This page, at present, contains a sample of the “major” events that occurred on my birthday. It is by no means complete and it is a work-in-progress that I will update as time permits. Already, though, it is an interesting cross-section of history.

There is a fairly interesting list of headlines on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_8) that includes links to more details about each event.  There is also a list on the UK History Channel and an interesting collection of articles on the US History Channel.

The United Nations has designated March 8th as International Women’s day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women’s_Day) although this day is also significant to labor movements (http://www.batayouvriye.org/English/Positions1/march8.html).

1988
UN Security Council condemns South Africa’s ban on anti-apartheid organisations.

1971
American boxer Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali on points to become world heavy weight champion.  Related Article

1970
Archbishop Makarios of Cyprus survives an assassination attempt.

1965
United States of America lands a further 3,500 marines in South Vietnam.

1957
Ghana is admitted to United Nations.

1950
Russia claims it has produced an atomic bomb.

1948
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional.

1945
First London production of the musical ‘Kiss Me Kate’.

1930
Mahatma Gandhi begins the campaign of civil disobedience against British rule in India .

1918
In Russia, Leon Trotsky resigns from his position Foreign Minister.

1917
The United States Senate adopts the cloture rule in order to limit filibusters.

1917
Start of Russian “February” Revolution.

In Russia, the February Revolution (known as such because of Russia’s use of the Julian calendar) begins when riots and strikes break out in Petrograd over the scarcity of food. Within three days, the strike was general in the capital, and the Petrograd army garrison was called out to restore order. The army, demoralized after three years of fighting along the Eastern Front in World War I, defected to the cause of the revolutionaries. On March 15, Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate. A coalition of workers’ and soldiers’ committees known as the Soviet joined with moderate provisional leaders in forming a new government, and an end to violent revolutionary activity was urged. Meanwhile, Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik revolutionary party, left his exile in Switzerland and crossed German enemy lines to return home and take control of the revolution.

1908
The House of Commons, London , turns down the women’s suffrage bill.

1865
Digging begins to build a canal in the Netherlands to connect Amsterdam with the North Sea.

1865
The WINNEBAGO sign a treaty reagrding the Omaha reservation

1862
On the second day of the Battle of Pea Ridge, Confederate forces, including some Indian troops, under General Earl Van Dorn suprise Union troops, but the Union troops win the battle.

1862
The Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Virginia (formerly U.S.S. Merrimack) is launched.

1855
The first train crosses Niagara Falls on a suspension bridge.

1790
George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address.

1790
The French Assembly votes to continue slavery in their colonies.

1765
Britain’s House of Lords passes the Stamp Act to tax the American colonies.

1702
Queen Anne succeeds to the throne on the death of William III of England in a riding accident at Hampton Court.

1644
Patshahi Seventh, Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji, ascended to Guruship. Guru Hargobind had five sons, three of whom had died during his life time.  More Sikh history

Birthdays:

1977
James Van Der Beek, American actor

1976
Freddie Prinze Jr., American actor

1963
Kathy Ireland, American model and actress

1965
Kenny Smith NBA guard (Houston Rockets)

1964
Cheryl “Salt” James singer (Salt-N-Pepa)

1943
British actress Lynn Redgrave.

1921
American actress and dancer Cyd Charisse.

1902
Louise Beavers, film actress.

1879
German physicist and chemist Otto Hahn. Discovers nuclear fission, making it possible to build an atomic bomb.

1859
Writer Kenneth Grahame, author of Wind In The Willows, born in Edinburgh.

1841
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court Justice

1787
Karl Von Grafe, pioneer of plastic surgery, born in Warsaw

1726
English Admiral Richard Howe.

Notable Deaths:

1999
American baseball legend Joe DiMaggio dies of lung cancer aged 84.

1971
Silent film comedian Harold Lloyd.

1961
Sir Thomas Beecham , English conductor and founder of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, dies aged 81.

1917
Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin-airship constructor, soldier and inventor.

1869
Composer Louis-Hector Berlioz.