. 1931 - Birth of Peter Walters CEO (Midland Bank). 1931 - Birth of Rupert Murdoch in Australia; publisher (New York Post), CEO FOX-TV Network. 1932 - Birth of Nigel Lawson British government official (The Power Game). 1932 - Birth of Valerie French London England, actress (Jubal, The Hard Man). 1933 - Birth of Terry J Hatter Jr US judge in California. 1934 - Birth of George Stamatoyannopoulos Greece, medical genetics researcher. 1934 - Birth of Joep [Joseph Willem Frederik] Straesser composer (Blossom songs, Ramasasiri). 1934 - Birth of Keith Speed British Member of Parliament. 1934 - Birth of Sam Donaldson El Paso Texas, ABC White House correspondent (Prime Time). 1934 - Birth of Sydney Burke cricketer (South African quick, 11 wickets on Test debut vs New Zealand 1961). 1934 - Netherlands beats Belgium 9-3, in soccer. 1935 - Bank of Canada opens. 1935 - Hermann Goering officially creates German Air Force, the Luftwaffe. 1936 - Birth of Antonin Scalia Trenton New Jersey, 105th Supreme Court Justice (1986-). 1937 - Birth of John Ward New Zealand cricket wicket-keeper (8 Tests 1964-68). 1937 - Paul Scheinpflug composer, dies at age 61. 1938 - Artur Seyss-Inquart replaces Kurt von Schuschnigg as Chancellor of Austria. 1938 - Birth of Malcolm Keith Speed British high court judge. 1941 - Bronko Nagurski beats Ray Steele in Minnesota, to become wrestling champion. 1941 - In the United States, Congress passes "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States", known as the Lend-Lease Act, authorizing the President to sell, lease, lend, transfer, or exchange war supplies to any nation deemed vital to defence of the US. Total value is US$1.3 billion. 1941 - Walford Davies British organist/composer, dies at age 71. 1942 - First deportation train leaves Paris France for Auschewitz Concentration Camp. 1942 - Birth of Peter Eyre actor (Hedda). 1942 - General MacArthur leaves Corregidor (Bataan) for Australia. 1942 - Japanese troop land on North-Sumatra. 1943 - Nazi Militia forms in Netherlands. 1944 - Birth of Ric Rothwell drummer (Mindbenders-Games of Love). 1944 - Dutch resistance fighter Joop Westerweel arrested. 1944 - Hendrik W van Loon Netherlands/US radio commentator/writer, dies at age 62. 1945 - 1,000 allied bombers harass Essen, 4,662 ton bombs. 1945 - Birth of Harvey Mandel rock guitarist (Drei Amerikanische LP's). 1945 - Birth of Mark Stein vocalist/organist (Vanilla Fudge-You Keep Me Hanging On). 1945 - Birth of Timothy Mason consultant (British Arts Council). 1945 - Birth of Tricia O'Neil Shreveport Louisiana, actress (Piranha Part II). 1945 - Flemish Nazi collaborator Maria Huygens sentenced to death. 1946 - Birth of Brigitte Fossey Tourcoing France, actress (Man Who Died Twice). 1947 - Birth of Dominique Sanda [Varaigne] Paris France, actress (1900, First Love, Inheritance, Beyond Good and Evil). 1947 - Birth of Geoffrey Hunt Australia, world-champion squash player. 1947 - Birth of Mark Stein Bayonne New Jersey, rocker (Vanilla Fudge-You Keep Me Hanging On). 1947 - Victor Hely-Hutchinson composer, dies at age 45. 1948 - Birth of George Kooymans The Hague Netherlands, guitarist/singer (Golden Earring-Radar Love, Twilight Zone). 1948 - Jewish Agency of Jerusalem bombed. 1948 - Reginald Weir became the first black to play in the US Tennis Open. 1949 - Birth of Richard de Bois Dutch drummer/producer. 1949 - Henri-Honoré Giraud French General/Member of Parliament, dies at age 70. 1949 - Juan Lamonte de Grignon composer, dies at age 76. 1950 - Birth of Bobby McFerrin singer (Don't Worry Be Happy-1989 Grammy). 1950 - Birth of Jerry Zucker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; director (Airplane, Naked Gun). 1950 - Florence Arliss actress (Disraeli), dies at age 78. 1951 - Philippe of Isacker Belgian minister, dies at age 66. 1952 - Birth of Douglas Adams Cambridge England, author (Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy). 1952 - Birth of Susan Richardson Coatesville Pennsylvania, actress (Susan-Eight is Enough). 1953 - First woman army doctor commissioned (FM Adams). 1953 - An American B-47 accidentally drops a nuclear bomb on South Carolina, the bomb doesn't go off due to six safety catches. 1954 - US Army charges Senator Joseph McCarthy used undue pressure tactics. 1955 - Meat packer Oscar Mayer dies. 1955 - Alexander Fleming English bacteriologist (penicillin), dies at age 73. 1955 - Birth of [Kater]Nina Hagen East Berlin German Democratic Republic, actress (Blue Angel). 