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Can this last long?
Last words (to his physician) of King William III of England, who died on March 8, 1702

To the little gentleman in black velvet!
A toast by the English Jacobites to the mole whose hill made King William's horse stumble, leading to his death, March 8, 1702 (OS) (Longford 1989, 283)  

When Queen Anne of great renown
Great Britain's sceptre swayed,
Besides the Church, she dearly loved
A dirty chamber maid.
From a ballad of Queen Anne's day, referring to her daily private meetings with her chambermaid, Abigail Hill. Queen Anne ascended the throne of England on March 8, 1702

My arms fail me. Go on in the same way. I think I may have done pretty well.
One frontiersman to another after murdering 14 Christian Indians with a cooper's mallet, Gnadenhutten, Ohio, USA, March 8, 1782

Writing is easy; all you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until the drops of blood form on your forehead.
Gene Fowler, US journalist, born on March 8, 1890  

I think that it is about time that the truth of this miserable subject 'Spiritualism' should be brought out. It is now widespread all over the world, and unless it is put down soon it will do great evil. I was the first in the field and have the right to expose it.
Margaret Fox, self-confessed fraud, who died on March 8, 1891   Source  

Highly recommended:
Folklore of World Holidays
by Margaret Read MacDonald

Ancient Ways

Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home, and Other Unexplained Powers of Animals
Rupert Sheldrake

Spellcraft

The Encyclopedia of Saints

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Feast day of St Senan

(Psalmoid; Saumay; Senames; Senan of Scattery; Senames of Inis Cathaigh), bishop in Ireland

The River Shannon is believed to have been named for Senan, who was born at Magh Lacha, Kilrush, County Clare around 488 (tradition says that Saint Patrick predicted his birth).

Legend says that he chased away the Cathach (Cathaig; Cata; Péist), a monstrous sea serpent, from the island by ordering it, in the name of the Trinity, to depart, which it did, ending up in Doolough Lake at the foot of Mount Callan. One legend says that Cathach, which had spiked back, scales, a fish's tail, a nose curling up spirally, and clawed forefeet, devoured St Senan's smith, Narach, but Senan brought him back to life.

Péists, from Dysert O'Dea, Co. Clare, Ireland   Source

"Another remarkable miracle is attributed to the saint. The monks living in Iniscathaig suffered much through want of fresh water. They were often obliged to carry water to the island not only for the community but also for their cattle and sheep. In their need they besought their abbot to pray that they might find water somewhere on the island. It was revealed to the saint that water was to be found at a certain spot. When he probed the earth at the place indicated to him, he uncovered a spring of pure, fresh water.

"The monastery was not long established when the sanctity of its abbot and his community was known far and wide. In far-away Beanntraighe a holy woman named Cannera saw in a vision the glory of this island. To her it appeared as if a tall pillar of light reached up into the heavens, higher than that of any of the other monasteries in Eire. She resolved to visit this most holy spot and, if possible end her days there. At length she arrived at the island only to discover that a strict rule forbade any female to enter the place. Vain were her appeals to relax this rule in her favour. She stayed by the shore and there she languished and died. Her remains were laid to rest at the foreshore and the slab that covers her mortal remains is still to be seen."   Source

His grave, reputedly in a small oratory named St Senan's Bed, is supposed to be the site of miraculous cures:

"The entrance to the small oratory known as St. Senan's bed is blocked by a metal bar across the doorway at waist level, probably as a reminder that it is considered unlucky for unmarried women to enter this building. Local folklore says they will never marry, or will become infertile, if they do so ...

"Stones from St. Senan's bed were regarded as relics and a protection against disease and especially drowning. It was the custom at Scattery for each boat to bring on board a pebble from St. Senan's grave, or even from the beach. The stones were sometimes drilled, made into necklace charms and worn. The custom also prevailed of sailing a new boat round the island in a course opposite to the sun."   Source

Co. Clare also has a version of the Loch Ness monster – the brocshee or fairy badger of Rath Lake near Corofin.

Folklore collection in Clare    County Clare Folk-Tales and Myths    More    And more

Festival of the god Mars, ancient Rome (Mar 1 - 19)

Egyptian day (dies egypticus, dies ægypticus or dies mala), unlucky day in Medieval Europe. ("But, notwithstanding, I will trust the Lord" was the associated saying.)

