March 31 in History

Nikephoros Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks reaches Constantinople, Michael VII resigns the throne with hardly a struggle

Retires to the monastery of Stoudios

Nikephoros Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks reaches Constantinople, Michael VII resigns the throne with hardly a struggle

Nikephoros Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks reaches Constantinople, Michael VII resigns the throne with hardly a struggle

Nikephoros Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks reaches Constantinople, Michael VII resigns the throne with hardly a struggle

The Earl of Warwick & the Duke of Clarence are declared traitors by Edward IV

The Holy League of the Republic of Venice, the Duke of Milan, the Pope, the Spanish King, the English King & Maximilian I. The Holy League is formed to repulse Charles VIIIs invasion of Italy

The Holy League is formed to repulse Charles VIIIs invasion of Italy

Edward VI's second Parliament closes after a short final session of the reign.

Hotham helps recover Scarborough for Parliament after Sir Hugh Cholmley changes allegiance to the Royalists.

Widdrington presented the Humble Petition and Advice offering Cromwell a revised constitution.

The Treaty of Utrecht recognises the Hanoverian succession in Great Britain.

The Treaty of Utrecht recognises the Hanoverian succession in Great Britain.

Closes Boston harbour until the East India Company is reimbursed for lost tea

Closes Boston harbour until the East India Company is reimbursed for lost tea

Discovers Uranus using a home made telescope from his back garden in Bath

Arrested for conspiring with foreign monarchs & links to the India company scandal

Georges Jacques Danton was arrested for conspiring with foreign monarchs and links to the India company scandal.

Desmoulins is imprisoned with the Dantonists after calling for clemency and attacking revolutionary excess

Desmoulins is imprisoned with the Dantonists after calling for clemency and attacking revolutionary excess.

Arrested for conspiring with foreign monarchs & links to the India company scandal

Sieyes helped secure the reinstatement of deputies previously arrested as associates of the Girondins.

Napoleon rejects an Allied peace offer with France's natural borders. As the Allies approach Paris they only offer France its "the pre-revolutionary limits"

Enters Paris with the allied sovereigns after coalition armies defeat Napoleon's forces in France.

Brunel is injured after falling about twenty feet during the confusion surrounding the Great Western engine-room fire.

An engine-room fire breaks out as Great Western prepares for her maiden Atlantic voyage but is extinguished with limited ship damage.

The Sylvain Van de Weyer Government ends in Brussels, concluding this period as head of the Belgian government.

Begins the Second de Theux Government in Brussels and serves as head of the Belgian government.

French engineer Gustave Eiffel unfurls the French tricolor from atop the Eiffel Tower, officially marking its completion. Constructed of 7,000 tons of iron and steel, the 984-foot structure was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel for the Paris Exhibition of 1889, commemorating the centennial of the French Revolution

Completes the iron tower built for the Paris exposition.

Demonstrates large-scale prefabricated iron construction and wind-resistant engineering.

Constructed of 7,000 tons of iron and steel, the 984-foot structure was designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel for the Paris Exhibition of 1889, commemorating the centennial of the French Revolution

Begins the Bjorn Jonsson Ministry and serves as Minister for Iceland.

The First Hannes Hafstein Ministry ends, concluding this period as Minister for Iceland.

Appointed Prime Minister of Iceland

Titanic's keel is laid at Harland and Wolff, beginning construction of Yard Number 401.

Government proposals to reform the House of Lords is introduced to Parliament

Government proposals to reform the House of Lords are introduced to Parliament.

Stays on the Army payroll until 31st March 1920

Joins Wirth's cabinet as Minister for Food and Agriculture after Andreas Hermes moves to the Finance Ministry.

His government ends in Helsinki, concluding this term as Prime Minister of Finland.

Takes office as Prime Minister of Finland and forms a government in Helsinki.

Oversees the first coordination law that reshapes state parliaments according to the Reichstag election result.

