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This Day in History - March

Can you guess these things that happened in the month of March?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: August 13, 2020
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First submittedSeptember 27, 2012
Times taken37,696
Average score64.5%
Rating4.38
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Date
Year
Clue
Answer
Mar 1
1998
This film becomes the first to gross $1 billion worldwide
Titanic
Mar 2
1946
Ho Chi Minh is elected President of this country
North Vietnam
Mar 3
1861
Serfdom is abolished in this country
Russia
Mar 4
1980
Robert Mugabe begins his long and disastrous reign as ruler
of this African nation
Zimbabwe
Mar 5
1770
British troops massacre five Americans in this city
Boston
Mar 6
1869
Dmitri Mendeleev presents this table to the Russian Chemical Society
Periodic Table
Mar 7
1912
Roald Amundsen's discovery of this location is announced
South Pole
Mar 8
1957
This canal is re-opened following a crisis which had shut it down
Suez Canal
Mar 9
141 BC
Emperor Wu, of this dynasty, begins his 54 year reign
as ruler of China
Han
Mar 10
1969
James Earl Ray pleads guilty to the assassination of this leader
Martin Luther
King, Jr.
Mar 11
2011
A 9.0 earthquake strikes this country
Japan
Mar 12
1938
In an event known as the Anschluss, this country is annexed by Germany
Austria
Mar 13
2013
This Pope is elected
Francis
Mar 14
1794
Eli Whitney is granted a patent for this invention, increasing the
profitability of plantations in the American South
Cotton gin
Mar 15
44 BC
This leader is assassinated on the floor of the Roman Senate
Julius Caesar
Mar 16
597 BC
Jerusalem is captured by this empire
Babylon
Mar 17
1969
This woman becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel
Golda Meir
Mar 18
1992
South Africans pass a referendum to end this practice
Apartheid
Mar 19
1882
Construction begins on the Sagrada Familia church in this city
(It's still under construction today)
Barcelona
Mar 20
2003
The U.S. invades this country, looking for weapons of mass destruction
Iraq
Mar 21
1963
This California prison, known as "The Rock", closes after 29 years
Alcatraz
Mar 22
1993
Intel ships this computer chip
Pentium
Mar 23
1919
This leader founds the Fascist movement
Benito Mussolini
Mar 24
1603
This Scottish king becomes King of England
James I
Mar 25
1584
Sir Walter Raleigh is given a royal patent to colonize this U.S. state
Virginia
Mar 26
1830
This Latter-Day Saints religious text is published
Book of Mormon
Mar 27
1968
Suharto follows Sukarno as President of this country
Indonesia
Mar 28
1854
This war heats up as the U.K. and France declare war on Russia
Crimean War
Mar 29
1961
The 23rd amendment is ratified, allowing citizens of this city
to vote in U.S. Presidential elections
Washington D.C.
Mar 30
1959
This religious leader enters India, seeking asylum
Dalai Lama
Mar 31
1889
This tower, constructed for the 1889 World's Fair, is officially opened
Eiffel Tower
+4
Level 25
Mar 12, 2013
It's a bit disappointing that more people don't know about the Dalai Lama.
+6
Level 74
Oct 4, 2013
Is it though? He claimed asylum because the uprising that he and the land-owning elite had started with CIA funding and training had failed. It failed in part because only the lamas and the rich Tibetans joined it; the vast majority of Tibetans had no desire to bring back the repressive and brutal rule of the Tibetan clergy, headed by the Dalai Lama. This was a regime built on slavery, while the religious elite lived in ostentatious opulence. I'm no fan of the Chinese system of government, but it's immeasurably better than the Tibetan theocracy was.
+17
Level 84
May 5, 2014
Uhhh, I think Zivi was just commenting that more people taking the quiz should have answered the Dalai Lama question correctly. It wasn't a comment on the geo-political impact.
+16
Level 82
Mar 1, 2015
Partially true. Tibet was one of the last holdouts for slavery. It was only abolished there after the region was annexed to China.

However, saying the Tibetan theocracy was immeasurably worse than living under Chinese rule I think is a gross overstatement. Maybe living in China today isn't so bad, but, in the 1950s during Mao's "great leap forward?" (which is when Tibet was first annexed)... I'd say it was probably equally bad or worse.

