WHAT HAPPENED ON 19. MARCH
Want to find out what all happened on 19. March

World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 724 of her crew. Badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under her own power. (19. March 1945)

World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his "Nero Decree" ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed. (19. March 1945)

French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion become overseas départements of France. (19. March 1946)

Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in colour. (19. March 1954)

Willie Mosconi sets a world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio. The record still stands today. (19. March 1954)

The Monarch Underwear Company fire leaves 24 dead and 15 injured. (19. March 1958)

Highly influential artist, Bob Dylan releases his first album, Bob Dylan, on Columbia Records label. (19. March 1962)

The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000 and said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is discovered by teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, exactly 102 years after its destruction. (19. March 1965)

Texas Western becomes the first college basketball team to win the Final Four with an all-black starting lineup. (19. March 1966)

The 385 metres (1,263 ft) tall TV-mast at Emley Moor, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up. (19. March 1969)

The United States House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN. (19. March 1979)

Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the United Kingdom. (19. March 1982)

Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as head of the PTL Club due to a brewing sex scandal; he hands over control to Jerry Falwell. (19. March 1987)

The Egyptian Flag is raised on Taba, Egypt announcing the end of the Israeli occupation after the Yom Kippur War in 1973 and the peace negotiations in 1979. (19. March 1989)

The ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureş begin four days after the anniversary of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas. (19. March 1990)

Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses and of electoral fraud, following a turbulent presidential election. (19. March 2002)

Konginkangas bus disaster: A semi-trailer truck and a bus crash head-on in Äänekoski, Finland. 24 people are killed and 13 injured. (19. March 2004)

A Swedish DC-3 shot down by a Russian MiG-15 in 1952 over the Baltic Sea is finally recovered after years of work. The remains of the three crewmen are left in place, pending further investigations. (19. March 2004)

3-19 Shooting Incident: Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian is shot just before the country's presidential election on March 20. (19. March 2004)

GRB 080319B: A cosmic burst that is the farthest object visible to the naked eye is briefly observed. (19. March 2008)