On This Day

This day in history, on this day, fact of the day, etc, we've had a number of topics along these lines over the years, and this is the latest attempt, as part of our overhaul of the North Pacific University. The posts in this topic will come from a variety of authors, following a schedule set down by the Ministry of Culture. With both long and short form content to come, we look forward to helping inform and educate the region, and have some fun along the way.

15/03
The Ides of March: The Ides of March is the 74th day of the Roman calendar, and corresponds to the 15th of March. A number of religious observances were held on the Ides. Along with the monthly sacrifices that took place, it was also a festival day for Jupiter, the Feast of Anna Perenna - a Roman deity - and in Imperial times it celebrated Cybele and Attis, who later in the month as also celebrated, and whose myth may have inspired the resurrection story in Christianity. The Ides are most famously associated with the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BCE, where he was murdered in the theatre of his great rival, Pompey the Great, by members of the Senate, including his nephew, Marcus Brutus. In the coming years, Caesar's successors Marcus Antonius and Octavianus (the later Emperor Augustus) had several of the conspirators executed on the Ides of March, likely as a religious sacrifice, as the executions took place in temple that contained an altar deifying the Roman leader.

Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany comes into effect in 1991: Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of many regimes in Eastern Europe, including East Germany, the divided states signed a treaty in 1990, along with the four powers that had divided Germany after World War 2 - the United States, France, the USSR and the United Kingdom - to formally re-unify the countries after more than 45 years of division. The Treaty, signed in Moscow, agreed that only the territory held by the Federal Republic of Germany (informally West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the united state retained the former name. The four powers renounced all rights they held in Germany, and the new state agreed to confirm the current border with Poland, along with renouncing any claims to territory that were formerly held by Germany but was not under the control of either state at the time, such as the Kaliningrad oblast, of which Russian control was formerly codified. The Treaty would later cause controversy in Russia and elsewhere, after the expansion of NATO into central and eastern Europe began, with former Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev later claiming that the expansion violated "the spirit of the statements and assurances made to us in 1990", though western powers denied any such assurances were ever discussed.

The Syrian Civil War begins 2011: The Syrian Civil War began on March 15th 2011 when pro-democracy protestors marched in Damascus and Aleppo demanding the release of political prisoners and democratic reforms. The major protests were the first of their kind in Syria for many decades, which had been ruled by the hardline Baathist al-Assad family, firstly Hafez al-Assad and then his son, Bashar al-Assad, but came amidst a wider push for democratic reforms across the Middle East and North Africa, known as the Arab Spring. Whilst the Arab Spring led to the fall of regimes in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, and reforms in a number of other countries, in Syria Bashar al-Assad remained determined to cling onto power. As a result, a brutal multi-party civil war has been fought for the past decade, with no sign of its end and a complicated situation on the ground involving Syrian government supporters and militias, pro-democratic rebels supported by the West, Turkish-aligned anti-Kurdish groups, Russian intervention and the extreme Islamist group ISIS, which claims the loyalty of all Muslims under a new Caliphate, all vying for power. The human cost of the conflict is untold, though estimates suggest that over 115,000 civilians have been killed, there have been anywhere from 397,000 to 593,000 total casualties and the number of internally displaced persons and external refugees stands at over 7 million and over 5 million respectively.

National Day: World Consumer Rights Day: founded in 1983 to focus and organise worldwide consumer action, World Consumer Rights Day works to commemorate the pro-consumer changes that have been won by consumer rights campaigns worldwide, and also to focus attention on as yet unresolved matters.
Important Births: 270 Saint Nicholas: fourth century Greek saint that inspired the early mythos of Santa Claus. 1933 Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court and first Jewish woman to sit on the court.
Important Deaths: 493 Odoacer: First King of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer deposed the last Roman emperor in the West, Romulus Augustus, and brought to an end Roman rule west of the Adriatic sea. 1937 H.P. Lovecraft: Creator of the Cthulhu Mythos and the founder of the eponymous subgenre named Lovecraftian horror, the American horror author died in Providence, Rhode Island.

16/03
Samoset meets the Plymouth Colony 1421: In 1420 the Puritans who would become known as the Pilgrim fathers arrived in North America, setting up what became known as Plymouth Colony. It did not take long for the settlement to attract the attention of some of the natives in the area. Samoset was an Abenaki sagamore, an Algonquian-speaking people of northeastern North America. On 16th March 1421, Samoset entered Plymouth Colony, and surprised the colonists by greeting them and asking, in clear if accented English, for some beer. Whilst in modern times some have portrayed the pilgrim fathers as the first English speaking peoples in North America, they very much weren't - Plymouth Colony itself had been built on a site previously scouted by Captain John Smith, and English-speaking Native Americans weren't uncommon. A few days later, Samoset returned with Squanto, the last remaining member of the Patuxet tribe, which was wiped out by epidemic infection caused. Squanto spoke much better English, having previously been abducted by the English explorer Thomas Hunt, who sold him as a slave in the Spanish city of Malaga. Freed by local monks, Squanto eventually made his way to England, where he may have met Pocahontas, and returned to America in 1619. Squanto put the colony in contact with Massasoit, the sachem of the Wampanoag confederacy. The tribe allied with the colonists for defense against attacks by the Narragansetts, and in return provided assistance that prevented the colony from starving during their early years.

The Wanderers win the first Football Association Challenge Cup Final 1872: Beating Royal Engineers 1-0 in the Final, the Wanderers became the first winners of the competition now known as the FA Cup, the oldest competition in association football history. The Football Association was founded in 1863 to codify the rules of Association Football, with the first Laws of the Game being published the same year. The FA Challenge Cup, as it was known, was the brainchild of FA Secretary C. W. Alcock, who proposed to the FA committee that "it is desirable that a Challenge Cup should be established in connection with the Association for which all clubs belonging to the Association should be invited to compete." Whilst the FA Cup of today is competed for by 736 teams, the first FA Cup hosted just 13 teams, amongst them the Scottish side Queen's Park, and London team Crystal Palace - of alleged relation to the modern day Premier League team of the same name. The winners, The Wanderers, reached the final after a walkover in the semi-final replay due to Queen's Park not being able to afford the rail fare down to London. Their opponents, the Royal Engineers, a team from the British Army, also reached the final after a replay, beating Crystal Palace 3-0. The deciding match, held at the Kennington Oval in London, was decided by a goal from Morton Betts, appearing under the pseudonym AH Chequer.

