Editing March 31 (section)

==Events==
===Pre-1600===
* [[307]] &ndash; After divorcing his wife [[Minervina]], [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] marries [[Fausta]], daughter of the retired [[Roman emperor]] [[Maximian]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Carol Humphrey Vivian Sutherland|title=The Roman Imperial Coinage: Constantine and Licinius: A.D. 313-337, by P. M. Bruun|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-irTAAAAMAAJ|year=1966|publisher=Spink|page=25|isbn=9780900696855}}</ref>
*[[1146]] &ndash; [[Bernard of Clairvaux]] preaches his famous sermon in a field at [[Vézelay]], urging the necessity of a [[Second Crusade]]. [[Louis VII of France|Louis VII]] is present, and joins the Crusade.<ref>{{cite book|author=James J. Spigelman|title=Becket & Henry: The Becket Lectures|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3FHwzF_hmUYC&pg=PA178|year=2004|publisher=James Spigelman|isbn=978-0-646-43477-3|page=178}}</ref>
*[[1174]] &ndash; A [[pro-Fatimid conspiracy against Saladin|conspiracy]] against [[Saladin]], aiming to restore the [[Fatimid Caliphate]], is revealed in [[Cairo]], involving senior figures of the former Fatimid regime and the poet [[Umara al-Yamani]]. Modern historians doubt the extent and danger of the conspiracy reported in official sources, but its ringleaders will be publicly executed over the following weeks.<ref>{{Kalifen und Assassinen|pages=294–297}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fulton |first=Michael S. |year=2022 |title=Contest for Egypt: The Collapse of the Fatimid Caliphate, the Ebb of Crusader Influence, and the Rise of Saladin |location=Leiden and Boston |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-51227-6 | pages=150–151}}</ref>
*[[1492]] &ndash; Queen [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella of Castile]] issues the [[Alhambra Decree]], ordering her 150,000 [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews|Jewish]] and [[Moors|Muslim]] subjects to convert to [[Christianity]] or face expulsion.
*[[1521]] &ndash; [[Ferdinand Magellan]] and [[Magellan's circumnavigation|fifty of his men]] came ashore to present-day [[Limasawa]] to participate in the [[First Mass in the Philippines|first Catholic mass in the Philippines]].<ref name=PNA>{{cite news | first =Linda B. | last =Valencia | title =Limasawa: Site of the First Mass | work =Philippines News Agency | publisher =Ops.gov.ph | url =http://www.ops.gov.ph/pia/kalayaan/limasawa.htm | access-date =March 26, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071015033230/http://www.ops.gov.ph/pia/kalayaan/limasawa.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = October 15, 2007}}</ref>

===1601–1900===
*[[1657]] &ndash; The [[Long Parliament]] presents the [[Humble Petition and Advice]] offering [[Oliver Cromwell]] the British throne, which he eventually declines.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oliver Cromwell, Kingship and the Humble Petition and Advice |url=http://www.olivercromwell.org/wordpress/?page_id=604 |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=olivercromwell.org |language=en-GB}}</ref>
* [[1706]] &ndash; The last session of history of the [[Catalan Courts]], the parliamentary body of the [[Principality of Catalonia]], ends. [[Catalonia]]'s [[Catalan constitutions|constitutional]] modernisation passed by the Courts aims to improve the guarantee of individual, political and economic rights (among them, the [[secrecy of correspondence]]).<ref>{{Cite book |author=Albareda Salvadó, Joaquim  |title=La Guerra de Sucesión de España (1700-1714) |year=2010 |pages=182–183}}</ref>
*[[1717]] &ndash; A sermon on "The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ" by [[Benjamin Hoadly]], the [[Bishop of Bangor]], preached in the presence of King [[George I of Great Britain]], provokes the [[Bangorian Controversy]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Benjamin Hoadly|title=The Nature of the Kingdom, Or Church, of Christ. A Sermon Preached Before King George I, at the Royal Chapel at St. James's, on Sunday, March 31, 1717|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LBMM0FuxbkwC&pg=PA1|year=1855|publisher=Unitarian Tract Society|page=1}}</ref>
*[[1761]] &ndash; The [[1761 Lisbon earthquake]] strikes off the [[Iberian Peninsula]] with an estimated [[Richter magnitude scale|magnitude]] of 8.5, six years after another quake destroyed the city.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baptista, M. & Miranda, Jym & Luis, Joaquim|date=2006|title=In Search of the 31 March 1761 Earthquake and Tsunami Source|url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article-abstract/96/2/713/146815/In-Search-of-the-31-March-1761-Earthquake-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext|journal=Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America|volume=96|issue=2|pages=713–721|doi=10.1785/0120050111|bibcode=2006BuSSA..96..713B|via=}}</ref>
*[[1774]] &ndash; [[American Revolution]]: The [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] orders the port of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] closed pursuant to the [[Boston Port Act]].
