Explore fascinating moments from history that shaped our world
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (aircraft pictured) crashed shortly after take-off from Addis Ababa, with the deaths of all 157 people on board.

The New York Times revealed that Eliot Spitzer (pictured), Governor of New York, had patronized a prostitution ring.
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (artist's impression pictured) reached and entered orbit around Mars.
Eighteen months after seizing power, Prosper Avril was ousted as the military head of state of Haiti.
Astronomers using NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory discovered a faint ring system around Uranus.
Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnam began its final push for victory over South Vietnam with an attack on Ban Me Thuot.
Vietnam War/Laotian Civil War: North Vietnamese and Pathet Lao forces overwhelmed the American, Laotian, Thai, and Hmong defenders of Lima Site 85.
British progressive-rock band Pink Floyd released their first single, "Arnold Layne".
Military prime minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacked rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.
Thomas Playford, Premier of South Australia, left office after 27 years, the longest term of any democratically elected leader in the history of Australia.
An anti-Chinese uprising began as thousands of Tibetans surrounded the Potala Palace in Lhasa to prevent the Dalai Lama from leaving or being removed by the Chinese army.
Mildred Gillars, nicknamed Axis Sally, was convicted of treason for working with the Nazis as a broadcaster.
World War II: The United States Army Air Forces conducted a firebombing raid on Tokyo that killed at least 90,000 people.
Russia and France reached an agreement' to support one another's territorial ambitions for Europe in the aftermath of World War I.
The final letter in the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence was written, agreeing that Britain would recognise Arab independence in return for the Sharif of Mecca launching a revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle, the first deliberately planned British offensive of the First World War, began.
Nine Years' War: At the Battle of Sant Esteve d'en Bas, Catalan miquelets attacked a column of French regular infantry and caused them to surrender.
The Roman Republic defeated Carthaginian forces at the Battle of the Aegates, off the western coast of Sicily, in the final battle of the First Punic War.
2024 Portuguese legislative election: Elections are held in Portugal for all 230 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. The Partido Socialista loses its absolute majority to the Partido Social Democrata, winning 77 and 79 seats respectively.
Silicon Valley Bank collapses due to a run on its deposits, in the second largest bank failure in US history. Its operations are taken over by the FDIC.
2022 Hungarian presidential election: The National Assembly of Hungary elects former minister for Family Affairs, Katalin Novák, as president of Hungary in a 137–51 vote, becoming the first female president in the country's history.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX, crashes shortly after take off, killing all 157 passengers and crew. This and the prior Lion Air Flight 610 led to all 387 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft being grounded worldwide.
The impeachment of President Park Geun-hye of South Korea in response to a major political scandal is unanimously upheld by the country's Constitutional Court, ending her presidency.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.
The Dot-com bubble peaks with the NASDAQ Composite stock market index reaching 5,048.62.
1991 Salvadoran legislative election: The Nationalist Republican Alliance wins 39 of the 84 seats in the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador.
In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted eighteen months after seizing power in a coup d'état in September 1988.

Air Ontario Flight 1363, a Fokker F-28 Fellowship, crashes at Dryden Regional Airport in Dryden, Ontario, Canada, killing 24.
Syzygy: All nine planets recognized at this time — Mercury to Pluto — align on the same side of the Sun.
1979 International Women's Day protests in Tehran: Protestor involvement peaks with 15,000 Iranian women and girls performing a three‐hour-long sit‐in at the Courthouse of Tehran.
Astronomers discover the rings of Uranus.
Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in the South on their way to capturing Saigon in the final push for victory over South Vietnam.
1974 Belgian general election: Elections are held in Belgium for all 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives, the Belgian Socialist Party taking the majority with 59.
John Gorton resigns as Prime Minister of Australia and the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia after a secret ballot vote of confidence, being replaced in both positions by William McMahon.
Vietnam War: Captain Ernest Medina is charged by the U.S. military with My Lai war crimes.
In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. He later unsuccessfully attempts to recant.
Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacks rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.
Tibetan uprising: Fearing an abduction attempt by China, thousands of Tibetans surround the Dalai Lama's palace to prevent his removal.
Fulgencio Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba.
Mildred Gillars ("Axis Sally") is convicted of treason.
World War II: The U.S. Army Air Force firebombs Tokyo, and the resulting conflagration kills more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians.
Greek Civil War: The Political Committee of National Liberation is established in Greece by the National Liberation Front.
The Long Beach earthquake affects the Greater Los Angeles Area, leaving around 108 people dead.
Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation.
By signing the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, Thailand relinquishes its sovereignty over the Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu, which become British protectorates.
The Courrières mine disaster, Europe's worst ever, kills 1099 miners in northern France.
Almon Strowger patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching.
The first successful test of a telephone is made by Alexander Graham Bell.
The first Azerbaijani play, The Adventures of the Vizier of the Khan of Lenkaran, prepared by Akhundov, is performed by Hassan-bey Zardabi and dramatist and Najaf-bey Vezirov.