1956 - Birth of Curtis L Brown Jr Elizabethtown North Carolina, Major USAF/astronaut (STS 47, STS 66, 77, 85, 95). 1956 - Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship. 1956 - Sergey Nikiforovich Vasilenko Russian opera composer, dies at age 83. 1957 - Richard E Byrd, American explorer (Antarctica), dies at age 68. 1958 - Charles Van Doren finally loses on TV game show 21. 1958 - Starting this season, American League batters are required to wear batting helmets. 1959 - Haydn Wood, composer, dies at age 76. 1959 - Teddy Scholten wins Eurovision Song festival with "A Little Bit". 1960 - Pioneer 5 launched into solar orbit between Earth and Venus. 1960 - Roy Chapman Andrews, US biologist/explorer, dies at age 76. 1961 - Birth of Bruce Watson in Ontario, Canada; rock guitarist (Big Country - "Wonderland"). 1961 - Birth of Mike Percy; rocker (Dead or Alive - "Spin Me Round"). 1961 - NHL record 40 penalties, Chicago Black Hawks and Toronto Maple Leafs (20 each). 1962 - Birth of Peter Berg; actor (Chicago Hope). 1962 - Will Vesper, German author (Tristan und Isolde), dies at age 79. 1963 - Mahomed Nissar, cricketer (6 Tests for India 1932-36, 25 wickets), dies. 1963 - Somalia drops diplomatic relations with Great Britain. 1964 - Birth of Raimo Helminen in Tampere, Finland; hockey forward (Team Finland, Olympics-bronze-1998). 1965 - Birth of Eric Jelen in West Germany; tennis star. 1965 - Indonesia President Sukarno accepts qualifications of Suharto. 1965 - James Reeb, US vicar/civil rights activist, is murdered. 1966 - Birth of Pavel Petrovich Mukhortov, Russian cosmonaut. 1966 - Birth of Ralph Tamm; NFL guard/center (Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs). 1966 - Birth of Steve Reed in Los Angeles, California, USA; pitcher (Colorado Rockies). 1966 - Military coup led by Indonesian General Suharto breaks out. 1967 - Birth of Andrew Zesers; cricketer (played for Australia in 1987 World Cup). 1967 - Birth of Bill Houlder in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; NHL defenseman (Tampa Bay Lightning). 1967 - Geraldine Farrar, soprano/actress (Such Sweet Compulsion), dies at age 85. 1967 - Pink Floyd rock group releases their first song (Arnold Layne). 1968 - Birth of John Barrowman; actor (Peter Fairchild-Central Park West). 1968 - Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 12nd string quartet. 1968 - Otis Redding posthumously receives gold record for "(Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay". 1968 - Lisa Loeb is born; singer. 1969 - Birth of Dan Lacroix in Montréal, Quebec, Canada; NHL left wing (New York Rangers). 1969 - Birth of John Fina; NFL offensive tackle (Buffalo Bills). 1969 - John Wyndham [Parkes Lucas B Harris], author (Day of the Triffids, Chrysalids), dies at age 65. 1970 - 12th Grammy Awards: "Aquarius", Crosby Stills and Nash, Peggy Lee win. 1970 - Birth of Brett Liddle in Boksburg, South Africa; Canadian Tour golfer (1993 Newcastle). 1970 - Birth of Evgeniy Koreshkov; hockey forward (Team Kazakhstan Olympics-1998). 1970 - Erle Stanley Gardner, US writer (Perry Mason), dies at age 80. 1970 - Iraq Ba'th Party recognizes Kurd nation. 1971 - Birth of Bob Kronenberg; WLAF corner (Rhein Fire). 1971 - Birth of Jiri Vykoukai in Olomouc, Czechoslovakia; hockey player (Team Czechoslovakia Republic, Olympics-gold-1998). 1971 - Birth of Marta Lovera Parquet; Miss Paraguay-Universe (1996). 1971 - Birth of Martin Rucinsky in Most, Czechoslovakia; NHL left wing (Montreal Canadiens, Olympics-Gold-1998). 1971 - Philo T Farnsworth, US TV pioneer, dies at age 64. 1971 - Johnny Knoxville is born; actor. 1971 - Roy Glenn dies in Los Angeles at age 56. 1971 - Whitney M Young Jr, leader (National Urban League 1961-71), dies at age 49. 1972 - Birth of Carl Greenwood; NFL cornerback (New York Jets). 1972 - Birth of Chris Shelling; WLAF cornerback (Rhein Fire). 1972 - Birth of Jamal Duff; NFL defensive end (New York Giants, Washington Redskins). 1972 - Fredric [William] Brown, sci-fi author (Martians Go Home), dies at age 65. 1973 - Birth of Kennedy Otieno in Kenya; cricket wicket-keeper (85 vs Australia 1996 World Cup). 1973 - Birth of Mike Mihelic; Canadian Football League offensive tackle (Winnipeg Blue Bombers). 1973 - Birth of Sammie Brennan; Canadian Football League defensive back (British Columbia Lions). 1973 - Birth of Tony Veland; NFL defensive back (Denver Broncos-Superbowl 32). 1973 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA S&H Green Stamp Golf Classic. 