The People's Liberation Army withdraws across the China-Vietnam border, ending the Sino-Vietnamese War 1971: Following a campaign of dubious success in northern Vietnam, the Chinese PLA began to withdraw from the country on the 6th of March, declaring that their objectives were met and that the road to Hanoi was open. This was disputed by both Western and Vietnamese sources, but what wasn't was that the Chinese managed to withdraw in good order and were unopposed in their looting and destruction of the infrastructure in Cao Bang and Lang Son Provinces. The invasion, part of the Third Indochina War and taking place in view of the wider Sino-Soviet split, was launched by China after Vietnam's 1978 invasion of neighbouring Cambodia, where they overthrew the genocidal Chinese-backed Khmer Rouge regime. Soviet-backed Vietnam overperformed against their nominally superior Chinese opponents, though actual Soviet support for Vietnam was less than forthcoming, due to both logistical and strategic issues. Vietnam was too far to adequately resupply with reinforcements without having to cross territory controlled by China or by US allies, and thus the only realistic option would've been to escalate the conflict by restarting the unresolved border conflict with China. Vietnam was important to Soviet policy, but not that important. Soviet fears were also allayed by assurances from Chinese premier Deng Xiaoping that the PLA would wage only a limited war. Moderation from the US, and an assessment that Vietnam anti-air capabilities were amongst the best in the world at the time, convinced the Soviets to adopt a 'wait and see' approach. China kept their promise, withdrawing after less than a month of fighting, and ultimately achieving nothing more than a symbolic, disputed victory. Vietnam remained in control of Cambodia, and what little territorial gains were made were given up after the border was stabilised in 1991.

National Day: St Urho's Day: A celebration by Finnish Americans of the mythical Finnish saint St Urho, who is said to have chased grasshoppers out of Finland. There are statues in Minnesota of St Urho, depicting holding large grasshoppers in honour of his achievements. Wearing purple and green and drinking wine are encouraged during St Urho's Day.
Important Births: James Madison 1751: US President and founder father, Madison was a leading academic and politician. Tsutomu Yamaguchi 1916: Japanese marine engineer and only recognised person to have survived both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings.
Important Deaths: Baldwin IV of Jerusalem 1185: The leper king of the crusader state of Jerusalem, Baldwin IV was succeeded by his uncle Baldwin V, but the kingdom reached its zenith during his reign. T-Bone Walker 1975: American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Walker was a pioneer and innovator of the jump blues and electric blues sounds.

16/03

Crimea Sucedeing from Ukraine: A referendum was held on March 16th, 2014. This referendum asked Crimea locals if they wished to secede from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. The final turnout for the vote was 97% in favour of joining the Russian Federation. This referendum was considered unconstitutional and not legal under international law. And so it was brought to the UN. The UN in a 100-11-58 vote declared the referendum illegal and refused to recognize it. That led to Russia essentially saying "I don't care what you say". They decided to recognize Crimea as a country and annexed it. This resulted in the war between Russia and Ukraine to continue to escalate. In July of 2015 Crimea was considered "Fully Integrated" as a member of the Russian Federation.

National Day: Woohoo, It's national panda day today. A day created to honour this cute animal. The origin of this day Isn't exactly known, but it can be guessed that the reason this day was made was to bring attention to the fact that the panda population was on the decline. I don't think we can credit national panda day for this, but in the last decade the panda population has increased by 17% and they officially lost their endangered status. They're now classified as vulnerable. Fun fact: Adult pandas eat 12Kg-38Kg of bamboo a day.

Important Birth: On March 16th, 1751, Founding Father and President James Madison was born. President Madison was an incredibly important part of the building of the US. He was one of the main reasons the Constitution and Bill of Rights were established. Alongside that he was the co-founder of the Democratic-Republican party. He also was the president who loss to Canada/Britain in the was of 1812 (not biased). Fun Fact: James Madison was both the shortest and lightest American President clocking in at 5'4, 100 pounds.

Important Death: March 16th 455 35 year old Valentinian III, The Roman Emperor of the West, was assassinated. At the young age of 5 he was already named The Roman Emperor of the West. However most of his youth he was directed by his mother. Valentinian III wasn't the noblest Emperor to live He plotted the assassination of a Roman General since the general wasn't prioritizing his territory first. And so he killed him on false charges. However, karma struck him back. 6 months after the assassination of the Roman General, 2 loyal followers committed treason and killed Valentinian III.
Fun Fact: Actually more of a wow this guy sucks fact. This Emperor persecuted and kicked out Jewish people because he thought they would "corrupt" Christians.

17/03
Commodus becomes sole Roman Emperor 180: Following a four year period of joint rule with his father Marcus Aurelius, Commodus of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty becomes the sole ruler of the Roman Empire, after the death of Aurelius on the Danube. Commodus's reign began quietly but would soon become steeped in intrigue and violence, as a series of favourites rose and fell under him, almost always meeting bloody ends. Whilst the constant warfare of his father's reign was not repeated in Commodus's, the political strife led to what Dio Cassius termed the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust". Unlike other members of his dynasty, Commodus was not interested in statecraft and the administration of the Empire, preferring instead gladiatorial games and a life of leisure. This led to a series of favourites, like Saoterus and Cleander, who were both his chamberlain, conspiring both with and against prefects and tribunes like Tigidius Perennis and
Pertinax for power. All would meet unnatural ends - Cleander would murder Saoterus, and rise as the second most powerful man in the empire before a food shortage was blamed on him by the people and he fled to the Emperor's side. Commodus' mistress Marcia, and the cabal she kept around him, would convince him that Cleander had to go - he was executed. Tigidius too fell at Cleander's hand, implicated in a conspiracy against the Emperor, whilst Pertinax actually succeded Commodus in 192, his megalomania finally necessitating his assassination. Pertinax would follow Commodus into the grave shortly thereafter, reigning for just three months in the Year of the Five Emperors.

The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed 1861: Victorious in the Second Italian War of Independence and the Expedition of the Thousand, the King of Sardinia, Victor Emmanuel II, was the almost undisputed ruler of the Italian peninsular. The Papal States were much reduced - ruling only Rome - and the various Kingdoms and independent states were under his control. The Kingdom of Two Sicilies had even been conquered, but political intrigue between the King and Giuseppe Garibaldi's republicans threatened to ruin the unification of Italy for the first time since the Roman Empire fell. It was in the midst of this atmosphere that Victor Emmanuel declared a normative act of the Parliament of Sardinia, which proclaimed a new Kingdom of Italy. The act, passed by the both houses of the new Italian Parliament, proclaimed the Kingdom and granted to Victor Emmanuel the throne of Italy and the rights of succession to his heirs. Further military campaigns would follow in the late 1860s and into the 1870s, but it is this day that is celebrated as the official unification of Italy.

