This day in history

Welcome to the "This Day In History" Thread. In here you will see, and can add to, things which happened in history on this very day!!

This is an ongoing thread, and hopefully we can all updated and add to it daily

To start us off....

19th March:

• On March 19, 1945, during World War II, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the U.S. carrier "Franklin" off Japan; the ship, however, was saved.
• In 1918, Congress approved Daylight-Saving Time.
• In 1931, Nevada legalized gambling.
• In 1945, Adolf Hitler issued his so-called "Nero Decree," ordering the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands.
• In 1951, Herman Wouk's World War II novel "The Caine Mutiny" was first published.
• In 1976, Buckingham Palace announced the separation of Princess Margaret and her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, after 16 years of marriage.
• In 1979, the U.S. House of Representatives began televising its day-to-day business.
• In 1985, in a legislative victory for President Reagan, the Senate voted, 55-45, to authorize production of the M-X missile.
• In 2003, President Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. (Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq.)
• Ten years ago: Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Jewish settlers, killing two people.
• After a 21-month hiatus, Michael Jordan returned to professional basketball with his former team, the Chicago Bulls.
• Five years ago: President Clinton arrived near New Delhi on the first presidential visit to India in 22 years as he opened a six-day trip through troubled South Asia.
• One year ago: President Bush, on the first anniversary of the Iraq war, urged unity in the war against terrorism. Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and his vice president were shot and slightly wounded in an apparent assassination attempt on the final day of Taiwan's presidential campaign. The Army dropped all charges against Capt. James Yee, a military chaplain at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who had been accused of mishandling classified information.

Today's Birthdays:

• Former White House national security adviser Brent Scowcroft is 80.
• Actor-director Patrick McGoohan is 77.
• Theologian Hans Kung is 77.
• Jazz musician Ornette Coleman is 75.
• Author Philip Roth is 72.
• Actress Renee Taylor is 72.
• Actress-singer Phyllis Newman is 72.
• Actress Ursula Andress is 69.
• Singer Clarence "Frogman" Henry is 68.
• Singer Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 59.
• Actress Glenn Close is 58.
• Actor Bruce Willis is 50.
• Rock musician Gert Bettens (K's Choice) is 35.
• Rock musician Zach Lind (Jimmy Eat World) is 29.
• Actor Craig Lamar Traylor ("Malcolm in the Middle") is 16.
• Actor Philip Bolden is 10.

You can add to this daily.... add as little or as much as you like