El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Ségou, destroying the Bamana Empire of Mali.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican–American War.
The French Foreign Legion is created by Louis Philippe, the King of France, from the foreign regiments of the Kingdom of France.
The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army is created.
Emperor Napoleon I is defeated at the Battle of Laon in France.
French Huguenot Jean Calas, who had been wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.
An agreement between Nader Shah and Russia is signed near Ganja, Azerbaijan and Russian troops are withdrawn from occupied territories.
French "Sun King" Louis XIV begins his personal rule of France after the death of his premier, the Cardinal Mazarin.
Charles I dissolves the Parliament of England, beginning the eleven-year period known as the Personal Rule.

Susenyos I defeats the combined armies of Yaqob and Abuna Petros II at the Battle of Gol in Gojjam, making him Emperor of Ethiopia.

Spaniard Fray Tomás de Berlanga, the fourth Bishop of Panama, discovers the Galápagos Islands by chance on his way to Peru.
After establishing the city of Santo Domingo, Christopher Columbus departs for Spain, leaving his brother in command.
The Later Han is founded by Liu Zhiyuan. He declares himself emperor.
Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a triumphal entry into Carthage.
First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
Francesco Camarda, Italian footballer
Matt Poitras, Canadian ice hockey player
Keon Johnson, American basketball player
Nick Bolton, American football player
Cole Kmet, American football player
Justin Herbert, American football player
Belinda Bencic, Swiss tennis player
Zach LaVine, American basketball player
Sergey Mozgov, Russian ice dancer
Bad Bunny, Puerto Rican rapper, songwriter, producer, actor, and wrestler
Nikita Parris, English footballer
Jack Butland, English footballer
Aminata Namasia, Congolese politician
Neeskens Kebano, French-Congolese footballer
Emily Osment, American actress and singer-songwriter
Stefanie Vögele, Swiss tennis player
Simon Moser, Swiss ice hockey player
Dayán Viciedo, Cuban baseball player
Clarissa dos Santos, Brazilian basketball player
Josh Hoffman, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
Ego Nwodim, American actress
Quincy Pondexter, American basketball player and coach

Ivan Rakitić, Croatian football player
Martellus Bennett, American football player
Greg Eastwood, New Zealand rugby league player
Tuukka Rask, Finnish ice hockey player
Emeli Sandé, British singer-songwriter
Māris Štrombergs, Latvian BMX racer
Sergei Shirokov, Russian ice hockey player
Tim Brent, Canadian ice hockey player
Ben May, English footballer
Olivia Wilde, American actress and director
Étienne Boulay, Canadian football player
Janet Mock, American journalist, author, and activist
Rafe Spall, English actor
Carrie Underwood, American singer-songwriter
Kwame Brown, American basketball player
Dr Disrespect, American live streamer
Logan Mankins, American football player
Thomas Middleditch, Canadian-American comedian and actor
Samuel Eto'o, Cameroonian footballer
Steven Reid, English-Irish footballer
Edi Gathegi, Kenyan-American actor
Danny Pudi, American actor
Benjamin Burnley, American musician
Camille, French singer-songwriter and actress
Shannon Miller, American gymnast
Robin Thicke, American singer, songwriter, and record producer
Bree Turner, American actress
Barbara Schett, Austrian tennis player
Cristián de la Fuente, Chilean actor, model, producer, and television host

Jason Croker, Australian rugby league player
Liu Qiangdong, Chinese entrepreneur, billionaire, founder of JD.com
Chris Sutton, English footballer
Mauricio Taricco, Argentine footballer and manager
Beth Buchanan, Australian actress
Matt Kenseth, American NASCAR driver
Timbaland, American rapper and producer
Jon Hamm, American actor and director
Paget Brewster, American actress
Alma Čardžić, Bosnian singer

Pavel Srníček, Czech footballer and coach (died 2015)
Edie Brickell, American singer-songwriter
Mike Timlin, American baseball player
Jillian Richardson, Canadian sprinter
Rod Woodson, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
Greg Campbell, Australian cricketer
Neneh Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Jeff Ament, American bass player and songwriter
Rick Rubin, American record producer
Jasmine Guy, American actress, singer, and director
Seiko Matsuda, Japanese singer-songwriter
Laurel Clark, American captain, physician, and astronaut (died 2003)
Mitch Gaylord, American gymnast and actor
Garth Crooks, English footballer and sportscaster

