more events on March 19
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1981
One technician is killed and two others are injured during a routine test on space shuttle Columbia.
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1963
In Costa Rica, President John F. Kennedy and six Latin American presidents pledge to fight Communism.
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1949
The Soviet People’s Council signs the constitution of the German Democratic Republic, and declares that the North Atlantic Treaty is merely a war weapon.
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1947
Chiang Kai-Shek’s government forces take control of Yenan, the former headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party.
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1945
Adolf Hitler orders a scorched-earth policy for his retreating German armies in the west and east.
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1944
The German 352nd Infantry Division deploys along the coast of France.
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1936
The Soviet Union signs a pact of assistance with Mongolia against Japan.
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1935
The British fire on 20,000 Muslims in India, killing 23.
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1933
Phillip Roth, American novelist and short-story writer (Portnoy’s Complaint).
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1931
The state of Nevada legalizes gambling.
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1925
Brent Scrowcroft, Lt. Gen. (USAF), National Security Advisor to President George H.W. Bush.
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1924
U.S. troops are rushed to Tegucigalpa as rebel forces take the Honduran capital.
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1920
The U.S. Senate rejects the Versailles Treaty for the second time.
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1918
Congress authorizes Daylight Savings Time.
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1917
The Adamson Act, eight hour day for railroad workers, is ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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1916
The First Aero Squadron takes off from Columbus, NM to join Gen. John J. Pershing and his Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa in Mexico.
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1912
Adolf Galland, German Luftwaffe pilot.
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1906
Adolf Eichman, Nazi Gestapo officer.
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1904
John J. Sirica, U.S. Federal Judge who ruled on Watergate issues.
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1903
The U.S. Senate ratifies the Cuban treaty, gaining naval bases in Guantanamo and Bahia Honda.
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1891
Earl Warren, governor of California, later 14th Supreme Court Chief Justice.
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1889
Sarah Gertrude Millina, South African writer (The Dark River, God’s Stepchildren).
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1879
Jim Currie opens fire on the actors Maurice Barrymore and Ben Porter near Marshall, Texas. His shots wound Barrymore and kill Porter.
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1860
William Jennings Bryan, orator, statesman, known as “The Great Communicator.”
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1849
Alfred von Tirpitz, Prussian admiral who commanded the German fleet in early World War I.
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1848
Wyatt Earp, U.S. marshal.
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1822
Boston is incorporated as a city.
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1821
Sir Richard Burton, English explorer.
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1813
David Livingston, explorer found by Henry Stanley in Africa.
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1721
Tobias George Smollett, satirical author and physician (Roderick Random, Humphrey Clinker).
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1702
On the death of William III of Orange, Anne Stuart, sister of Mary, succeeds to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.
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1687
The French explorer La Salle is murdered by his own men while searching for the mouth of the Mississippi, along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
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1589
William Bradford, governor of Plymouth colony for 30 years.