This Day in History for 31st March

Historical Events

Results 1 - 100 of 188

307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian.
1084 - Anti-pope Clemens crowns German emperor Hendrik IV
1146 - Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade.
1492 - Queen Isabella of Castilia & Ferdinand of Aragon expels Jews
1504 - France & Spain signs ceasefire
1521 - Magelhaes takes possession of Homohon, Archipelago of St Lazarus
1547 - Henry II succeeds Francois I as king of France
1644 - Pope Urbanus VIII & duke of Parma signs Peace of Ferrara
1651 - Great earthquake at Cuzco Peru
1657 - English Humble Petition offers Lord Protector Cromwell the crown
1667 - France/England signs anti-Dutch military accord
1683 - Emperor Leopold I/Poland signs covenant against Turkey
1717 - A sermon on "The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ" by Benjamin Hoadly, the Bishop of Bangor, provoked the Bangorian Controversy.
1745 - Jews are expelled from Prague
1796 - Johann Wolfgang von Goethes "Egmont," premieres in Weimar
1808 - French created Kingdom of Westphalia orders Jews to adopt family names
1814 - Forces allied against Napoleon capture Paris
1822 - The massacre of the population of the Greek island of Chios by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire following a rebellion attempt, depicted by the French artist Eugène Delacroix.
1831 - Mainzer Rijnvaart Convention ends
1831 - Quebec & Montreal incorporated
1841 - 1st performance of Robert Schumann's 1st Symphony in B
1849 - Col John W Geary arrives as 1st postmaster of SF
1850 - US population hits 23,191,876 (Black population: 3,638,808 (15.7%))
1854 - Treaty of Kanagawa: Commodore Perry forces Japan to opens ports to US
1861 - Confederacy takes over mint at New Orleans
1862 - Civil War action at Island #10 on Mississippi River
1863 - Battle of Grand Gulf MS & Dinwiddie Court House VA
1865 - Battle of Boydton, VA (White Oaks Roads, Dinwiddie C H)
1865 - Gen Pickette moves to 5 Forks, abandoning the defense of Peterburg
1866 - The Spanish Navy bombs the harbor of Valparaíso, Chile.
1868 - Chinese Embassy arrives aboard steamship China
1870 - 1st black to vote in US (Thomas P Mundy of Perth Amboy NJ)
1877 - British high director/governor sir Bartle Frere arrives in Capetown
1877 - Test Cricket debut of Fred "Demon" Spofforth, Aust v Eng MCG
1877 - The family with samurai antecedents who responded to the Saigo army in Ōita Nakatsu rebels.
1878 - Jack Johnson is 1st black to hold a heavyweight boxing title
1880 - 1st town completely illuminated by electric lighting (Wabash, IN)
1883 - 1st performance of Caesar Franck's "Le Chasseur Maudit"
1883 - Utrecht begins water pipe system
1885 - Great Britain declares Bechuanaland a protectorate
1889 - 300m Eiffel Tower officially opens (commemorates French Revolution)
1896 - Whitcomb Judson, Chicago, patents a hookless fastening (zipper)
1900 - Brig-General Broadwoods troops fall into guerrilla hands
1903 - Richard Pearse flies monoplane several hundred yards (NZ)
1905 - German emperor Wilhelm II visits Tanger
1906 - GB Shaws German version of "Caesar & Cleopatra," premieres in Berlin"
1907 - Romanian Army puts down Moldavian farmers' revolt
1909 - Baseball rules players who jump contracts are suspended for 5 years
1909 - Gustav Mahler conducts NY Philharmonic for his 1st time
1916 - Dutch govt ends all milt engagements
1917 - US purchases Danish West Indies for $25M & renames them Virgin Islands
1918 - 1st daylight savings time in US goes into effect
1919 - Strike against Ruhrgebied government of Scheidemann
1920 - British parliament accept Irish "Home Rule"-law
1921 - British coal miners goes on strike
1922 - KFI-AM in Los Angeles CA begins radio transmissions
1922 - Prince Hendrik opens trade fair building in Amsterdam
1923 - 1st dance marathon-NYC-Alma Cummings sets record of 27 hrs
1923 - French soldiers fire on workers at Krupp factory in Essen; 13 die
1923 - Stanley Cup: Ottawa Senators (NHL) sweep Edm Eskimos (WCHL) in 2 games
1924 - Croydon Airport: 1st British mig aircraft Imperial established
1924 - London public transport strike ends
1925 - WOWO-AM, Ft Wayne Indiana begins radio transmission (500 watts)
1926 - German Special Court of Justice for state security disbands
1930 - The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film for the next thirty eight years.
1932 - 150 wild swans die in Niagara waterfall
1932 - Ford publicly unveils its V-8 engine
1933 - 1st newspaper published on pine pulp paper, "Soperton News" (Ga)
1933 - Congress authorizes Civilian Conservation Corps
1933 - German Republic gives power to Hitler
1934 - Netherlands Indies BC Ltd begins radio transmission (Indonesia)
1935 - Fusahige Suzuki runs world record marathon (2:27:49)
1939 - Britain & France agree to support Poland if invaded by Germany
1940 - Karelo-Finnish SSR becomes 12th Soviet republic (until 1956)
1941 - Germany begins a counter offensive in Africa
1941 - Ground broken for Union Square Garage, SF
1943 - US errantly bombs Rotterdam, kills 326
1944 - Hungary orders all Jews to wear yellow stars
1945 - 3rd Algerian division crosses the Rhine
1945 - Sicherheitsdienst murders 10 political prisoners in Zutphen
1945 - Tennessee Williams' "Glass Menagerie," premieres in NYC
1945 - US artillery lands on Keise Shima/begins firing on Okinawa
1946 - Belgian govt of Acker, forms
1946 - The first election is held in Greece after World War II.
1948 - Congress passes Marshall Aid Act to rehabilitate war-torn Europe
1949 - Newfoundland becomes Canada's 10th province
1951 - US tanks exceed 38° of latitude in Korea
1953 - Department of Health, Education & Welfare established
1953 - UN Security Council nominates Dag Hammarskjoeld secretary-general
1954 - US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs Colo, established
1954 - USSR offers to join NATO
1955 - Collie Smith scores 104 on cricket debut WI v Aust, Kingston
1955 - US Assay Office in Seattle, Washington closes Chase National (3rd largest bank) & Bank of the Manhattan Company (15th largest bank) merge to form Chase Manhattan
1958 - US Navy forms atomic sub division
1958 - USSR suspends nuclear weapons tests, & urges US & Britain to do same
1959 - Dalai Lama fled China & was granted political asylum in India
1960 - Gore Vidal's "Best Man," premieres in NYC
1961 - Aklilou Habtewold becomes 1st premier of Ethiopia
1963 - LA ends streetcar service after 90 years
1964 - Pres Jango Goulart of Brazil chased out of office by military

