Today In History - March 16

1079 Iran adopts solar Hijrah calendar
1190 Crusades begin the massacre of Jews of York England
1190 Jews of York England commit mass sucide rather than submit to baptism
1345 Holy spirit glides above fire: "the miracle of Amsterdam" (legend)
1517 Pope Leo X signs 5th Council of Lateranen
1521 Magelhaes' fleet discovers Zamal (Samar)
1521 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches Philippines
1527 Battle at Khanua: Mogol Emperor Babur beats Rajputen
1621 Native American chief visits the colony of Plymouth
1641 General court declares RI a democracy and adopts new constitution
1660 English Long Parliament disbands
1690 French King Louis XIV sends troops to Ireland
1730 Willem Charles Henry Friso installed as viceroy of Drenthe
1731 Treaty of Vienna: Emperor Charles VI of England and Netherlands
1792 Murder attempt on King Gustavus III by count Ankarstrom at opera
1802 U.S. Academy at West Point is founded
1802 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers established (for the 2nd time)
1815 Willem I proclaimed king of the Netherlands, including Belgium
1822 Composer Gioacchino Rossini marries Spanish soprano
1827 The first U.S. black newspaper, "Freedom's Journal" (New York City), begins publishing
1829 Ohio authorizes high school night classes
1830 London's re-organized police force is called Scotland Yard
1830 New York Stock Exchange slowest day ever (31 shares traded)
1833 Susan Hayhurst becomes first U.S. woman grad of a pharmacy college
1834 HMS Beagle anchors at Berkeley Sound, Falkland Islands
1836 Texas approves a constitution
1850 Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" published
1861 Arizona Territory votes to leave the Union
1861 Confederate government appoints commissioners to Britain
1862 Battle at Pound Gap Kentucky: Confederates separate battles
1865 Battle of Averasboro North Carolina (1,500 casualities)
1869 Hiram R. Revels makes first official speech by a black in the Senate
1871 The first fertilizer law enacted
1876 Nelly Saunders and Rose Harland fight first female boxing match (NY)
1881 Barnum and Bailey Circus debuts
1882 U.S. Senate ratifies treaty establishing the Red Cross
1894 Jules Massenet's opera "Thais," premieres in Paris
1896 Premiere of Mahler's "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen"
1897 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of The Devil's Foot"
1900 Sir Arthur Evans finds the old city of Knossus
1910 Barney Oldfield sets land speed record of 131.7 mph at Daytona
1911 Stanley Cup: Ottawa Senators beat Port Arthur (Ont) 13-4
1912 Mrs. William Howard Taft plants first cherry tree in Washington D.C.
1915 British battle cruisers Inflexible and Irresistible hit mines in Dardanelle
1915 Federal Trade Commission organizes
1916 James Barries' "Kiss for Cinderella," premieres in London
1916 U.S. and Canada sign migratory bird treaty
1918 Geoffrey O'Hara's "K-K-K-Katy" song published
1920 A one Acre Park also known as Baby Park in the Bronx renamed Melrose Park
1922 Sultan Fuad I crowned king of Egypt, England recognizes Egypt
1922 WKY-AM in Oklahoma City OK begins radio transmissions
1923 Hugo von Hofmannsthal's "Der Unbestechliche," premieres in Vienna
1926 Robert Goddard launches first liquid fuel rocket, goes 184' (56 meters)
1929 WHP-AM in Harrisburg Pennsylvania begins radio transmissions
1930 USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) floated out to become a national shrine
1931 Genootschap Onze Taal (Our Language) organizes (Neth)
1933 Hitler names Hjalmar Shaft the president of Bank of Germany
1934 Congress passes Migratory Bird Conservation Act
1935 Hitler orders German rearmament, violating Versailles Treaty
1939 Germany occupies Czechoslovakia
1939 Hungary annexes republic of Karpato-Ukraine
1940 German air raid on British fleet base Scapa Flow
1941 Blizzard hits North Dakota and Minnesota killing 60 people
1941 Dmitri Shostakovitch receives the Stalin Prize
1941 National Gallery of Art opens in Washington D.C.
1944 Vichy Internal minister Pucheu is sentenced to death
1945 Allies secure Iwo Jima
1947 Convair Liner, first U.S. twin-engine pressurized airplane, tested