*[[1814]] &ndash; The [[War of the Sixth Coalition|Sixth Coalition]] [[Battle of Paris (1814)|occupies Paris]] after [[Napoleon]]'s [[Grande Armée]] capitulates.<ref>{{cite web |date= |title=200 YEARS AGO: 1814: THE FRENCH CAMPAIGN, STEP BY STEP |url=https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/200-years-ago-1814-the-french-campaign-step-by-step/ |access-date=2022-02-04 |website=Napoleon.org}}</ref> 
*[[1854]] &ndash; [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[Matthew C. Perry|Matthew Perry]] signs the [[Convention of Kanagawa]] with the [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa Shogunate]], opening the ports of [[Shimoda, Shizuoka|Shimoda]] and [[Hakodate]] to American trade.
*[[1885]] &ndash; The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] establishes the [[Bechuanaland Protectorate]].
*[[1889]] &ndash; The [[Eiffel Tower]] is officially opened.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lucien Herve|title=The Eiffel Tower|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XJvlC5e8Hb8C&pg=PA91|year=2003|publisher=Princeton Architectural Press|isbn=978-1-56898-372-1|page=91}}</ref>
*[[1899]] &ndash; [[Philippine–American War]]: [[Malolos]], capital of the [[First Philippine Republic]], [[Capture of Malolos|is captured by American forces]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Jerry Keenan|title=Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American & Philippine-American Wars|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsp00keen|url-access=registration|year=2001|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-093-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofsp00keen/page/223 223]}}</ref>

===1901–present===
*[[1901]] &ndash; ''[[Rusalka (opera)|Rusalka]]'' by [[Antonín Dvořák]] premieres at the National Opera House in Prague.<ref>{{cite book|author=Anna Hostomská|title=Opera – Průvodce operní tvorbou|year=2018|publisher=Praha: NS Svoboda (Czech)|isbn=978-80-205-0637-5|pages=716–718}}</ref>
*[[1905]] &ndash; [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany]] declares his support for Moroccan independence in [[Tangier]], beginning the [[First Moroccan Crisis]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The First Moroccan Crisis |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-moroccan-crisis |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=HISTORY |date=5 November 2009 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[1906]] &ndash; The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]]) is established to set rules for [[college sports in the United States]].
*[[1909]] &ndash; Serbia formally withdraws its opposition to Austro-Hungarian actions in the [[Bosnian Crisis]].
*[[1913]] &ndash; The Vienna Concert Society rioted during a performance of [[Modernism (music)|modernist music]] by [[Arnold Schoenberg]], [[Alban Berg]], [[Alexander von Zemlinsky]], and [[Anton von Webern]], causing a premature end to the concert due to violence; this concert became known as the [[Skandalkonzert]].
*[[1917]] &ndash; According to the terms of the [[Treaty of the Danish West Indies]], the islands become American possessions.
*[[1918]] &ndash; [[March Days|Massacre of ethnic Azerbaijanis]] is committed by allied armed groups of [[Armenian Revolutionary Federation]] and [[Bolsheviks]]. Nearly 12,000 [[Azerbaijanis|Azerbaijani]] Muslims are killed.
