March 10


March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in Leap
years). There are 296 days remaining.

Events

   * 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of Aegusa - The Roman fleet sinks 50
     Carthaginian ships.
   * 1496 - Christopher Columbus leaves Hispaniola for Spain, ending his
     second visit to the Western Hemisphere.
   * 1629 - Charles I of England dissolves Parliament starting the Eleven
     Years Tyranny in which there was no parliament.
   * 1804 - Louisiana Purchase: In St. Louis, a formal ceremony is conducted
     to transfer ownership of Louisiana Territory from France to the United
     States.
   * 1814 - Napoleon I of France is defeated at the Battle of Laon in
     France.
   * 1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States
     Senate, ending the Mexican-American War.
   * 1864 - American Civil War: The Red River Campaign begins as Union
     troops reach Alexandria, Louisiana.
   * 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call
     by saying "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you."
   * 1880 - Members of the Salvation Army land in the United States and
     begin operations.
   * 1893 - Ivory Coast becomes a French colony
   * 1902 - Boer War: South African Boers win their last battle over British
     forces, with the capture of a British general and 200 of his men.
   * 1902 - A United States court of appeals rules that Thomas Edison did
     not invent the movie camera (see Edison v. American Mutoscope)
   * 1912 - China becomes a republic following the overthrow of the Manchu
     Qing Dynasty.
   * 1933 - Earthquake in Long Beach, California kills 120 people.
   * 1945 - World War II: In Japan, American B-29 bombers fire-bomb Tokyo
     killing 100,000.
   * 1952 - Fulgencio Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba
   * 1966 - Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands marries Claus von Amsberg.
   * 1969 - In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to
     assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. Ray would later retract his guilty
     plea.
   * 1975 - Vietnam War: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Me Thout, South
     Vietnam, on their way to capturing Saigon.
   * 1982 - The United States places an embargo on Libyan oil imports
     because of their support of terrorist groups.
   * 1982 - Syzygy: all 9 planets align on the same side of the Sun
   * 1987 - Reproductive rights: The Vatican condemns the practice of
     surrogate motherhood along with test-tube babies and artificial
     insemination.
   * 1990 - 18 months after seizing power in a coup, Prosper Avril is ousted
     in Haiti.
   * 1991 - Gulf War: Operation Phase Echo - 540,000 American troops begin
     to leave the Persian Gulf.
   * 1998 - American troops stationed in the Persian Gulf begin to receive
     the first vaccinations against anthrax.

Births

   * 1772 - Friedrich von Schlegel, aesthetician, poet, and publicist (+
     1829)
   * 1776 - Louise, queen of Prussia (+ 1810)
   * 1788 - Joseph von Eichendorff, lyricist and narrator (+ 1857)
   * 1848 - Albert Fraenkel, physician (+ 1916)
   * 1880 - Broncho Billy Anderson, actor (+ 1971)
   * 1888 - Barry Fitzgerald, actor (+ 1966)
   * 1891 - Sam Jaffe, actor (+ 1984)
   * 1892 - Arthur Honegger, composer (+ 1955)
   * 1892 - Gregory La Cava, director, producer, writer (+ 1952)
   * 1903 - Bix Beiderbecke, jazz musician (+ 1931)
   * 1903 - Clare Booth Luce, publisher, writer (+ 1987)
   * 1918 - Heywood Hale Broun, sports journalist, commentator (+ 2001)
   * 1927 - Paul Wunderlich, painter, graphic artist, sculptor
   * 1927 - Jupp Derwall, football coach
   * 1928 - James Earl Ray, assassin (+ 1998)
   * 1940 - Dean Torrence, musician ("Jan and Dean")
   * 1940 - Chuck Norris, actor, martial arts practitioner
   * 1947 - Kim Campbell, nineteenth Prime Minister of Canada and first
     woman to hold that office
   * 1957 - Osama Bin Laden, terrorist
   * 1958 - Sharon Stone, actress
   * 1963 - Neneh Cherry, musician
   * 1964 - Edward, Earl of Wessex
   * 1966 - Edie Brickell, singer

Deaths

   * 1913 - Harriet Tubman, Underground Railroad conductor, anti-slavery
     activist
   * 1940 - Mikha•l Boulgakov, Russian writer
   * 1948 - Zelda Fitzgerald (Mrs. F. Scott Fitzgerald)
   * 1948 - Jan Masaryk, Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia
   * 1973 - Eugene 'Bull' Connor, segregationist
   * 1985 - Konstantin Chernenko, General Secretary of the Communist Party
     of the Soviet Union
   * 1986 - Ray Milland, British actor
   * 1988 - Andy Gibb, singer
   * 1996 - Ross Hunter, producer
   * 1997 - La Vern Baker, singer
   * 1998 - Lloyd Bridges, actor

Holidays and observances

   * Girl Scout Sunday