This is what we're celebrating or observing This Week
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March 12, 2017
Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh (second son of Queen Victoria) is the victim of an assassination attempt by Henry James O'Farrell (1868) - 3/12
Bombay bombings result in at least 200 deaths and 800 injuries when 13 bombs explode in Bombay (1993) - Mar. 12
FDR (President of the USA between 1933 and 1944) started his famous series of radio fireside chats given during the depression (1933) - Mar. 12
Coca Cola is sold in bottles for the first time in Vicksburg, MS (1894) - Mar. 12
Girl Scouts of America is founded as The Girl Guides by Juliette Gordon Law (1912) - Mar. 12
Great Blizzard of the Northeast occurs with record snowfalls of 40-50 inches and sustained winds of 45mph (1888) - Mar. 11 thru Mar. 14
Mauritius declares independence from the UK (1968) and becomes a Republic (1992) - Mar. 12
Morton Downey, Jr. (American talk show host of the 1980s) dies from lung cancer (2001) - 3/12
No Smoking Day - 3/12
Springfield, IL Tornado Outbreak Sequence lasted from 3/9 to 3/13 producing 105 confirmed tornadoes with at least 13 deaths (2006) - Mar. 12
St Francis Dam (once part of the Los Angeles, CA Aqueduct) suffers a catastrophic failure with the resulting flood killing 600 people (1928) Mar. 12
Serbia Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic is assassinated by a Serbian Milorad Ulemek's soldier in Belgrade (2003) - 3/12
Full Moon (Lenten Moon-2017) - Mar. 12
Magha Puja - a major holy day observed by most Buddhists on the first full moon day of the third lunar month (2017) - Mar. 12
Daylight Saving Time begins when certain countries move their clocks forward one hour at 2AM to increase afternoon daylight hours - USA second Sunday in March (2017) - Mar. 12
Purim (Jewish holiday that commemorates the deliverance of Jewish people from Haman's plot to annihilate them) celebrated 14th day of Adar (2017) - Mar. 12
March 13, 2017
Alexander II (Czar of Russia) is assassinated by revolutionaries while on his way to review the Life Guards (1881) - Mar. 13 (NS)
Benjamin Harrison (23rd President of the USA) dies from influenza and pneumonia at his home at age 67 (1901) - 3/13
Illuminating Hadrian's Wall marks the 1600th anniversary of the end of Roman Britain in AD 410 by illuminating the Hadrian Wall Path from coast to coast (2010) - Mar. 13
Dunblane massacre occurs when an unemployed former shopkeeper walks into a school and begins shooting, killing 16 children and 1 teacher (1996) - Mar. 13
Quebec experiences the effects of a Geomagnetic storm causing circuit breakers to trip, which leaves six million people without power (1989) - Mar. 13
Susan B. Anthony (American civil rights leader and suffragette) dies in her Rochester, NY home at age 86 (1906) - Mar. 13
Hola Mohalla (Sikh Festival) celebrated on the 1st day of the lunar month of Chet as a day for practicing military exercises - date varies (2017) - Mar. 13
Holi (Hindu Spring festival aka the Festival of Colours) date is based on the full moon (Pooranmshi) in late Feb or early March (2017) - Mar. 13
March 14, 2017
Cotton Gin (a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton from the seedpods invented by Eli Whitney) is patented (1794) - Mar. 14
Albert Einstein (German-born theoritcal physicist best known for his theory of relativity) is born in Ulm Germany (1879) - Mar. 14
Gold Standard Act is ratified establishing gold as the only standard for redeeming US paper money (1900) - 3/14
The body of U.S. President John F. Kennedy is moved to its permanent resting place in Arlington, VA cemetary (1967) - Mar. 14
John Byng (a British admiral court-martialed for failing to "do his utmost" during the battle of Minorca) is executed by firing squad (1757) - Mar. 14
The Lakeview CA gusher (deemed the largest recorded U.S. oil well gusher) makes its debut when the drill bit reaches 2,440 feet (1910) - Mar. 14
LOT Polish Airlines flight crashes while attempting to land in Warsaw killing all 87 aboard including 22 members of the U.S. Boxing Team (1980) - Mar. 14
Pi Day (celebrates the mathematical constant of Pi - 3.14) first observed at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988 - Mar. 14
National Potato Chip Day (commemorates the day George Crum made the first potato chips in 1853) - Mar. 14
Princess Grace gives birth to Prince Albert of Monaco (1958) - Mar. 14
Susan Hayward (Academy Award-winning American actress) dies from complications of brain cancer at age 57 (1975) - Mar. 14
White Day (Japan and Korea) a reverse of Valentine's Day where women give gifts to men - Mar. 14
Peter Graves (American actor best known for his role in the TV Show Mission Impossible) dies from a heart attack only 4 days before his 84th birthday (2010) - Mar. 14
Giovanni Schiaparelli (Italian astronomer and science historian) is born (1835) - Mar. 14
Norman Thagard becomes the first American to ride to space on board a Russian (Soyuz TM-21 for Mir-18) vehicle (1995) - Mar. 14
March 15, 2017
Benjamin Spock (American pediatrician best known for his book Baby and Child Care) dies from cancer in La Jolla, CA (1998) - Mar. 15
Buzzard Day (commerorates the return of the turkey vultures to Buzzard Roost in Hinkley, OH) - Mar. 15
