This is what we're celebrating or observing This Week
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March 19, 2017
Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah Ferguson (the Duke and Duchess of York) are to split after 4 years of marriage (1992) - Mar. 19
Arthur C. Clarke (British science fiction author, inventor and futurist best known for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey) died in Sri Lanka from breathing problems (2008) - 3/19
St. Joseph's Feast Day - Mar. 19
Swallow Day - when the Cliff Swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistrano in California - Mar. 19
Emley Moor TV Tower (ITV transmitter in England) collapses due to a combination of strong winds and heavy ice on the guy wires (1969) - Mar. 19
Buckingham Palace announces that Princess Margaret and her husband Lord Snowdon are to split after 16 years of marriage (1976) - Mar. 19
SS Georgiana (Confederate cruiser) is destroyed on her maiden voyage while attempting to run past a Federal Blockade (1863) wreck is discovered (1965) - Mar. 19
Tobias Smollett (Scottish poet and author best known for his novels) is born in West Dunbarnshire, Scotland (1721) - 3/19
Sydney Harbour Bridge (steel arch bridge across Sydney Harbour in Australia for rail, car and pedestrian traffic) opens (1932) - Mar. 19
Act Happy Day - 3/19
A perigee Supermoon occurs that is the closest our natural satellite has been to Earth (221,565 mi 356,575 km) in 17 years (2011) - Mar. 19
Robert Cavelier de La Salle (French explorer who claimed the Mississippi basin for France) is murdered by his own men during his Louisiana expedition (1687) - Mar. 19
March 20, 2017
Adrienne Lecouvreur (French actress and mistress of Maurice de Saxe) is apparently poisoned by her rival Maria Karolina Sobieska, Cuchess of Bouillon (1730) - 3/20
Football's World Cup Trophy is stolen while on exhibition at Central Hall in Westminster London (1966) - 3/20
Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia, destroying most of the country's banana crop (2006) - Mar. 20
Great American Meatout (held the first day of Spring) was established to educate families to explore a wholesome vegetarian diet (1985) - Mar. 20
U.S. begins its invasion of Iraq (2003) - Mar. 20
Spring/Vernal Equinox - Mar. 20
Tunisia gains independence from France (1956) - Mar. 20
Henry IV of England dies at the house of the Abbot of Westminster in the Jerusalem chamber bringing truth to a prophecy concerning his death (1413) - 3/20
International Astrology Day (falls on the Vernal Equinox) - Mar. 20
John Lennon and Yoko Ono marry (1969) - Mar. 20
Mendoza, Argentina suffered an earthquake that registered 7.2 on the Richter scale devastating the provincial capital Mendoza and killing 8-10 thousand people (1861) - 3/20
Princess Anne and Mark Phillips are subject to a kidnapping attempt by Ian Ball (1974) - Mar. 20
Juliana of the Netherlands dies in her sleep at age 94 at the Soestdijk Palace in Baarn from complications of pneumonia (2004) - Mar. 20
Sarin gas attack on a Tokyo subway kills 12 and wounds 1,300 persons (1995) - 3/20
First Day of Spring!
Uncle Tom's Cabin (an anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beacher Stowe) is first published (1852) - Mar. 20
World Storytelling Day - Mar. 20
March 21, 2017
The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto (1970) - Mar. 21
Alcatraz Penitentiary is closed by decision of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (1963) - Mar. 21
Otto Bismark becomes the First Chancellor of Germany (1871) - 3/21
Great Dayton, OH Flood begins when the Great Miami River overflows its banks into the city causing the greatest natural disaster in Ohio history (1913) - Mar. 21
Harmony Day (Australia) coincides with the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - Mar. 21
Henry V of England (son of Henry of Bolingbroke later Henry IV) ascends to the throne and is crowned on April 9 (1413) - 3/21
Namibia (country in southern Africa) officially becomes an independent country from South Africa (1990) - Mar. 21
Johann Sebastian Bach (German composer and organist of the Baroque period) is born in Eisenach (1685) - Mar. 21 (O.S.)