*  1918   &ndash; [[Daylight saving time]] goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
*[[1921]] &ndash; The [[Royal Australian Air Force]] is formed.
*[[1930]] &ndash; The [[Motion Picture Production Code]] is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty-eight years.
*[[1931]] &ndash; An [[1931 Nicaragua earthquake|earthquake in Nicaragua]] destroys [[Managua]]; killing 2,000.
*  1931   &ndash; A [[1931 Transcontinental & Western Air Fokker F-10 crash|Transcontinental & Western Air airliner crashes]] near [[Bazaar, Kansas]], killing eight, including [[University of Notre Dame]] head football coach [[Knute Rockne]].<!--Resulted in regulations-->
*[[1933]] &ndash; The [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] is established with the mission of relieving rampant unemployment in the [[United States]].
*[[1939]] &ndash; [[Events preceding World War II in Europe]]: Prime Minister [[Neville Chamberlain]] pledges British military support to the [[Second Polish Republic]] in the event of an invasion by [[Nazi Germany]].<ref>{{cite web |title=What's the context? 31 March 1939: the British guarantee to Poland - History of government |url=https://history.blog.gov.uk/2019/03/28/whats-the-context-31-march-1939-the-british-guarantee-to-poland/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=history.blog.gov.uk |date=28 March 2019 |language=en}}</ref> 
*[[1942]] &ndash; [[World War II]]: [[Battle of Christmas Island|Japanese forces invade Christmas Island]], then a British possession.
*[[1945]] &ndash; World War II: A defecting [[Nazi Germany|German]] pilot delivers a [[Messerschmitt Me 262A-1]], the world's first operational [[Turbojet|jet-powered]] [[fighter aircraft]], to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.
*[[1949]] &ndash; The [[Dominion of Newfoundland]] joins the [[Canadian Confederation]] and becomes the 10th [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province of Canada]].
*[[1951]] &ndash; [[Remington Rand]] delivers the first [[UNIVAC I]] computer to the [[United States Census Bureau]].
*[[1957]] &ndash; [[1957 Upper Voltan Territorial Assembly election|Elections to the Territorial Assembly]] of the French colony [[French Upper Volta|Upper Volta]] are held. After the elections [[Unified Democratic Party|PDU]] and [[Voltaic Democratic Movement|MDV]] form a government.
*[[1958]] &ndash; In the [[1958 Canadian federal election|Canadian federal election]], the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservatives]], led by [[John Diefenbaker]], win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265.
*[[1959]] &ndash; The [[14th Dalai Lama]] crosses the border into India and is granted [[political asylum]].
*[[1964]] &ndash; Brazilian General [[Olímpio Mourão Filho]] orders his troops to [[Operation Popeye (Brazil)|move towards Rio de Janeiro]], beginning the [[1964 Brazilian coup d'état|coup d'état]] and 21 years of [[Military dictatorship in Brazil|military dictatorship]].
*[[1966]] &ndash; The [[Soviet Union]] launches [[Luna 10]] which later becomes the first [[space probe]] to enter orbit around the Moon.
*  1966   &ndash; The [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] under [[Harold Wilson]] wins the [[1966 United Kingdom general election]].<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC ON THIS DAY &#124; 31 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/31/ |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>
*[[1968]] &ndash; American [[President of the United States|President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] speaks to the nation of "Steps to Limit the War in Vietnam" in a television address. [[Withdrawal of Lyndon B. Johnson from the 1968 United States presidential election|At the conclusion of his speech]], he announces: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-31-1968-remarks-decision-not-seek-re-election|title=Remarks on Decision not to Seek Re-Election (March 31, 1968)|date=20 October 2016|publisher=The Miller Center, University of Virginia|access-date=2 October 2017}}</ref>
*[[1970]] &ndash; [[Explorer 1]] re-enters the [[Atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]] after 12 years in orbit.
