On this day, March 8

1971 In the first of three fights between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, Frazier defeated Ali by decision in what was billed as “The Fight of the Century” at Madison Square Garden in New York.

1983 In a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals convention in Orlando, Fla., President Ronald Reagan referred to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire.”

1988 17 soldiers were killed when two Army helicopters from Fort Campbell, Ky., collided in mid-flight.

1999 Baseball Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio died in Hollywood, Fla., at age 84.

2000 President Bill Clinton submitted to Congress legislation to establish permanent normal trade relations with China. (The U.S. and China signed a trade pact in November 2000.)

2014 Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 with 239 people on board, vanished during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, setting off a massive and ultimately unsuccessful search.

2017 Many American women stayed home from work, joined rallies or wore red to demonstrate how vital they were to the U.S. economy, as International Women’s Day was observed with a multitude of events around the world, including the Day Without a Woman in the U.S.

2022 President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would ban all Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine as a humanitarian crisis unfolded in the port city of Mariupol.

Today’s birthdays: Jazz musician George Coleman, 89. Actor Sue Ane Langdon, 88. College Football Hall of Famer Pete Dawkins, 86. Jazz musician Billy Childs, 67. Actor Freddie Prinze Jr., 48. Actor Laura Main, 47. Actor James Van Der Beek, 47. R&B singer Kameelah Williams (702), 46. Actor Nick Zano, 46. Actor Jessica Collins, 41.