Feast day of Ss Apollonius, Philemon, and others, martyrs of Egypt

Feast day of St Arian and Companions

Feast day of St Beoadh

Feast day of St Duthac (Duthak), Bishop of Ross

Feast day of St Felix of Burgundy, Bishop of Dunwich
(Great jonquil, Narcissus laetus, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)

Feast day of St Herenia

Feast day of St Humphrey

Feast day of St John of God
St John of God, born in Portugal in 1495, is the patron of nurses, hospitals and the sick. As a boy he worked as a shepherd; he then had a "misspent youth", and travelled over much of Europe as a soldier and mercenary, and suffered a brief period of insanity. In his 40s, to atone for the misery he had caused as a soldier, he checked out of the army, rented a house in Granada, Spain, and began caring for the sick, poor, homeless and unwanted. John founded the Order of Charity and the Order of Hospitallers of Saint John of God. He died in 1550. In Ireland, he is popularly the patron of alcoholics, because of the Dublin clinic bearing his name.

Feast day of St Jon Helgi Ogmundarson

Feast day of St Julian of Toledo, archbishop

Feast day of St Luigi Orione

Feast day of St Ogmund

Feast day of St Pontius

Feast day of St Provinus of Como

Feast day of St Quintilis

Feast day of St Rhian

Feast day of St Rosa, virgin of Viterbo
(Everblowing rose, Rosa semperfloreus, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.)

Feast day of St Stephen of Obazine

Feast day of St Veremundus

Feast day of St Vincent Kadlubek

Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints

Todai-ji Shunie, Tōdai-ji temple, Nara, Japan, (Mar 1 - 14)

Shimabara Hatsuichi, Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan (Mar 3 - 10)

Ottawa, Canada declared this day Alanis Morissette Day, in honor of singer Alanis Morissette, but Morissette refused to accept this honor because March 8 was already International Women's Day

Second Monday in March, Commonwealth Day

"Commonwealth Day is an annual event during which all the fifty-four member countries of the Commonwealth celebrate their links with one another.

"Commonwealth Day is held on the second Monday in March, and the day is celebrated around the world – from the Head of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty The Queen, who issues a special message, through Commonwealth Prime Ministers and Presidents to the citizens of the Commonwealth, particularly school children. Everyone celebrates in their own way, from official receptions to school assemblies, sports tournaments to concerts, multi-faith observances to tree-planting ceremonies."   Source

What is the Commonwealth?

Mothers' Day, Albania

1495 St John of God  

1714 Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach (d. 1788), composer, son of Johann Sebastian Bach and brother of another composer, Johann Christian Bach

1783 Hannah Van Buren, (d. 1819) First Lady of the United States

1827 Wilhelm Bleek (d. 1875), linguist

1841 Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr (d. 1935), Supreme Court justice

"On his ninetieth birthday he delivered a short radio speech in reply to tributes from Chief Justice Hughes and other leaders of the American bar.

"From a Latin poet he quoted the words:

"'Death plucks my ears and says, "Live – I am coming."'

"And in one line he gave the core of a life philosophy:

"'To live is to function; that is all there is to living.'"   Source  

1857 Ruggiero Leoncavallo (d. 1919), composer

1859 Kenneth Grahame (d. 1932), Scottish author (Wind in the Willows)

1872 Anna Held (d. 1918), actress and singer

1879 Otto Hahn (d. 1968), winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1944; discovered nuclear fission

1890 Gene Fowler, American journalist, novelist and biographer

1912 Preston Smith (d. 2003), Governor of Texas, USA

1915 Tapio Rautavaara (d. 1979), athlete, actor, singer

1921 Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea), American actress and dancer (Singin' in the Rain; The Band Wagon)

1931 John McPhee, writer

1932 Gerard Kennedy, Australian actor (Division 4)

1943 Lynn Redgrave, British actress English actress (Georgy Girl; Sunday Lovers); daughter of Sir Michael Redgrave; sister of Vanessa Redgrave

1945 Micky Dolenz, actor, director, musician who started as Circus Boy on TV and grew up to be one of The Monkees

More

1945 Jim Chapman, American politician

1947 Carole Bayer Sager, American singer-songwriter

1948 Gary Numan, born Gary Webb, British rock singer ('Are "Friends" Electric?'; 'We Are Glass')

1958 Gary Numan, singer

1959 Aidan Quinn, actor

1961 Camryn Manheim, actress (The Practice)

1976 Freddie Prinze Jr., actor

1977 James Van Der Beek, actor

Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section

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March

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1144 Death of Pope Celestine II.

