Today is my birthday. It is a reminder that, once again, another year has passed circling the sun. Unfortunately, my birthday has often been coincidental with major, not necessarily, good events. This is not my fault, because some of them happened long before I arrived on this planet. But then, if some of the stories told by my parents are true, my added presence may have contributed somewhat to the chaos. So, to those of you who choose to blame everything on me, please be aware that March 11 is famous for a lot of things, other than my birthday. Some of these are good, some are very bad. I accept zero responsibility other than acknowledging the completion of another cycle around the Sun.<\/p>\n
1425 BC<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty).<\/p>\n 537<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Goths lay siege to Rome<\/p>\n 843<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Icon veneration officially re-instated in Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople<\/p>\n 928<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Trpimir II succeeds to the Croatian throne.<\/p>\n 1387<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0The Battle of Castagnaro begins.<\/p>\n 1502<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Ismail I, founder of the Safavid dynasty, crowned Shah of Persia (rules till 1524)<\/p>\n 1513<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Giovanni de’ Medici chosen Pope\u00a0Leo X<\/a><\/p>\n 1567<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Geuzen army leaves Walcheren to return to Oosterweel<\/p>\n 1597<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Archduke Albrecht occupies Amiens, France<\/p>\n 1649<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0The Frondeurs (French rebels) and the French government sign the Peace of Rueil.<\/p>\n 1665<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0NY approves new code guaranteeing Protestants religious rights<\/p>\n 1669<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Mt Etna in Sicily erupts in its largest recorded eruption, killing 15,000<\/p>\n 1702<\/strong><\/a> 1st English daily newspaper “Daily Courant” published<\/p>\n 1708<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Queen Anne<\/a>\u00a0withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation<\/p>\n 1744<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0English auction house Sotheby’s holds its first ever auction (of books) in London<\/p>\n 1779<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0US Army Corps of Engineers established (1st time)<\/p>\n 1789<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Benjamin Banneker<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Pierre Charles L’Enfant<\/a>\u00a0begin to lay out Washington, D.<\/p>\n 1791<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Samuel Mulliken is 1st to obtain more than one US patent<\/p>\n 1795<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Battle at Kurdla India: Mahratten beat Mogols<\/p>\n 1812<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Citizenship granted to Prussian Jews<\/p>\n 1823<\/strong><\/a>\u00a01st normal school in US opens, Concord Academy, Concord, Vermont<\/p>\n 1824<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0US War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs<\/p>\n 1829<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Johann Sebastian Bach<\/a>‘s “St Matthew Passion” is revived by\u00a0Felix Mendelssohn<\/a>, aged 20, conducting in Berlin<\/p>\n 1835<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0HMS Beagle anchors off Valparaiso, Chile<\/p>\n 1845<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0The Flagstaff War: In New Zealand, Chiefs Hone Heke and Kawiti lead 700 M\u0101oris to chop down the British flagpole and drive settlers out of the British colonial settlement of Kororareka because of breaches of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.<\/p>\n 1848<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government<\/p>\n 1850<\/strong><\/a> Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania opens 2nd female medical school in the US<\/p>\n 1851<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Giuseppe Verdi<\/a>‘s opera “Rigoletto” premieres in Venice<\/p>\n 1855<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Bowery Boys gang leader William Poole aka “Bill the Butcher<\/a>” is buried in Brooklyn with 155 carriages and 6,000 mourners<\/p>\n 1861<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Confederate convention in Montgomery adopts constitution (US Civil War)<\/p>\n 1862<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Abraham Lincoln<\/a>\u00a0removes George McClellen as general-in-chief<\/p>\n 1862<\/strong><\/a> General Stonewall Jackson<\/a>\u00a0evacuates Winchester Virginia Army of the Potomac. Gen Henry Halleck is named general-in-chief<\/p>\n 1863<\/strong><\/a>\u00a025th Grand National: George Stevens wins his 2nd GN aboard 4\/1 Emblem; winning mare’s full sister Emblematic wins the following year<\/p>\n 1864<\/strong><\/a> Dale Dike on Humber River crumbles.