South Africa votes to end Apartheid 1992: Following more than 40 years of Apartheid rule South Africans voted to end the discriminatory practice, with 68% of voters - limited solely to whites - voting in favour of accepting South African State President F. W. de Klerk's negotiated reforms undertaken two years prior. Over 2.8 million voters turned out to participate in the referendum - 85% of registered voters - with 1.9 million voting in favour of the proposal, to 875,000 or so against. The result led to the formal end of Apartheid, with universal suffrage being granted two years later, and in that year Nelson Mandela became the first black President of South Africa. Mandela was released in 1990 after 27 years in prison, and campaigned for the 'yes' side in the referendum. Mandela's ANC and both major political parties - de Klerk's National Party and the opposition Democratic Party - all campaigned for a 'yes' vote. The 'no' side was led by Andries Treuernicht of the Conservative Party, and faced significant strategic difficulties, due to the government's control of the media, relying on posters to get its argument across, and they entered into an alliance with the extremist Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging which was later cited as sending some voters over to the 'yes' side, or convincing them to stay at home.


National Day: St Patrick's Day: March 17 is the feast day of the ecoterrorist Patron Saint of Ireland, St Patrick. Famed for chasing the snakes from Ireland, Patrick was a Welsh priest who brought Christianity to Ireland. Never formally canonised (Patrick was already considered a Saint well before the current rules on such things were introduced), Patrick nonetheless is venerated in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, where he is considered as equal-to-the-apostles. St Patrick's Day is celebrated by wearing green, drinking lots of booze, and, in America, pretending you're Irish.
Important Births: 763 Harun al-Rashid: The Fifth Caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, Harun established Baghdad as a centre of learning and knowledge, founding the Bayt al-Ḥikmah, the legendary Grand Library of Baghdad, and even established relations with Charlamagne. 1939 Giovanni Trapattoni: Legendary Italian football manager and player, Trapattoni won the European Cup twice with AC Milan as a player, before managing Juventus to a win in the competition in 1985. Trapattoni is one of only two coaches to have won the European Cup, UEFA Cup and European Cup Winners Cup, and one of only five to have won a top division league title in four different European countries.
Important Deaths: Ramon Magsaysay 1957: Filipino President and guerilla fighter, Ramon Magsaysay was the seventh President of the Philippines and the first to have been born after the Spanish colonial era ended. Fighting as a leading guerilla captain during the Pacific theatre during World War 2, post-war Magsaysay served as a Governor, Senator and ultimately President, until his death in 1957. Michael Gough 2011: British character actor who appeared in more than 150 films - Gough was a favourite collaborator of Tim Burton, appearing as Alfred in all four of the Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman films.

18/03
First man to walk in space: In 1965, Lt. Col. Alexei Leonov exited the spacecraft Voskshod II, did a sweet somersault, and snapped some sick pics of space for the glory of the Soviet Union. He did this two days before the United States planned to launch their first two man spacecraft, and becomes the first man to "walk" in space.
National Day: National Awkward Moments Day
Important Birth: Kurt Russell - Actor
Important Death: Marcus Aurelius Alexander - Syrian Emperor of Rome

18/03
The Tolpuddle Martyrs are sentenced to transportation to Australia 1834: Six agricultural labourer in the village of Tolpuddle in Dorset, England, are convicted of swearing a secret oath as members of a trade union, the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers. Trade union membership was largely outlawed in this period, though the Combinations of Workmen Act 1825 had allowed some, but severely restricted their activity. Dorset, a county in the south-west of England, had become synonymous with poorly paid agricultural labour. With large amounts of the population receiving poor relief, it was no surprise when the Swing Riots of 1930 affected the county harshly. Temporary wage increases were undone with law enforcement help, and in response, the six men founded the FSAL as a sort of co-operative group to protest the gradual lowering of agricultural wages. The group, led by a local Methodist preacher named George Loveless, and meeting in the house of Thomas Standfield, refused to work for less than 10 shillings a week. Local landowner and magistrate James Frampton used an obscure 1797 law - the Unlawful Oaths Act - to fit the Martyrs up for swearing an unlawful oath. They were tried and convicted before Judge Sir John Williams and sentenced to transportation to Australia. Five of the six arrived in Sydney on 17 August 1834, whilst Loveless was taken ill, and travelled later, reaching Hobart on 4 September, but all six were pardoned in 1836 after a massive public campaign in England that collected 800,000 signatures calling for their release, along with one of the first successful political marches in UK history. By 1839 all six had returned to England, settling first in Essex and later, five emigrated to Canada, settling in modern-day London, Ontario.

Phoebe is Discovered 1899: William Henry Pickering, American astrologist, uses photographic plates to identify Saturn's ninth moon, which is given the name Phoebe, after a Titaness in Greek Mythology associated with the moon. Pickering used photographic plates taken in August 1898 to identify the moon, which has a retrograde orbit, meaning that it orbits Saturn in the opposite direction to the planet's rotation. Continuing the Greek mythology theme, in 2005 the International Astronomical Union named 24 craters on the moon after characters in the Argonauts story, those being: Acastus, Admetus, Amphion, Butes, Calais, Canthus, Clytius, Erginus, Euphemus, Eurydamas, Eurytion, Eurytus, Hylas, Idmon, Iphitus, Jason, Mopsus, Nauplius, Oileus, Peleus, Phlias, Talaus, Telamon and Zetes. Phoebe's unique orbit also affects the next innermost moon, Iapetus, with debris from the surface having formed the Pheobe Ring around Saturn, which in turn has caused Iapetus's stunning two-tone colouration. It is also theorised that debris from the moon has caused the dark areas seen on another of Saturns moons, Hyperion. William Pickering, along with his older brother Edward Charles Pickering, would later have craters named after themselves on both the Moon and Mars.

The Evian Accords end the Algerian War 1962: In Évian-les-Bains, Louis Joxe of the French Republic and Krim Belkacem of the Provisional Government of Algeria sign the Evian Accords, ending the Algerian War and setting the stage for the formal independence of Algeria from France. The Accords covered cease-fire arrangements, prisoner releases, the recognition of full sovereignty and right to self-determination of Algeria, in addition to guarantees of protection, non-discrimination and property rights for all Algerian citizens. Alongside provisions that pledge no sanctions for any acts committed prior to the ceasefire, French military forces in Algeria would be drawn down over a period of two years, with the exception of the Mers El Kebir military base, where France did most of its nuclear testing. Whilst the European French community, almost a million strong, was guaranteed religious freedom and property rights as well as French citizenship and the option to choose between French and Algerian citizenship after three years, most left prior to independence, contributing to a lack of technically skilled workers after independence, though France did provide assistance in this regard. The provision against sanctions for military actions taken before the ceasefire proved controversial, as they appeared also to apply to the terrorist Organisation Armee Secrete, as well as the perpetrators of several massacres of Muslim harkis in the French Army, which continued even after the treaty had been signed. The accords were approved overwhelmingly in two referendums - one in France in April 1962, and another in Algeria in July, with Charles De Gaulle pronouncing Algeria an independent country on July 3 1962.

