15 March 1963

A Friday in history

Weekday

Friday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

20th century

Records

326

  1. 1990

    Iraqi authorities hanged Iranian freelance reporter Farzad Bazoft on charges of spying for Israel.

    Source
  2. 1974

    Transvestism and Transsexualism in Modern Society, the UK's first trans-rights conference, opened with an evening reception in Leeds.

    Source
  3. 1960

    Students from the Atlanta University Center, inspired by similar actions in Greensboro, North Carolina, began occupying lunch counters in Atlanta, Georgia.

    Source
  4. 1956

    The musical My Fair Lady, based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, debuted at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York City.

    Source
  5. 1951

    The Iranian oil industry was nationalized in a movement led by Mohammad Mosaddegh.

    Source
  6. 1943

    World War II: German forces recaptured Kharkov after four days of house-to-house fighting against Soviet troops, ending the month-long Third Battle of Kharkov.

    Source
  7. 1943

    The deportation of 50,000 Jews from the Greek city of Thessaloniki began.

    Source
  8. 1931

    Sing-Song Girl Red Peony (booklet pictured), one of the first sound films produced in China, was released in Shanghai.

    Source
  9. 1927

    In rowing, Oxford defeated Cambridge in the inaugural edition of the Women's Boat Race.

    Source
  10. 1921

    Talaat Pasha, the main perpetrator of the Armenian genocide, was assassinated by Soghomon Tehlirian.

    Source
  11. 1918

    Finnish Civil War: The Battle of Tampere started, leading to the capture of approximately 11,000 Red prisoners, and turning the tide of the war in favour of the Whites.

    Source
  12. 1917

    Russian Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate in the February Revolution, ending three centuries of Romanov rule.

    Source
  13. 1916

    Six days after Pancho Villa and his cross-border raiders attacked Columbus, New Mexico, U.S. general John J. Pershing led a punitive expedition into Mexico to pursue him.

    Source
  14. 1910

    Prospectors drilled into a pressurized deposit within the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in California, resulting in the largest accidental oil spill in history, which eventually released 9 million barrels (1.4 million m3) of crude oil over 18 months.

    Source
  15. 1875

    John McCloskey, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, was created the first cardinal from the United States.

    Source
  16. 1874

    France and Vietnam signed the Second Treaty of Saigon, further recognizing the full sovereignty of France over Cochinchina.

    Source
  17. 1823

    American sailor Benjamin Morrell erroneously reported the existence of New South Greenland, a phantom island, near Antarctica.

    Source
  18. 1783

    George Washington delivered a speech to Continental Army officers in Newburgh, New York, asking them to support the supremacy of the Congress of the Confederation, defusing a potential coup.

    Source
  19. 1311

    In the Battle of Halmyros, the Catalan Company defeated the forces of Walter V, Count of Brienne, taking control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in present-day Greece.

    Source
  20. 1147

    Reconquista: Portuguese troops under King Afonso I captured the city of Santarém from the Almoravids.

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  21. 856

    Byzantine emperor Michael III overthrew the regency of his mother Theodora (pictured) to assume power for himself.

    Source
  22. -44

    Julius Caesar , the dictator of the Roman Republic, was stabbed to death by a group of senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus.

    Source

Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.