This Day in History
31 Mar 1084
Anti-pope Clemens crowns German King Hendrik IV as Holy Roman Emperor
31 Mar 1146
Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vzelay urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII is present and joins the Crusade.
31 Mar 1492
Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Aragon issue the Alhambra Decree which expels Jews from their Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon
31 Mar 1521
The first Mass in the Philippines is generally believed to have been held on the Island of Limasawa but may also have taken place on Masao in Butuan
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Treaty of Kanagawa signed with Japan
In Tokyo Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry representing the U.S. government signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government opening the ports of S...
Dalai Lama begins exile
The Dalai Lama fleeing the Chinese suppression of a national uprising in Tibet crosses the border into India where he is granted political asylum.Born in Tak...
Jews to be expelled from Spain
In Spain a royal edict is issued by the nations Catholic rulers declaring that all Jews who refuse to convert to Christianity will be expelled from the...
Knute Rockne, Studebaker namesake, dies
On this day in 1931 Knute Rockne the legendary Notre Dame football coach and namesake of the Studebaker Rockne line of autos is killed in a plane crash near ...
Eiffel Tower opens
On March 31 1889 the Eiffel Tower is dedicated in Paris in a ceremony presided over by Gustave Eiffel the towers designer and attended by French Pri...
Germany’s Atlantis launches
On this day the German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis sets off on a mission to catch and sink Allied merchant ships.By the time the Atlantis set sail from Germany...
Johnson publicly denies actions contemplated in Vietnam
Responding to questions from reporters about the situation in Vietnam President Johnson says I know of no far-reaching strategy that is being suggested...
Johnson announces bombing halt
In a televised speech to the nation President Lyndon B. Johnson announces a partial halt of bombing missions over North Vietnam and proposes peace talks. He sa...
Fighting intensifies with North Vietnamese offensive
After firing more than 5000 rockets artillery and mortar shells on 12 South Vietnamese positions just below the Demilitarized Zone the North Vietnamese Army...
Longest strike in Major League Baseball history ends
Major League Baseball players are sent back to work after the longest strike in baseball history ends on this day in 1995. Because of the strike the 1994 World...
Western novelist Vardis Fisher born
Vardis Fisher a gifted novelist who dealt with both the myth and reality of the American West is born in Annis Idaho.Fisher educated at the University of Ut...
First installment of The Pickwick Papers, Dickens’ first novel
The first monthly installment of The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club by 24-year-old writer Charles Dickens is published under the pseudonym Boz. The s...
Oklahoma! premieres on Broadway
The financial risk of mounting a Broadway musical is so great that few productions ever make it to the Great White Way without a period of tryouts and revisions...
The Matrix released
On this day in 1999 the writing and directing sibling team of Lana and Lilly Wachowski release their second film the mind-blowing science-fiction blockbuster ...
Mississippi River reaches peak flood level
The Mississippi River reaches its peak level in St. Louis during a record 77-day flood. During the extended flood 33 people died and more than 1 billion in da...
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