1. 597 BC - The Babylonians capture Jerusalem and replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king.
2. 1079 - Iran adopts the solar Hijrah calendar.
3. 1190 - The York (England) pogrom occurs. Jews seek refuge in Clifford's Tower, which is then besieged by a mob. About 150 people are massacred or commit suicide rather than submit to Christian baptism.
4. 1249 - The Servite order is officially approved by Cardinal Raniero Capocci, papal legate in Tuscany.
5. 1322 - The Battle of Boroughbridge takes place in the first war of Scottish independence.
6. 1345 - The "miracle of Amsterdam" occurs, where the Holy Spirit is said to glide above fire (legend).
7. 1517 - Pope Leo X holds the last session of the Fifth Council of the Lateran, convoked to restore peace between Catholic rulers and assert the authority of the pope.
8. 1527 - The Battle of Khanua takes place. Mughal emperor Babur defeats Rajput forces led by Rana Sanga, consolidating Mughal power.
9. 1621 - A Native American chief visits the colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts.
10. 1641 - The General Court of Rhode Island declares the state a democracy and adopts a new constitution.
11. 1660 - The English Long Parliament disbands.
12. 1689 - The 23rd Regiment of Foot, or Royal Welch Fusiliers, is founded.
13. 1690 - French King Louis XIV sends troops to Ireland.
14. 1730 - William IV, Prince of Orange, is installed as Stadtholder of Drenthe.
15. 1731 - The Treaty of Vienna is signed by Prince Eugene of Savoy, Count Sinzendorf, Count Gundacker, Thomas Stah Remberg, and the British envoy to Vienna, Sir Thomas Robinson.
16. 1769 - Louis - Antoine de Bougainville's expedition of two ships completes the first French circumnavigation of the world, arriving in Saint - Malo, France. It also carries the first woman to circumnavigate the world, Jeanne Baré.
17. 1792 - King Gustav III of Sweden is shot by Count Jacob Johan Anckarström at a masked ball at the opera. He dies on March 29.
18. 1802 - The first US Military Academy at West Point is established through a congressional act. The US Army Corps of Engineers is also re - established.
19. 1815 - Willem I is proclaimed King of the Netherlands, including Belgium.
20. 1818 - The second Battle of Cancha Rayada takes place. Spanish forces defeat the Chileans under José de San Martín.
21. 1827 - The first US newspaper owned and operated by African Americans, "Freedom's Journal", begins publishing in New York City.
22. 1830 - London's re - organised police force (Scotland Yard) is established. The New York Stock Exchange has its slowest day ever, with only 31 shares traded.
23. 1834 - Charles Darwin, aboard HMS Beagle, anchors in the recently British - acquired Falklands Islands for the first time.
24. 1836 - The Constitution of the Republic of Texas is approved, legalising slavery.
25. 1850 - Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" is published by Ticknor, Reed and Fields in Boston.
26. 1857 - Stefano Ronchetti - Monteviti's opera "Pergolese" premieres at La Scala in Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy (now Italy).
27. 1861 - Arizona Territory votes to leave the Union. The Confederate government appoints commissioners to Britain. Edward Clark becomes governor of Texas, replacing Sam Houston, who is evicted from office for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy.
28. 1865 - The Battle of Averasboro, North Carolina, takes place, with 1,500 casualties.
29. 1870 - Hiram R. Revels makes the first official speech by an African American in the US Senate.
30. 1871 - The first fertilizer law is enacted.
31. 1872 - The first English FA Cup final is held at Kennington Oval, London. The Wanderers defeat the Royal Engineers 1 - 0, with Morton Betts scoring the winner.
32. 1875 - The English FA Cup final replay is held at Kennington Oval, London. The Royal Engineers beat the Old Etonians 2 - 0 after an initial 1 - 1 draw.
33. 1876 - Nelly Saunders and Rose Harland fight the first female boxing match in New York.
34. 1882 - The US Senate ratifies the Geneva Convention of 1864, legitimatizing the International Red Cross and the American Red Cross.
35. 1894 - Jules Massenet's opera "Thaïs" premieres in Paris, including the piece "Méditation" for violin and orchestra.
36. 1896 - Gustav Mahler conducts the premiere of his "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" (Songs of a Wayfarer), leading the Berlin Philharmonic and Dutch baritone Anton Sistermans as soloist.
37. 1900 - The American League meets in Chicago. Ban Johnson announces that the AL league will consist of the Chicago White Stockings, Washington Senators, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Blues, Boston Americans, Philadelphia Athletics, and Baltimore Orioles. Sir Arthur Evans rediscovers the Bronze Age city of Knossos in Crete, home of the legendary Minotaur.
38. 1907 - The first - class cricket game between NSW and Western Australia takes place.
39. 1910 - Barney Oldfield uses a Benz to break the existing records at the Daytona Beach road course (131.25 mph).
40. 1911 - The Stanley Cup is held at Dey's Arena, Ottawa. The Ottawa Senators beat the Port Arthur Bearcats (ON) 13 - 4.
41. 1915 - The British battlecruisers "Indefatigable" and "Irresistible" strike mines in the Dardanelles.
42. 1916 - The US and Canada sign the Migratory Bird Treaty.
43. 1917 - Grand Duke Michael of Russia, the brother of Tsar Nicholas II, postpones his acceptance of the Russian throne.
44. 1922 - Egypt gains independence from Britain, but British troops remain stationed in the country.
45. 1924 - Mussolini's fascist regime officially annexes the Free State of Fiume.
46. 1926 - Robert Goddard successfully launches the world's first liquid - fuel rocket in Massachusetts.
47. 1935 - Nazi Germany violates the Treaty of Versailles and begins implementing conscription.
48. 1945 - The Soviet Union launches the Vienna Offensive.
49. 1968 - The My Lai Massacre occurs. US troops kill hundreds of unarmed civilians in the hamlet of My Lai, Vietnam.
50. 1988 - A poison gas attack kills 5,000 civilians in the Kurdish town of Halabjah, likely on the orders of Iraqi despot Saddam Hussein.