3 March 1181

Two passenger trains collided near Szczekociny, Poland, resulting in 16 deaths and 58 injuries.

The American heavy metal band Metallica (pictured) released their third studio album, Master of Puppets, considered one of the greatest in the genre's history.

The British rock band Jethro Tull released Thick as a Brick, a parody concept album allegedly adapted from an eight-year-old boy's epic poem.

A Polish Home Army unit massacred at least 150 Ukrainian civilians in Pawłokoma, Poland.

The first Nazi concentration camp was opened in Nohra to reduce overcrowding in prisons from the arrest of German Communists.

Thousands of women marched in Washington, D.C., "in a spirit of protest" against the exclusion of women from American society.

Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming was established as the first national forest in the United States.

Bizet's Carmen premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, with mezzo-soprano Célestine Galli-Marié in the title role (pictured).

The first indoor game of ice hockey was played at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal by James Creighton and students of McGill University.

The U.S. Congress passed the Missouri Compromise, which balanced the admission of Missouri as a slave state with that of Maine as a free state.

American Revolutionary War: Samuel Nicholas and the Continental Marines successfully landed on New Providence in the Bahamas and began a raid of Nassau, capturing the port the next day.

The Statute of Rhuddlan was enacted, introducing English common law to the Principality of Wales.

Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.

Margaret Wilson is elected as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, beginning a period lasting until August 23, 2006, where all the highest political offices (including Elizabeth II as Head of State), were occupied by women, making New Zealand the first country for this to occur.

An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.

United Airlines Flight 585 crashes on its final approach to Colorado Springs killing everyone on board.

The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.

A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.

The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.

Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.

Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.

Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.

A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11 people.