This week in history
Mar 11, 2011
An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130km east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people and the second-largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
Mar 12, 1881
Andrew Watson, born in British Guiana, makes his Scotland debut as the world’s first black international football player and captain.
Mar 13, 1325
Recognised date of the founding of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan on a small island in Lake Texcoco by the Mexica. It becomes Mexico City in 1521.
Mar 14, 1961
A USAF B-52 ‘Stratofortress’ bomber crashes near Yuba City, California, whilst carrying nuclear weapons. The crew began to bailout at about 7,000 feet (2,100m). The pilot bailed out at 4,000 feet (1,200m).
Mar 15, 44 BC
Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March.
Mar 16, 1995
Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.
Mar 17, 1824
The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch.