The United States invaded Iraq, beginning the Iraq War
MajorOperation Iraqi Freedom began with aerial bombardment of Baghdad in what was called 'shock and awe.' Despite initial claims that the war would last we...
March 20 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2003
1985
Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
She won by making a daring decision to push through a blizzard while her male competitors waited it out, gaining an insurmountable lead. When told the...
1980
The pirate radio station Radio Caroline sank in heavy storms off the British coast
The ship-based station had broadcast illegally from international waters for 16 years, helping launch the careers of famous DJs. When it sank, it stil...
1969
John Lennon married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar
The Beatles member chose Gibraltar because it was the only British territory where they could marry without needing to wait for residency requirements...
1956
Tunisia gained independence from France
After 75 years as a French protectorate, Tunisia became an independent nation through negotiation rather than violent revolution. Habib Bourguiba beca...
1950
The Soviet Union announced that it possessed the atomic bomb
This announcement shocked the Western world and marked the beginning of the nuclear arms race and Cold War tensions. The Soviets had successfully test...
1933
The Dachau concentration camp opened near Munich, Germany
MajorThis was the first regular concentration camp established by the Nazi regime, initially to hold political prisoners. It would remain in operation for...
1916
Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity
MajorThis revolutionary paper fundamentally changed our understanding of gravity, space, and time. Einstein showed that massive objects actually bend the f...
1890
Gottlieb Daimler's company built the world's first four-wheeled automobile
The vehicle was a converted carriage with a 1.5 horsepower engine that could reach the blazing speed of 10 mph. Daimler would later merge his company...
1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe's 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was published
MajorThis anti-slavery novel became the best-selling book of the 19th century after the Bible, selling 300,000 copies in its first year. The book so powerf...
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris from exile in Elba, beginning the Hundred Days
MajorAfter escaping from his island prison, Napoleon marched to Paris without firing a single shot as soldiers sent to arrest him instead joined his cause....
1602
The Dutch East India Company was officially established
MajorThis became the world's first publicly traded company and the first multinational corporation. At its peak, it was worth about $7.9 trillion in today'...