Famous Birthdays

Results 1 - 100 of 226

250 - Constantius Chlorus, Roman Emperor (d. 306)
1360 - Philippa of Lancaster, queen of Portugal (d. 1415)
1425 - Bianca Maria Visconti, Duchess of Milan (d. 1468)
1499 - Pius IV, [Gianangelo de' Medici], Italian lawyer/pope (1559-65)
1504 - Guru Angad Dev, second Sikh guru (d. 1552)
1519 - Henry II, King of Germany (1547-59)
1519 - King Henry II of France (d. 1559)
1536 - Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shogun (d. 1565)
1570 - Louise Juliana, countess of Nassau
1576 - Louise Juliana of Nassau, Regent of Bohemia (died 1644)
1596 - René Descartes, France, philosopher (he thought, therefore he was)
1621 - Andrew Marvell, England, poet (To His Coy Mistress)
1651 - Karl II, Elector Palatine (d. 1685)
1675 - Benedict XIV, [Prospero L Lambertini], Italy, Pope (1740-58)
1684 - Francesco Durante, composer
1717 - Florian Wrastill, composer
1718 - Marianne Victoria of Borbón, queen regent of Portugal (d. 1781)
1723 - Frederik V, King of Denmark/Norway (1746-66)
1730 - Étienne Bézout, French mathematician (d. 1783)
1732 - Franz Joseph Haydn, Vienna Austria, prominent composer of the classical period (The Creation/Die Schopfung)
1747 - Johann A P Schulz, German composer
1747 - Johann Abraham Peter Schulz, German composer (Moon has Risen)
1777 - Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist (d. 1859)
1778 - Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist (d. 1858)
1791 - Franciszek Wincenty Mirecki, composer
1794 - Thomas McKean Thompson McKennan, American politician (d. 1852)
1809 - Edward FitzGerald, England, writer (Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam)
1809 - Otto Jonas Lindblad, composer
1811 - Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen, Germany, chemist (Bunsen Burner)
1819 - Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1901)
1822 - Rafael Hernando, composer
1831 - Archibald Scott, Scottish chemist
1835 - John La Farge, US painter
1837 - Robert Ross McBurney, 1st paid secretary of the YMCA
1837 - Stephen Dodson Ramseur, Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1838 - Leon Dierx, French poet
1839 - Nikolay Przhevalsky, naturalist, explorer of east central Asia (OS)
1840 - John Herbert Kelly, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1844 - Andrew Lang, Scotland, author (The Blue Fairy Book)
1847 - Jarolslaw Zielinski, composer
1847 - Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician (d. 1878)
1848 - John Henry Roberts, composer
1854 - Dugald Clerk, inventor (2-stroke motorcycle engine)
1855 - Alfred E. Hunt, founder of Alcoa (d. 1899)
1868 - Karl Bonhoeffer, German psychiatrist/neurologist
1871 - Arthur Griffith, President of Ireland (d. 1922)
1872 - Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev, Russia, dance master (Imperial Ballet)
1876 - Borisav "Bora" Stanković, Serbian writer (d. 1927)
1878 - Jack Johnson,1st black heavyweight boxing champ (1908-1915)
1884 - Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer (d. 1946)
1885 - Jules Pascin, [Julius Pincas], Bulgarian/US painter/cartoonist
1887 - Jose Maria Usandizaga, composer