1468 A UFO was seen near Mt Kasuga, Japan.

"... on March 8, 1468, a dark object, which made a 'sound like a wheel,' flew from Mt. Kasuga toward the west at midnight."   Source

 

 

1574 Irish pirate-chieftain, Grace O'Malley (Grainne; Gráinne Ni Mhaol; Granuaile; 1530? - 1603?) was surrounded in her Rockfleet Castle stronghold by Captain William Martin of England.

"8 March, 1574 Captain William Martin lead [sic] a force of ships and troops and laid siege to Grainne in Rockfleet castle. She rallied her defences and on the 26th turned the siege into an attack. Captain Martain was forced to beat a hasty retreat, and at the age of 44 the victory no doubt could only enhance her reputation."   Source

Granuaile links

Granuaile: The Life and Times of Grace O'Malley 1503-1603

"Madeleine Katkov, an English wall painting restorer who has been employed at the Abbey by the Office of Public Works each summer since 1991, said there was a presumption Grainne Uaile was interred in a tomb in the north wall of the Abbey "but the architecture of the building pre-dates her death by three centuries so that is very unlikely."   Source

More

 

Gaelic song (contributed by Nora Ui Dhuibhir from Ireland)

Oró sé do bheatha 'bhaile Se do bheatha a bhean ba leanmhar! B'e ar gcreach tu bheith i ngeibhinn, Do dhuiche bhrea i seilbh meirleach 'S tu diolta leis na Ghallaibh. Chorus: Oro, se do bheatha 'bhaile! Oro, se do bheatha 'bhaile! Oro, se do bheatha 'bhaile! Anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh. Ta Grainne Mhaol ag teacht thar saile, Oglaigh armtha lei mar gharda; Gaeil iad fein 's ni Gaill na Spainnigh, 'S cuirfid siad ruaig ar Ghallaibh. Chorus A bhui le Ri na bhfeart go bhfeiceam, Muna mbeam beo 'na dhiaidh ach seachtain, Grainne Mhaol agus mile gaiscioch Ag fogairt fain ar Ghallaibh. Chorus

You are welcome home Welcome Oh woman who was so afflicted, It was our ruin that you were in bondage, Our fine land in the possesion of thieves, And sold to the foreigners Chorus: Óró! You are welcome home! Óró! You are welcome home! Óró! You are welcome home! Now that summer is coming Grainne Mhaol is coming over the sea, Armed warriors along with her as guard, They are Irishmen, not English or Spanish, And they will rout the foreigners Chorus May it please the God of Miracles that we may see, Although we only live a week after it, Grainne Mhaol and a thousand warriors, Dispersing the foreigners Chorus

 

1618 Johannes Kepler discovered the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made but later on May 15 confirmed the discovery).

1702 King William III of England (and Prince of Orange; b. 1650), died five days after his horse had stumbled on a molehill in the Park at Hampton Court, and thrown him. William left no children and the crown passed to Anne, second daughter of King James II of England. The term, 'Queen Anne', when applied to a style of furniture or architecture, refers to this monarch.

William was buried in Westminster Abbey with his wife, Mary (Mary II of England). The leadership of the Dutch passed to John William Friso; the troublesome union between Britain and the Netherlands was over.

More

1750 London was shaken by an earthquake.

"The shock was at half past five in the morning. It awoke people from their sleep and frightened them out of their houses. A servant maid in Charterhouse-square, was thrown from her bed, and had her arm broken; bells in several steeples were struck by the chime hammers; great stones were thrown from the new spire of Westminster Abbey; dogs howled in uncommon tones; and fish jumped half a yard above the water. 

"London had experienced a shock only a month before, namely, on the 8th of February 1750, between 12 and 1 o'clock in the day. At Westminster, the barristers were so alarmed that they imagined the hall was falling."
William Hone, The Every-Day Book, or a Guide to the Year, William Tegg and Co., London, 1878; 1825-26 edition online

 

1782 In Ohio, USA, the Gnadenhutten massacre of Native Americans took place in which 29 men, 27 women, and 34 children were killed in cold blood.