Constitution Day (Belarus) - Mar. 15
Honen Matsuri (Japanese fertility festival) - Mar. 15
H.P. Lovecraft (American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction) dies in Providence, RI from cancer of the intestine (1937) - Mar. 15
Hungarian Revolution breaks out when the Hapsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party (1848) - Mar. 15
Ides of March is the name of the date 15 March in the Roman calendar during which a festival was held dedicated to the god Mars - Mar. 15
Julius Caesar (Roman military leader critical in transforming the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire) is assassinated by Roman Senators (44BC) - 3/15
My Fair Lady (Lerner & Loewe musical based on Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion) opens on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theater (1956) - Mar. 15
Rolls-Royce Limited (British car company founded by Henry Royce and Charles Stewart Rolls) is founded (1906) - Mar. 15
Ron Silver (American actor, director, producer) dies from esophageal cancer in New York City at age 62 (2009) - Mar. 15
Selfridges (chain of department stores in the U.K. founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge) opens its flagship store in London's Oxford Street (1909) - Mar. 15
March 16, 2017
Amoco Cadiz (Very Large Crude Carrier) runs aground off the coast of Brittany (France) resulting in the largest oil spill ever for the time (1978) - 3/16
Arthur Godfrey (American radio and TV broadcaster) dies of emphysema in New York city (1983) - 3/16
Aubrey Beardsley dies in France from complications of tuberculosis at age 25 (1898) - Mar. 16
Gustav III is shot during a masked ball and dies 13 days later when the wound becomes infected (1792) - Mar. 16
St. Urho's Day - Mar. 16
Wurzburg Germany is virtually destroyed by British bombers in a 17 minute raid during WWII (1945) - Mar. 16
Natasha Richardson (daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and wife to Liam Neeson) falls during a skiing lesson in Canada (2009) - 3/16
Kuan Yin (aka Guan Yin the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists) celebrates her birthday (2017) - Mar. 16
Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, Uganda are almost completely destroyed by a fire that is still under investigation (2010) - Mar. 16
March 17, 2017
Avianca Flight 410 crashes near Cucuta Colombia shortly after take off due to a potential pilot distraction - all 143 aboard were killed (1998) - Mar. 17
Camfire Girls are founded by Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte in Thetford, VT (1910) - Mar. 17
St. Patrick's Day celebrates the feast day of St. Patrick of Ireland - Mar. 17
Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel (1969) - Mar. 17
Evacuation Day is celebrating the date when British forces were forced to evacuate Boston, MA after the Continental Army fortified it with cannons (1776) - Mar. 17
Mt Agung (Island of Bali) erupts generating massive pyroclastic flows that devastate numerous villages killing approx. 1500 people (1963) - Mar. 17
National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941) - Mar. 17
Philippine Cebu Douglas C-47 crashes on the slopes of mount Manunggal killing the 7th President of the Philippines, Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others (1957) - Mar. 17
Rubber Band is patented by Stephen Perry to hold paper or envelopes together (1845) - 3/17
March 18, 2017
American Express is founded as an express mail business in Albany, NY by Henry Wells, William Fargo and John Butterfield (1850) - Mar. 18
George I of Greece is assassinated by Alexandros Schinas with a close range shot in his back (1913) - Mar. 18
Ivan IV of Russia (Ivan the Terrible) dies supposedly while setting up a chess board but a later exhumation indicates he may have been Mercury poisoned (1584) - Mar. 18 (O.S.)
Jacques de Molay (23rd and last Grand Master of the Knights Templar) is burned at the stake along with Geoffroy de Charnay (1314) - 3/18
Mary Tudor (younger sister of Henry VIII of England and Queen consort of France due to her marriage to Louis XII) is born at Richmond Palace (1533) - Mar. 18
Mt Vesuvius (Italy) erupts killing 26 and causing thougsands to flee their homes (1944) - Mar. 18
National Biodiesel Day (US) - Mar. 18
New London, TX School Explosion occurs when a natural gas leak caused an explosion killing in excess of 295 students and teachers (1937) - Mar. 18
Ozone Disco Club fire (Quezon City, Philippines) occurs when a fire breaks out in an over-crowded club (1996) - Mar. 18
Paper Dress Day - 3/18
Robert Walpole (1st Earl of Oxford and Prime Minister of Great Britain) dies in London at age 69 (1745) - 3/18
Western Turkey earthquake magnitude 7.3 occurs causing extreme damage and killing 1070 people (1953) - Mar. 18
Johnny Appleseed (American pioneer nurseryman born John Clapham who introduced apple trees to the US midwest) died (1785) - Mar. 18
Natasha Richardson (Tony award winning actress) dies from a cerebral hematoma following a fall during a skiing lesson in Canada (2009) - 3/18
Flag Day (Aruba) - Mar. 18
National Quilting Day - celebrated the third Saturday in March (2017) - Mar. 18
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
Most Captions and Photos are courtesy of Wikipedia
