23 March 1559

Gaza war: Israel Defense Forces killed 15 aid workers in the Rafah paramedic massacre.

A container ship ran aground and obstructed the Suez Canal for six days.

A fire and explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City, the third-largest in the United States, killed 15 workers.

The Russian space agency deorbited the space station Mir, causing it to reenter the Earth's atmosphere and break up over the Pacific Ocean.

Lee Teng-hui was elected President of the Republic of China in the first direct presidential election in Taiwan.

Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into a hillside in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast, killing all 75 people on board, after the pilot's 15-year-old son unknowingly disabled the autopilot while seated at the controls.

The demolition of Kowloon Walled City, a densely crowded slum in Hong Kong, began.

The Sierra Leone Civil War began with the invasion of the Revolutionary United Front, in an attempt to overthrow President Joseph Saidu Momoh.

Two researchers announced the discovery of cold fusion, a claim that was later discredited.

Angolan and Cuban forces defeated South Africa in the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale.

Guatemala's government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García was overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.

British journalist David Frost began a series of interviews with former U.S. president Richard Nixon, starting with the Watergate scandal.

The Nazi Party took the first step in the Gleichschaltung process by having the Enabling Act passed, giving the government the right to make laws without the involvement of the Reichstag.

Bhagat Singh, one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement, and two others were executed by the British authorities for their murder of a police officer.

Benito Mussolini and his supporters founded the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, the predecessor of the National Fascist Party.

American diplomat Durham Stevens, an employee of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was fatally shot in San Francisco by two Korean immigrants unhappy with his support of increased Japanese presence in Korea.

About 1,500 Cretans, led by Eleftherios Venizelos, met at the village of Theriso to call for the island's unification with Greece, beginning the Theriso revolt.

Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Islamic religious movement in British India.

Chaired by William McGregor, a meeting of ten English football clubs was held in London, eventually resulting in the establishment of the Football League.

Governor of California Henry Huntly Haight signed a law establishing the University of California, today a public university system that is considered a model for public institutions across the United States.

American Civil War: General Stonewall Jackson of the Confederate States Army lost the First Battle of Kernstown, but was still able to prevent the Union Army from reinforcing the Peninsula campaign.

The Italian tricolour is adopted for the flag of the Kingdom of Sardinia by Charles Albert of Sardinia during the First Italian War of Independence.

An earthquake struck central Burma, causing significant damage and killing an estimated 300 to 400 people.

American Revolution: Patrick Henry made his "Give me liberty or give me death!" speech to the House of Burgesses of Virginia, urging military action against the British Empire.

After 175 years of rule, the Trần dynasty of Vietnam was deposed by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official.

The Muslim army under Muhammad suffered a defeat against the Quraysh in the Battle of Uhud (depicted).