Today is Monday, March 19, the 79th day of 2012. There are 287 days left in the year.
721 B.C. ― First recorded lunar eclipse; location, Babylon
1571 ― Spanish troops occupy Manila
1644 ― 200 members of Peking imperial family/court commit suicide
1682 ― Nationally Council accept independence of French church
1915 ― Pluto photographed for first time (although unknown at the time)
1931 ― Nevada legalizes gambling
1945 ― 800 killed as Kamikaze attacked USS Franklin off Japan
1945 ― Adolf Hitler issues Nero Decree: destruction of German facilities
1995 ― Michael Jordan rejoins Chicago Bulls after 17 months, beats Pacers
1996 ― Winnie Mandela divorces Nelson after 38 years of marriage