National Day: It is the feast day of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
Important Births: Al-Zamakhshari 1075: Persian scholar and known as Jar Allah (God's neighbour), Al-Zamakhshari was one of the foremost jurists, theologies and authority on Arabic language philology of his day. He authored an important tafsir on the Qur'an, Al-Kasgsgaaf, which was a comprehensive - and controversial - philosophical linguistic analysis of Qur'anic verse. F.W. de Klerk: 1936 South African former State President and later Deputy President. An economic liberal, he led the National Party from 1989 to 1997, during which time he oversaw the dismantling of Apartheid, and the election of its first black President, Nelson Mandela.
Important Deaths: Robert Walpole 1745: English scholar and politician, Walpole served as the first Prime Minister of Great Britain, serving for more than 20 years, from 1721 to 1742. One of the greatest politicians in history, Walpole's tenure saw the establishment of a Whig supremacy in England, which ensured the Hanoverian succession and the endurance of the principles of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. George Tupou V 2012: The King of Tonga, George Tupou V succeeded his father, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV in 2006, reigning for six years. During this time, he oversaw the success transition of Tonga from an absolute to a more constitutional monarchy, giving up most of his power to the Prime Minister.

19/03
Event: On March 19th, 2003, then-U.S. President George W. Bush ordered the U.S. Air Force to conduct airstrikes on Baghdad, Iraq. This marked the beginning of the Iraq War to remove then-Iraqi President and dictator Saddam Hussein over accusations of manufacturing and storing weapons of mass destruction in his country.
National Day: National Chocolate Caramel Day
Important Birth: Ashikaga Yoshikatsu (born March 19th, 1443) - Japanese Shogun during the Ashikaga Shogunate
Important Death: Fred Phelps (aged 84 at death) - founded the Westboro Baptist Church in 1955

19/03
The Battle of Yamen ends with the Yuan navy victorious, ending Song dynasty rule in China 1279: Starting in 1205 CE the Mongolian tribes, united under Genghis Khan, began small scale raids into China. Genghis, correctly recognising that the Chinese had interfered in Mongolian affairs in the past to divide them, launched a full-scale invasion of the Western Xia - also known as the Xi-Xia. In 1209 Genghis forced the submission of the Xia, who served as their allies in their campaign against the Jin dynasty, who had failed to come to the Xia's aid. The Xia later rebelled against Genghis, and were destroyed by the Mongols in 1227. In the following decades, the Mongols under Genghis's successors conquered the Jin dynasty, the short-lived Eastern Xia dynasty, the Dali Kingdom and forced the capitulation of several chiefdoms in southwestern China, mainly of Tusi stock. Having previously allied with the Southern Song dynasty against the Jin, relations broke down quickly after their defeat and absortion into the Mongol Empire. In 1234 war broke out and despite some brief periods of peace, a four decade long campaign to subjugate the Song began. Utilising all the resources at their disposal in their vast empire, the Mongols, under first Mongke and then Kublai Khan, used Islamic engineers to improve upon Chinese trebuchet designs, more than doubling the range of great war machines. The fighting went on until 1276, when a final attempt to break out from the Song capital Xiangyang failed under the hapless Jia Sidao. Running out of troops and supplies, the Song formally surrendered to the Mongols in that year, and Kublai Khan became Emperor of all China. Song resistance remained for a further three years, until Kublai's fleets defeated the Song in the Battle of Yamen in 1279.

National Day: National Poultry Day! It's a day to celebrate @Nimarya and all the other spring chickens, gooses, ducks, turkeys, guinea fowl and yes even pigeons! Poultry day is home to a truly unique sight, as each year (except this year, I guess), the small town of Verseilles, Ohio (I don't know either) grows to 25 times its size, as more than 50,000 visit the origin of Poultry Day for a two day festival of food and music.
Important Births: John IV of Portugal 1604: Duke of Braganza who established an independent Portugal under his House of the same name, ending the 60 year old Iberian Union and Spanish domination of Portugal. By the time of his death in 1656, the Portuguese Empire was at its territorial zenith, spanning the globe. David Livingstone 1813: Explorer, physician and pioneering missionary, David Livingstone was one of the most popular British heroes of the Victorian period, and his status helped his advocacy for reform of the British Empire, and his campaign to end the African Arab-Swahili slave trade.
Important Deaths: Elizabeth Seymour, Lady Cromwell 1568[/b]: Henry VIII's third wife and the only one of whom it is said Henry truly loved, the daughter of Sir John Seymour died 12 days after giving birth to a healthy son, the future Edward VI. Sir Arthur C Clarke 2008: Legendary British science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist and undersea explorer, Arthur C Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for 2001: A Spacy Odyessy and alongside Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, was known as a member of the "Big Three" of science fiction. Clarke's work on geostationary orbits informed much of the early space race, with his proposed satellite communication system eventually taking shape decades after he first published it in 1945.

20/03
March Equinox: In 2021, the spring equinox occurs on Saturday, March 20. This event marks the astronomical first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the astronomical first day of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. The March equinox (aka spring equinox or vernal equinox) occurs when the Sun crosses the equator line, heading north. This event marks the start of spring in the northern half of the globe. After this date, the Northern Hemisphere begins to be tilted more toward the Sun, resulting in increasing daylight hours and warming temperatures. (In the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the opposite: the March equinox marks the start of autumn, as the Southern Hemisphere begins to be tilted away from the Sun.)
National Day: International Day of Happiness! A day to celebrate being happy, and to recognise that being inclusive, generous, sustainable, equitable and happy is more important than economic growth.
Important Births: Vera Lynn, 1917: an English singer, songwriter and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances encouraged, inspired and entertained soldiers in the Second World War. She was widely referred to as the "Forces' Sweetheart" and gave outdoor concerts for the troops in Egypt, India and Burma during the war. She died on the 18th of June 2020, aged 103
Important Deaths: Henry IV: King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of France. Henry was the first English ruler since the Norman Conquest whose mother tongue was English rather than French.