Britain & France pledge to support Poland

Britain and France guarantee Polands defense (Anglo French Assurance Pact), a pact with Poland to come to their defense if Germany attacked

The last of the Republican resistance comes to an end

Tazzoli returns to Le Verdon after a 56-day Atlantic patrol in which Fecia di Cossato's submarine sank six merchant ships.

US D-Day beach landing training exercise (Operation Beaver) at Slapton Sands, Devon, demonstrate a dangerous lack of coordination between units

Appointed Commander of the Army Group Ukraine

Appointed Commander of the Army Group Ukraine

US D-Day beach landing training exercise (Operation Beaver) at Slapton Sands, Devon, demonstrate a dangerous lack of coordination between units

Hubes southern advanced guard turned and halted the Red Army assault, severing its supply lines and rendering the T-34s of the 4th Tank Army immobile

Asks Eisenhower why the Americans are leaving Berlin to the Russians

The Second Paul-Henri Spaak Government ends in Brussels, concluding this period as Prime Minister of Belgium.

The People's Party wins the first national election after liberation.

Begins the Third Van Acker Government in Brussels and serves as Prime Minister of Belgium.

Fundemental Law of Education

Welcomes Newfoundland as Canada tenth province.

The province of Newfoundland is added to the Canadian Confederation

Please "guilty", in spite of the fact that he felt no remorse or guilt for having committed acts of homosexuality, Turing is convicted and given a choice between imprisonment and probation, which would be conditional on his agreement to undergo hormonal treatment designed to reduce libido, accepts treatment via injections of stilboestrol, a synthetic oestrogen

Fighting intensifies around the Eliane strongpoints

Wins a landslide federal majority.

Wins a landslide federal majority.

General election outcome recorded for John Diefenbaker: Wins a landslide federal majority.

Government context for this general election: Wins a landslide federal majority.

1st day of the ANC campaign against the Pass Laws

Anti-Pass Law deptutations are sent to local authorities

According to Mohrenschildt, the photograph was not found among his stored papers until he and his wife found it in February 1967. When analyzed by the HSCA in 1977, this photo turned out to be a first generation print of the backyard photo already known to the Warren Commission as "CE-133A" and which had probably been taken on March 31, 1963

When shown the pictures at Dallas Police headquarters after his arrest, Oswald insists they are fakes, however, Marina Oswald testifies in 1964 and 1978 that she took the photographs at Oswalds request. The "backyard photos," taken by Marina Oswald, show Oswald dressed all in black and holding two Marxist newsletters - The Militant and The Worker - in one hand, a rifle in the other

The Conservatives win 41.9% of votes cast & 253 seats. Loses the general election by 97 seats

The Labour Party wins 48 percent of votes cast & 364 MPs. Labour wins with 363 seats to 253 Tory, 12 Liberal & 2 others, a majority of 97

Retains Coventry East when Labour increases its parliamentary majority.

Retains Ebbw Vale for Labour during Harold Wilson's strengthened parliamentary majority.

Retains Birmingham Stechford while continuing as Home Secretary after Labour's victory.

Retains Ebbw Vale for Labour during Harold Wilson's strengthened parliamentary majority.

Retains Birmingham Stechford while continuing as Home Secretary after Labour's victory.

Leads the Conservatives in the 1966 general election but loses to Harold Wilson.

General election outcome recorded for Michael Mackintosh Foot: Retains Ebbw Vale for Labour during Harold Wilson's strengthened parliamentary majority.

General election outcome recorded for Roy Harris Jenkins: Retains Birmingham Stechford while continuing as Home Secretary after Labour's victory.

Government context for this general election: Retains Ebbw Vale for Labour during Harold Wilson's strengthened parliamentary majority.

Government context for this general election: Retains Birmingham Stechford while continuing as Home Secretary after Labour's victory.

Announces a partial bombing halt and says he will not seek reelection

Announces a partial bombing halt and says he will not seek reelection

Announces cessation of bombing north of the Twentieth parallel to negotiate a solution

President Johnson announces he will not seek re-election

Announces decision to retire

Becomes President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Becomes President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

The state remains the Islamic Republic of Pakistan during Yahya Khan's rule.