Steve Howe, American baseball player (died 2006)
Sheikh Mohammad Illias, Bengali politician
Sharon Stone, American actress and producer
Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founded al-Qaeda (died 2011)
Shannon Tweed, Canadian model and actress
Robert Llewellyn, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
Larry Myricks, American long jumper and sprinter
Odile Buisson, French gynecologist, advocate for women's right to pleasure
Toshio Suzuki, Japanese race car driver
Paul Haggis, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwean politician, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (died 2018)
Gloria Diaz, Filipino actress and beauty queen, Miss Universe 1969
Aloma Wright, American actress
Austin Carr, American basketball player
Kim Campbell, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Canada
Tom Scholz, American musician and songwriter

Curley Culp, American football player (died 2021)
Gérard Garouste, French contemporary artist
Jim Valvano, American basketball player and coach (died 1993)
Katharine Houghton, American actress and playwright

Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician, Indian Minister of Railways (died 2001)

Richard Gant, American actor
Peter Berresford Ellis, English historian and author
LeRoy Ellis, American basketball player (died 2012)
Chuck Norris, American actor, producer, and martial artist
David Rabe, American playwright and screenwriter
Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian activist and author (died 2013)
Irina Press, Ukrainian-Russian hurdler and pentathlete (died 2004)
Norman Blake, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
Ron Mix, American football player
María Kodama, Argentine writer and translator (died 2023)
Sam Hall, American diver, legislator, and mercenary (died 2014)
Sepp Blatter, Swiss businessman and eighth president of FIFA

Polly Farmer, Australian footballer and coach (died 2019)
Gergely Kulcsár, Hungarian javelin thrower (died 2020)
Ralph Emery, American country music disc jockey, radio and television host (died 2022)

Marcia Falkender, Baroness Falkender, English politician (died 2019)
Georges Dor, Canadian author, playwright, and composer (died 2001)
Sándor Iharos, Hungarian runner (died 1996)
Sam Steiger, American journalist and politician (died 2012)

Sara Montiel, Spanish actress (died 2013)
James Earl Ray, American criminal; assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (died 1998)
Claude Laydu, Belgian-French actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2011)
Marques Haynes, American basketball player (died 2015)

Bob Lanier, American lawyer, banker, and politician, Mayor of Houston (died 2014)
Judith Jones, American literary and cookbook editor (died 2017)
Val Logsdon Fitch, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2015)

Alfred Peet, Dutch-American businessman, founded Peet's Coffee & Tea (died 2007)
Leonor Oyarzún, Chilean socialite, First Lady of Chile from 1990 to 1994 (died 2022)
Günther Rall, German general and pilot (died 2009)
David Hare, American Surrealist artist, sculptor, photographer and painter (died 1992)
Harry Bertoia, Italian-American sculptor and furniture designer (died 1978)
Joža Horvat, Croatian writer (died 2012)
Edward Bawden, English artist and illustrator (died 1989)
Bix Beiderbecke, American cornet player, pianist, and composer (died 1931)
Clare Boothe Luce, American playwright, journalist, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (died 1987)

Michel Seuphor, Belgian painter (died 1999)

Violet Brown, Jamaican supercentenarian, oldest Jamaican ever (died 2017)
Pandelis Pouliopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician (died 1943)

Frederick Coulton Waugh, British cartoonist, painter, teacher and author (died 1973)
Arthur Honegger, French composer and educator (died 1955)
Gregory La Cava, American director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1952)
Albert Ogilvie, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Tasmania (died 1939)
Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (died 1961)
Jessie Boswell, English painter (died 1956)
Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Mexican diplomat and president (1930-1932) (died 1963)
Anna Hyatt Huntington, American sculptor (died 1973)
Jakob Wassermann, German-Austrian soldier and author (died 1934)
David Riazanov, Russian theorist and politician (died 1938)
Hector Guimard, French-American architect (died 1942)
Lillian Wald, American nurse, humanitarian, and author, founded the Henry Street Settlement (died 1940)
Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (died 1930)
Spencer Gore, English tennis player and cricketer (died 1906)

Edward Baker Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (died 1850)
Alexander III of Russia (died 1894)
Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (died 1908)

Marie Euphrosyne Spartali, British Pre-Raphaelite painter (died 1927)
Evelyn Abbott, English classical scholar (died 1901)
Samuel Ferguson, Irish poet and lawyer (died 1886)

Joseph Légaré, Canadian painter and glazier, artist, seigneur and political figure (died 1855)
Manuel de la Peña y Peña, Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (died 1850)
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, German author, poet, playwright, and critic (died 1857)
Edward Hodges Baily, English sculptor (died 1867)
Francisco de Paula Martínez de la Rosa y Berdejo, Spanish playwright and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (died 1862)
William Etty, English painter and academic (died 1849)
Louis Hersent, French painter (died 1860)
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, German poet and critic (died 1829)
Joseph Williamson, English businessman and philanthropist (died 1840)
Lorenzo Da Ponte, Italian-American priest and poet (died 1838)
Georg Wilhelm Steller, German botanist, zoologist, physician, and explorer (died 1746)
Giacomo Serpotta, Italian Rococo sculptor (died 1732)
John Benbow, Royal Navy admiral (died 1702)
François Girardon, French sculptor (died 1715)
Marcello Malpighi, Italian physician and biologist (died 1694)

