March 10th

First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.

The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaks at 5132.52, signalling the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom.

James Earl Ray was sentenced in Memphis, Tennessee, to 99 years in prison for the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., in April 1968.

Neil Simon's play "The Odd Couple" opened on Broadway.

A revolt erupts in Lhasa, sparking the Tibetan uprising. Fearing the Dalai Lama's abduction by China, 300,000 Tibetans surrounded his palace.

Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was born in Saudi Arabia.

Fulgencio Batista assumes power in Cuba after a coup. The dictator was overthrown by rebels under the command of Che Guevara in 1959.

The body of Jan Masaryk, Czechoslovakia's anti-Communist foreign minister was found. Officially a suicide, the real cause of death has never been proven.

The most destructive bombing raid in history hits Tokyo. About 100,000 Tokyo citizens died in the fires caused by the U.S. airforce's incendiary bombs.

Home Rule Act passed by the British Parliament, dividing Ireland into two parts; it is rejected by the southern counties, where the Ango-Irish war continues for a year.

1st telephone call; Alexander Graham Bell says "Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you" to his assistant Thomas Watson.

Ulysses S. Grant became commander of the Union armies during the Civil War.

West African political leader El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Segou, destroying the Bambara Empire of Mali.

The Senate ratified the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the war with Mexico.

Thomas Jefferson was appointed minister to France, succeeding Benjamin Franklin.

USS Alliance under Captain Barry fights and wins last naval battle of US Revolutionary War off Cape Canaveral.

Charles I of England dissolves Parliament and rules alone for 11 years.

Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain.