March 1

Historic Events

2014

Thirty-five people are killed and 143 injured in a mass stabbing at Kunming Railway Station in China. ›

2008

The Armenian police clash with peaceful opposition rally protesting against allegedly fraudulent presidential elections; as a result ten people are killed. ›

2007

Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20 people, including eight at Enterprise High School. ›

2006

English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station. ›

2005

In Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of any crime is unconstitutional. ›

2003

Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service moves to the United States Department of Homeland Security. ›

2002

U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan. ›

2002

The Envisat environmental satellite successfully launches aboard an Ariane 5 rocket to reach an orbit of 800 km (500 mi) above the Earth, which was the then-largest payload at 10.5 m long and with a diameter of 4.57 m. ›

2002

Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-109 to service the Hubble Space Telescope. ›

1998

Titanic becomes the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide. ›

1992

Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ›

1991

Uprisings against Saddam Hussein begin in Iraq, leading to the deaths of more than 25,000 people, mostly civilians. ›

1990

Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. ›

1981

Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze. ›

1974

Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. ›

1973

Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages. ›

1971

President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan. ›

1966

Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet's surface. ›

1966

The Ba'ath Party takes power in Syria. ›

1964

Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe. ›

1964

Paradise Airlines Flight 901A crashes near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, killing 85. ›

1962

American Airlines Flight 1 crashes into Jamaica Bay in New York, killing 95. ›

1961

Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections. ›

1958

Samuel Alphonsus Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first U.S. member of the Roman Curia. ›

1956

The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization. ›

1956

Formation of the East German Nationale Volksarmee. ›

1954

Nuclear weapons testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States. ›

1954

Armed Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives. ›

1953

Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later. ›

1950

Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data. ›

1947

The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations. ›

1946

The Bank of England is nationalised. ›

1942

World War II: Japanese forces land on Java, the main island of the Dutch East Indies, at Merak and Banten Bay (Banten), Eretan Wetan (Indramayu) and Kragan (Rembang). ›

1941

World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis powers. ›

1939

An Imperial Japanese Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94. ›

1932

Aviator Charles Lindbergh's 20-month-old son Charles Jr is kidnapped from his home in East Amwell, New Jersey. His body would not be found until May 12. ›

1921

The Australian cricket team captained by Warwick Armstrong becomes the first team to complete a whitewash of The Ashes, something that would not be repeated for 86 years. ›

1921

Following mass protests in Petrograd demanding greater freedom in the RSFSR, the Kronstadt rebellion begins, with sailors and citizens taking up arms against the Bolsheviks. ›

1919

March 1st Movement begins in Korea under Japanese rule. ›

1917

The Zimmermann Telegram is reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government releases its unencrypted text. ›

1914

China joins the Universal Postal Union. ›

1910

The deadliest avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people. ›

1901

The Australian Army is formed. ›

1896

Battle of Adwa: An Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War. ›

1896

Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay. ›

1893

Electrical engineer Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri. ›

1872

Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park. ›

1871

The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. ›

1870

Marshal F. S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of the Paraguayan War. ›

1867

Nebraska is admitted as the 37th U.S. state. ›

1845

United States President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. ›

1836

A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico. ›

1815

Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba. ›

1811

Leaders of the Mamluk dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali. ›

1805

Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial before the U.S. Senate. ›

1796

The Dutch East India Company is nationalized by the Batavian Republic. ›

1781

The Articles of Confederation goes into effect in the United States. ›

1692

Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials. ›

1633

Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu. ›

1628

Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date. ›

1562

Sixty-three Huguenots are massacred in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion. ›

1476

Forces of the Catholic Monarchs engage the combined Portuguese-Castilian armies of Afonso V and Prince John at the Battle of Toro. ›

1290

University of Coimbra, in Portugal, is officially chartered by King Denis. ›

834

Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. ›

350

Vetranio proclaims himself Caesar after being encouraged to do so by Constantina, sister of Constantius II. ›

293

Emperor Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars. This is considered the beginning of the Tetrarchy, known as the Quattuor Principes Mundi ("Four Rulers of the World"). ›

509 BC

Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. ›