Vladimir Putin was elected to his second term as President of Russia
Putin won with 71% of the vote in an election international observers called neither free nor fair. Two decades later, he would still be in power, hav...
March 14 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2004
1995
Norman Thagard became the first American astronaut to ride a Russian rocket into space
In a symbol of post-Cold War cooperation, Thagard launched aboard Soyuz TM-21 to the Mir space station. The former rivals were now carpooling to orbit...
1958
The Perry Como Show accidentally interrupted President Eisenhower's press conference
NBC cut away from a presidential press conference to air a scheduled Perry Como variety show, causing a national uproar. The network apologized profus...
1951
United Nations forces recaptured Seoul during the Korean War
For the second time in the war, Seoul changed hands as UN troops pushed back Chinese and North Korean forces. The city would be devastated by the cons...
1939
The Republic of Czechoslovakia was dissolved as Germany occupied the country
MajorDespite the Munich Agreement promising 'peace for our time,' Hitler's forces marched into Prague and dismantled the nation. This brazen violation of t...
1885
Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado premiered in London
The comic opera became an instant smash hit, running for 672 performances and establishing itself as one of the most frequently performed musical thea...
1879
Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany
MajorThe physicist who would revolutionize our understanding of space, time, and gravity was born on Pi Day (3/14), which seems almost too perfect given hi...
1794
Eli Whitney received a patent for the cotton gin
MajorWhitney's machine could clean cotton 50 times faster than by hand, revolutionizing the textile industry. Ironically, while it was meant to reduce the...
1489
The first mathematical use of the plus and minus signs appeared in print
German mathematician Johannes Widmann published a book using + and - symbols, though not quite as we use them today. It would take another century bef...