1890 - William Lawrence Bragg, English physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
1891 - Erich Walter Sternberg, composer
1891 - Ion Pillat, Romaniams poet/senator (Umbra timpului)
1891 - Victor Varconi, Hungary, actor (Divine Lady, King of Kings, Big City)
1892 - Stanislav Wladyslaw Maczek, Polish/British general-major/commandant
1893 - Clemens Krauss, Vienna Austria, conductor (Berlin State Orch-1937)
1895 - John Jay McCloy, lawyer/banker (Sec of War 1941-45, pres Chase Man)
1895 - Vardis A Fisher, US author (Darkness & Deep)
1900 - Henry WFA, English duke of Gloucester/earl of Ulters
1906 - Lauri Saikkola, composer
1907 - Eddie Quillan, Phila, actor (Julia, Hell Town)
1908 - Red Norvo, American jazz vibraphonist (d. 1999)
1909 - Pieter Jongeling, Dutch MP (GVP)/editor (Neth Daily)
1909 - Robert Brasillach, French author/nazi collaborator
1911 - Elisabeth Grümmer, German soprano (d. 1986)
1912 - Wilhelmus Berkelmans, civil servant/resistance fighter
1914 - Octavio Paz, Mexico, writer/diplomat (Salamandra, Topoemas)
1915 - Eliseo Morales Pajaro, composer
1915 - Henry Morgan, NYC, comedian/TV panelist (I've Got a Secret, Arena)
1915 - Jack Perry, businessman
1915 - Shoichi Yokoi, Japanese military man (d. 1997)
1916 - John Vivyan, Chic Ill, actor (Imitation of Life, Mr Lucky)
1916 - Lucille Bliss, American voice actress
1916 - John H. Wood, Jr., American federal judge (d. 1979)
1918 - Ted Post, Dir (Peacemaker, Beneath the Planet of the Apes)
1919 - Frank Akins, American football player (d. 1993)
1920 - Marga [Sara Voeten-] Minco, Dutch writer (Bitter Herb)
1920 - Deborah_Cavendish,_Duchess_of_Devonshire, English Duchess, now Dowager Duchess
1922 - Patrick J G McGee, North Ireland, actor (Clockwork Orange)
1922 - Richard Kiley, Chicago, actor (Man of La Mancha, Endless Love)
1923 - Donald Argee Barksdale, Berkley Cal, basketballer (Olympic-gold-1948)
1923 - Lawrie Miller, NZ cricketer (opening bat in 13 Tests)
1924 - Harry Cubitt, 4th Lord Ashcombe ("Mad Harry"), English landowner
1924 - Leo Buscaglia, LA Calif, "Dr Hug", psycholigist (Love)
1925 - Jean Coutu, French Canadian actor (d. 1999)
1926 - John Fowles, England, novelist (Collector, French Leiutenent's Woman)
1926 - Sydney Chaplin, son of Charlie/actor (Adding Machine, Psycho Sisters)
1927 - Cesar Chavez, Yuma Az, farm labor leader (United Farm Workers)
1927 - William Daniels, Bkln NY, actor (Dr Mark Craig-St Elsewhere, 1776)
1928 - Gordie Howe, Floral Sask, NHL right wing (Detroit Redwings)
1929 - Lee Patterson, Vancouver BC, actor (Dave-Surfside Six, Another World)
1929 - Liz Claiborne, Brussels Belgium, American fashion designer, entrepreneur and founder of Liz Claiborne Inc (d. 2007)
1929 - Bertram Fields, American lawyer
1931 - Miller Barber, Shreveport LA, PGA golfer (1968 Byron Nelson Classic)
1932 - Godfrey Lawrence, cricketer (S African fast bowler, 8-53 v NZ 1961)
1932 - John Jakes, Chicago, writer (Sir Scoundrel, Great Women Reporters)
1932 - Nagisa Oshima, Kyoto Japan, director (Town of Love & Hope)
1933 - Bob Simmons, Fulham England, stuntman (double for James Bond)

