History of 15 March
1900 – In Paris, Sarah Bernhardt starred in the premiere of Edmond Rostand’s “L’Aiglon.”
1901 – German Chancellor von Bulow declared that an agreement between Russia and China over Manchuria would violate the Anglo-German accord of October 1900.
1902 – In Boston, MA, 10,000 freight handlers went back to work after a weeklong strike.
1903 – The British conquest of Nigeria was completed. 500,000 square miles were now controlled by the U.K.
1904 – Three hundred Russians were killed as the Japanese shelled Port Arthur in Korea.
1907 – In Finland, the woman won their first seats in the Finnish Parliament. They took their seats on May 23.
1909 – Italy proposed a European conference on the Balkans.
1910 – Otto Kahn offered $500,000 for a family portrait by Dutch artist Frans Hals. Kahn had outbid J.P. Morgan for the work.
1913 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson held the first open presidential news conference.
1916 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sent 12,000 troops, under General Pershing, over the border of Mexico to pursue bandit Pancho Villa. The mission failed.
1917 – Russian Czar Nicholas II abdicated himself and his son. His brother Grand Duke succeeded as czar.
1919 – The American Legion was founded in Paris.
1922 – Fuad I assumed the title of king of Egypt after the country gained nominal independence from Britain.
1934 – Henry Ford restored the $5 a day wage.
1935 – Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda banned four Berlin newspapers.
1937 – In Chicago, IL, the first blood bank to preserve blood for transfusion by refrigeration was established at the Cook County Hospital.
1938 – Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia.
1939 – German forces occupied Bohemia and Moravia, and part of Czechoslovakia.
1944 – Cassino, Italy, was destroyed by Allied bombing.
1946 – British Premier Attlee offered India full independence after agreement on a constitution.
1948 – Sir Laurence Olivier was on the cover of “LIFE” magazine for his starring role in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
1949 – Clothes rationing in Great Britain ended nearly four years after the end of World War II.
1951 – General de Lattre demanded that Paris send him more troops for the fight in Vietnam.
1951 – The Persian parliament voted to nationalize the oil industry.
1954 – CBS television debuted its “Morning Show.”
1955 – The U.S. Air Force unveiled a self-guided missile.
1956 – The musical “My Fair Lady” opened on Broadway.
1960 – Ten nations met in Geneva to discuss disarmament.
1960 – The first underwater park was established as Key Largo Coral Reef Preserve.
1964 – In Montreal, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor were married.
1968 – The U.S. mint halted the practice of buying and selling gold.
1970 – The musical “Purlie” opened on Broadway in New York City.
1971 – CBS television announced it was going to drop “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
1977 – The first episode of “Eight is Enough” was aired on ABC-TV.
1977 – The U.S. House of Representatives began a 90-day test to determine the feasibility of showing its sessions on television.
1979 – Pope John Paul II published his first encyclical “Redemptor Hominis.” In the work, he warned of the growing gap between the rich and poor.
1982 – Nicaragua’s ruling junta proclaimed a month-long state of siege and suspended the nation’s constitution for one day. This came a day after anti-government rebels destroyed two bridges near the Honduran border.
1985 – In Brazil, two decades of military rule came to an end with the installation of a civilian government.
1989 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided to impound all fruit imported from Chile after two cyanide-tainted grapes were found in Philadelphia, PA.
1989 – The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs became the 14th Department in the President’s Cabinet.
1990 – In Iraq, British journalist Farzad Bazoft was hanged for spying.
1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev was elected the first executive president of the Soviet Union.
1990 – The Ford Explorer was introduced to the public.
1990 – The Soviet parliament ruled that Lithuania’s declaration of independence was invalid and that Soviet law was still in force in the Baltic republic.
1991 – Four Los Angeles police officers were indicted in the beating of Rodney King on March 3, 1991. (California)
1991 – Yugoslav President Borisav Jovic resigned after about a week of anti-communist protests.
1994 – U.S. President Clinton extended the moratorium on nuclear testing until September of 1995.
1996 – The aviation firm Fokker NV collapsed.
1998 – More than 15,000 ethnic Albanians marched in Yugoslavia to demand independence for Kosovo.
1998 – CBS’ “60 Minutes” aired an interview with former White House employee Kathleen Willey. Wiley said U.S. President Clinton made unwelcome sexual advances toward her in the Oval Office in 1993.
2002 – Libyan Abdel Basset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi began his life sentence in a Scottish jail for his role in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 on December 21, 1988.
2002 – In the U.S., Burger King began selling a veggie burger. The event was billed as the first veggie burger to be sold nationally by a fast food chain.
2002 – In Texas, Andrea Yates received a life sentence for drowning her five children on June 20, 2001.
2002 – U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Associated Press that the U.S. would stand by a 24-year pledge not to use nuclear arms against states that don’t have them.
2004 – Clive Woodall’s novel “One for Sorrow: Two for Joy” was published. Two days later Woodall sold the film rights to Walt Disney Co. for $1 million. Disney movies, music, and books.
2008 – Stockpiles of obsolete ammunition explode at an ex-military ammunition depot in the village of Gërdec, Albania, killing 26 people. To date, no other tragedy has caused more deaths in post-World War II Albania.
2011 – Beginning of the Syrian Civil War.
2019 – 51 people are killed in the Christchurch mosque shootings.
2019 – 1.4 million young people in 123 countries go on strike to protest climate change.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Young Buck, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1981 – Mikael Forssell, German-Finnish footballer
- 1981 – Veronica Maggio, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Jens Salumae, Estonian skier
- 1982 – Tom Budge, Australian actor
- 1982 – Emily Dunn, American actress, and dancer
- 1982 – Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, Kenyan runner
- 1983 – Sean Biggerstaff, Scottish actor
- 1983 – Umut Bulut, Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Ben Hilfenhaus, Australian cricketer
- 1983 – Kostas Kaimakoglou, Greek basketball player
- 1983 – Golda Marcus, Salvadoran swimmer
- 1983 – Daryl Murphy, Irish footballer
- 1983 – Heiko Niidas, Estonian basketball player
- 1983 – Ricky Sekhon, English actor
- 1983 – Yo Yo Honey Singh, Indian music producer
- 1984 – Badradine Belloumou, French-Algerian footballer
- 1984 – Malin Buska, Swedish actress
- 1984 – Olivier Jean, Canadian speed skater
- 1984 – Kostas Vasileiadis, Greek basketball player
- 1984 – Wilson Aparecido Xavier Júnior, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 – Eric Decker, American football player
- 1988 – Ever Guzmán, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – James Reimer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Jolo Revilla, Filipino actor, and politician
- 1988 – Alexander Sims, English race car driver
- 1989 – Sam Baldock, English footballer
- 1989 – Bryce Gibbs, Australian footballer
- 1989 – Sandro Raniere, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Adrien Silva, Portuguese footballer
- 1989 – Caitlin Wachs, American actress
- 1990 – Siobhan Magnus, American singer-songwriter
- 1991 – Tavon Austin, American footballer
- 1991 – Kurt Baptiste, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Xavier Henry, American basketball player
- 1993 – Alia Bhatt, Actress and singer of Indian origin and British citizenship
- 2000 – Kristian Kostov, Russian/Bulgarian singer-songwriter