March 30th

1st recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet.

President Barack Obama asserted unprecedented government control over the auto industry, rejecting GM and Chrysler's restructuring plans and engineering the ouster of GM's chief executive, Rick Wagoner..

American reporter Jill Carroll, a freelancer for The Christian Science Monitor, was released after 82 days as a hostage in Iraq.

The Queen Mother Elizabeth of England died at the age of 101.

A jury in Portland, Ore., ordered Philip Morris to pay $81 million to the family of a man who died of lung cancer after smoking Marlboros for four decades.

Pope John Paul II issued an encyclical condemning abortion and euthanasia as crimes that no human laws could legitimize.

President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by John Hinckley as he left a Washington hotel.

Thousands of Palestinians protest against Israel's massive land expropriation. In the event, which is annually commemorated on Land Day, 6 protesters were killed and scores injured by Israeli police.

Northern Ireland's Government and Parliament dissolved by the British Government and 'direct rule' from Westminster is introduced.

The TV game show "Jeopardy!" premiered on NBC.

Dalai Lama flees China and is granted political asylum in India.

The Soviet Union invaded Austria during World War II.

The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race.

Secretary of State William H. Seward reached agreement with Russia to purchase Alaska for $7.2 million, a deal roundly ridiculed as 'Seward's Folly.'.

The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War. Russia lost the war to a coalition of the Ottoman Empire, France, Britain, and Sardinia.

The Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the Crimean War.

Anesthesia was used for the first time in an operation.

Florida became a U.S. territory.