Famous Deaths

Results 1 - 100 of 111

1074 - Regency Yorimichi Fujiwara of Japan (b. 992)
1340 - Ivan I Kalita, grand-duke of Vladimir, dies
1340 - Ivan I of Russia, Prince of Moscow (b. 1288)
1389 - Everhard Tserclaes, sheriff of Brussels, murdered
1547 - Francis I of France (b. 1494)
1567 - Philip, the Generous, count of Hessen, dies at 62
1567 - Philipp I of Hesse (b. 1504)
1578 - Juan de Escobedo, sec of Spanish land guardian Don Juan, murdered
1621 - Felipe III, King of Spain (1598-1621), dies at 42
1621 - Philip III of Spain (b. 1578)
1631 - John Donne, Metaphysical poet, dies (birth date unknown)
1656 - Pierre de La Barre, composer, dies at 64
1671 - Anne Hyde, wife of James II of England (b. 1637)
1703 - Johann Christoph Bach, German composer (b. 1642)
1722 - Campegius Vitringa, Dutch theologist/exegete, dies at 62
1723 - Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon, British-born American statesman (b. 1661)
1727 - Isaac Newton, English physicist/astronomer, dies in London at 84
1741 - Peter Burmannus, [Peter Burman], Dutch attorney/classicist, dies at 72
1741 - Pieter Burmann the Elder, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1668)
1837 - John Constable, English painter/water colors painter, dies at 60
1850 - John Calhoun, dies at 68
1855 - Charlotte Bronte, English author (Jane Eyre), dies at 38
1877 - Antoine A Cournot, French mathematician (rule of C), dies at 75
1880 - Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violist/composer, dies at 44
1881 - Gaetano Gaspari, composer, dies at 73
1884 - Jan T Beelen, Neth/Belgian catholic bible expert, dies at 77
1885 - Franz W Abbot, German composer/choir conductor, dies
1885 - Franz Wilhelm Abt, German composer/choir conductor, dies at 65
1885 - Philipp Fahrbach, composer, dies at 69
1886 - Giovanni Rossi, composer, dies at 57
1892 - Adolf Rzepko, composer, dies at 66
1898 - Edward Noyes Westcott, US attorney/writer (David Harum), dies
1900 - Frank Milligan, cricketer (Mafeking 2 Tests Eng v S Afr 1898-99), dies
1901 - John Stainer, composer, dies at 60
1913 - John Pierpont Morgan, US banker/CEO (US Steel Corp), dies at 75
1914 - Ch Morgenstern, writer, dies at 42
1915 - Wyndham Halswelle, Scottish athlete (b. 1882)
1927 - Borisav "Bora" Stanković, Serbian writer (b. 1875)
1928 - Gustave Ador, president of Austria (1919), dies at 82
1928 - Medardo Rosso, Italian sculptor (portraits), dies at 69
1931 - Knute Rockne, football player/coach, dies in a plane crash at 43
1934 - Franz Ehrle, German jesuit/head of Vatican library, dies at 88
1938 - Willem J T Kloos, Dutch poet/critic (New Guide), dies at 78
1944 - Mineichi Koga, admiral of Japanese fleet, dies
1945 - Hans Fischer, German physicist (Nobel 1930), dies at 63
1945 - Maurice Rose, 1st US general in Nazi Germany, killed in action at 45
1948 - Egon E Kisch, Czech writer/journalist (Raging Reporter), dies at 62
1951 - Ralph Forbes, actor (Riptide, Shock, Shock), dies at 45
1952 - Wallace H. White, Jr., American politician (b. 1877)
1956 - Ralph DePalma, Italian-American race car driver (b. 1884)
