Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closes. On March 21, 1963, the Alcatraz Island federal prison in San Francisco Bay was emptied of its inmates and closed at…
20 March 1987
The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT. On March 20, 1987, the HIV/AIDS community received news that a powerful breakthrough in HIV…
19 March 1962
The Algerian War of Independence ends. The Secret Army Organization was founded in 1961 as a response to General De Gaulle’s speech on Algeria’s right…
18 March 1996
A nightclub fire in Quezon City, Philippines kills 162 people. The Ozone Disco Club fire in Quezon City, Philippines broke out shortly before midnight at…
17 March 1958
The USA launches the Vanguard 1 satellite. Vanguard 1 was the first satellite to have solar electric power. Although communication with the satellite was lost…
16 March 1988
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States during the so-called Iran-Contra affair…..
15 March 1888
The Anglo-Tibetan War of 1888 starts. The Sikkim expedition was an 1888 British military expedition to expel Tibetan forces from Sikkim in present-day north east…
14 March 1964
Jack Ruby is found to be guilty of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assumed assassin of John F. Kennedy. Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub owner…
13 March 2013
Pope Francis is elected as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church. Bergoglio was elected pope on 13 March 2013, the second day of the…
12 March 1994
The first female priests are ordained by the Church of England. Since the Church of England’s split with Rome in 1534, it’s always trodden a…