This week in history

Mar 18, 1241

First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelm Polish armies in Kraków in the Battle of Chmielnik and plunder the city.

Mar 19, 1932

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is officially opened.

Mar 20, 2003

Invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries – the UK, Australia and Poland – begin military operations in Iraq under ‘Operation Iraqi Freedom’.

Mar 21, 1980

US President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet-Afghan War.

Mar 22, 1630

The Massachusetts Bay Colony outlaws the possession of cards, dice and gaming tables.

Mar 23, 1541

Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Mar 24, 1989

In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 cubic metres) of crude oil after running aground.

Photo: Australian War Memorial HMAS Canberra sails into Sydney in 1930.