What Happened on Mar 31

Mar 31 1774

Boston Port Act

The Boston Port Act is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (citation 14 Geo. III. c. 19) which became law on March 30, 1774, and is one of... Read more

Mar 31 1829

Francesco Castiglioni (Pius VIII) elected Pope

Pope Pius VIII (20 November 1761 – 30 November 1830), born Francesco Saverio Castiglioni, was Pope in 1829 and 1830. After the death of Pope Leo... Read more

Mar 31 1861

Jabbar Garyagdioglu Is Born

Jabbar Garyagdioglu or Garyaghdyoglu (Azeri Cabbar Qaryağdıoğlu, pronounced [dʒɑpˈbɑr ɡɑrjɑ:ˌdɯ.o:ˈlu]) (March 31, 1861, Shusha – 20 April 1944,... Read more

Mar 31 1865

Battle of Dinwiddie Court House

Description: On March 29, with the Cavalry Corps and the II and V Corps, Sheridan undertook a flank march to turn Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Petersburg... Read more

Mar 31 1865

Battle of White Oak Road

Other Names: Hatcher’s Run, Gravelly Run, Boydton Plank Road, White Oak Ridge Location: Dinwiddie County Campaign: Appomattox Campaign... Read more

Mar 31 1889

Eiffel Tower Opens

The Eiffel Tower is an 1889 iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris that has become both a global icon of France and one of the... Read more

Mar 31 1914

Octavio Paz is Born

Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature. Read more

Mar 31 1917

U.S. Takes Formal Possession Of The Danish West Indies

On March 31, 1917, the U.S. took formal possession of the Danish West Indies. Renamed the Virgin Islands, this chain consists of St. Thomas, St.... Read more

Mar 31 1923

Ottawa Senators win Stanley Cup

The 1923 Stanley Cup Final was contested by the NHL champion Ottawa Senators and the WCHL champion Edmonton Eskimos. The previous WCHL-PCHA playoff... Read more

Mar 31 1929

Liz Claiborne is Born

Anne Elisabeth Jane "Liz" Claiborne (March 31, 1929 – June 26, 2007) was a Belgian-born American fashion designer and entrepreneur. Claiborne is... Read more

Mar 31 1931

Transcontinental & Western Air Flight 599 Crashes, Killing 8

Transcontinental and Western Air Flight 599 was a Fokker F.10 Trimotor en route from Kansas City, Missouri, to Los Angeles, California, on March... Read more

Mar 31 1942

Imperial Japanese Navy Begins Sustained Attacks on Allied Forces in the Indian Ocean

Following the destruction of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command forces in the battles around Java in February and March, the Japanese... Read more

Mar 31 1954

"Sansho The Bailiff" Is Released

Sansho the Bailiff (Japanese: 山椒大夫Sanshō Dayū) is a 1954 film by Japanese film director Kenji Mizoguchi. Based on a short story of the same name by... Read more

Mar 31 1975

UCLA Beats Louisville in Final Four

The 1975 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of... Read more

Mar 31 1980

Jesse Owens dies

After smoking for 35 years, Owens died of lung cancer at age 66 in Tucson, Arizona in 1980. He is buried in Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago. A few... Read more

Mar 31 1980

Scorpions release Animal Magnetism

Animal Magnetism is the seventh studio album by the German heavy metal band Scorpions, released in 1980. The RIAA certified Animal Magnetism as... Read more

Mar 31 1981

53rd Academy Awards

The 53rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1980, were presented March 31, 1981, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The... Read more

Mar 31 1985

WrestleMania I

WrestleMania (chronologically known as WrestleMania I) was the first WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling... Read more

Mar 31 1986

Louisville Beats Duke in Final Four

The 1986 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of... Read more

Mar 31 1989

"Heathers" Is Released

Heathers is a 1989 black comedy film starring Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty. The film portrays four girls in a trend-setting... Read more

Mar 31 1992

Def Leppard release Adrenalize

Adrenalize is the fifth studio album by British metal band Def Leppard, released in 1992. The album was the first by the band following the 1991... Read more

Mar 31 1992

Yngwie Malmsteen Releases "Fire and Ice"

Fire & Ice is an album by Yngwie J. Malmsteen, released in 1992. Yngwie Malmsteen left Polydor records in the 1990/1991 season, signing a new... Read more

Mar 31 1994

Michael Jordan Enters the Chicago White Sox Minor League System

In his 1998 autobiography For the Love of the Game, Jordan wrote that he had been preparing for retirement as early as the summer of 1992. The... Read more

Mar 31 1996

WrestleMania XII

WrestleMania XII was the twelfth WrestleMania event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1996 at the Arrowhead... Read more

Mar 31 1997

Arizona Beats Kentucky in Final Four

The 1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of... Read more