21/03
The marriage between King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine is annulled 1152: Crusader, Duchess and one of the most powerful people - man or woman - in all of Europe at the time she lived, Eleanor of Aquitaine ruled vast lands in France at the time of her marriage to Louis VII, who was the son of Eleanor's guardian, King Louis VI. As Queen of France, she took part in the Second Crusade, and upon returning to Europe, her marriage with Louis soured. After 15 years of marriage and no sons produced, Eleanor was granted an annulment of the marriage, and her lands were returned to her. Almost as soon as the annulment was announced, Eleanor became engaged to the Duke of Normandy, Henry, who in 1154 would become King of England, succeeding King Stephen. With their marriage and rise as the monarchs of England, a full third of France would be under English rule, and it was claims passed down from Eleanor that Edward III would use to start what would become the Hundred Years War between England and France.
National Day: World Poetry Day: First declared by UNESCO in 1999, World Poetry Day is celebrated around the world.
Important Birth: Brian Clough 1935: English football manager and player. Clough won the European Cup in consecutive years with minnows Nottingham Forest, and is regarded as arguably the greatest English football manager of all time.
Important Death: Chung Ju-yung 2001: South Korean businessman who founded Hyundai. Chung escaped a life of hard farm labour to become first a rice trader and then ran A-do Service Garage, which would eventually grow into Hyundai, which today wields huge economic and political influence in South Korea and beyond.

22/3 Event:
Assault on Jamestown (1622)
Opechancanough, brother of Chief Powhatan and his successor as the leader of the Powhatan Indian empire, led an attack on the colony of Jamestown this day in 1622, killing at least 347 colonists and initiating the Powhatan War. The Powhatan War was a relentless struggle between the Powhatan Indian Confederacy and early English settlers in the tidewater section of Virginia and southern Maryland. The conflict resulted in the destruction of the Indian power in the region.
National Day: Gryffindor Pride Day
Important Birth: Andrew Lloyd Weber, composer and theatre impresario (1948)
Important Death: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, critic, and amateur artist (1832)

23/03
Include Lewis and Clark begin their return trip: On this day 1806 Lewis and Clark began their trip back to St Louis, Missouri which they first embarked from 2 years prior. This trip provided many important details about the landscape and area they were in. So them returning made that information public and made traveling around America much easier.
National Day: Puppy Day. Woohoo puppy day I have nothing really to say about this day other than go pet your dog or puppy because they deserve it, also here's a picture of a puppy

Important Birth: Philip Zimbardo 1933. This dude is a phycologist most well know for the Stanford prison experiment. Which was a pretty messed up experiment where people were labeled as prisoners and guards and tested the power dynamics between the two. It was shut down after 6 days because of how it was effecting the "prisoners" and the aggressive nature the "guards" had.
Important Death: Tsar Paul I of Russia 1801. This Tsar was a really good dude, almost too good. And because of that, his own nobles murdered him brutally. They stabbed. strangled, and trampled to death. All of this happened simply because he wanted to give peasants and poor people more rights.

25/3
1997: Heaven's Gate Cult : The bodies of 39 members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found dead in a California mansion all having committed suicide by ingesting a lethal mixture of phenobarbital and vodka. The Heaven's Gate Cult led by absolute nutbags Marshall Applewhite and Bonnie Nettles convinced their followers to commit suicide so that their souls could take a ride on a "spaceship" that they believed was hiding behind the Comet Hale-Bopp ( Haleys Comet ).

National Day: National Medal of Honor Day

Important Death: Journalist Anthony Lewis

Important Birth: Elton John

March 26

On this day in 1953, American medical researcher Dr. Jonas Salk announces on a national radio show that he has successfully crafted a vaccine against poliomyelitis, AKA polio. In 1952—an epidemic year for polio—there were 58,000 new cases reported in the United States, and more than 3,000 died from the disease. For leading the charge to eventually to eradicate the disease, which is known as “infant paralysis” because it mainly affects children and leaves patients with limited paralysis, Dr. Salk was celebrated as the great doctor-benefactor of his time.

National Day: Epilepsy Awareness Day
Important Birth: Nancy Pelosi
Important Death: James Callaghan

27/3

1980: The Alexander Kielland drilling platform 230 miles off shore from Dundee in Scotland is hit by a giant wave which causes one of the legs supporting it to give way, the platform then capsized throwing those trying to get off into the cold North Sea. RAF and Norwegian helicopters along with any shipping close to the accident had been asked to help with the rescue. The stormy weather conditions made rescue difficult and the bitter cold sea combined with the stormy conditions left 123 dead.

National Day: Spanish Paella Day

Important Birth: Quentin Tarantino

Important Death: Carlos Giminez

28/3
The St Nazaire Raid 1942: British Royal Navy, Army and RAF forces attack the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire. The attack, codenamed Operation Chariot, was designed to put the important naval facility in northern France out of action for the rest of the war, meaning that powerful Kriegsmarine ships like the Tirpitz, sister ship to the Bismarck, would be forced to return to German waters for any repairs and resupply, thereby keeping those ships away from the vulnerable mid-Atlantic shipping lanes. The attack began with the outdated HMS Campbeltown destroyer being rammed into the Normandie dock gates. The ship, which was originally the USS Buchanan before being transferred to the Royal Navy as part of the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement, had been filled to the brim with delayed-action explosives and once they detonated, put the dock out of service until 1948. 2 Commando, the British special forces regiment under the overall control of the British Army, accompanied Campbeltown in 18 smaller vessels, and wreaked havoc on the docks destroying machinery and other structures. Of the 612 men who took part in the raid, 228 returned to Britain, 169 were killed and 215 were captured after fighting their way out of the town before surrendering. 360 German troops died in the attack and a number of aircraft and small ships were destroyed or disabled.
National Day: Commemoration of Rikyū: Depending on which School of Japanese Tea you follow, the commemoration of the 16th-century master Sen no Rikyū is on either March 27th or March 28th. Rikyū, as he is most often known, is considered the most influential figure in the development of Japanese tea drinking and culture.
Important Birth: Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, 1986
Important Death: Pertinax, 193[/b]: First Emperor during the Year of the Five Emperors.

29/3

Event:

Dominion of Canada created (1867)

On this day in 1867, with the British North America Act, the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada were united as the Dominion of Canada, and the province of Canada was separated into Quebec and Ontario. The Province of Canada would later grow into Canada as we know it today.

