March 20th

Barack Obama becomes the first US President to visit Cuba since 1928, arriving for a 2 day tour.

The U.S. military charged six soldiers with abusing inmates at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Ground troops entered Iraq and a second round of air strikes against Baghdad was launched.

Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones became the first to fly a hot-air balloon nonstop around the world.

Liggett Group settled 22 state lawsuits by admitting the industry markets cigarettes to teenagers and agreeing to warn on every pack that smoking is addictive.

A jury in Los Angeles convicted Erik and Lyle Menendez of first-degree murder in the shotgun slayings of their millionaire parents. (They are serving life without parole.).

Two members of the Japanese cult Aum Sinrikyo released poisonous gas in a Tokyo subway stop during rush hour, killing 12 people and sending over 5,000 to the hospital for treatment.

Namibia becomes an independent nation.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of AZT, a drug shown to prolong the lives of some AIDS patients.

Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod.

Rock musician John Lennon of the Beatles married Yoko Ono in Gibraltar.

Dachau, 1st Nazi concentration camp, completed.

Albert Einstein presents his general theory of relativity. The revolutionary theory describes the interdependency of matter on the one hand and space and time on the other. It is one of the most influential theories in Physics.

US Secretary of State John Hay announces that all nations to whom he sent notes calling for an 'open door' policy in China have essentially accepted his stand.

German Emperor Wilhelm II fires chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel about slavery, "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was published.

Playwright Henrik Ibsen was born in Skien, Norway.

The Supreme Court affirmed its right to review state court decisions.

Napoleon Bonaparte entered Paris, beginning his Hundred Days rule.

Sir Isaac Newton - physicist, mathematician and astronomer - died in London.

The Dutch East India Company was established. During its 196-year history, it became one of the world's most powerful companies.

England's King Henry IV died.