Pocahontas (Native American who married Englishman John Rolfe) grows ill on a journey back to America and dies ashore in Saint George's Gravesend (1617) - Mar. 21
Pope Pius VII is crowned in Venice with a temporary papier-mache papal tiara since the original had been seized by Napoleon along with Pius VI (1800) - Mar. 21
Sharpeville, Africa shoot-out occurs when more than 50 people partaking in a peaceful protest are shot down by police (1960) - Mar. 21
Single Parents Day - Mar. 21
Thomas Cranmer (Archbishop of Canterbury) is burned at the stake where Archbishops Latimer and Ridley were also burnt for crimes of heresy just 6 mos before (1556) - Mar. 21
Vinko Bogataj (Yugoslavian ski-jumper entrant) who makes his spectacular fall immortalized by ABC during the Ski-flying World Championships in Oberstdorf Germany (1970) - Mar. 21
World Down Syndrome Day - Mar. 21
Automatic (driverless) trains are tested between Stamford Brook and Ravenscourt Park (England) after years of planning (1963) - Mar. 21
The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 220–211 (2010) - Mar. 21
Natasha Richardson (Tony Award-winning actress) is buried in a private funeral ceremony at St. Joseph's in Millbrook, NY (2009) - 3/21
Now-Ruz (1st day of a new year on the Bahai calendar, which The Bab adopted as a Holy Day based on the Iranian holiday - 1844) occurs around the vernal equinox (2014) - Mar. 21
Norouz Iranian New Year holiday (2014) - 3/21
Flower Day - 3/21
Sir Henry Morton Stanley (Welsh journalist and explorer) begins his trek through Africa to find David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer (1871) - 3/21
Heraclius (Byzantine Emperor) marches barefoot as a pious Christian pilgrim into Jerusalem and restores the True Cross to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (630) - 3/21
Rick Hansen (Canadian paraplegic athlete and activist) begins his "Man in Motion" tour from Oakridge Mall in Vancouver (1985) - Mar. 21
March 22, 2017
Anne Hutchinson (pioneer and unauthorized minister) is found guilty of heresy and sedition and is excommunicated and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1638) - Mar. 22
Dachau Concentration camp (Bavaria, Germany) is opened in a former gun powder factory (1933) - Mar. 22
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German writer best known for his two-part drama Faust) dies in Weimar Germany at age 82 (1832) - Mar. 22
Comet Hale-Bopp has its closest approach to early at a distance of 1.315 AU (1997) - Mar. 22
Massacre of Khatyn in Belorussia occurs when Nazis locked all the into a shed then set fire to the shed burning them all alive-only 1 adult survived (1943) - 3/22
Jamestown Massacre occurs in the Virginia Colony on Good Friday when the Powhatan indians attacked the settlers, killing 347 men, women and children (1622) - Mar. 22
Karl Wallenda of "The Flying Wallendas" age 73 falls to his death when 30 mph winds knock him off his tightrope walk at the 10-story Condada Plaza Hotel (1978) - Mar. 22
Lumiere Brothers (pioneer filmmakers) hold the 1st screening of a projected motion picture with a documentary short titled Workers Leaving the Lumiere Factory (1895) - Mar. 22
Mike Todd (American theatre and film producer) dies at age 50 when his private plane (The Lucky Liz) crashes in Grants, NM due to engine failure (1958) - Mar. 22
Plymouth Colony Governor John Carver signs a treaty and smokes a peace pipe with Massasoit, leader of the Pokanoket indians (1621) - Mar. 22
Sing Out Day - Mar. 22
Tara Lipinski (American figure skater) at age 14 becomes the youngest person ever to win the U.S. and World Skating Championships (1997) - Mar. 22
Valeriy Plyakov (Russian cosmonaut physician) sets the record for the longest spaceflight in human history when he returns from his 438 day service on Mir (1995) - Mar. 22
World Roller Coaster Day - Mar. 22
World Water Day is an observance declared by the U.N. General Assembly (1993) - 3/22
International Goof-Off Day - 3/22
Mount Redoubt (Alaskan volcano) begins to erupt sending ash cloud into the air (2009) - Mar. 22
William Woods Holden becomes the first impeached US Governor to be removed from his office and he is the only North Carolina governor ever to be impreached (1871) - Mar. 22
March 23, 2017
Elisha Otis has his first passenger elevator is installed by him at 488 Broadway, New York city (1857) - Mar. 23
Aeroflot Flight 593 crashes in Sibera with all 75 passengers and crew killed due to the pilot's 15-year-old son accidentally disengaging the autopilot (1994) - Mar. 23
Burnley Tunnel catastropher occurs when an accident results in a fuel tank explosion - 3 people died and 400 had to abandon their cars and evacuate the tunnel (2007) - Mar. 23
Peter Lorre (Hungarian-American film actor best known for his sinister roles) dies from a stroke at age 59 (1964) - Mar. 23
Patrick Henry gives his "Give me Liberty, or give me death" speech before the House of Burgesses (1775) - 3/23
Green Ramp disaster involves a mid-air and subsequent ground collision at Pope Air Force Base, NC that kills 24 soldiers preparing for an airborne operation (1994) - Mar. 23
Republic Day (Pakistan) was first observed in 1956, when Pakistan officially became a Republic - Mar. 23
Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled and finally trampled to death in his bedroom at St. Michael's Castle (1801) - Mar. 23
Russian MIR space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji (2001) - 3/23
Elizabeth Taylor (London born American Academy Award Winning Actress) dies from complications of congestive heart failure at age 79 in Los Angeles, CA (2011) - Mar. 23
Liberty Day - Mar. 23
Day of the Sea (Dia del Mar - Bolivia) honors the day in 1879 when a small force of Bolivians died defending the port of Calama from invading Chilean forces (1879) - 3/23
March 24, 2017
Elizabeth I of England (severely depressed after Robert Devereaux dies) dies in her sleep at Richmond Palace between 2 and 3 A.M. without naming her successor (1603) - 3/24
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (American educator and poet) dies from peritonitis poisoning in his home in Cambridge, MA (1882) - Mar. 24
Harry Houdini (Hungarian-American magician and escapologist) is born in Budapest (1874) - 3/24
Exxon Valdez oil spill occurs when the tanker struck Bligh Reef in Prince William sound, AK and spills 240,000 barrels of petroleum into the sound (1989) - Mar. 24
James I of England (son of Mary Queen of Scots, cousin to Elizabeth I) is proclaimed King of England in London (1603) - Mar. 24
HMS Eurydice (British frigate) is caught in a heavy snow storm off the Isle of Wight, capsizes and sinks with a loss of 376 lives (1878) - Mar. 24
Jonesboro, AR school shooting occurs when two students dress in camoflage and shoot at their classmates in an ambush style killing 5 and injuring 10 (1998) - Mar. 24
Joseph Smith Jr. (founder of the Latter Day Saints religion) is dragged from his bed in Ohio, beaten unconscious then tarred and feathered (1832) - Mar. 24
Mont Blanc tunnel fire occurs when a Belgian transport truck catches fire and quickly fills the tunnel with poisonous smoke causing 39 deaths (1999) - Mar. 24
Mary of Teck (Queen consort to George V) dies peacefully in her sleep from lung cancer at age 85 10 weeks prior to her granddaughter's (Elizabeth II) coronation (1953) - Mar. 24
Robert Koch (German physician) who announces the discovery of the Tuberclosis bacillus (1882) - Mar. 24
World Tuberculosis Day - Mar. 24
Chocolate Covered Raisins Day - 3/24
Robert Culp (American actor and screenwriter) dies at age 79 after falling outside his Los Angeles, CA home (2010) - Mar. 24
Ranger 9 (NASA moon lander) cameras relay its 15-minute live broadcast crash into the Moon (1965) - Mar. 24
March 25, 2017
Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, is discovered Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch astronomer (1655) - Mar. 25
King Faisal of Saudia Arabia is assassinated by his nephew Prince Faisal Ibu Musaed who was later found guilty of regicide (1975) - 3/25
Independence Day (Greece) commemorates the country's independence from the Ottoman Empire (1821) - 3/25
Robert the Bruce is crowned King of Scots at Scone, near Perth, by Isabella Comyn, Countess of Buchan and wife of the man Bruce attacked and killed (1306) - Mar. 25
The Annunciation (the revelation to Mary, the mother of Jesus, by the angel Gabriel that she would conceive a child to be born the Son of God) - Mar. 25
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire begins on the 8th floor and reached the 9th floor in time causing the death of 146 women, 62 who jumped to avoid the flames (1911) - 3/25
Freedom Day (Belarus) commemorates the creation of the Belarusian People's Republic (1918) - 3/25
Fargo, ND Red River flood set record levels for the area that desparately tried to hold it back with sandbags in below freezing weather (2009) - Mar. 25
Maryland Day observes the landing of settlers in the Province of Maryland (1634) - Mar. 25
Lady Day (In Christian calendar it is the traditional name for the Annuciation) was also New Year's Day in England up to 1752 when the Gregorian calendar was adopted - Mar. 25
Earth Hour - occurs last Saturday in March between 8:30 and 9:30pm (2017) - 3/25
Pecan Day - Mar. 25
March 26, 2017
Robert Frost (American poet) is born in San Francisco, CA (1874) - Mar. 26
Bangladesh declares its independence from Pakistan (1971) - 3/26
Ludwig von Beethoven (German composer who was deaf for most of his career) falls into a decline from lead poisoning and dies in Vienna, Austria (1827) - Mar. 26
Roy Halston Frowick (American clothing designer of the 1970s) dies of lung cancer from complications of AIDS in San Francisco, CA (1990) - Mar. 26
Sarah Bernhardt (French stage actress) dies from complications of uremia (kidney failure) in Paris France at age 78 (1923) - 3/26
Walt Whitman (American poet, essayist, journalist and humanist) dies from complications of tuberculosis (1892) - Mar. 26
Legal Assistant's Day - Mar. 26
Mount Redoubt continues to erupt with 6 eruptions since Mar. 23 causing a mud flow down the Drift River Valley and flooding due to the melting glacier (2009) - 3/26
Purple Day (supporting Epilepsy around the world) - Mar. 26
Mothering Sunday (held the 4th Sunday in Lent) is observed in Europe as a day when children give presents and flowers to their mothers (2017) - 3/26
Most Captions and Photos are courtesy of Wikipedia
