Did you know
In 1903, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge in the US, is established by President Theodore Roosevelt. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
March 14 in History
1903 — Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first national wildlife refuge in the US, is established by President Theodore Roosevelt
March 14 spans 42 recorded events across recorded history, from 1074 to 2021. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
42 events
1074 – 2021
Today in history
More major events on March 14
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1995 Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle. Source
- 1991 Escondida in Chile's Atacama Desert – which was to become the worlds most productive copper mine – is officially inaugurated. Source
- 1978 The Israel Defense Forces launch Operation Litani, a seven-day campaign to invade and occupy southern Lebanon. Source
Did you know
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), and part of the Everglades Headwaters NWR complex, located just off the western coast of Orchid Island, Florida in the Indian River Lagoon east of Sebastian, Florida. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
The refuge consists of a 3-acre (12,000 m2) island that includes an additional 2.5 acres (10,000 m2) of surrounding water and is located off the east coast of Florida of the Indian River Lagoon. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
Established by an executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt on March 14, 1903, Pelican Island was the first National wildlife refuge in the United States. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
It was created to protect egrets and other birds from extinction through plume hunting. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
1074
Battle of Mogyoród: Dukes Géza and Ladislaus defeat their cousin Solomon, King of Hungary, forcing him to flee to Hungary's western borderland.
1074 conflict between rival claimants to the throne of Hungary
The Battle of Mogyoród took place on 14 March 1074. It was an internal conflict between Solomon, King of Hungary and his cousins duke Géza and Ladislaus, who were claiming rights to the throne.
1590
Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeat the forces of the Catholic League under Charles, Duke of Mayenne, during the French Wars of Religion.
1590 Battle of the French Wars of Religion
The Battle of Ivry was fought on 14 March 1590, during the French Wars of Religion.
1647
Thirty Years' War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Truce of Ulm.
Major war in Central Europe (1618–1648)
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history.
1663
According to his own account, Otto von Guericke completes his book Experimenta Nova (ut vocantur) Magdeburgica de Vacuo Spatio, detailing his experiments on vacuum and his discovery of electrostatic repulsion.
German scientist, inventor, and politician (1602-1686)
Otto von Guericke was a German scientist, inventor, mathematician, and physicist.
1674
The Third Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of Ronas Voe results in the Dutch East India Company ship Wapen van Rotterdam being captured with a death toll of up to 300 Dutch crew and soldiers.
1672–74 war related to the Franco-Dutch War
The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674.
1757
Admiral Sir John Byng is executed by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch for breach of the Articles of War.
Royal Navy officer and politician (1704–1757)
Admiral of the Blue John Byng was a Royal Navy officer and politician who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad.
1780
American Revolutionary War: Spanish forces capture Fort Charlotte in Mobile, Alabama, the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American…
1794
Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin.
American inventor (1765–1825)
Eli Whitney Jr. was an American inventor, widely known for inventing the cotton gin in 1793, one of the key inventions of the Industrial Revolution that shaped the economy of the Antebellum South.
1864
Rossini's Petite messe solennelle is first performed, by twelve singers, two pianists and a harmonium player in a mansion in Paris.
1863 missa solemnis by Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Rossini's Petite messe solennelle was written in 1863, possibly at the request of Count Alexis Pillet-Will for his wife Louise, to whom it is dedicated.
1885
The Mikado, a light opera by W.
S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, receives its first public performance at the Savoy Theatre in London.
The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations.
1900
The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.
1900 U.S. legislation which established gold as the standard for the U.S. dollar
The Gold Standard Act was an Act of the United States Congress, signed by President William McKinley and effective on March 14, 1900, defining the United States dollar by gold weight and requiring the United States…
1901
Utah governor Heber Manning Wells vetoes a bill that would have eased restrictions on polygamy.
American politician (1859–1938)
Heber Manning Wells was an American politician and banker who served as the first governor of the State of Utah.
1916
Battle of Verdun: German attack captures Côte 265 at the west end of Mort-Homme but the French 75th Infantry Brigade manages to hold Côte 295 at the east end.
Battle on the Western Front during the First World War
The Battle of Verdun was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north of Verdun.
1920
In the second of the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, about 80% of the population in Zone II votes to remain part of Weimar Germany.
Votes on the Denmark–Germany border
The Schleswig plebiscites were two plebiscites, organized according to section XII, articles 109 to 114 of the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, in order to determine the future border between Denmark and Germany…
1921
Six members of a group of Irish Republican Army activists known as the Forgotten Ten are hanged in Dublin's Mountjoy Prison.
Paramilitary organisations in Ireland
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various militant organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
1923
Charlie Daly and three other members of the Irish Republican Army are executed by Irish Free State forces.
Irish republican (1896–1923)
Charlie Daly, born in Castlemaine, County Kerry, was the second son of Con. W. Daly, of Knockaneacoolteen, Firies, County Kerry.
1926
The El Virilla train accident, Costa Rica, kills 248 people and wounds another 93 when a train falls off a bridge over the Río Virilla between Heredia and Tibás.
1926 train derailment while crossing Virilla River Canyon in Costa Rica
The El Virilla train accident occurred in Costa Rica on 14 March 1926, when an overcrowded train carrying mostly farmers and laborers derailed while crossing a bridge across the Virilla River Canyon, killing 385 and…
1931
Alam Ara, India's first talking film, is released.
1931 Indian film by Ardeshir Irani
Alam Ara is a 1931 Indian historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani.
1939
Slovakia declares independence under German pressure.
Client state of Nazi Germany
Slovakia, officially the (First) Slovak Republic, and from 14 March until 21 July 1939 officially known as the Slovak State, was a partially recognized client state of Nazi Germany which existed between 14 March 1939…
1942
Anne Miller becomes the first American patient to be treated with penicillin, under the care of Orvan Hess and John Bumstead.
