16 March: Are you ready to read what happened on this day in history?
Today has been a black day with records of mass murders and massacres which help us to see how much we have evolved over the years.
So, let’s unwrap and see what special day is today.
What Happened Today? On This Day in History: 16 March
War and Violence
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- 1945 – U.S. Marines captured the Japanese island of Iwo Jima during World War II.
- 1968 – U.S. troops massacred South Vietnamese between 200 and 500 unarmed villagers at My Lai 4, a cluster of hamlets in the coastal lowlands of the northernmost region of South Vietnam.
- 1988 – Thousands of people were killed in a poison gas attack cocktail which included mustard gas, the nerve agents sarin, tabun and VX and possibly cyanide on the Kurdish city of Halabja in northern Iraq.
Business
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- 1915 – The Federal Trade Commission opened its doors on March 16 following the Federal Trade Commission Act in 1914.
Technology
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- 1926 – The US professor and scientist Robert Hutchings Goddard, Ph.D. launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket.
- 1965 – Doctor William K. Kerr of the Toronto’s Department of Surgery reported the first ever biochemical link between cancer and cigarettes.
Major Casualties
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- 1978 – The Amoco Cadiz wrecked off the coast of Portsall, France losing 68 million gallons of oil that caused environmental damage to 240 miles of France’s Brittany coastline.
People
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- 2010 – Michael Jackson‘s estate signed the world’s biggest recording contract, nine months after the singer’s death. The $250 million deal for up to ten recordings by 2017 was a huge bet on the singer’s continuing popularity with people who were not familiar with his earlier works.
Politics
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- 2014 – In a popular referendum, Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation; despite opposition from numerous countries, Russia later annexed the region.
Birth Anniversaries (16 March)
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- 1750 – Caroline Herschel, German-born British astronomer who was a pioneer in the field and is considered the first professional female astronomer.
- 1751 – James Madison, fourth President of the United States (1809–17) and one of the Founding Fathers of his country.
- 1859 – Alexander Popov, physicist and electrical engineer acclaimed in Russia as the inventor of radio.
- 1953 – Isabelle Huppert, French actress who was acclaimed for her versatility and for the subtle gestures and restrained emotions of her portrayals.
Death Anniversaries (16 March)
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- 37 AD – Tiberius, second Roman emperor (14–37 ce.), the adopted son of Augustus, whose imperial institutions and imperial boundaries he sought to preserve.
- 1736 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer whose intermezzo La serva padrona (“The Maid Turned Mistress”) was one of the most celebrated stage works of the 18th century.
- 1898 – Aubrey Beardsley, the leading English illustrator of the 1890s and, after Oscar Wilde, the outstanding figure in the Aestheticism movement.
- 1940 – Selma Lagerlöf, novelist who in 1909 became the first woman and also the first Swedish writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
- 1975 – T-Bone Walker, American musician and songwriter who was a major figure in modern blues.
What Special Day is Today: 16 March
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- National Vaccination Day is observed in India.
- Ta’anit Esther – Jewish Fast
- National Panda Day celebrated in the United States.
Conclusion
We hope this article was enlightening and you found out what special day is today.
This day has been a notable one for the brutal ways of war and violence and also for some amazing discoveries and people. We wish you all an amazing day ahead too.
If you have any interesting facts to share or anything to add to the above list, please share it in the comments. We would love to hear from you.
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