Becomes President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Yahya Khan governs the Islamic Republic under martial law.

Becomes President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Yahya Khan formally assumes the office of President.

Yahya Khan's formal presidency follows his assumption of military power.

Convicted by a military tribunal of killing civilians at My Lai

William Calley is sentenced to life in prison, reduced to 20 yrs

William Calley is sentenced to life in prison, reduced to 20 yrs. Convicted by a military tribunal of killing civilians at My Lai

John Denver reaches the top spot on the US charts with, "Sunshine On My Shoulders"

Ordered by the Politburo in Hanoi to push toward Saigon

Appointed Prime Minister of Turkey, 2nd term

Releases Presence, recorded while Plant recovered from injuries.

The Arab League suspends Egypt following its Treaty with Israel

Bazargan's provisional government administers the referendum on creating an Islamic Republic

The Staircase Mystery enters the Official Singles Chart and reaches number twenty-four.

The Arab League suspends Egypt following its Treaty with Israel

Japan has a record trade deficit of $14.4 billion

The First to Fourth Martens Governments ends in Brussels, concluding this period as Prime Minister of Belgium.

Takes part in Commons proceedings on transfer of Greater London Council housing.

Includes 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines in the force package required to recover the Falkland Islands.

Chooses to take his naval assessment directly to ministers rather than leave the issue with the acting Chief of the Defence Staff.

Governor Rex Hunt is informed Britain believes Argentina is planning a submarine landing on the Islands as a means of increasing pressure over South Georgia

Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sir Henry Leach advises a crisis meeting headed by Margaret Thatcher that Britain could and should send a task force if the islands are invaded.

At a crisis meeting headed by Thatcher, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Henry Leach advises that Britain can and should send a task force if the islands are invaded.

Explains that the former aircraft carrier Ark Royal is no longer available and that the new carrier of that name will not be ready for years.

Acts during the crisis while Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Terence Lewin is returning from an official visit to New Zealand.

Goes to find Defence Secretary John Nott after deciding that the government's current operational advice understates what the Navy can do.

Telephones Commander-in-Chief Fleet Admiral John Fieldhouse to establish the readiness of the fleet before pressing the case for a South Atlantic operation.

Arrives at the Falklands crisis meeting in full naval uniform after returning from a Portsmouth engagement, making a conspicuous intervention in the discussion.

Includes the assault ship HMS Fearless among the amphibious capabilities needed for a force capable of retaking the islands.

Identifies HMS Hermes as one of the two aircraft carriers required for the expeditionary force being assembled for the South Atlantic.

Includes the assault ship HMS Intrepid among the amphibious capabilities required for the projected South Atlantic campaign.

Identifies HMS Invincible as one of the two aircraft carriers required to provide air cover for the projected Falklands operation.

Follows John Nott to the House of Commons and seeks admission to the ministerial meeting considering the Falklands crisis.

Reviews intelligence material indicating that an Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands is becoming imminent.

Violent anti-Government riots occur across Argentina. The Junta takes final decision to invade the Islands on 2 April

Is warned that an Argentine landing may be imminent.

Participates in the junta decision that commits Argentina to the military seizure of the islands.

Argues that failing to respond effectively to the seizure of the islands would seriously diminish Britain's international credibility.

Warns that mounting the operation will require a major national effort extending beyond the ships immediately available to the Royal Navy.

Concludes that if Argentina occupies the islands the Royal Navy should be used to recover them rather than accept the occupation as irreversible.

Finds the operational advice circulating in the Ministry of Defence excessively pessimistic about Britain's ability to respond to an Argentine occupation.

Describes the proposed attempt to recover the Falklands as an operation involving considerable risk but judges that the risk should be taken.

Leaves Robben Island after eighteen years of imprisonment.

Includes Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships as an essential part of the fuel, stores, transport, and replenishment system for the task force.

Calls for all operational Sea Harriers that can be made available to support the carrier force sent toward the Falklands.

