TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2018

On this day in history:

1562 - In Vassy, France, Catholics massacred over 1000 Huguenots. The event started the First War of Religion.

1811 - Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali massacred the leaders of the Mameluke dynasty.

1815 - Napoleon returned to France from the island of Elba. He had been forced to abdicate in April of 1814.

1896 - The Battle of Adowa began in Ethiopia between the forces of Emperor Menelik II and Italian troops. The Italians were defeated.

1901 - The Australian army and navy are formed.

1901 - The Postmaster-General’s Department in Australia is put into effect.

1911 - Jose Ordonez was elected President of Uruguay.

1932 - The 22-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh was kidnapped. The child was found dead in May.

1941 - Bulgaria joined the Axis powers by signing the Tripartite Pact.

1942 - Japanese forces sink the HMS Perth, resulting in the loss of over 350 men.

1962 - Pakistan announced that it had a new constitution that set up a presidential system of government.

1966 - The Soviet probe, Venera 3 crashed on the planet Venus. It was the first unmanned spacecraft to land on the surface of another planet. 1966 - Ghana ordered all Soviet, East German and Chinese technicians to leave the country. 1975 - Colour television begins broadcasting in Australia. 1992 - Bosnian Muslims and Croats voted to secede from Yugoslavia.

1994 - Israel released about 500 Arab prisoners in an effort to placate Palestinians over the Hebron massacre.

1996 - In Kuala, Lumpur, construction was completed for the Petronas Towers.

1999 - The Angolan Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, exploded. Four other bombs went off in the capital.

1999 - In Uganda, eight tourists were brutally murdered by Hutu rebels.

2002 - Operation Anaconda began in eastern Afghanistan. Allied forces were fighting against Taliban and Al Quaida fighters.