On March 21, 1960, South African police opened fire on a crowd of unarmed Black protesters in the township of Sharpeville, killing 69 people and wounding 180 others in an event that shocked the world and galvanized international opposition to apartheid. The protesters had gathered at the local police station as part of a campaign…
On March 20, 1995, members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult released sarin nerve gas on five Tokyo subway lines during rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring thousands in the deadliest terrorist attack in Japanese history. Cult members punctured plastic bags filled with liquid sarin using sharpened umbrella tips, releasing the deadly gas into crowded…
On March 19, 2003, President George W. Bush addressed the nation to announce that American and coalition forces had begun military operations against Iraq, launching what would become one of the most controversial wars in U.S. history. “My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations…
On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first human being to walk in space, floating outside his Voskhod 2 spacecraft for twelve historic minutes. Leonov, a 30-year-old Air Force pilot, squeezed through an inflatable airlock attached to the spacecraft and pushed himself into the void. Tethered to the ship by a 17.5-foot…
On March 17, 1776, British forces evacuated Boston after an eleven-month siege, marking the first major American victory in the Revolutionary War. The siege had begun in April 1775, following the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Continental Army, initially a disorganized collection of militia, surrounded Boston while the British controlled the city and harbor….
On March 12, 1930, Mohandas K. Gandhi set out from his ashram at Sabarmati with several dozen followers on a march to the coastal town of Dandi, some 240 miles away. Their mission: to make salt from seawater in defiance of British law. The British Raj had maintained a monopoly on salt production in India,…
On March 16, 1926, American physicist Robert H. Goddard achieved one of the most significant milestones in the history of space exploration by launching the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket from his Aunt Effie’s farm in Auburn, Massachusetts. The rocket, which Goddard simply called “Nell,” was a modest device by modern standards. It stood about 10…