*[[1980]] &ndash; The [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad]] operates its final train after being ordered to [[Liquidation|liquidate]] its assets because of [[bankruptcy]] and [[debt]]s owed to [[creditor]]s.
*[[1986]] &ndash; [[Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940]] crashes into the [[Sierra Madre Oriental]] mountain range near the Mexican town of [[Maravatío]], killing 167.<ref name="ASN">{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-264 XA-MEM Las Mesas |url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19860331-1 |access-date=8 January 2018 |website=aviation-safety.net |publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]}}</ref>
*[[1990]] &ndash; Approximately [[Poll tax riots|200,000 protesters take to the streets of London]] to protest against the newly introduced [[Poll tax (Great Britain)|Poll Tax]].
*[[1991]] &ndash; [[1991 Georgian independence referendum|Georgian independence referendum]]: Nearly 99 percent of the voters support the country's independence from the [[Soviet Union]].
*  1991   &ndash; The [[Warsaw Pact]] formally disbands.<ref>{{cite web |title=Warsaw Pact ends |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/warsaw-pact-ends |access-date=2022-04-02 |website=HISTORY |date=13 November 2009 |language=en}}</ref> 
*[[1992]] &ndash; The {{USS|Missouri|BB-63|6}}, the last active [[United States Navy]] [[battleship]], is decommissioned in [[Long Beach, California]].
*  1992   &ndash; The [[Treaty of Federation]] is signed in [[Moscow]].
*[[1993]] &ndash; The [[Macao Basic Law]] is adopted by the [[8th National People's Congress|Eighth National People's Congress of China]] to take effect December 20, 1999. [https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/ziliao_665539/3602_665543/3604_665547/t18052.shtml Resumption by China of the Exercise of Sovereignty over Macao]
*[[1995]] &ndash; [[Selena]] is [[Murder of Selena|murdered]] by her fan club president [[Yolanda Saldívar]] at a [[Days Inn]] in [[Corpus Christi, Texas]].
*  1995   &ndash; [[TAROM Flight 371]], an [[Airbus A310|Airbus A310-300]], crashes near [[Balotești|Balotesti]], Romania, killing all 60 people on board.
*[[1998]] &ndash; [[Netscape]] releases [[Mozilla]] source code under an open source license.
*[[2004]] &ndash; [[Anbar campaign (2003–2011)|Iraq War in Anbar Province]]: In [[Fallujah]], Iraq, four American [[Private military company|private military contractors]] working for [[Blackwater (company)|Blackwater USA]], are killed after being [[2004 Fallujah ambush|ambushed]].
*[[2005]] &ndash; The [[dwarf planet]] [[Makemake]] is discovered by a team led by astronomer [[Michael E. Brown]] at the [[Palomar Observatory]].<ref name=jpldata>{{cite web |type=2019-05-12 last obs |title=JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 136472 Makemake ({{mp|2005 FY|9}}) |work=NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory |url=https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=136472 |access-date=2020-02-20 |archive-date=2019-06-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616154758/https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=136472 |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[2016]] &ndash; [[NASA]] astronaut [[Scott Kelly (astronaut)|Scott Kelly]] and [[Roscosmos]] cosmonaut [[Mikhail Kornienko]] return to Earth after a [[ISS year-long mission|yearlong mission]] at the [[International Space Station]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-03-02 |title=Astronaut twin Scott Kelly returns after year in space |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35651665 |access-date=2022-04-02}}</ref>
*[[2018]] &ndash; Start of the [[2018 Armenian revolution]].
*[[2023]] &ndash; A [[Tornado outbreak of March 31 – April 1, 2023|historic tornado outbreak]] occurs in the American Midwest and South.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=NOAA |title=March 31, 2023 Tornado Event |url=https://www.weather.gov/ilx/TornadoEvent_3-31-23 |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=www.weather.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=US Department of Commerce |first=NOAA |title=NWS Memphis Results from the March 31st - April 1st tornado outbreak |url=https://www.weather.gov/meg/march31april1tornadooutbreak |access-date=2023-08-21 |website=www.weather.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref>