Here are 50 newsworthy anniversaries coming up in March 2016 for you to write about (and make money from). The anniversaries are listed 6 months in advance to give you enough time for research and writing.
We have painstakingly cross-checked every entry, but you are advised to check all facts again as part of your research. Please let us know of any errors you find.
The listing below is a small sample of the entries for March from The Date-A-Base Book 2016. There are 299 anniversaries for March in the book, which covers the whole of 2016 from January to December and features more than 3,450 anniversaries in total.
Just one published article should cover the cost of your copy many times over.
If you need to work further ahead, The Date-A-Base Book 2017 is also available.
—–
250 years ago (18 Mar 1766)
The Stamp Act was repealed by the British Parliament following violent protests by American colonists. (Further taxes were imposed on the colonies over the next few years, all of which they opposed. This eventually led to the American Revolution in 1775.)
200 years ago (29 Mar 1816)
Birth of the 10th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
150 years ago (6 Mar 1866)
Death of William Whewell, British philosopher, historian of science, theologian and polymath. Noted for his works on ethics and scientific induction. He coined the terms ‘scientist’ and ‘physicist’.
100 years ago (4 Mar 1916)
Birth of Hans Eysenck, controversial German-born British psychologist.
100 years ago (8 Mar 1916)
Birth of John W. Seybold, American printing and electronic publishing pioneer. The father of computer typesetting.
100 years ago (9 Mar 1916)
Mexican revolutionaries led by Pancho Villa launched a cross-border attack on Columbus, New Mexico, USA. In response, the USA launched the Pancho Villa Expedition (also known as the Mexican Expedition) on 14th March, which searched for and pursued Villa’s forces in Mexico using trucks and planes. (The expedition was abandoned in February 1917.)
100 years ago (11 Mar 1916)
Birth of Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, British Prime Minister (1964-70, 1974-76).
100 years ago (15 Mar 1916)
Birth of Fadil Hoxha, President of Kosovo (1945-53, 1967-69).
100 years ago (22 Mar 1916)
The last Emperor of China, Yuan Shikai, abdicated and the monarchy was disestablished.
80 years ago (1 Mar 1936)
Construction work on the Hoover Dam was officially completed. It stands on the Colorado River on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada.
80 years ago (4 Mar 1936)
The German airship Hindenburg made its first flight. (It was the largest airship ever constructed. It was destroyed in a fire in May 1937, ending the era of airship travel.)
80 years ago (5 Mar 1936)
The Supermarine Spitfire fighter plane made its first flight, in Eastleigh, Southampton, UK.
80 years ago (7 Mar 1936)
Germany reoccupied the Rhineland and other regions along the Rhine, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
80 years ago (8 Mar 1936)
The first stock car race was held at Daytona Beach, Florida, USA.
75 years ago (1 Mar 1941)
World War II: Bulgaria signed the Tripartite Pact and joined the Axis powers after Hitler promised it would regain all the land it lost in WWI.
75 years ago (11 Mar 1941)
World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act into law. This allowed the USA to support countries it considered important to its defence (including Britain, France, China, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations) without selling them arms on credit, which would have violated the Neutrality Act.
75 years ago (18 Mar 1941)
Death of Henri Cornet, French cyclist. Winner of the 1904 Tour de France – and still the youngest-ever winner.
75 years ago (24 Mar 1941)
World War II: German General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Corps launched its first offensive against the Allies in North Africa, quickly defeating the British forces at El Agheila in Libya.
75 years ago (25 Mar 1941)
World War II: Prince Paul of Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact, hoping to keep Yugoslavia out of the war. The military opposed this and staged a coup on 27th March. The Prince was ousted and replaced by King Peter (aged 17). Germany invaded Yugoslavia on 6th April.
75 years ago (28 Mar 1941)
Death of Virginia Woolf, influential British novelist (To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, A Room of One’s Own). One of the leading modernist writers of the 20th century. (Suicide)
60 years ago (1 Mar 1956)
The NATO phonetic alphabet (also known as the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet) was adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization. (It was later adopted by many other civil and military organisations including the International Telecommunication Union in 1959 and the International Maritime Organization in 1965.)
60 years ago (1 Mar 1956)
The National People’s Army (East Germany’s armed forces) was founded. (Disbanded in Oct 1990.)
60 years ago (1 Mar 1956)
The Arab Legion became the Jordanian Armed Forces. King Hussein of Jordan dismissed its British commander John Bagot Glubb (also known as Glubb Pasha) and replaced him with Radi Annab in order to distance himself from the British and strengthen his position in the Arab world.
60 years ago (15 Mar 1956)
The musical My Fair Lady opened on Broadway.
60 years ago (20 Mar 1956)
Tunisia gained its independence from France.
60 years ago (23 Mar 1956)
Pakistan became the world’s first Islamic Republic.
50 years ago (1 Mar 1966)
The Soviet space probe Venera 3 probably crash-landed on Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to land on the surface of another planet. (Its communications system failed before it reached Venus.)
50 years ago (4 Mar 1966)
British rock musician John Lennon famously said the Beatles were ‘more popular than Jesus’ in an interview for the London Evening Standard. His comment drew no complaints in the UK, but generated huge controversy when reprinted in the USA in July. In August many U.S. radio stations staged public burnings of Beatles records and memorabilia.