National Day: World Piano Day
Important Birth: Pearl Bailey, American Entertainer (1918)

Important Death: Queen Elisabeth (The Queen Mother), former British monarch (2002)

Collection of ones that were missed:
30/03
British chemist William Crookes discovers Thallium 1861: Using the same flame spectroscopy techniques used in the earlier discoveries of caesium and rubidium in the years 1859 to 1860, William Crookes became the first chemist to formally identify Thallium and publish his work on the matter on 30 March 1861. In this same time period, the French chemist Claude Auguste Lamy also discovered Thallium, publishing his work in 1862. Lamy had a much larger supply of Thallium due to the work of his friend Fréd Kuhlmann, who owned a sulfuric acid plant and provided Lamy with the thallium byproduct of his manufacturing. This allowed Lamy to identify much more information about thallium and he even managed to produce an ingot of metallic thallium, thereby garnering more attention from the scientific community than Crookes, causing some acrimony between the two, who had worked independently to identify the element. Said acrimony largely ended by mid-1863 when Crookes was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, and Crookes would go on to make a major contribution to the development of sunglasses, introducing in 1913 the eponymously named Crookes Lenses, which blocked out 100% of UV and 90% of infrared light, but were only lightly tinted. Crookes lenses became the standard in sunglasses for much of the early 21st century, though celluloid and then polaroid sunglasses displaced Crookes lenses.
National Day: Doctors Day
Important Birth: Mehmed II, 7th Ottoman Sultan 1432: Also known as Mehmed the Conqueror, this revered Ottoman Sultan brought an end to the Byzantine Empire when he conquered Constantinople in 1453, and later taking the two Byzantine successor states - the Despotate of the Morea in 1461 and the Empire of Trebizon in 1462.
Important Death: Emperor Ai of Jin 365: Emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Ai ruled his empire from 361 to 365, succeeding the Emperor Mu. Said to be obsessed with immortality, Ai died from Chinese alchemical elixir poisoning and was succeeded by his brother, who became Emperor Fei.
31/03
200,000 demonstrators take to the streets of London in the Poll Tax Riots 1990: The UK government led by Margaret Thatcher introduced a replacement for the historic rates tax system of the United Kingdom, which was based on the value of property, with Community Charge. This flat-rate tax quickly became known as the Poll Tax, and it was immensely unpopular and seen as a way to more heavily tax the poor and give the rich a tax break. It also did not take into account a person's ability to pay the tax, and further impoverished a number of communities already reeling from Thatcher's attack on mining and manufacturing communities during the 80s. The demonstration, set up by All Britain Anti-Poll Tax Federation, quickly grew to be much bigger than what organisers thought it was would be - with estimates ranging from 180,000 to 250,000 for a event originally envisioned to be just 60,000 strong. With Trafalgar Square packed to the brim and incredibly aggressive policing, violence soon broke out, helped by a ready supply of bricks from an unsecured nearby building site. The riots set in motion a series of events that eventually brought down Margaret Thatcher.
National Day: International Transgender Day of Visibility
Important Birth: Henry II of France 1519: French King who brought about an end to the Italian Wars, the splitting of the Habsburg dynasty between Spain and the Holy Roman Empire and the end of English presence in France.
Important Death: Ronnie Corbett, Scottish actor: Part of the legendary Two Ronnies double act.[/B]

02/04
Argentina Invades the Falkland Islands: The Invasion of the Falkland Islands, code-named Operation Rosario,occurred on 2 April 1982. The Invasion was an Argentine attempt to capture the Falkland Islands, and served as a catalyst for the subsequent Falklands War. The Argentines mounted amphibious landings and the invasion ended with the surrender of Falkland Government House. Argentina's military junta hoped to restore its support at a time of economic crisis, by reclaiming sovereignty of the islands. It said it had inherited them from Spain in the 1800s and they were close to South America. Argentina had claimed sovereignty over the islands for many years and their ruling military junta did not believe that Britain would attempt to regain the islands by force.
National Day: World Autism Awareness Day
Important Birth: Hans Christian Andersen: Danish author, poet and playwright who is most famous for his fairy tales, like The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling and The Princess and the Pea
Important Death: Pope John Paul II: the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his death in 2005.

03/04
Edward the Confessor is Crowned: In 1042, Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England at Winchester Cathedral. He was the last King from the House of Wessex, and the second last Anglo-Saxon King of England. Edward the Confessor caused turmoil in England when he died, causeing a three-way battle for the throne between William of Normandy, Harold Godwinsson and Harald Hardrada.
National Day:
Important Birth: Nigel Farage: British activist, political commentator, broadcaster and former politician who served as Leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 and as Leader of the Brexit Party from 2019 to 2021. He served as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for South East England from 1999 until the United Kingdom's exit from the EU in 2020.
Important Death: Prince Michael of Prussia: was a member of the Hohenzollern dynasty which ruled Germany until the end of World War I. His great-grandfather Wilhelm II was the German Emperor and King of Prussia until 1918.

04/04
Francis Drake is knighted for his circumnavigation of the globe 1581: Francis Drake, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, is knighted for his successful circumnavigation of the globe, the first Englishman to do so and the first person anywhere to take charge of an entire circumnavigation. Drake's expedition of five ships, officially terms a 'voyage of exploration' was actually a campaign of covert raiding against Spanish ports and shipping, and the beginning of England's challenge to Spanish hegemony on the seas. Setting off from Plymouth, Drake first made for South America, where he raided Spanish treasure vessels, before making for the Strait of Magellan, and doing the same thing along the coast of Peru and Chile, raiding ports and capturing, among other things, a ship full of Chilean wine. Sailing north, Drake briefly landed first in what is now Oregon, and then for a longer period in modern day California, claiming it for Elizabeth and England as 'New Albion'. On his way he captured two treasure ships with some of the largest hauls of gold ever seized from Spanish treasure fleets. Sailing for home the long way, Drake caught westward winds and headed for Manilla in the Philippines, was caught up in Portuguese intrigues in the Moluccas Islands and eventually rounded the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, and reached Sierra Leone in July 1580. Just over two months later, Drake sailed into Plymouth harbour, his ship, the Golden Hind, laden with captured Spanish treasure. Drake was later involved in an expedition to the Americas, where he replenished his cousin Sir Walter Raleigh's settlement there, and in further action against the Spanish. He 'singed the Spanish King's beard' with a daring raid on Cadiz and was Vice-Admiral under Lord Charles Howard during the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Drake would later die of disease in 1596, whilst engaged in an abortive attack on Spanish possessions in the New World.
National Day: The Feast of Saint Isidore of Seville: Venerated in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, St Isidore was described as the 'last scholar of the ancient world'. Isidore converted the Arian Visgothic peoples that had come to rule the Roman provinces of Hispania, and bound the Church in Spain not to Rome, but to the independent Kingdom under Suintila.
Important Births: Dorethea Dix 1802: A nurse and activist, Dorothea Dix advocated particularly on the part of the indignant mentally ill and her work led to the creation of America's first mental asylums, before going on to become the Superindent of Army Nurses during the American Civil War.
Important Deaths: Martin Luther King Jr 1968: Baptist minister and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated on April 4th 1968.