Group of antibiotics derived from fungi
Penicillins are a group of β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from Penicillium moulds, principally P. chrysogenum and P. rubens. Eight species of Penicillium, in the section Chrysogena, produce penicillins.
1943
The Holocaust: The liquidation of the Kraków Ghetto is completed.
Genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany
The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II.
1945
The R.A.F.
drop the Grand Slam bomb in action for the first time, on a railway viaduct near Bielefeld, Germany.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
1951
Korean War: United Nations troops recapture Seoul for the second time.
1950–1953 conflict on the Korean Peninsula
The Korean War was an armed conflict fought on the Korean Peninsula between North Korea and South Korea and their allies.
1961
A USAF B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashes near Yuba City, California.
Air service branch of the U.S. military
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces.
1964
Jack Ruby is convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin who had shot and killed John F.
Kennedy the previous year.
Jack Leon Ruby was an American nightclub owner. He murdered Lee Harvey Oswald two days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
1967
The body of U.S.
President John F. Kennedy is moved to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
1972
Sterling Airways Flight 296 crashes near Kalba, United Arab Emirates while on approach to Dubai International Airport, killing 112 people.
1972 aviation accident in Dubai
On 14 March 1972, Sterling Airways Flight 296 crashed into a mountain ridge on approach to Dubai in Al Hayl, Fujariah. Flight 296 was a charter flight from Colombo to Copenhagen with stops in Bombay, Dubai, and Ankara.
1978
The Israel Defense Forces launch Operation Litani, a seven-day campaign to invade and occupy southern Lebanon.
Combined military forces of Israel
The Israel Defense Forces, alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym Tzahal (צה״ל), is the national military of the State of Israel.
1979
Alia Royal Jordanian Flight 600 crashes at Doha International Airport, killing 45 people.
1979 aviation accident in Qatar
Alia Royal Jordanian Flight 600 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Marka International Airport, Jordan, to Seeb International Airport, Muscat, Oman, via Doha International Airport in Qatar.
1980
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 crashes during final approach near Warsaw, Poland, killing 87 people, including a 14-man American boxing team.
1980 aviation accident in Poland
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 007 was an Ilyushin Il-62 that crashed near Warsaw-Okecie Airport in Poland, on 14 March 1980, as the crew aborted a landing and attempted to go-around, killing all 77 passengers and 10 crew…
1982
The South African government bombs the headquarters of the African National Congress in London.
Pro-apartheid attack by the South African government in Islington, London
The London offices of the African National Congress (ANC) were wrecked by an 11-kilogram (24 lb) bomb which exploded against the rear wall at 9 am on 14 March 1982. Windows up to 400 yd (370 m) away were broken.
1988
In the Johnson South Reef Skirmish Chinese forces defeat Vietnamese forces in an altercation over control of one of the Spratly Islands.
1988 Chinese naval victory over Vietnam
The Johnson South Reef skirmish took place on 14 March 1988 between military forces of China and Vietnam, on the Johnson South Reef in the Union Banks region of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea.
1991
Escondida in Chile's Atacama Desert – which was to become the worlds most productive copper mine – is officially inaugurated.
Open-pit copper mine in Chile
Escondida is a large open-pit copper mine at 3,100 m (10,200 ft) elevation in the Atacama Desert in Antofagasta Region, Chile.
1995
Norman Thagard becomes the first American astronaut to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle.
American astronaut, scientist, and Marine Corps officer (born 1943)
Norman Earl Thagard is an American scientist and former U.S. Marine Corps officer and naval aviator and NASA astronaut.
2006
The 2006 Chadian coup d'état attempt ends in failure.
2006 attempt to overthrow President Idriss Déby
The 2006 Chadian coup attempt was an attempted coup d'état against Chadian President Idriss Déby that was foiled on the night of March 14, 2006.
2006
Operation Bringing Home the Goods: Israeli troops raid an American-supervised Palestinian prison in Jericho to capture six Palestinian prisoners, including PFLP chief Ahmad Sa'adat.
2006 Israeli military operation
Operation Bringing Home the Goods was a raid launched by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on March 14, 2006, on a Palestinian prison in Jericho.
2007
The Nandigram violence in Nandigram, West Bengal, results in the deaths of at least 14 people.
2007 land acquisition protests in West Bengal, India
Violence erupted in Nandigram, West Bengal, India, in 2007 due to the land acquisition for a project taken up by the Left Front-led Government of West Bengal to create a chemical hub, a type of special economic zone…
2008
A series of riots, protests, and demonstrations erupt in Lhasa and subsequently spread elsewhere in Tibet.
Political violence and inter-ethnic tensions in Tibet
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also referred to as the 2008 Tibetan uprising in Tibetan media, was a series of protests and demonstrations that initially occurred over the Chinese Communist Party's treatment and persecution…
2017
A naming ceremony for the chemical element nihonium takes place in Tokyo, with then Crown Prince Naruhito in attendance.
Chemical element with atomic number 113 (Nh)
Nihonium is a synthetic chemical element; it has symbol Nh and atomic number 113. It is extremely radioactive: its most stable known isotope, nihonium-286, has a half-life of about 10 seconds.
2019
Cyclone Idai makes landfall near Beira, Mozambique, causing devastating floods and over 1,000 deaths.
South-West Indian Ocean cyclone in 2019
Intense Tropical Cyclone Idai was one of the costliest and deadliest tropical cyclones on record to affect Africa and the Southern Hemisphere.
2021
Burmese security forces kill at least 65 civilians in the Hlaingthaya massacre.
2021 massacre in Yangon, Myanmar
The Hlaingthaya massacre was a mass killing of civilians on 14 March 2021, in Hlaingthaya Township, Yangon, Myanmar.