March 31
1492 - Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain expelled Jews who would not accept Christianity.
1814 - Paris was occupied by a coalition of Russian, Prussian and Austrian forces; the surrender of the French capital forced the abdication of Emperor Napoleon.
1889 - The Eiffel Tower in Paris officially opened.
1917 - The United States took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark.
1918 - Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the United States.
1949 - Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province.
1959 - The Dalai Lama, fleeing Chinese repression of an uprising in Tibet, arrived at the Indian border and was granted political asylum.
1968 - At the conclusion of a nationally broadcast address on Vietnam, President Lyndon B. Johnson stunned listeners by declaring, “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”
1976 - The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that coma patient Karen Anne Quinlan could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan remained comatose and died in 1985.)
1992 - The U.N. Security Council voted to ban flights and arms sales to Libya, branding it a terrorist state for shielding six men accused of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 and a French airliner.
1993 - Actor Brandon Lee, 28, was accidentally shot to death during the filming of a movie in Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was hit by a bullet fragment that had become lodged inside a prop gun.
1995 - Singer Selena, age 23, was shot to death in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the founder of her fan club.
1999 - Four New York City police officers were charged with murder for killing Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant, in a hail of bullets. (They were acquited in 2000.)
2004 - Four American civilian contractors were killed in Fallujah, Iraq; frenzied crowds dragged their burned, mutilated bodies and strung two of them from a bridge.
2005 - Terry Schiavo died 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.
2009 - Benjamin Netanyahu took office as Israel’s new prime minister after the Knesset approved his government.
2017 - President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders focused on reducing the U.S. trade deficit; the first order gave the Commerce Department 90 days to assemble a report on the factors behind the trade deficit, while the second sought to increase collection of duties on imports.
2019 - Rapper Nipsey Hussle was fatally shot outside the clothing store he had founded to help rebuild his troubled South Los Angeles neighborhood; he was 33.
2020 - Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan officially stepped down from duties as members of the royal family.
2021 - President Joe Biden outlined a huge $2.3 trillion plan to reengineer the nation’s infrastructure. (Biden would sign a $1 trillion infrastructure measure into law in November 2021.)
2021 - The Pentagon swept away Trump-era policies that largely banned transgender people from serving in the military.
Birthdays
37 - Jessica Szohr (actress)
39 - Melissa Ordway (actress)
40 - Brian Tyree Henry (actor)
42 - Kate Micucci (actress)
44 - Judi Shekoni (actress)
47 - Erica Tazel (actress)
51 - Ewan McGregor (actor)
52 - Sheri LaBrant (reality star)
57 - William McNamara (actor)
65 - Marc McClure (actor)
67 - Angus Young (musician)
72 - Ed Marinaro (actor)
72 - Robbie Coltrane (actor)
74 - Rhea Perlman (actress)
74 - Al Gore (former Vice President of the United States)
78 - Gabe Kaplan (comedian)
79 - Christopher Walken (actor)
88 - Shirley Jones (actress)
88 - Richard Chamberlain (actor)
95 - William Daniels (actor)
========================================
Today in Sports History - March 31
1906 - The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was founded to set rules in amateur sports. (The organization became the NCAA in 1910.)
1931 - Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, age 43, was killed in a plane crash in Bazaar, Kansas.
1968 - The new American League baseball franchise in Seattle selected the nickname "Pilots".
1973 - Muhammad Ali wore a $10000 robe with "The Peoples Champion" inscribed on it. Ali lost the fight to Ken Norton. Elvis Presley had given the robe to Ali on January 2, 1971.
1975 - UCLA defeats Kentucky 92-85 to win their 10th NCAA Tournament under head coach John Wooden, who announced his retirement two days prior.
1985 - Old Dominion defeats Georgia 70-65 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1986 - Louisville defeats Duke 72-69 to win the NCAA Tournament; it was also the first NCAA Tournament that utilized a shot clock (45 seconds).
1987 - Indiana defeats Syracuse 74-73 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1990 - Joe Sakic became the youngest person in NHL history to score 100 points in a season. He was also the first to do so with a last-place team.
1991 - Tennessee defeats Virginia 70-67 in overtime to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1991 - Brett Hull (St. Louis Blues) recorded his 86th goal of the season. It was the third best total in NHL history.
1995 - MLB players agreed to end the sport's longest strike in history (232 days) after a judge ordered a preliminary injunction against team owners.
1996 - Tennessee defeats Georgie 83-65 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1997 - Arizona defeats Kentucky 84-79 in overtime to win the NCAA Tournament.
1997 - Martina Hingis, 16 years old, became the youngest women's tennis player to reach the world number-one mark.
1998 - The Milwaukee Brewers become the first team since the inception of the American League in 1901 to switch leagues, moving from the American to the National League.
1998 - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks made their MLB debuts.
2002 - Connecticut defeats Oklahoma 82-70 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament and finish the season with a perfect 39-0 record.
2004 - NFL owners adopted a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebrations. The penalty was added to the fines previously in place for choreographed and multiplayer celebrations. Also, if the infraction was flagrant the player would be ejected. The previous day the owners had instituted a modified instant replay system for five years.
1492 - Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain expelled Jews who would not accept Christianity.
