Events

• 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang.
• 1322 – The Battle of Boroughbridge takes place in the Despenser Wars.
• 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan reaches the island of Homonhon in the Philippines.
• 1621 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visited the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, “Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset.”
• 1660 – The Long Parliament of England is dissolved so as to prepare for the new Convention Parliament.
• 1689 – The 23rd Regiment of Foot, or Royal Welch Fusiliers, is founded.
• 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Spanish troops capture the British-held island of Roatán.
• 1782 – Anglo-Spanish War (1779-1783): Action of 16 March 1782.
  • Refer to Spain and the American Revolutionary War.
• 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: An Austrian column is defeated by the French in the Battle of Valvasone.
• 1802 – The Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point.
• 1812 – The Siege of Badajoz begins: British and Portuguese forces besiege and defeat the French garrison during the Peninsular War.
• 1818 – In the Second Battle of Cancha Rayada, Spanish forces defeated Chileans under José de San Martín.
• 1864 – American Civil War: During the Red River Campaign, Union troops reach Alexandria, Louisiana.
• 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Averasborough began as Confederate forces suffer irreplaceable casualties in the final months of the war.
• 1898 – In Melbourne the representatives of five colonies adopted a constitution, which would become the basis of the Commonwealth of Australia.
• 1916 – The 7th and 10th US cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing cross the US–Mexico border to join the hunt for Pancho Villa.
• 1917 – World War I: A German auxiliary cruiser is sunk in the Action of 16 March 1917.
• 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Battle of Länkipohja is infamous for its bloody aftermath as the Whites executed 70-100 capitulated Reds.
• 1924 – In accordance with the Treaty of Rome, Fiume becomes annexed as part of Italy.
• 1926 – History of Rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.
• 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
  • Conscription is reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.
• 1939 – From Prague Castle, Hitler proclaims Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate.
• 1940 – First person killed (James Isbister) in a German bombing raid on the UK in World War II during a raid on Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
• 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ended, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persisted.
• 1945 – Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers, resulting in around 5,000 deaths.
• 1958 – The Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the company’s founding.
• 1962 – A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with all 107 aboard missing and presumed dead.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre occurs; between 347 and 500 Vietnamese villagers (men, women, and children) are killed by American troops.
• 1968 – General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado.
• 1977 – Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, the main leader of the anti-government forces in the Lebanese Civil War.
• 1979 – Sino-Vietnamese War: The People’s Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ends the war.
• 1988 – Iran–Contra affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
• 1988 – Halabja chemical attack: The Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5,000 people and injuring about 10,000 people.
• 1988 – The Troubles: Ulster loyalist militant Michael Stone attacks a Provisional IRA funeral in Belfast with pistols and grenades. Three persons, one of them a member of PIRA are killed, and more than 60 others are wounded.
• 1995 – Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery.
  • The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.
• 2005 – Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control.
• 2014 – Crimea votes in a controversial referendum to secede from Ukraine to join Russia.
• Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires (Latvia).

People (Births)

• 1590 – Ii Naotaka, Japanese daimyō (d. 1659).
• 1670 – François de Franquetot de Coigny, French general (d. 1759).
• 1753 – François Amédée Doppet, French general (d. 1799).
• 1773 – Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentinian general and politician, 6th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1836).
• 1789 – Francis Rawdon Chesney, English general and explorer (d. 1872).
• 1822 – John Pope, American general (d. 1892).
• 1882 – James Lightbody, American runner (d. 1953).
• 1887 – Emilio Lunghi, Italian runner (d. 1925).
• 1889 – Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951).
• 1911 – Josef Mengele, German physician and captain (d. 1979).
• 1920 – John Addison, English-American soldier and composer (d. 1998).
• 1932 – Walter Cunningham, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut.
• 1941 – Robert Guéï, Ivorian soldier and politician, 3rd President of Côte d’Ivoire (d. 2002).
• 1951 – Alexandre Gonzalez, French long-distance runner.
• 1959 – Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian economist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Norway, 13th Secretary General of NATO.
• 1962 – Liliane Gaschet, French athlete.
• 1964 – Pascal Richard, Swiss racing cyclist.
• 1969 – Alina Ivanova, Russian athlete.
• 1972 – Ismaïl Sghyr, French-Moroccan long-distance runner.
• 1976 – Susanne Ljungskog, Swedish cyclist.
• 1977 – Thomas Rupprath, German swimmer.
• 1981 – Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer.
• 1981 – Julien Mazet, French road bicycle racer.
• 1984 – Sharon Cherop, Kenyan long-distance runner.
• 1985 – Teddy Atine-Venel, French athlete.
• 1989 – Magalie Pottier, French racing cyclist.

People (Deaths)

• 933 – Takin al-Khazari, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt.
• 1322 – Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, English general and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1276).
• 1410 – John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, French-English admiral and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1373).
• 1838 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American captain and mathematician (b. 1773).
• 1868 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (b. 1814).
• 1930 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1870).
• 1961 – Chen Geng, Chinese general and politician (b. 1903).
• 2000 – Thomas Ferebee, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918).
• 2003 – Ronald Ferguson, English captain, polo player, and manager (b. 1931).
• 2008 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer and soldier (b. 1912).
• 2012 – Donald E. Hillman, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918).