Johann Rudolf Glauber, German-Dutch alchemist and chemist (died 1670)
Princess Maria Elizabeth of Sweden, daughter of King Charles IX of Sweden (died 1618)
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (died 1572)
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1564)
Ferdinand II, King of Castile and León (died 1516)

Stanley R. Jaffe, American film producer and director (born 1940)
Carl Lundström, Swedish businessman and activist (born 1960)
John Elliott, English historian and academic (born 1930)
Ken Adam, German-English production designer and art director (born 1921)
Roberto Perfumo, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster (born 1942)
Jovito Salonga, Filipino lawyer and politician, 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines (born 1920)

Anita Brookner, English novelist and art historian (born 1928)
Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1952)
Princess Lilian, Duchess of Halland, British born Swedish Princess (born1915)
Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (born 1938)

Frank Sherwood Rowland, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1927)

Bill Blackbeard, American author and illustrator (born 1926)
Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, Egyptian scholar and academic (born 1928)
Corey Haim, Canadian actor (born 1971)
Ernie Ladd, American football player and wrestler (born 1938)
Dave Allen, Irish-English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1936)

Oswaldo Guayasamín, Ecuadorian painter and sculptor (born 1919)
Lloyd Bridges, American actor and director (born 1913)
LaVern Baker, American singer and actress (born 1929)

Ross Hunter, American film producer (born 1926)
Giorgos Zampetas, Greek bouzouki player and composer (born 1925)
Andy Gibb, Australian singer-songwriter and actor (born 1958)
Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (born 1907)
Konstantin Chernenko, Russian soldier and politician, Head of State of The Soviet Union (born 1911)
Bob Nieman, American baseball player (born 1927)

E. Power Biggs, English-American organist and composer (born 1906)
Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of Glendale (1960 – 1973), Governor of Kenya (1952 – 1959), High Commissioner for Southern Africa (1944 – 1951), Governor of Southern Rhodesia (1942 – 1944) (born 1903)
Li Mi, Chinese lieutenant general and anti-communist, Taiwanese nationalist (born 1902)

Richard Sharples, British politician, incumbent Governor of Bermuda (1972–1973) (born 1916)

Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1888)

Frank O'Connor, Irish short story writer, novelist, and poet (born 1903)
Kijūrō Shidehara, Japanese lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Japan (born 1872)
Zelda Fitzgerald, American author, visual artist, and ballet dancer (born 1900)
Jan Masaryk, Czech soldier and politician (born 1886)
Wilbur Scoville, American pharmacist and chemist (born 1865)
Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian novelist and playwright (born 1891)
Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (born 1884)
Myer Prinstein, Polish-American jumper (born 1878)
Harriet Tubman, American nurse and activist (born c. 1820)
Karl Lueger, Austrian lawyer and politician Mayor of Vienna (born 1844)
Carl Reinecke, German pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1824)
Marie-Eugénie de Jésus, French nun and saint, founded the Religious of the Assumption (born 1817)
Savitribai Phule, Indian poet and activist (born 1831)
Charles Frederick Worth, English-French fashion designer (born 1825)
Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian journalist and politician (born 1805)
Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet, playwright, and ethnographer (born 1814)
Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1752)
John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (born 1758)
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1713)
Élie Catherine Fréron, French author and critic (born 1718)
Urban Hjärne, Swedish chemist, geologist, and physician (born 1641)
Jacob van Ruisdael, Dutch painter and etcher (born 1628)
Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (born 1517)
William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester
Balthasar Hübmaier, German/Moravian Anabaptist leader
John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (born 1442)
Agnes Blannbekin, Austrian mystic
Arghun, Mongol ruler in Persia (born c. 1258)
Liu Zhiyuan, Shatuo founder of the Later Han dynasty (born 895)
Pope Simplicius

Christian feast day Attala
Christian feast day Harriet Tubman (Lutheran)
Christian feast day John Ogilvie
Christian feast day Macarius of Jerusalem
Christian feast day Marie-Eugénie de Jésus
Christian feast day Pope Simplicius
Christian feast day Sojourner Truth (Lutheran)
Christian feast day March 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Harriet Tubman Day (United States of America)
Holocaust Remembrance Day (Bulgaria)

Mario Day (Globally)
Men's Day (Poland)
National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
Székely Freedom Day (Romania)
Tibetan Uprising Day (Tibetan independence movement)