04/05
Event: (1621)
The Mayflower departed for England after having deposited 102 Pilgrims at what became the American colony of Plymouth (Massachusetts).
National Day: Caramel Day
Important Birth: Colin Powell, US General and statesman
Important Death: Kurt Cobain, Nirvana band leader

04/06
Event:
Pierre, baron de Coubertin, a founder of the International Olympic Committee and its president from 1896 to 1925, realized his goal of reviving the Olympics when the first modern Games opened in Athens this day in 1896.

National Day: Beer Day
Important Birth: Ravi Shankar, Indian musician and composer
Important Death: Mike Wallace, American television journalist

04/07
Event: The Seventeenth Amendment, which called for the direct election of U.S. senators by voters of the states, was ratified.
National Day: National Zoo Day
Important Birth: Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the UN (1938)
Important Death: Henry Ford, American Industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company (1947)
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04/08

On this day in 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hit his 715th home run. Seems like a lot, and it is: it broke the iconic Babe Ruth's record of 714. In front of the largest crowd in the history of the stadium, he put behind him a history of being called racial slurs and receiving death threats, and breaking one of baseball's "unbreakable" records in the process, one of many legendary marks in a legendary career.

National Day: Draw A Picture of a Bird Day
Important Birth: Felix Hernandez
Important Death: Margaret Thatcher

04/09

On this day in 1865, at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, at 1300 hours, Confederate General Robert E. Lee meets General Ulysses B. Grant and surrenders. The North had taken Richmond, and the starving, poorly clothed Confederates were on the retreat. The North's cavalry encircled them, and it was essentially checkmate.
All officers and men were to be pardoned, and they would be sent home with their private property–most important, the horses, which could be used for a late spring planting. Officers would keep their side arms, and Lee’s starving men would be given Union rations.

National Day: National Chinese Almond Cookie Day
Important Birth: Leopold II of Belgium
Important Death: Prince Philip

10/04
Anschluss approved in Austria (1938): In a controlled plebiscite in Austria this day in 1938, soon after Adolf Hitler's invasion of the country, 99.7 percent of Austrians approved the Anschluss (German: “Union”)—the political unification of Austria and Germany. This began the route to WW2, and increased tensions in Europe. The Anschluss was among the first major steps in Austrian-born Hitler's desire to create a Greater German Reich that was to include all ethnic Germans and all the lands and territories that the German Empire had lost after the First World War. Hitler wanted all German-speaking nations in Europe to be a part of Germany. Hitler also wanted to create an 'Aryan', or perfect state.
National Day: National Siblings Day- A day that honors our brothers and sisters. They are our best friends or our worst enemies. At times, siblings will provide us with our biggest competition, strongest encouragement and remind us of our most embarrassing moments.
Important Births: Sadio Mané- Senegalese footballer currently playing for Liverpool FC. Daisy Ridley- British actress, most famous for playing Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy: Star Wars 7, 8, and 9. (Both born 1992)
Important Death: Lech Kaczyński- the 4th President of Poland, died in the Smolensk Air Disaster when a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 people on board (Died 2010)

11/4
Liberation of Buchenwald Concentration Camp: On April 11th, 1945, the Buchenwald Concentration Camp was liberated by the 6th Armored Division of the U.S. 3rd Army. On the date of liberation, there were approximately 21,000 inmates (about 4,000 of whom were Jewish, and 900 of them were under the age of 17). Many inmates were killed by the SS in the nearby forest prior to the Americans' arrival, and many more were force-marched deeper into territory still held by the Third Reich. Buchenwald was the first concentration camp liberated by the Allied Powers during Nazi Germany's final days.
National Day: National Pet Day
Important Birth: Masaru Ibuka (1908) - Japanese electronics industrialist and co-founder of Sony
Important Death: Romanus III Argyrus (aged 66 or 67 at time of death) - Byzantine Emperor, assassinated by his wife in 1034

12/04
Event:
Launch of first space shuttle

On this day in 1981, NASA launched the first space shuttle, Columbia, which was designed to orbit Earth, transport people and cargo to and from orbiting spacecraft, and glide to a runway landing on its return to Earth.
National Day: Hamster Day
Important Birth: David Letterman, American comedian (1947)
Important Death: Former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1945)

13/4
Tiger Woods becomes youngest person to win a masters tournament in golf: In 1997, Tiger Woods, then 21, won the masters by 12 strokes, coming in at a score of -18. He was also the first African-American and Asian American person to win the masters, and also the youngest.
National Day: National Scrabble day, a day for playing scrabble. (Offline, and away from the computer)
Famous Birth: Thomas Jefferson, in 1743, one of the founding fathers of the United States
Famous Death: Ronglu, in 1903. A strategic commander who fought in the boxer rebellion, died today.

14/04
The Icelandic Volcano eruption 2010: Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland began sending ash plumes into the skies, disrupting air traffic for days across northern and central Europe. The famous footballer and 2020 FIFA Player of the Year winner Robert Lewandowski was just about to move to the Premier League and play for Blackburn Rovers when the volcano began sending ash plumes into the skies and, with his flight cancelled, Robert Lewandowski instead opted to move to Borussia Dortmund.
The assasination Abraham Lincoln: On this day in 1865, just after the effective end of the American Civil War, U.S. Pres. Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending a production at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and died the next morning.
Battle for the throne: The deposed and exiled king of England, Edward IV, defeated King Henry VI's forces at the Battle of Barnet, near London, enabling him to retake the British throne.
National Day: National Dolphin Day!
Important Births: Julie Christie, a British actress was born 1941 in India. She is famous for her role as Lara in Doctor Zhivago
Important Deaths: Louis Sullivan, father of American architecture died in Chicago 1924.

