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Events

1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China.

1687 - Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men.

1831 - The City Bank of New York becomes the site of the first bank robbery in United States history ($245,000 taken).

1861 - The First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand.

1865 - American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins. By the end of the battle two days later the Confederate forces have retreated from Greenville, North Carolina.

1915 - Pluto is photographed for the first time but was not recognized as a planet.

1916 - Eight American planes take off in pursuit of Pancho Villa, the first United States air-combat mission in history.

1918 - The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.

1920 - The United States Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time (first time was on November 19, 1919).

1921 - Italian Fascists shoot from the Parenzana train to a group of children in Strunjan (Slovenia): two children are killed, two mangled, three wounded.

1931 - Gambling is legalized in Nevada.

1931 - The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra played its first concert in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

1942 - The Thoroughbred Racing Association is established in Chicago, Illinois.

 
 

1944 - World War II: Nazi forces occupy Hungary.

1945 - World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 800 of her crew and crippling the ship.

1945 - World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his "Nero Decree" ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany be destroyed.

1946 - French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France.

1953 - Academy Awards are first televised.

1954 - Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in color.

1958 - A fire in a loft building in New York, New York kills 24 people.

1962 - Algerian War of Independence: A ceasefire takes effect.

1962 - Bob Dylan releases his first, self-titled album.

1972 - India and Bangladesh sign a friendship treaty.

1978 - UN Security Council Resolution 425 and 426 were passed, calling upon Israel immediately to cease its military action and withdraw its forces from all Lebanese territory (Operation Litani), and established the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

1979 - The United States House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN.

1981 - Three workers are killed and five injured during a test of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

 
 

1982 - Falklands War: Argentines land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war.

2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 2) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities.

2004 - ÿänekoski bus disaster - A semi-trailer truck and a bus crash head-on in ÿänekoski, Finland. 24 people are killed and 13 injured.

2004 - A Swedish DC-3 shot down by a Russian Mig-15 in the 1950s is finally recovered after years of work. The remains of the crew are left in place, pending further investigations.

2004 - Taiwanese president Chen Shui-ban is shot just before the country's presidential election on March 20. See 3-19 Shooting Incident.

2006 - Second World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace convened in Seville, Spain

 

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