50 years ago (16 Mar 1966)
NASA launched its Gemini 8 spacecraft, manned by Neil Armstrong and David Scott. It took part in the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit but suffered a malfunction shortly afterwards and the mission was aborted. It returned to Earth safely the same day after completing 6 orbits.
50 years ago (20 Mar 1966)
The FIFA World Cup Trophy (the Jules Rimet Trophy) was stolen in London. It was found (by a dog) a week later. (It was permanently awarded to Brazil in 1970 but was stolen in 1983 and never recovered.)
50 years ago (31 Mar 1966)
The Soviet Union launched Luna 10. On 3rd April it became the first spacecraft to go into orbit around the Moon.
40 years ago (9 Mar 1976)
Cavalese cable car disaster, Dolomite mountains, northern Italy. A steel cable snapped and a cable car fell 200 metres (660 feet) down a mountainside. A 3-ton overhead carriage assembly fell on top of the car, crushing it. 43 of the 44 people inside were killed. (4 officials were later jailed.)
40 years ago (24 Mar 1976)
The President of Argentina, Isabel Perón, was deposed and arrested by the Argentine military. She was succeeded by military dictator Jorge Rafael Videla on 29th.
30 years ago (3 Mar 1986)
Queen Elizabeth II signed the Australia Act, severing Australia’s remaining legal ties with Britain and granting it full independence.
30 years ago (31 Mar 1986)
The Greater London Council (GLC) was abolished, along with 6 other English metropolitan county councils (Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands and West Yorkshire).
30 years ago (31 Mar 1986)
The 17th century King’s Apartments at Hampton Court Palace, Richmond, London were severely damaged by a fire which caused about £5 million ($8 million) worth of damage.
25 years ago (1 Mar 1991)
Death of Edwin H. Land, American physicist and inventor. Inventor of the instant camera and other photographic innovations. Co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation.
25 years ago (2 Mar 1991)
Gulf War – the Battle of Rumaila (Iraq). Controversial U.S. victory. U.S. forces practically annihilated a 5-mile column of Iraqi forces who were withdrawing from battle two days after the war. (The U.S. forces were later fully exonerated as the Iraqis had opened fire on a U.S. patrol that had accidentally wandered into their path.)
25 years ago (2 Mar 1991)
Death of Serge Gainsbourg, French singer, songwriter, musician and artist who worked in a variety of genres. One of the most important figures in French popular music. Many of his songs were considered provocative or scandalous. His hit song Je t’aime… moi non plus (recorded with Jane Birkin) was censored or banned from public broadcast in several countries.
25 years ago (3 Mar 1991)
American construction worker Rodney King was beaten by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department following a car chase. The beating was captured on amateur video. When the four officers involved were acquitted at the end of a trial in April 1992, it triggered the Los Angeles riots in which 53 people were killed and around $1 billion worth of damage was caused. (In a federal trial held in 1993, two of the officers were convicted and sentenced to 32 months in prison.)
25 years ago (14 Mar 1991)
The convictions of the Birmingham Six were quashed by Britain’s Court of Appeal and they were released from prison after 16 years. They had been convicted of carrying out pub bombings in Birmingham in 1974, but the court ruled their convictions were unsafe and unsatisfactory. They were each awarded compensation of up to £1.2 million ($1.9 million).
25 years ago (14 Mar 1991)
Death of Doc Pomus, American blues singer & songwriter. A key figure in the development of popular music. He wrote the lyrics of many rock and roll hits including A Teenager in Love, Save The Last Dance For Me, Sweets For My Sweet and more. He often collaborated with the pianist Mort Schuman.
25 years ago (21 Mar 1991)
Death of Leo Fender, American inventor and manufacturer of the first solid-body electric guitar.
20 years ago (13 Mar 1996)
Dunblane massacre, Scotland. Thomas Hamilton, a former scout leader, entered Dunblane Primary School and shot dead 16 children and a teacher and wounded 15 others, then committed suicide. (As a result, private ownership of handguns became illegal in the UK.)
20 years ago (20 Mar 1996)
BSE (mad cow disease): the British Government announced that there was a probable link between BSE and vCJD. This meant that a form of mad cow disease could be passed on to humans who ate infected beef. On 25th March the European Union banned the export of British beef (until 2006).
10 years ago (9 Mar 2006)
NASA announced that its Cassini space probe had detected the possible presence of liquid water on Saturn’s sixth-largest moon Enceladus. This was the first time that naturally occurring liquid water had been discovered outside the Earth’s atmosphere. (More recent data indicates the presence of a liquid water ocean beneath Enceladus’s icy crust.)
10 years ago (11 Mar 2006)
Michelle Bachelet became the first female President of Chile.
10 years ago (15 Mar 2006)
The United Nations Human Rights Council was established, replacing the UN Commission on Human Rights which was criticised for allowing countries with poor human rights records to become members.
10 years ago (20 Mar 2006)
Cyclone Larry hit Queensland, Australia, causing A$1.5 billion (£680 million, US$1.1 billion) worth of damage and destroying up to 90% of the country’s banana crop.
10 years ago (21 Mar 2006)
Twitter, the online social networking/micro-blogging service, was founded. The website went live on 15th July.
Become a lifetime member of ideas4writers
and get ALL our ebooks for just £49.95
(or the equivalent in your local currency)
Price if purchased individually: £214.56
Save: £164.61
Click here to find out more or email us to ask a question
ideas4writers: inspiring you since 2002!
The official ideas4writers blog 