15/4
On This Day In 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in US Major League Baseball, playing for the Dodgers.
National Day: National Tax Day
Important Birth: Actress Emma Watson
Important Death: US President Abraham Lincoln

16/04
On this day: Basketball superhero Michael Jordan played his last game in the NBA at the age of 40. Michael managed to win the NBA six times together with Chicago Bulls and is considered as one of the best basketball players in history!
National Day: Wear your pyjamas to work day
Important Births: The world famous actor Charlie Chaplin was born on the 16th April 1889. He is one of the most important figures in the history of film industry. He died in 1977.
Important Deaths: Marie Tussaud was a French artist known for her wax sculptures and for the famous Wax Museum, Madame Tussauds, she founded in London. She died on 16th April 1850.

17/04
On this Day: In 2011 the hugely popular TV show Game of Thrones, which was based on George R.R. Martin's fantasy book series A Song of Ice and Fire, debuted on HBO. The American TV show contained 8 seasons and is recognised as one of the most popular TV shows through history. Game of Thrones finally concluded on May 19 2019 after broadcasting 73 episodes over the eight seasons.
National Day: Blah Blah Blah Day
Important Birth: Victoria Beckham b. 1974, married to footballer David Beckham and former member of the Spice Girls
Important Death: Benjamin Franklin d. 1790, he was a founding father of the United States of America and a scientist among a lot of things. He loved playing chess as well.

18/04
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere: On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere and William Dawes rode out on horseback from Charlestown to Lexington to warn Massachusetts militiamen that British regulars were on the move to seize rebel arms and munitions. This would lead up to the beginning of the Revolutionary War/American War for Independence.
National Day: National Animal Crackers Day
Important Birth: Jeff Dunham (1962) - ventriloquist and entertainer
Important Death: Albert Einstein (aged 76 at time of death) - renowned theoretical physicist, died of an aortic aneurysm rupture in 1955.

20/04
Columbine High School Shooting:
In 1999, two teenagers embark on a shooting spree in Littleton, Colorado, killing 13 and wounding 23 before killing themselves. This shooting prompted debates about gun control and violence. The shooting was supposed to happen after propane bombs blew up in the cafeteria. The plane did not work, and the two teenagers proceeded to go onto their rampage.
Korean Airlines Boeing 707 Lands in a Frozen Lake in the Soviet Union:
In 1978, Korean Airlines Flight 902 was flying from Paris to Anchorage before continuing on to Seoul. The plane made a turn towards the Soviet Union, as they had passed over the Magnetic North Pole, causing errors in the compass system. A Su-15 plane was dispatched to intercept it. Communications failures meant that there was a lack of communication between the fighter jet and the 707, which culminated into the government commanding the jet to shoot the 707 down. The SU-15 jet fired a R-60 missile, striking the jet. After an hour and 40 minutes, the 707 made a crash landing on Korpijärvi lake, killing two.
National Day: Chinese language day, Day that I will not mention because it is inappropriate and about bad things and I refuse to be a bed influence, National Volunteer recognition day
Famous Birth: Adolf Hitler, born in 1889 and lead the Nazi Party and engineered the genocide of Jews and other Ethnic groups
Famous Death: Avicii (Tim Bergling) famous musician commits suicide in 2018, George Clinton, 4th vice president of the United states dies in 1812. He is the first vice president to die in office

23/04
On this day:
The first video—which was of YouTube cofounder Jawed Karim's visit to the San Diego Zoo—was uploaded on the YouTube Web site; approximately one year later the site had some 100 million videos. Today, 500 hours of video is uploaded every minute on YouTube.
National Day: Day of Silence. Schhh! I am reading.
Important Birth: Max Planck, (1858) German physician who won the Nobel Prize 1918 for creating the quantum theory.
Important Death: William Shakespeare, (1616) famous author and playwright. He wrote famous plays like Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet.

24/04
Pope Elected: On this day in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger), successor to John Paul II, formally assumed his position as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church during a mass in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City.
Winston Churchill Knighted: On this day in 1953, Winston Churchill was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth II initially offered to create Churchill Duke of London, but this was declined as a result of the objections of his son Randolph, who would have inherited the title on his father's death. He did, however, accept the Order of the Garter to become Sir Winston.
First Tank Battle: On this day in 1918, the first tank-to-tank combat occurred, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. Three British Mark IVs meet three German A7Vs. Three German A7Vs engaged three British Mark IV tanks, two of which were female tanks armed only with machine-guns. The two Mark IV females were damaged and forced to withdraw but the male tank, armed with 6-pounder guns, hit and disabled the lead A7V, which was then abandoned by its crew. The Mark IV continued to fire on the two remaining German A7Vs, which withdrew. The "male" then advanced with the support of several Whippet light tanks which had arrived, until disabled by artillery fire and abandoned by the crew.
National Day: National Pigs-In-Blankets Day Yum! A day to celebrate the amazing lovely dish that is pigs in blankets! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigs_in_a_blanket
Important Births: Gabby Logan Born 24 April 1973- a British TV presenter and a former international rhythmic gymnast. She hosted Final Score for BBC Sport from 2009 until 2013. She has also presented a variety of live sports events for the BBC, including a revived episode of Superstars in December 2012 and the London Marathon since 2015. Since 2013, she has co-hosted Sports Personality of the Year for the BBC
Important Deaths: Lucy Maud Montgomery OBE Died 24th April 1942- a Canadian author best known for a series of novels beginning in 1908 with Anne of Green Gables. The book was an immediate success. The title character, orphan Anne Shirley, made Montgomery famous in her lifetime and gave her an international following. She was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1935.

25/04
Astronomers Announce Discovery of Earth-Like Planet In Another Solar System: On April 25, 2007, astronomers discovered an Earth-like planet in the Gliese 581 system, 20.5 light-years from Earth. They believed that the planet's possibly moderate temperatures might allow for life to form.
National Day: National DNA Day
Important Birth: Guglielmo Marconi (born in 1874) - Italian inventor and electrical engineer who pioneered in working on long-distance radio communication
Important Death: Chongzhen (aged 33 at death) - Last Ming Emperor of China, committed suicide in 1644

27/04
Benito Mussolini arrested by Italian partisans: Benito Mussolini was arrested by Italian partisans in Dongo while attempting escape disguised as a German soldier. After fleeing to Dongo on a failed escape to Switzerland after the almost complete collapse of Fascist Italy.

National Day: National Tell a Story Day

Important Birth: Ulysses S. Grant (born in 1822) - An American military leader who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As president, Grant was an effective civil rights executive who created the Justice Department and worked with the Radical Republicans during Reconstruction to protect African Americans.

Important Death: Ferdinand Magellan (aged 40-41 at death) - Ferdinand was a Portuguese explorer who organized the Spanish expedition to the East Indies from 1519 to 1522, resulting in the first circumnavigation of the Earth, which was completed after his death in the Philippines by Juan Sebastián Elcano.