26th March 1945: Battle of Iwo Jima ends after US Marines officially secure the island from the Japanese Imperial Army during the War in the Pacific
The US invasion of Iwo Jima, known as ‘Operation Detachment’, led to five weeks of fierce fighting between around 21,000 Japanese troops and 110,000 ...
26 Mar 0s
25th March 1957: Treaty of Rome signed, which laid the foundations for the European Economic Community
The EEC, sometimes referred to as the Common Market, survived until 2009 when it was absorbed into the European ...
25 Mar 0s
24th March 1882: Robert Koch announces his discovery of the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis
Koch's announcement that he had identified the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis strengthened the emerging “germ theory” of disease, which argued that many illnesses were caused by microorganisms...
24 Mar 0s
23rd March 1806: The Lewis and Clark Expedition begins its return journey
The Lewis and Clark Expedition began its journey home, having crossed the western United ...
23 Mar 0s
22nd March 1621: Hugo Grotius, the Dutch legal scholar, escapes imprisonment in Loevestein Castle concealed inside a book chest
Grotius was permitted to have books sent to him in prison, and these were transported in a large chest. Over time his guards became less vigilant regarding the chest’s contents which led his wife and ...
22 Mar 0s
21st March 1804: The Napoleonic Code, officially known as the Civil Code of the French, comes into effect in France
Following its enactment on 21 March 1804, the Napoleonic Code became the foundation of the French legal system and was gradually extended to territories under French control during the Napoleonic ...
21 Mar 0s
20th March 1890: Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany formally accepts Otto von Bismarck’s resignation
Bismarck submitted his resignation on 18 March, two days before formally leaving office, and dedicated the rest of his life to writing his ...
20 Mar 0s
19th March 1962: Bob Dylan, the American singer-songwriter, releases his eponymous debut album
Only two tracks on Dylan’s debut album were his own compositions and it failed to hit the Billboard 100. The album sold less than 5,000 copies in its first year and earnt Dylan the nickname ‘Hammond’s...
19 Mar 0s