Explains that the force would require about three weeks, rather than a few days, to reach the South Atlantic operating area.

Plans to draw heavily on the operational surface fleet to provide escorts and combat power for the South Atlantic force.

Receives Margaret Thatcher's authority to begin assembling the naval task force after giving his assessment of the operation's feasibility.

Advises that a naval task force can be mobilized to sail within roughly 48 hours despite the scale of the emergency.

Thatcher telegraphs American President Ronald Reagan asking him to warn the Argentines off

Is transferred from Robben Island to Pollsmoor Prison.

Judges that the Falklands can still be recovered using the two available small aircraft carriers to provide naval air cover.

Reagan halts sale of F-16 fighters to Israel until its troops withdraw from Lebanon

Vincent van Goghs Sunflowers sell for $39.85 million, more than triple the record for an auctioned painting

Anti-poll-tax campaigning feeds the mass London demonstration.

Poll Tax demonstrations in Trafalgar Square lead to arrests and damage.

The anti-poll-tax demonstration turns violent in Trafalgar Square.

After an 80-day inquest - longest in British legal history - returns verdicts of accidental death

Releases Human Touch, one of two albums issued on the same day after the E Street Band period pauses.

Releases Lucky Town, a more spontaneous companion album to Human Touch.

The Security Council imposes sanctions after Libya refuses to surrender the Lockerbie suspects.

The PLO and Israel agree to resume talks on Palestinian autonomy, more than a month after the Hebron mosque massacre

The PLO and Israel agree to resume talks on Palestinian autonomy, more than a month after the Hebron mosque massacre

The PLO and Israel agree to resume talks on Palestinian autonomy, more than a month after the Hebron mosque massacre

Announces a programme seeking a ceasefire, phased troop withdrawals and negotiations over the Chechen conflict.

Putin calls for a quick ratification of the START II Nuclear arms reduction Treaty and deeper cuts in nuclear missiles

Putin calls for a quick ratification of the START II Nuclear arms reduction Treaty and deeper cuts in nuclear missiles

Brown, Trujillo and Rabinowitz first observe the large Kuiper Belt object later named Makemake.

ZANU-PF wins a large parliamentary majority in the national election.

ZANU-PF wins a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the national election.

New President Raul Castros Government lifts a ban on Cubans staying at hotels previously reserved for foreigners

Proposes a broad redesign of financial regulation after months of credit-market stress

Tarlev resigns after nearly seven years as Prime Minister

Zinaida Greceanii becomes Moldova's first female Prime Minister

NATO assumes command of international military operations enforcing the United Nations mandate.

Denis Zvizdic becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers

Begins his international career as a creative midfielder.

Makes his senior Portugal debut against Cape Verde.

Declares a public health emergency over COVID-19.

Asks Dutch lawmakers for weapons, sanctions and support for Ukraine's future inside the European Union.

Addresses Australia's Parliament and requests additional military assistance.

Discusses sanctions and energy ties during a visit to India.

Scores in extra time as Arsenal defeat Chelsea 1-0 to retain the Women's League Cup.

Ciolacu leads the government as internal air and sea border checks are removed.

Rene Descartes is born at La Haye en Touraine to Joachim Descartes and Jeanne Brochard.

Birth of Benedict XIV, Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini

Elisabeth Grummer is born in German-administered Alsace-Lorraine.

The future German lyric soprano is born near Diedenhofen.

Birth of James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens

Birth of Walter Winterbottom

Birth of Volker Schlondorff.

Birth of Christopher Walken

Death of Charlotte Bronte

Death of Mineichi Koga, in an aircrash

Death of James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens

Broadwood's mounted force is caught in De Wet's ambush at Sanna's Post and suffers heavy losses.

De Wet ambushes Broadwood's column at Sanna's Post and captures men, wagons and artillery.

Hubes southern advanced guard turned and halted the Red Army assault, severing its supply lines and rendering the T-34s of the 4th Tank Army immobile