1957 - Gene Lockhart, NYC actor (Going My Way), dies at 65
1959 - Peter Suhrkamp, German publisher (Suhrkamp Verlag), dies at 68
1960 - Joseph Haas, German (opera)composer (Totenmesse), dies at 81
1961 - Seerp Anema, Dutch poet/writer (Modern Art & Degenerating), dies at 85
1967 - Don Alvarado, actor (Morning Glory, Big Steal), dies at 62
1967 - Hieronim Feicht, composer, dies at 72
1968 - Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (b. 1885)
1970 - Semjon Timoshenko, Russ marshal/inspector-general (WW II), dies at 75
1971 - Liselotte Liselot Beekmeyer, Dutch actress (Child Crying), dies at 31
1972 - Meena Kumari, Indian actress (b. 1932)
1973 - Kurt George Hugo Thomas, composer, dies at 68
1974 - Andrea Checci, actress (2 Women, Assassin, Black Sunday), dies at 57
1976 - Paul Strand, American photographer (b. 1890)
1978 - Astrid Allwyn, actress (Love Affair, Girl for Calgary), dies at 68
1978 - Charles Best, Canadian medical scientist (b. 1899)
1980 - Vladimír Holan, Czech poet (b. 1905)
1981 - Enid Bagnold, British playwright (b. 1889)
1982 - Fritz Eberhard, West German lawyer/resistor, dies at 85
1983 - Stephen Murray, actor (Guilty, Silent Dust, Master Spy), dies at 70
1983 - Christina Stead, Australian writer (b. 1902)
1984 - Ronald Clark O'Bryan, American murderer (b. 1944)
1985 - Jeanine Deckers, Belgian nun (b. 1933)
1986 - Harry Ritz, comedian/actor (Ritz Brothers), dies at 79
1986 - Jerry Paris, director/actor (Jerry-Dick Van Dyke Show), dies at 60
1986 - O'Kelly Isley, US, singer (Isley Brothers), dies of heart attack at 48
1988 - Talib Rasul Hakim, composer, dies at 48
1988 - William McMahon, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1908)
1990 - Lillian "Miss" Miller, audience member (Merv Griffin, Tonight), dies
1991 - John Carter, US jazz clarinetist (Roots & folklore), dies
1993 - Brandon Lee, US actor (Crow)/son of Bruce Lee, accidentally shot at 28
1993 - Jose Maria Lemus, president of El Salvador (1956-60), dies
1993 - Mitchell Parish, American lyricist (b. 1900)
1993 - Chichay, Filipino actress (b. 1918)
1994 - Leon J Ramirez Reine, [Degrelle], Belg/Spanish nazi (Rex), dies at 87
1995 - Carl M Story, fiddler, dies at 78
1995 - Selena, Mexican Grammy winning singer, killed by a fan at 24
1996 - Dante Giacosa, engineer/designer, dies at 91
1996 - Dario Bellezza, poet, dies at 51
1996 - Jeffrey Lee Pierce, musician, dies at 37
1996 - Julius Young, fast food entrepreneur, dies at 73
1997 - Edwin Alberian, TV celebrity (Clarabell), dies at 76
1997 - Laxmishankar Pathak, food retailer, dies at 62
1998 - Bella Abzug, American politician (b. 1920)
1998 - Tim Flock, American race car driver (b. 1924)
1999 - Yuri Knorozov, Russian linguist (b. 1922)
2001 - Clifford Shull, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1915)
2002 - Barry Took, British comedian (b. 1928)
2003 - H.S.M. Coxeter, English-born geometer (b. 1907)
2003 - Tommy Seebach, Danish singer (b. 1949)
2003 - Anne Gwynne, American film actress (b. 1918)

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