1953: Academy Awards Televised for First Time

On March 19, 1953, the Academy Awards appeared on television for the first time, and 34 million viewers tuned in. Oscars Make Television Debut NBC-TV’s broadcast...

On This Day: United States Drops Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima

On Aug. 6, 1945, U.S. war plane Enola Gay dropped “Little Boy,” a 8,900-pound atomic bomb, on Hiroshima, Japan. Within eight days, Japan surrendered,...

1737: First St. Patrick’s Day Celebrated in America

On March 17, 1737, Boston became the first American city to celebrate the feast day of St. Patrick, Ireland’s patron saint. St. Patrick’s Day Comes...

1991: “Birmingham Six” Freed After 16 Years in Prison

On March 14, 1991, six men wrongfully accused of carrying out Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombing attacks on two Birmingham pubs were released after...

1997: Bodies of Heaven’s Gate Cult Members Discovered After Mass Suicide

On March 26, 1997, police found the bodies of 39 Heaven’s Gate members who had committed suicide believing that the Hale-Bopp comet was a...

1898: USS Maine Explodes in Havana Harbor

On February 15, 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine blew up in Havana Harbor, escalating tensions with Spain and contributing to the outbreak of the...

2002: The Trial of Slobodan Milosevic Begins

On February 12, 2002, the war crimes trial of Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic began at The Hague. The defendant died before a sentence was...

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1983: Reagan Delivers “Star Wars” Speech

On March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan proposed the development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a space and ground-based defense system to intercept...

1952: British WWII Code Breaker Alan Turing Goes on Trial for Homosexuality

On March 31, 1952, Alan Turing, computer technology pioneer and breaker of the Nazi Enigma code, was put on trial for homosexual acts. Found...