LANDMARKS
1889 French engineer Gustave Eiffel unfurled the French tricolor from atop the Eiffel Tower, officially marking its completion.
WAR!
1943 US errantly bombs Rotterdam, kills 326.
2003 American forces battled Iraqi defenders in fierce street fighting 50 miles south of Baghdad, pointing toward a drive on the capital. Seven Iraqi women and children were killed at an Army checkpoint when their van refused orders to stop.
TERRORISM
2007 President Bush called for the release of 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran, calling their capture by Tehran "inexcusable behavior." (The crew members were released on April 4.)
DISASTER
1932 150 wild swans die in Niagara waterfall.
1983 Earthquake in Colombia kills some 5,000 people.
1986 167 die when Mexicana Airlines Boeing 727 crashes.
VRROOOM!
1932 Ford publicly unveils its V-8 engine.
ZIP!
1896 Whitcomb Judson, Chicago IL, patents a hookless fastening (zipper).
TRANSVESTITES
1991 Danny Bonaduce attacks a transvestite prostitute in Phoenix AZ
FIRE!
1967 Jimi Hendrix begins his tradition of burning his guitar.
DANCE!
1923 1st dance marathon-NYC-Alma Cummings sets record of 27 hours.
AWARDS
1981 1st Golden Raspberry Awards: Can't Stop the Music wins.
POPULATION
1850 US population hits 23,191,876 (Black population: 3,638,808 (15.7%)).
PRO WRESTLING
1985 Wrestlemania I at Madison Square Garden New York, Hogan & Mr T beat Piper & Orndorf.
1996 Wrestlemania XII: Shawn Michaels beats Brett Hart for WWF title.
SURPRISE!
1968 At the conclusion of a nationally broadcast address on efforts to bring a peaceful end to the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson shocked listeners by announcing he would not seek another term of office.
JEWS
1492 Queen Isabella of Castilia & Ferdinand of Aragon expels Jews.
1808 French-created Kingdom of Westphalia orders Jews to adopt family names.
1944 Hungary orders all Jews to wear yellow stars.
LIT UP
1880 Wabash, Ind., became the first town in the world to be illuminated by electrical lighting.
LEVIATHAN
1933 Congress approved, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed, the Emergency Conservation Work Act, which created the Civilian Conservation Corps.
OFFERS
1954 USSR offers to join NATO.
WELCOME!
1949 Newfoundland (now called Newfoundland and Labrador) entered confederation as Canada's 10th province.
PLAYING GOD
1976 the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Karen Ann Quinlan, who was in a persistent vegetative state, could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan, who remained unconscious, died in 1985.)
2005 Terri Schiavo, 41, died at a hospice in Pinellas Park, Fla., 13 days after her feeding tube was removed in a wrenching right-to-die dispute.
STALKING
1994 James Farentino pleads no contest to stalking Tina Sinatra.
CLINTONS
1998 In an unprecedented move, the Clinton administration released a detailed financial statement for the federal government showing its assets and liabilities.
BORN
1811 Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen Germany, chemist (Bunsen Burner).
1878 Jack Johnson 1st black heavyweight boxing champion (1908-1915).
1929 Liz Claiborne Brussels Belgium, fashion designer.
BIRTHDAYS
Actress Peggy Rea is 87. Actor William Daniels is 81. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Gordie Howe is 80. Actor Richard Chamberlain is 74. Actress Shirley Jones is 74. Country singer-songwriter John D. Loudermilk is 74. Musician Herb Alpert is 73. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is 68. Actor Christopher Walken is 65. Comedian Gabe Kaplan is 63. Former Vice President Al Gore is 60. David Eisenhower is 60. Actress Rhea Perlman is 60. Actor Ed Marinaro is 58. Rock musician Angus Young (AC/DC) is 53. Actor Marc McClure is 51. Actor William McNamara is 43. Actor Ewan McGregor is 37. Rapper Tony Yayo is 30. Jazz musician Christian Scott is 25.
DEATH
1931 Knute Rockne football player/coach, dies in a plane crash at 43.
1998 Former New York Congresswoman Bella Abzug died at age 77.
March 31, the 91st day of 2008. There are 275 days left in the year.
compiled by Mondoreb
image: middlezonemusings
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History
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