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On this day in History Archives
 
At PaulsQuiz.com we aim to provide you with as much information as we possibly can. That's why we have built our On This Day in History section, to do just that. Our database is forever growing, we're adding more and more events from history to help you write your quiz questions.

Simply enter a date using the drop-down boxes below and click the 'Go' button to display events from the past that ocurred on that day.
 

 
16 March, 2006
The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to establish the UN Human Rights Council.
16 March, 2005
Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control
16 March, 2003
Largest coordinated worldwide vigil, as part of the global protests against Iraq war.
16 March, 1998
Pope John Paul II apologises for inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust.
16 March, 1997
Sandline affair - On Bougainville, soldiers of commander Jerry Singirok arrest Tim Spicer and his mercenaries of the Sandline International
16 March, 1996
Göran Persson is elected leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party.
16 March, 1995
Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The thirteenth amendment was officially ratified in 1865.
16 March, 1988
Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
16 March, 1988
Halabja poison gas attack: The Kurdish town of Halabjah in Iraq was attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents, killing thousands of people.
16 March, 1985
Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He would be released on December 4, 1991.
16 March, 1984
William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists and later dies in captivity.
16 March, 1983
Demolition of the radio tower Ismaning, the last radio tower in Germany built of wood.
16 March, 1978
Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the 5th-largest oil spill in history
16 March, 1978
Aldo Moro is kidnapped by left-wing terrorists in Italy and is later killed by his captors.
16 March, 1976
UK Prime Minister, Harold Wilson resigns.
16 March, 1971
Government of Trygve Bratteli in Norway
16 March, 1969
A Venezuelan Airlines DC-9 crashes shortly after takeoff in Maracaibo, Venezuela killing 155
16 March, 1968
General Motors releases its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado.
16 March, 1968
Vietnam War: In the My Lai massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers -- men, women, and children -- are killed by American troops.
16 March, 1966
Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with the Agena Target Vehicle.
16 March, 1963
Mount Agung erupts on Bali - 11,000 dead
16 March, 1962
A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with 107 people missing.
16 March, 1958
Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the companys founding.
16 March, 1952
In Cilaos, Réunion, 73 inches (1,870mm) of rain falls in one day, setting a new world record.
16 March, 1945
World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends but small pockets of Japanese resistance persist.
16 March, 1945
Würzburg, Germany is 90% destroyed, with 5,000 dead, in only 20 minutes by British bombers.
16 March, 1942
History of Rocketry: First V-2 rocket test launch (exploded at liftoff)
16 March, 1939
Marriage of Princess Fawzia of Egypt to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran
16 March, 1939
From Prague Castle Hitler proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate.
16 March, 1935
Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Versailles Treaty. Conscription was reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.
16 March, 1926
History of Rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.
16 March, 1924
The free port of Fiume formally annexed by Mussolinis fascist regime.
16 March, 1916
7th and 10th US cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing cross the border to join the hunt of Pancho Villa.
16 March, 1912
Lawrence Oates, ill member of Scotts South Pole expedition leaves the tent saying, "I am just going outside and may be some time."
16 March, 1900
Sir Arthur Evans purchases the land around the ruins of Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete.
16 March, 1872
The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1-0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
16 March, 1867
First publication of an article by Joseph Lister outlining the discovery of antiseptic surgery, in The Lancet.
16 March, 1865
The Battle of Averasborough. confederate forces suffer unreplacable casualties
16 March, 1861
Edward Clark became Governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who was evicted from the office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy.
16 March, 1818
Battle of Cancha Rayada - Spanish forces defeat Chileans under José de San Martín.
16 March, 1815
Prince Willem of the House of Orange-Nassau proclaimed himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands.
16 March, 1812
Battle of Badajoz (March 16 - April 6) - British and Portuguese forces besiege and defeat French garrison during Peninsular War.
16 March, 1802
The United States Military Academy West Point is established.
16 March, 1792
King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he dies on March 29.
16 March, 1689
The 23rd Regiment of Foot or Royal Welch Fusiliers is founded.
16 March, 1660
The Long Parliament disbands.
16 March, 1621
Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset."
16 March, 1521
Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines.
16 March, 1322
Battle of Boroughbridge in the First War of Scottish Independence.
16 March, 1249
The Servite Order is officially approved by Cardinal Raniero Capocci, papal legate in Tuscany.

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