Mar 1 in History

1562 — Blood bath at Vassy: 63 Huguenots are killed and more than 100 wounded by troops under the command of François, duc de Guise in a barn outside the Normandy city of Vassy where 300 had congregated for a service. It is recognised as the first major event in the French Wars of Religions (until 1598), during which an estimated 3-million people perish from violence, famine and disease.

1849 — The Cape Agulhas lighthouse, at the southernmost tip of Africa, begins operating … fuelled by the tail fat of sheep until 1905 when an oil-burning lantern is installed.

1872 — Yellowstone National Park is established as the world’s first national park, though national protection and nature reserves already existed in some European and Asian countries.

1910 — The National Baseball Commission prohibits the giving of mementos to players on winning the World Series. The decision is later reversed, making way for traditional winners’ watches, rings and stickpins. The 2019 Major League Baseball World Series champions, Washington Nationals, win $29,110,012.47 as their share of the postseason players’ bonus pool (total $80,861,145.74 for all teams) divided into full shares of $382,358.18 each.

1922 — The University of the Witwatersrand, founded in Kimberley in 1896 as the South African School of Mines and finally established in Johannesburg in 1910, is granted full university status.

1946 — The Bank of England (established on July 29 1694) is nationalised.

1947 — The International Monetary Fund begins its financial operations. It formally came into existence on December 27 1945, when the first 29 countries ratified its Articles of Agreement. By the end of 1946 there are 39 members (now 189). On May 8 1947, France becomes the first country to borrow from it. 1956 — The International Civil Aviation Organisation starts implementing the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet, devised by the International Air Transport Association to standardise air traffic communications.

1968 — The first 15-minute version of the musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”, created by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, is performed at Colet Court School in London.

1994 — SA ends 84 years of control over the Walvis Bay enclave by handing over the port and 12 offshore islands to the Namibian government after three years of bilateral discussions.

1994 — Justin Bieber, singer-songwriter, is born in London, Canada.