On This Day In History
March 7th
161 Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, an unprecedented political arrangement in the Roman Empire
1530 English King Henry VIII's divorce request is denied by the Pope
1876 Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for the telephone in the US
1912 Roald Amundsen announces his discovery of the South Pole (located 14 December 1911)
1936 Adolf Hitler breaks the Treaty of Versailles by sending troops into the Rhineland
Did You Know?
Roman Emperor Constantine I decrees that the dies Solis Invicti (sun-day) is the day of rest in the Empire
Today in History in 321
Would You Believe?
Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stands before city council and announces that, "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles"
Today in History in 1908
This day 172 years ago – 7 March 1848 – the Irish tricolour is said to have been flown in public for the first time.
Thomas Francis Meagher flew it in Waterford during a by-election. It was given to him and fellow Young Irelander William Smith O'Brien by French republican women. pic.twitter.com/wQ8xW3lgzX
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) March 7, 2020
#OTD in 1827, 15-yr-old Ellen Turner was abducted from her boarding school by Edward Wakefield. He married her at Gretna Green to secure her inheritance. The couple were found & Wakefield sent to prison. Turner married again and died aged 19 in childbirth. https://t.co/TxsfUxHdQW pic.twitter.com/29tNgiC4iq
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) March 7, 2022
On this day in 1965, police brutally attacked hundreds of civil rights activists during a march in Selma, Alabama now known as Bloody Sunday. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/Z1XjuPuT6j
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) March 7, 2022
7 March 1999. Hollywood great, Stanley Kubrick, died (aged 70). He’s regarded as one of the greatest film directors. His many classic films include: Paths of Glory, Eyes Wide Shut, Full Metal Jacket, Dr Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clockwork Orange, and The Shining. pic.twitter.com/cEC51LmCQd
— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) March 7, 2022
March 8th
1531 Henry VIII recognised as supreme head of Church in England by the Convocation of Canterbury
1817 The New York Stock Exchange is founded
1867 British North America Act is passed in the House of Commons, serves as Canada's constitution for more than 100 years
1917 Russian "February Revolution" begins in earnest with protests celebrating International Woman's Day and riots in St Petersburg over food rations and conduct of the war [OS=Feb 23]
1948 US Supreme Court rules in McCollum v. Board of Education that religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional
1973 The Provisional Irish Republican Army undertakes its first operation in Great Britain, planting four car bombs in London; 10 members of PIRA are arrested at Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the country
2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 with 239 people loses contact and disappears, prompting the most expensive search effort in history and one of the most enduring aviation mysteries
Did You Know?
Baroness Raymonde de Laroche of Paris becomes the 1st ever licensed female pilot
Today in History in 1910
Would You Believe?
Aboriginal DNA study by University of Adelaide shows Aboriginal population dates back 50,000 years from one migration
Today in History in 2017
This day 47 years ago – 8 March 1973 – a border poll was held.
Though turnout was under 60%, a majority said they wanted Northern Ireland “to remain part of the United Kingdom.”
Sinn Féin dismissed the poll, saying: “British plebiscites retard the emergence of the New Ireland.” pic.twitter.com/AsWClWkeq4
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) March 8, 2020
International Women's Day today so this page has a huge mix that is worth checking out.
The names of enslaved people are often lost to history. This woman was one of them, but she went down fighting. She may have been one of the so-called 'Dahomey Mothers' - an elite military cadre in present-day Benin. #IWD2022 https://t.co/MzhapcqqM6
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) March 8, 2022
Simone was politicised by her friend Lorraine Hansberry: “We never talked about men or clothes. It was always Marx, Lenin and revolution—real girls’ talk.” The title of Simone's Young Gifted and Black comes from Lorraine Hansberry's autobiographical play. https://t.co/EYrNqaniLY
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) March 8, 2022
And everyone should know about Rita Levi Montalcini who won a Nobel Prize for research DONE IN HER BEDROOM WHILE HIDING FROM THE NAZIS. #NeverthelessShePersisted, you might say. #InternationalWomensDay2022 https://t.co/qe8sIx2C8R
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) March 8, 2022
On this day in 1655, John Casor, a Black man enslaved in Virginia, sued for his freedom arguing he had served past his contract as an indentured servant. The Court ruled he was enslaved for life. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/zY83Ca76D3
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) March 8, 2022
Swedish-American inventor John Ericsson died on March 8, 1889. He came to the US in 1839 with a commission to build a ship for the navy. His propulsion system was used by commercial steamers & the USS Princeton, the world's first screw-propelled war vessel https://t.co/CBeHBs7fuY pic.twitter.com/6SvYu8DCi7
— Trivia Encyclopedia (@edpearce080759) March 8, 2018
“Joltin” Joe DiMaggio died on this day 23 years ago. Here he is, over 80 years ago, smashing a sixth-inning home run against the Detroit Tigers, extending his consecutive game hitting streak to 35. #yankees #mlb #dimaggio pic.twitter.com/oQhvfsoWfq
— Sports History Guy (@SportsHistoryGy) March 8, 2022
March 9th
141 BC Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne of the Han Dynasty in China and rules for 54 years
1522 Martin Luther begins preaching his "Invocavit Sermons" in the German city of Wittenberg, reminding citizens to trust God's word rather than violence and thus helping bring to a close the revolutionary stage of the Reformation
1776 Adam Smith publishes the influential economics book "The Wealth of Nations"
1918 Russian Bolshevik Party becomes the Communist Party
1933 US Congress is called into special session by FDR, beginning its "100 days"
1961 Soviet flight Sputnik 9 carries and returns from orbit a dog named Chernushka (Blackie), frogs and a guinea pig
Did You Know?
Barbie makes her debut at the American Toy Fair in New York. Over a billion have been sold worldwide since.
Today in History in 1959
Would You Believe?
Last Japanese soldier, a guerrilla operating in the Philippines, surrenders, 29 years after World War II ended
Today in History in 1974
This day 79 years ago – 9 March 1942 – Tom McGrath, a native of Co Waterford, escaped from Stalag XX-A, a prisoner-of-war camp in Poland.
For this, he received the Military Medal for bravery.
His son collected the medal at a ceremony at the British Embassy in Dublin in 2018. pic.twitter.com/IN7e9Oxdi8
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) March 9, 2021
#OTD in 1908, Paulina Luisi became Uruguay's first female doctor. In 1916 she founded the National Council of Women & headed the Uruguayan delegation to the League of Nations. Luisi worked for women's suffrage and education, and against human trafficking. https://t.co/Fa6IZnbBob pic.twitter.com/MF5gPXexza
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) March 9, 2022
On this day in 1892, a white mob in Memphis lynched three Black men who had opened a grocery store earlier that year, threatening the racial order by forcing white business owners to compete. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/jxmnnrUGvv
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) March 9, 2022