On March 29, 1867, Queen Victoria gave Royal Assent to the British North America Act, a defining moment that paved the way for the birth of Canada as a self-governing dominion within the British Empire. The Act—formally titled An Act for the Union of…
Read MoreOn March 28, 1939, General Francisco Franco’s Nationalist forces entered Madrid, ending nearly three years of siege and signifying the final collapse of the Second Spanish Republic. This moment marked the end of the Spanish Civil War, a deeply polarizing conflict that had drawn…
Read MoreOn March 28, 1979, the United States experienced a near-miss that could have changed the nation forever when a coolant leak at the nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island nearly led to a full meltdown. Situated near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Three Mile Island was…
Read MoreMary Mallon—better known to history as Typhoid Mary—was placed into quarantine for the second and final time. She would remain isolated for the rest of her life, becoming an infamous figure and a lasting symbol of asymptomatic disease transmission in the United States. An…
Read MoreIn the early years of the United States, the issue of establishing a permanent navy was a matter of considerable debate and concern. The fledgling nation, emerging from its War of Independence, recognized maritime power’s importance for defense and commerce and took action. On…
Read MoreOn March 26, 1830, a little-known print shop in Palmyra, New York, released what would become one of the most influential—and controversial—religious texts in American history: The Book of Mormon. Purporting to be a translation of ancient records inscribed on golden plates by prophets…
Read MoreThe Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest and most important confrontations of World War II, concluded on March 26, 1945, after 36 days of intense combat. As the sun dipped below the horizon, it marked the end of a grueling military engagement…
Read MoreOn March 25, 1957, U.S. Customs officials confiscated over 500 copies of Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg as they arrived in San Francisco from a British printer. What began as a government seizure quickly became one of American literary history’s most important…
Read MoreOn March 25, 1911, one of the worst industrial accidents in American history occurred at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City. 146 workers lost their lives from the fire, smoke inhalation, or simply jumping from the Asch Building in Manhattan trying…
Read MoreIn the final months of World War II in Europe—when Nazi forces, though weakening, still held dangerous power—March 24, 1944, marked a bold act of resistance. On that night, seventy-six Allied prisoners escaped from Stalag Luft III, a German-run prisoner-of-war camp in Sagan, Lower…
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