+8
Level 76
Mar 1, 2021
Not to mention that the Dalai Lama was only like 14 when China invaded. He can't really be blamed for the state of Tibet at the time, and it's perfectly possible that he would have reformed a lot of the barbaric practices practiced in Tibet if he had the chance.
+3
Level 71
Mar 1, 2021
Agree with kal, but I'd also say it extends to Tibet today. The human rights situation in Tibet is even worse than it is in mainland China. There are even signs that China is importing their model of internment from Xinjiang to use on the Tibetans now.

Also, this Dalai Lama seems like a pretty open-minded, reformist leader. While this may be a result of his exile and tumultuous life, I still feel like Tibet under him would be much better off than it is under China.

+5
Level 83
May 12, 2014
It's far enough down the quiz that a lot of people probably run out of time before even reading the question.
+2
Level 44
Mar 2, 2015
I knew it, I just couldn't spell it
+2
Level 51
May 1, 2015
I probably would have thought of him, but I ran out of time.
+1
Level 48
May 6, 2014
I only missed Titanic. I thought it was older than that.
+3
Level 82
Mar 1, 2015
Got everything, but, re: Titanic, I think Jurassic Park passed the billion dollar mark in 1994. At least I had read that before. Box Office Mojo has its total at 1.029 billion, though that might include 45 million from JP 3D which, if accurate, would mean it made *just* under a billion dollars in its initial run.
+3
Level 84
Aug 14, 2020
Yep, that does include the takings from JP 3D, so it didn't cross the billion dollar mark until 2013.
+2
Level 82
Mar 1, 2021
Whatever I once read may have been rounding up. ::shrug::
+1
Level 70
Feb 23, 2017
Should add without inflation to the movie question.
+4
Level 70
Mar 4, 2021
Then the answer as given wouldn't be correct. Depending on how one does the math, that title would probably go to Gone With the Wind.
+2
Level 47
Mar 1, 2018
Can you add a lot more type ins for alcatraz? like alkatroz and alkatraz and such
+17
Level 66
Jun 8, 2019
And albatros!
+3
Level 52
Dec 8, 2020
And Alkatras!
+11
Level 78
Mar 1, 2021
And Azkaban and Arkansas
+7
Level 65
Mar 1, 2021
And Abkhazia and Azerbaijan!
+5
Level 35
Mar 1, 2021
And Armenia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, and Afnagninsgnsing
+6
Level 81
Mar 6, 2021
Don't forget alka seltzer
+4
Level 66
May 18, 2022
or, of course, alkaline!
+2
Level 67
Mar 19, 2023
And alchemy!
+1
Level 74
Mar 1, 2018
Bummer, it's called pentium, not pentum or pentem.
+6
Level 46
Mar 1, 2018
Quizmaster, I appreciate that in your wording of the question you used Latter-Day Saints. It's nice to see people using the actually name for the church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I understand that using Mormon in the question would have given the answer away, but thanks anyway.
+3
Level 66
Jun 8, 2019
Man I can never get use to the fact that english calls medicine drugs.. Very confusing if you have heard all your life say no to drugs, drugs are bad etc etc. And suddenly it is a good thing..

My brain allways needs a second when hearing, I am going to the drugstore. What ?! you have stores for that?? (Well I think it used to be a second, now it is 0,0001 second, but still a little pause)