1814 - Paris was occupied by a coalition of Russian, Prussian and Austrian forces; the surrender of the French capital forced the abdication of Emperor Napoleon.
1889 - The Eiffel Tower in Paris officially opened.
1917 - The United States took possession of the Virgin Islands from Denmark.
1918 - Daylight Saving Time went into effect in the United States.
1949 - Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province.
1959 - The Dalai Lama, fleeing Chinese repression of an uprising in Tibet, arrived at the Indian border and was granted political asylum.
1968 - At the conclusion of a nationally broadcast address on Vietnam, President Lyndon B. Johnson stunned listeners by declaring, “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President.”
1976 - The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that coma patient Karen Anne Quinlan could be disconnected from her respirator. (Quinlan remained comatose and died in 1985.)
1992 - The U.N. Security Council voted to ban flights and arms sales to Libya, branding it a terrorist state for shielding six men accused of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 and a French airliner.
1993 - Actor Brandon Lee, 28, was accidentally shot to death during the filming of a movie in Wilmington, North Carolina, when he was hit by a bullet fragment that had become lodged inside a prop gun.
1995 - Singer Selena, age 23, was shot to death in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the founder of her fan club.
1999 - Four New York City police officers were charged with murder for killing Amadou Diallo, an unarmed African immigrant, in a hail of bullets. (They were acquited in 2000.)
2004 - Four American civilian contractors were killed in Fallujah, Iraq; frenzied crowds dragged their burned, mutilated bodies and strung two of them from a bridge.
2005 - Terry Schiavo died 13 days after her feeding tube was removed.
2009 - Benjamin Netanyahu took office as Israel’s new prime minister after the Knesset approved his government.
2017 - President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders focused on reducing the U.S. trade deficit; the first order gave the Commerce Department 90 days to assemble a report on the factors behind the trade deficit, while the second sought to increase collection of duties on imports.
2019 - Rapper Nipsey Hussle was fatally shot outside the clothing store he had founded to help rebuild his troubled South Los Angeles neighborhood; he was 33.
2020 - Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan officially stepped down from duties as members of the royal family.
2021 - President Joe Biden outlined a huge $2.3 trillion plan to reengineer the nation’s infrastructure. (Biden would sign a $1 trillion infrastructure measure into law in November 2021.)
2021 - The Pentagon swept away Trump-era policies that largely banned transgender people from serving in the military.
Birthdays
37 - Jessica Szohr (actress)
39 - Melissa Ordway (actress)
40 - Brian Tyree Henry (actor)
42 - Kate Micucci (actress)
44 - Judi Shekoni (actress)
47 - Erica Tazel (actress)
51 - Ewan McGregor (actor)
52 - Sheri LaBrant (reality star)
57 - William McNamara (actor)
65 - Marc McClure (actor)
67 - Angus Young (musician)
72 - Ed Marinaro (actor)
72 - Robbie Coltrane (actor)
74 - Rhea Perlman (actress)
74 - Al Gore (former Vice President of the United States)
78 - Gabe Kaplan (comedian)
79 - Christopher Walken (actor)
88 - Shirley Jones (actress)
88 - Richard Chamberlain (actor)
95 - William Daniels (actor)
========================================
Today in Sports History - March 31
1906 - The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States was founded to set rules in amateur sports. (The organization became the NCAA in 1910.)
1931 - Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, age 43, was killed in a plane crash in Bazaar, Kansas.
1968 - The new American League baseball franchise in Seattle selected the nickname "Pilots".
1973 - Muhammad Ali wore a $10000 robe with "The Peoples Champion" inscribed on it. Ali lost the fight to Ken Norton. Elvis Presley had given the robe to Ali on January 2, 1971.
1975 - UCLA defeats Kentucky 92-85 to win their 10th NCAA Tournament under head coach John Wooden, who announced his retirement two days prior.
1985 - Old Dominion defeats Georgia 70-65 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1986 - Louisville defeats Duke 72-69 to win the NCAA Tournament; it was also the first NCAA Tournament that utilized a shot clock (45 seconds).
1987 - Indiana defeats Syracuse 74-73 to win the NCAA Tournament.
1990 - Joe Sakic became the youngest person in NHL history to score 100 points in a season. He was also the first to do so with a last-place team.
1991 - Tennessee defeats Virginia 70-67 in overtime to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1991 - Brett Hull (St. Louis Blues) recorded his 86th goal of the season. It was the third best total in NHL history.
1995 - MLB players agreed to end the sport's longest strike in history (232 days) after a judge ordered a preliminary injunction against team owners.
1996 - Tennessee defeats Georgie 83-65 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament.
1997 - Arizona defeats Kentucky 84-79 in overtime to win the NCAA Tournament.
1997 - Martina Hingis, 16 years old, became the youngest women's tennis player to reach the world number-one mark.
1998 - The Milwaukee Brewers become the first team since the inception of the American League in 1901 to switch leagues, moving from the American to the National League.
1998 - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks made their MLB debuts.
2002 - Connecticut defeats Oklahoma 82-70 to win the NCAA Women's Tournament and finish the season with a perfect 39-0 record.
2004 - NFL owners adopted a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebrations. The penalty was added to the fines previously in place for choreographed and multiplayer celebrations. Also, if the infraction was flagrant the player would be ejected. The previous day the owners had instituted a modified instant replay system for five years.