\u00a0The Great Sheffield Flood: the largest man-made disaster ever to befall England kills over 250 people in Sheffield<\/p>\n 1865<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0General\u00a0William T. Sherman<\/a>‘s Union forces occupies Fayetteville, North Carolina<\/p>\n 1867<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Giuseppe Verdi<\/a>‘s opera “Don Carlos” premieres in Paris<\/p>\n 1869<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0The West first learns of the Giant Panda via French missionary Armand David who receives a skin from a hunter<\/p>\n 1872<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain<\/p>\n 1872<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0The Meiji Japanese government officially annexes the Ryukyu Kingdom into what would become the Okinawa prefecture<\/p>\n 1876<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0English FA Cup Final, Kennington Oval, London: Wanderers and Old Estonians draw, 1-1; Wanderers win replay, 3-0 for 3rd title<\/p>\n 1882<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association organized in Princeton, New Jersey<\/p>\n 1882<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Fridtjof Nansen<\/a>\u00a0sets out on a sea voyage to study Arctic zoology<\/p>\n 1888<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Great blizzard of ’88 strikes northeastern USA<\/p>\n 1892<\/strong><\/a>\u00a01st public basketball game (Springfield, Massachusetts)<\/p>\n 1893<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Carlos Gardel<\/a>\u00a0and his mother, Berthe Gard\u00e8s, arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina<\/p>\n 1895<\/strong><\/a> Spanish cruiser Reina Regente sinks in Straits of Gibraltar, over 400 die.<\/p>\n 1897<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0A meteorite enters the earth’s atmosphere and explodes over New Martinsville, West Virginia. The debris causes damage but no human injuries are reported.<\/p>\n 1900<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0British Prime Minister\u00a0Lord Salisbury<\/a>\u00a0rejects peace overtures from the Boer leader\u00a0Paul Kruger<\/a>\u00a0(on 5 March) as demanding too-favourable terms<\/p>\n 1901<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Cincinnati Enquirer reports Baltimore manager John McGraw signed Cherokee Indian Tokohoma, who is really black 2nd baseman Charlie Grant<\/p>\n 1904<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Brandon Wheat Kings in 2 games<\/p>\n 1905<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Stanley Cup, Dey’s Arena, Ottawa, ON: Ottawa Senators beat Rat Portage Thisles, 5-4 for 2-1 challenge series victory<\/p>\n 1910<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Jack Hobbs scores 187 vs South Africa, his 1st international test hundred only to get out hit wicket<\/p>\n 1912<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0First Stanley Cup challenge game to be played in three 20-minute periods (formerly 30-minute halves), Quebec beats Moncton, 9-3 on way to series sweep<\/p>\n 1912<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Eleftherios Venizelos<\/a>, leader of the Liberal Party, wins the Greek elections again.<\/p>\n 1915<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0The British declare a blockade of all German ports<\/p>\n 1917<\/strong><\/a>\u00a01st NHL championship game ever played, Toronto Arenas beats Montreal Canadiens 7-3 in 1st of 2 game set (second game on March 13)<\/p>\n 1917<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0British forces occupy Baghdad, the capital of Mesopotamia, after Turkish forces evacuated<\/p>\n 1918<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Moscow becomes capital of revolutionary Russia<\/p>\n 1918<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Save the Redwoods League founded<\/p>\n 1918<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0US Army mess cook Private Albert Gitchell of Fort Riley, Kansas becomes the first documented case of Spanish flu; start of worldwide pandemic killing 50-100 million<\/p>\n 1919<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0General strike in Germany crushed<\/p>\n 1920<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Syria proclaims Emir Feisal king after the country has fought off French domination<\/p>\n 1922<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Western Hockey Championship: Vancouver Millionaires (PCHA) sweep Regina Capitals, in 2 games<\/p>\n 1924<\/strong><\/a>\u00a03rd term of Belgium Theunis government begins<\/p>\n 1924<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Eden Phillpotts’ “Farmer’s Wife” premieres in London<\/p>\n 1924<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0NHL Championship: Montreal Canadiens sweeps Ottawa Senators in 2 games<\/p>\n 1926<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Eamon da Valera ends leadership of Sinn F\u00e9in<\/p>\n 1927<\/strong><\/a>\u00a01st armored commercial car hold-up in US, Pittsburgh<\/p>\n 1927<\/strong><\/a>\u00a01st golden gloves tournament<\/p>\n 1927<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens famous Roxy Theater (NYC)<\/p>\n 1930<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0William Taft, American 27th President & Chief Justice buried in Arlington Cemetery<\/p>\n 1931<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union<\/p>\n 1935<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Bank of Canada first opens on Wellington Street, Ottawa<\/p>\n 1935<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Hermann Goering<\/a>\u00a0officially creates the Luftwaffe (German Air Force)<\/p>\n 1938<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Artur Seyss-Inquart replaces Kurt von Schuschnigg as Chancellor of Austria; German troops also entered the country<\/p>\n 1941<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0Bronko Nagurski<\/a>\u00a0beats Ray Steele in Minn, to become wrestling champ<\/p>\n 1941<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0FDR<\/a>\u00a0signs Lend-Lease Bill (lend money to Britain)<\/p>\n 1942<\/strong><\/a>\u00a01st deportation train leaves Paris for Auschwitz Concentration Camp<\/p>\n