1949 KFMB TV channel 8 in San Diego, California (CBS) begins broadcasting
1950 The first annual National Book Awards
1952 Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship
1953 AL rejects Bill Veeck's request to move St. Louis Browns to Baltimore
1955 Josephine Kroesen appointed as first Dutch female judge
1955 President Eisenhower upheld the use of atomic weapons in case of war
1956 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating championship won by Tenley Albright
1956 U.S. Mens Figure Skating championship won by Hayes A Jenkins
1957 9th Emmy Awards: Phil Silvers Show, Robert Young and Loretta Young
1957 Patty Berg wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship
1958 Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship
1959 Iraq and U.S.S.R. sign economic/technical treaty
1962 The first launching of a Titan 2 rocket
1962 U.S. Super-Constellation disappears above Pacific Ocean, kills 167 people
1964 KCOY TV channel 12 in Santa Maria, California (CBS) begins broadcasting
1964 Paul Hornung and Alex Karras reinstated in NFL after 1 year suspension
1966 Gemini 8 launched with Armstrong and Scott, aborted after 6.5 orbits
1966 Man From Uncle star David McCallum receives huge welcome in London
1968 My Lai massacre occurs (Vietnam War); 450 people die
1968 Robert F. Kennedy announces presidential campaign
1969 "1776" opens at 46th St. Theater New York City for 1217 performances
1969 Boston Bruins scores a NHL record 8 goals in 1 period
1969 Peter Stone and Sherman Edward's "1776," premieres in New York City
1969 Viasa DC-9 crashes at Maracaibo's Grano de Oro airport, killing 155
1970 The New English Bible published
1970 WNIN TV channel 9 in Evansville, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting
1971 13th Grammy Awards: Bridge over Troubled Water, Carpenters win
1971 KDCD TV channel 18 in Midland, Texas (IND) suspends broadcasting
1972 John and Yoko are served with deportation papers
1974 The first performance at new Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland in Nashville
1975 U.S. Mariner 10 makes 3rd and final fly-by of Mercury
1976 British premier Harold Wilson resigns
1977 U.S. president Carter pleads for Palestinian homeland
1978 Amoco Cadiz spills 223,000 tons of crude oil off French coast
1978 Red Brigade kidnaps former premier Aldo Moro in Italy, 5 killed
1978 Soyuz 26 returns to Earth
1978 U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1978 U.S. Senate accepts Panama Canal treaty
1979 CBS-TV airs "Wings Over the World" with Paul McCartney
1980 Joanne Carner wins LPGA Honda Civic Golf Classic
1983 Smallest crowd at Cleveland Coliseum (Cavs vs Nets-1,814)
1984 Gunmen kidnap William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut
1984 South-Africa and Mozambique sign non attack treaty
1985 Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson taken hostage in Beirut
1985 Denny McLain, pitcher; convicted of racketeering, sentenced to 25 yrs
1986 Chris Johnson wins LPGA GNA/Glendale Federal Golf Classic
1988 Federal grand jury indicts North and Poindexter in Iran-Contra affair
1988 North-Ireland Protestant fires on Catholic funeral and 3 people are killed
1988 U.S. sends 3000 soldiers to Nicaragua's neighbor Honduras
1991 Seven of Reba McEntire's band members are killed in a plane crash
1991 Members of Irish Gay and Lesbian Organization march in New York City parade
1991 New Jersey Net coach Bill Fitch is 4th coach to win 800 NBA games
1991 New York Lotto pays $33.3 million to one winner, with the numbers 18-21-32-33-35-38
1991 Worlds Ladies Figure Skating Champ in Munich won by Kristi Yamaguchi
1992 Matt Keough, in the dugout, is hit flush in the head by a batted ball
1994 Moravcik forms Slovakia government
1994 Tonya Harding pleads guilty to felony attack on Nancy Kerrigan
1995 Dow-Jones hits record 4069.15
1995 Manhattan upsets 4th seeded Oklahoma 77-67
1995 Mississippi House of Representatives formally abolishes slavery and ratifies 13th Amendment
1997 Donna Andrews wins LPGA Welch's/Circle K Championship
1997 Stuart Appleby wins Honda Golf Classic
1997 Toshiba Senior Golf Classic

Today In History - March 16

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