1985 – The first edition of WrestleMania is held in New York, The annual event is the world’s most important wrestling meet. It is the biggest event organized by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
0307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Maximian.
1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vzelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade.
1521 – First Mass held in the Philippines, generally believed to be on the Island of Limasawa in the Archipelago of St Lazarus by Ferdinand Magellan and 50 of his men. They take possession of the island the same day.
1657 – English Parliament makes the Humble Petition and Advice to Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell offering him the crown: he declines
1745 – Jews are expelled from Prague
1776 – Abigail Adams wrote to her husband John that women were “determined to foment a rebellion” if the new Declaration of Independence failed to guarantee their rights.
1808 – French created Kingdom of Westphalia orders Jews to adopt family names
1822 – The massacre of the population of the Greek island of Chios by soldiers of the Ottoman Empire following a rebellion attempt, depicted by the French artist Eugne Delacroix
1854 – The U.S. government signed the Treaty of Kanagawa with Japan. The act opened the ports of Shimoda and Hakotade to American trade.
1862 – Skirmishing between Rebels and Union forces took place at Island 10 on the Mississippi River.
1870 – In Perth Amboy, NJ, Thomas Munday Peterson became the first black to vote in the U.S.
1880 – Wabash, IN, became the first town to be completely illuminated with electric light.
1885 – Binney & Smith Company was founded in New York City. The company later became Crayola, LLC.
1889 – Eiffel Tower officially opens in Paris. Designed by Gustave Eiffel and built for the Exposition Universelle, at 300m high it retains the record for the tallest man made structure for 41 years.
1900 – In France, the National Assembly passed a law reducing the workday for women and children to 11 hours.
1901 – In Russia, the Czar lashed out at Socialist-Revolutionaries with the arrests of 72 people and the seizing of two printing presses.
1904 – In India, hundreds of Tibetans were slaughtered by the British.
1905 – Kaiser Wilhelm arrived in Tangier proclaiming to support for an independent state of Morocco.
1906 – The Conference on Moroccan Reforms in Algerciras ended after two months with France and Germany in agreement.
1908 – 250,000 coal miners in Indianapolis, IN, went on strike to await a wage adjustment.
1917 – The U.S. purchased and took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
1918 – For the first time in the U.S., Daylight Saving Time went into effect.
1921 – Great Britain declared a state of emergency because of the thousands of coal miners on strike.
1923 – French soldiers fire on workers at Krupp factory in Essen; 13 die
1931 – Brilliant Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne (43) is killed with 7 others when light plane crashes on trip from Kansas City to Los Angeles; record 105-12-5 @ .881 remains best ever
1933 – The U.S. Congress authorized the Civilian Conservation Corps to relieve rampant unemployment.
1939 – Britain and France agreed to support Poland if Germany threatened invasion.
1943 – US errantly bombs Rotterdam, kills 326
1946 – Monarchists won the elections in Greece.
1948 – The Soviets in Germany began controlling the Western trains headed toward Berlin.
1949 – Winston Churchill declared that the A-bomb was the only thing that kept the U.S.S.R. from taking over Europe.
1949 – Newfoundland entered the Canadian confederation as its 10th province.
1955 – Merger of Chase National Bank (3rd largest bank) and Bank of the Manhattan Company (15th largest bank) forms Chase Manhattan
1959 – The Dalai Lama (Lhama Dhondrub, Tenzin Gyatso) began exile by crossing the border into India where he was granted political asylum. Gyatso was the 14th Daila Lama.
1960 – The South African government declared a state of emergency after demonstrations led to the death of more than 50 Africans.
1964 – Following a coup d’etat, a military dictatorship takes charge in Brazil, The regime under Humberto Castelo Branco suppressed the left-wing opposition, leading to widespread social unrest and strike action, especially in 1968.
1966 – An estimated 200,000 anti-war demonstrators march in New York City.
1968 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces in an address to the nation that he will not seek re-election
1970 – Eight terrorists from the Japanese Red Army hijacked Japan Airlines Flight 351 at Tokyo International Airport, wielding samurai swords and carrying a bomb
1976 – The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Karen Anne Quinlan could be disconnected from a respirator. Quinlan remained comatose until 1985 when she died.
1980 – U.S. President Carter deregulated the banking industry.
1981 – In Bangkok, Thailand, four of five Indonesian terrorists were killed after hijacking an airplane on March 28.
1985 – The first edition of WrestleMania is held in New York, The annual event is the world’s most important wrestling meet. It is the biggest event organized by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
1989 – Canada and France signed a fishing rights pact.
1990 – Thousands riot against new poll tax in central London, leaving 75 civilians and 58 police injured and 341 demonstrators under arrest.
1991 – Albania offered a multi-party election for the first time in 50 years. Incumbent President Ramiz Alia won.
1993 – Brandon Lee was killed accidentally while filming a movie.
1995 – In Corpus Christi, Texas, Latin superstar Selena Quintanilla Perez is shot and killed by Yolanda Saldivar, the president of her own fan club
1998 – For the first time in U.S. history the federal government’s detailed financial statement was released. This occurred under the Clinton administration.
1999 – Three U.S. soldiers were captured by Yugoslav soldiers three miles from the Yugoslav border in Macedonia.
2000 – In Uganda, officials set the number of deaths linked to a doomsday religious cult, the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments, at more than 900. In Kanungu, a March 17 fire at the cult’s church killed more than 530 and authorities subsequently found mass graves at various sites linked to the cult.
2004 – In Fallujah, Iraq, 4 American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed
2013 – 14 Boko Haram suspects are killed in a Nigerian Army raid
2021 – French President Emmanuel Macron announces a new pandemic lockdown, closing schools for three weeks with new national restrictions
2022 – US announces it will release 1 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for six months to drive down prices
REFERENCE: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeopleshistory.com, timeanddate.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