1973 - Manuel Rojas Sepúlveda, writer, dies. 1974 - Birth of Billy Granville; linebacker (Cincinnati Bengals). 1974 - Birth of David Cameron; Australian rower (Olympics-1996). 1974 - Birth of Kevin Donovan in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA; figure skater (1997 Great Lakes-second). 1974 - Mount Etna in Sicily erupts. 1974 - Rhino Store gives people 5 cents to take home Danny Bonaduce's album. 1975 - Birth of Cedric Henderson, NBA forward (Cleveland Cavaliers). 1975 - Birth of Shawn Springs; cornerback (Seattle Seahawks). 1975 - Philip Bezanson, composer, dies at age 59. 1975 - Portugal military coup under General Spinola fails. 1975 - Sammy Spear, orchestra leader (Dom Deluise Show), dies at age 65. 1975 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk. 1975 - Walter Kinsella, actor (Happy - Martin Kane Private Eye), dies at age 74. 1977 - 34 Israelis killed by Palestinians on the Tel Aviv-Haifa highway. 1977 - Muslims hold 130 hostages in Washington DC. 1978 - Terrorists attack mail truck at Tel Aviv, Israel; 45 killed. 1978 - University of San Francisco-led Bill Cartwright scores 23 points as the Dons oust North Carolina. 1979 - Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Sunstar Golf Classic. 1979 - Randy Hold receives 67 minutes in penalties in a 60 minute NHL hockey game. 1979 - Victor Kilian, actor (Gentleman's Agreement), dies at age 88. 1980 - Rod Marsh bowls 10 overs for 51 runs in dull Australia vs Pakistan cricket draw. 1981 - Birth of Lee Evans; American football player. 1981 - Johnny Mize and Rube Foster elected to baseball Hall of Fame. 1981 - Birth of LeToya Luckett; American singer. 1981 - Chile constitution takes effect; military dictator Augusto Pinochet is sworn in as President for another 8-year term. 1981 - Birth of David Anders; American actor. 1982 - Edmund Cooper, British sci-fi writer (Tomorrow Came), dies at age 55. 1982 - Failed military coup under Rambocus/Hawker in Suriname. 1982 - Harrison Williams (Senator-Democrat-New Jersey) resigns rather than face expulsion. 1982 - Birth of Thora Birch; American actress. 1982 - Birth of Hasan Raza; cricketer (Test cricketer at the age of 14). 1983 - Australia's First Hawke Ministry is sworn in; Andrew Peacock becomes Federal Opposition leader. 1983 - World Ice Dance Championship in Helsinki Finland won by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (Great Britain). 1983 - World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Helsinki won by Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev (USSR). 1983 - World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Helsinki won by Rosalynn Sumners (USA). 1983 - World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Helsinki won by Scott Hamilton (USA). 1984 - Nakagawa Soen, Zen teacher/poet, dies in Rytutakuji monastery at age 76. 1984 - Chris Johnson wins LPGA Samaritan Turquoise Golf Classic. 1985 - Birth of Paul Bissonnette; Canadian hockey player. 1985 - Birth of Nikolai Topor-Stanley; Australian soccer player. 1985 - Mikhail S Gorbachev replaces Konstantin Chernenko as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party. 1985 - Mohammed Al Fayed buys the London-based department store company Harrods. 1986 - New York Islanders' Mike Bossy is first NHL player to score 50 goals in nine straight seasons. 1986 - Japanese probe Sakigake flies by Halley's Comet at 6.8 million km. 1986 - NFL adopts instant replay rule. 1987 - Wayne Gretzky scores 1,500th NHL point. 1987 - [Wayne] Woody Hayes, football coach (Ohio State), dies at age 74 (born 1913). 1988 - Pham Hung, premier of Vietnam, dies at about age 74. 1988 - Utrecht conservatory destroyed by fire. 1988 - British pound note ceases to be legal tender, replaced by one-pound coin. 1989 - Johan Fleerackers, Flemish linguist, dies at age 57. 1989 - Death of James Kee, American politician (born 1917). 1990 - 16th People's Choice Awards. 1990 - Lithuanian Parliament declares incorporation into the Soviet Union was illegal, and declares independence. 1990 - Maggie Will wins Desert Inn LPGA Golf International. 1990 - Patricio Aylwin is sworn-in as the first democratically-elected Chilean president since 1970. 1991 - Janet Jackson signs US$40 million three-album deal with Virgin Records. 1991 - John Smith, amateur wrestler, wins James E Sullivan Award. 1991 - Monica Seles ends Steffi Graf's streak of 186 weeks ranked as #1 in tennis. 1991 - A curfew is imposed on black townships in South Africa after fighting between rival political gangs kills 49. 