+3
Level 79
Dec 21, 2020
Not only the 'English' call them drugs. And 'drugstore' is term only used in North America. The 'English' tend to call them 'pharmacies' or 'chemists'.
+5
Level 88
Mar 1, 2021
I think Sifhraven is referring to the language, not the constituent country of the UK.
+2
Level 79
Sep 1, 2021
Oh I see.
+1
Level 43
Mar 1, 2024
Plenty of medicine can be just as harmful as drugs in sufficient quantities.
+6
Level 79
Aug 14, 2020
I can't work out whether 'massacre' of 5 people is meant ironically.
+2
Level 82
Aug 14, 2020
I think it is
+13
Level 88
Aug 29, 2020
I don't think the quizmaster is making a statement one way or the other, it's just that the event is commonly referred to as the Boston Massacre.
+3
Level 76
Mar 1, 2021
I personally view it as a genocide
+2
Level 79
Sep 1, 2021
of 5 people.
+1
Level 65
Mar 1, 2024
That event becoming historically known as the Sons of Liberty’s propaganda version of the name is still one of the most hilarious twists of American history to me.
+1
Level 65
Mar 4, 2024
Kill one and you'll get the electric chair. Kill many and you'll go to a psych war and be examined. Kill inummerable 1,000s and we can't handle it - we even admire it, congratulate the killing. -eddy izzard
+12
Level 82
Aug 14, 2020
The answer to the king question should be displayed as James VI. He became James I of England, but the question says "this Scottish king", and he was James VI of Scotland. (I am not suggesting either number should be required.)
+2
Level 82
Aug 14, 2020
Chinese *emperor (not emporer)
+2
Level ∞
Aug 14, 2020
Ok
+10
Level 87
Aug 14, 2020
I don't think Amundsen can be said to have "discovered" the South Pole. Its existence and location were pretty well known for a long time! I'd say his "arrival at this location" would be more accurate.
+2
Level 75
Feb 2, 2021
I thought that too.
+4
Level 65
Mar 2, 2021
My thoughts too, Amundsen can't have discovered the south pole if everyone knew it was there already, he was just the first person to go there.

It's like saying Apollo 11 discovered the moon!

+1
Level 48
Nov 21, 2021
And if you keep that question, can you at least accept Antarctica as a answer?
+1
Level 77
Nov 23, 2021
oh man...i REALLY want to start saying Neil Armstrong discovered the moon now.
+1
Level 72
Aug 29, 2020
That’s a lot tougher than Feb.

A little more leeway on the Israeli leader would be nice. I got her name, first name and surname, but missed one letter from the latter.

+2
Level 75
Mar 1, 2021
I love how the Quizmaster's personal hatred for Mugabe is manifested in so many quizzes.
+1
Level 75
Mar 2, 2021
Well, there was plenty there not to like. That said, it took more than fifteen years for many of its worst manifestations to reach their peak. It would be possible to switch the Mugabe and Suharto questions so that Mugabe would have followed the Apartheid-like UDIers of Ian Smith; and with Suharto beginning his long and disastrous (and massively more murderous) reign immediately upon taking over.
+2
Level 43
Mar 1, 2024
This is an interesting point people fail to realize. White Zimbabweans didn't start having their land taken away from them until the mid to late 1990s with the hyper inflation only getting bad in the 2000s. That's a whole decade+ into his reign.
+2
Level 59
Mar 1, 2021
Can you accept antartica for the south pole as well?
+4
Level 65
Mar 2, 2021
People had already been to Antartica before this point, Amundsen was the first person to the South Pole, not the first person on Antartica.
+6
Level 66
Mar 6, 2021
The answer to the Scottish king should display as James VI. The question prompts the identity of the Scottish king who became king of England, not the king of England who had already been king of Scotland. James I of Scotland did not become king of England, and died in 1437, at which time Henry VI was king of England. The current combination of question and displayed answer is simply incorrect.
+1
Level 78
Sep 28, 2021
But it really doesn't matter, he was both James VI and James I. I get your point, but it's insignificant.
+2
Level 64
Feb 23, 2023
its not insignificant because James I of Scotland did not rule over England as well, therefore its actually incorrect as it asks who the Scottish king was.
+2
Level 79
Jul 25, 2023
Quizmaster doesn't appear to care, but this is true and should be changed.
+1
Level 82
Mar 26, 2023
dang it, I kept trying Muir (the co-founder of the Sierra Club) instead of Meir
+2
Level 65
Jan 2, 2024
The Boston "massacre" resulted in 5 deaths? Not to demean their deaths, but 5 hardly qualifies as a massacre. The dictionary definition suggests "many people" with examples of thousands and entire villages.
+2
Level 19
Mar 2, 2024
Yes it’s called the Boston massacre due to Paul revere and the sons of liberty propagandizing it. It seems like you don’t know much about American history
+1
Level 22
Mar 2, 2024
80 percent, but it was embarrassing to sink on the Titanic, and forget Martin Luther King's alleged assassin.