Week 11 – What happened this week in history – 10th March to 16th March. A rare astronomical event and Alexander Graham Bell made the first successful telephone call, and the first ever Crufts dog show in 1886. Wow!
This Day in History: March 10
1982 all nine planets aligned
All nine planets in the solar system aligned on the same side of the Sun, a rare astronomical event known as a syzygy.
1876 Liquid transmitter
Alexander Graham Bell’s “liquid” transmitter design permitted the first transmission of speech by Bell to his assistant, Thomas Watson. The first telephone call summoning his assistant with the words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.”
1864 The Red River Campaign
1864 The Red River Campaign began in the American Civil War, and it lasted for several months before Confederate troops under General Richard Taylor defeated the Union forces.
1629 Charles I dissolved the Parliament
Charles I dissolved the Parliament, beginning an eleven year period known as the Personal Rule. He had been harshly criticized by Parliament and realized that, as long as he could avoid war, he could rule without them. It caused discontent among those who provided the ruling classes, although the effects were more popular with the common people.
1886 Cruft’s Dog Show
Cruft’s Dog Show was held in London for the first time. Previously it had been held in Newcastle. The organizer was Charles Cruft, general manager of a dog biscuit firm.
2023 the new Duke of Edinburgh
2023 Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Edward would be the new Duke of Edinburgh. King Charles gave the title to his youngest brother on Prince Edward’s 59th birthday. The title is strongly associated with their father, Prince Philip, who was Duke of Edinburgh for more than 70 years, up until his death in 2021.
This Day in History: March 11
2020 covid pandemic
The World Health Organization declared that the COVID-19 outbreak was a pandemic. Isolating family members for months and killing over 7 million people worldwide.
1985 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union
In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev succeeded Konstantin Chernenko as leader of the Soviet Union. He was the last leader of the Soviet Union.
1990 Lithuania regained its independence
On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Council of Lithuania declared the re-establishment of the state’s independence, becoming the first Soviet republic to do so, and was followed by Latvia and Estonia.
1888 New york City winter storm hit
A winter storm began on the Atlantic coast of the United States, ultimately blanketing New York City with 22 inches (550 mm) of snow and other areas with up to 50 inches (1,250 mm); the Great Blizzard of 1888, as it became known, killed more than 400 people and caused widespread property damage.
This Day in History: March 12
1947 Truman Doctrine pronounced
On this day in 1947, U.S. President Harry S. Truman articulated what became known as the Truman Doctrine when he asked Congress to appropriate aid for Greece and Turkey, both of which were facing communist threats.
1849 Sikh army surrendered
The Sikh army surrendered to the British at the end of the Second Sikh War, conceding to the annexation of the Punjab in northwestern India.
This Day in History: March 13
1999 Poland Hungary and Czech joined NATO
Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic became members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) shortly before the group’s 50th anniversary.
2013 Jorge Mario Bergoglio elected as Pope
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, was elected pope of the Roman Catholic Church; taking the name Francis I, he succeeded Benedict XVI, who had resigned.
1938 The Anschluss
The Anschluss, political union between Austria and Germany, was announced. The Anschluss also known as the Anschluß Österreichs was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 12 March 1938.
This Day in History: March 14
2018 Stephen Hawking dies
2018 English theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was best known for his work on the physics of black holes and for the book A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes (1988), died at age 76.
1883 Karl Marx died
Historian and revolutionary Karl Marx, who wrote (with Friedrich Engels) The Communist Manifesto (1848), died at age 64. Karl Marx was a German-born philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist.
1879 Einstein was born
German physicist Albert Einstein, one of the most creative intellects in human history, known for his groundbreaking theories of relativity, was born in Ulm, Germany.
This Day in History: March 15
44 bce Julius Caesar assassinated on the Ides of March
In 44 bce Roman dictator Julius Caesar was launching a series of political and social reforms when he was assassinated this day, the Ides of March, by a group of nobles, among whom were Cassius and Brutus.
1965 We Shall Overcome speech
About a week after a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, was halted due to violent opposition, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson delivered his We Shall Overcome speech, in which he introduced voting rights legislation that was passed later that year.
1917 the end of Romanov dynasty
During the first phase of the Russian Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, thus ending the rule of the Romanov dynasty.
This Day in History: March 16
1968 My Lai Massacre
On this day in 1968, during the Vietnam War, U.S. soldiers dispatched on a search-and-destroy mission killed as many as 500 unarmed villagers in the hamlet of My Lai, considered a stronghold of the Viet Cong.
2014 Crimea joined the Russian Federation
In a popular referendum, Crimea voted to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation; despite opposition from numerous countries, Russia later annexed the region.
1921 The Treaty of Moscow
The Treaty of Moscow established friendly relations between the nationalist government of Turkey and the Soviet Union.
1521 Spanish Alliance with the Philippines
Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, sailing under the Spanish flag on his circumnavigation of the globe, reached the Philippines, securing the first alliance in the Pacific Islands for Spain.