1992 - David Carroll, actor (Grand Hotel), dies of pulmonary embolism at age 41. 1992 - Heinz Kühn, Prime Minister (Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany), dies at age 80. 1992 - Manuel De Dios Unanue, US anti-drug journalist, murdered at age 48. 1992 - Richard Brooks, director (Blackboard Jungle, Key Largo), dies at age 79. 1993 - Death of Adolfo "Dino Bravo" Bresciano, Italian-born professional wrestler (born 1949). 1993 - Edgar Nelson Barclift, dancer, dies after lengthy illness at age 76. 1993 - Manuel da Fonseca, Portuguese writer (Cerro Maior), dies at age 81. 1993 - Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn-in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States. 1994 - Buena Vista Pictures releases the Touchstone Pictures live-action feature film The Ref to theaters in the USA. 1994 - Eduardo Frei succeeds Patricio Aylwin as President of Chile. 1994 - Jacques Doucet, French painter (Mostar Sarajevo), dies at age 69. 1995 - Carel Birnie, founded Utrecht Opera/Dutch Dance Theater, dies at age 69. 1995 - Ernest Kabushemeye, Burundese minister of Mijnbouw, murdered. 1995 - Frank Fidler, artist, dies at age 84. 1995 - President Nazarbajev disbands Kazakhstan parliament. 1995 - Yolanda Chen hop-skip-jumps world indoor record 15.03 metre. 1996 - Barry Appleby, cartoonist, dies at age 86. 1996 - Charles William Oatley, electrical engineer, dies at age 92. 1996 - Chris Harris scores 130 in losing New Zealand side vs Australia, World Cup. 1996 - Clifton Eugene Bancroft Robinson, public servant, dies at age 70. 1996 - John Henry Pyle Pafford, librarian, dies at age 96. 1996 - Mark Waugh scores 110 vs New Zealand for his third century of the World Cup. 1996 - Vince Edwards, actor (Ben Casey), dies of cancer at age 67. 1997 - Third Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. 1997 - Beatle Paul McCartney knighted Sir Paul by Queen Elizabeth II. 1997 - San Francisco Giants player J T Snow suffers a fractured eye socket when hit by a pitch. 1997 - An explosion at a nuclear waste reprocessing plant in Japan exposes 35 workers to low-level radioactive contamination, in the worst nuclear accident in Japan's history. 1998 - In the Danish parliamentary election, Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen is re-elected. 2002 - BBC 6 Music, the first new BBC music radio station in decades, is launched. 2002 - Death of James Tobin, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918). 2002 - German Marion Gräfin Dönhof dies. She had worked with the newspaper, Die Zeit, (Hamburg) since 1946. 2003 - Iraqi fighter jets threaten two U.S. U-2 surveillance planes, on missions for U.N. weapons inspectors, forcing them to abort their mission and return to base. 2004 - In Madrid, Spain, ten simultaneous explosions on commuter trains and in rail stations kill 190 people. 2005 - In the United Kingdom, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords. 2005 - Three people, including a judge, are murdered in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia; the main suspect, Brian Nichols, surrenders to police the next day. 2005 - Central African Republic elections: The first round leads to a runoff between top candidates Francois Bozize and Martin Ziguele. 2006 - Death of Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian hockey player (born 1931). 2006 - Michelle Bachelet is sworn in as the first female President of Chile. 2006 - Slobodan MiloÜevic is found dead in his cell in the United Nations war crimes tribunal's detention centre, located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague. 2007 - Death of Betty Hutton, American actress (born 1921). 2008 - At the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, US space shuttle Endeavour lifts off headed for the International Space Station. Its cargo includes part of a Japanese space laboratory and a Canadian-built robotic system. 2008 - The US Federal Reserve promises to lend up to US$200 billion of Treasury bonds on a monthly basis with mortgage-backed securities as collateral. 2008 - Two suicide blasts in Lahore, Pakistan, kill 24, injuring over 100. You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history. Bookmark this URL:   http://www.islandnet.com/~kpolsson/thisday/   and revisit each day. (this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events) Or, visit my Timelines of History page. Other web pages of interest: Chronology of World History