The outrage was carried out by Pennsylvania Militiamen under Colonel Williamson, in retaliation for raids carried out by another Native American group.

The massacred Indians were coverts to Christianity (Moravian) and wore their clothes and hair according to white fashion, so mistaken identity seems unlikely. They had lived in villages in Pennsylvania in 1746, but moved to the Muskingum River in Ohio in 1773 after being attacked by other Indian tribes.

Held overnight in their chapel and allowed time to pray and meditate before their deaths, most were murdered with a cooper's mallet belonging to one of the mission artisans. All the victims were scalped and the trophies taken home by militiamen. The perpetrators were known but never punished, and reprisal massacres of whites ensued.

"The whites hailed the laborers as their friends and brothers, told the Indians that they came to save them from the dangerous Indian allies of Great Britain, and to move them closer to their friends at Pittsburgh. The Indians were still not suspicious. They left their work and walked with the white men into the village. There the whites told the Indians to pack their belongings for the journey. A number of the frontiersmen moved on to the town of Salem, where they prepared the Indians of that town for the same trek to Pittsburgh. All were to rendezvous at Gnadenhutten. The Indians of both villages freely gave up their arms-guns, axes, and knives-to their 'protectors.' Once all the Indians of both villages had gathered at Gnadenhutten the trap was sprung. No longer did the militiamen commend the Indians as good Christian people. No longer were the Indians promised better homes, more teachers, and attractive churches nearer to their white friends. Now the militia called them 'warriors,' not Christians."   Source

 

1790 The French Assembly voted to continue slavery in the colonies.

1844 King Oscar I ascended the throne of Sweden-Norway (crowned September 28).

1862 American Civil War: The iron-clad CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) was launched at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

1869 Death of Hector Berlioz (b. 1803), composer.

1874 Death of Millard Fillmore (b. 1800), 13^th President of the United States.

1889 Death of John Ericsson (b. 1803), Swedish inventor and engineer.

 

1893 American spiritualist and self-confessed fraud, Margaret Fox (b. 1836), died, penniless and alcoholic, Brooklyn, New York.  

Margaret Fox exposed herself and her sisters Catherine (1838 - July 2, '92), and Leah (1814 - '90) as frauds in 1888, demonstrating how to make knocking sounds with her toe, but many Spiritualists simply did not believe her. She later recanted her confession and claimed to have been paid money to make her exposure.

Margaret Fox's confession

"My sister Katie was the first one to discover that by swishing her fingers she could produce a certain noise with the knuckles and joints, and that the same effect could be made with the toes. Finding we could make raps with our feet - first with one foot and then with both- we practiced until we could do this easily when the room was dark. No one suspected us of any trick because we were such young children ... all the neighbors thought there was something, and they wanted to find out what it was. they were convinced some one had been murdered in the house. They asked us about it, and we would rap one for the spirit answer 'yes', not three, as we did afterwards. We did not know anything about Spiritualism then. The murder, they concluded, must have been committed in the house. They went over the whole surrounding country, trying to get the names of people who had formerly lived in the house. They found finally a man by the name of Bell, and they said that this poor innocent man had committed a murder in the house, and that these noises came from the spirit of the murdered person. Poor Bell was shunned and looked upon by the whole community as a murderer. As far as spirits were concerned, neither my sister nor I thought about it...I have seen so much miserable deception that I am willing to assist in any way and to positively state that Spiritualism is a fraud of the worst description. I do so before my God, and my idea is to expose it ... I trust that this statement, coming solemnly from me, the first and most successful in this deception, will break the force of the rapid growth of Spiritualism and prove that it is all a fraud, a hypocrisy and a delusion." New York World Newspaper, October 21, 1888

Source

Birth Of Spiritualism – The Story Of The Fox Sisters    Fox Sisters

Spiritualism, mediums; Margaret Fox to JZ Knight: criticism

Hoaxes and frauds, in Wilson's Almanac

Falsehoods in the Great Controversy - Rapping    More     And more

 

 

The Moro Crater Massacre

1906 USA troops occupying the Philippines attacked the stronghold of an "unruly" band of hill Moros, mowing the stubborn tribes people down with a combination of artillery fire and infantry assaults.

Eight years previously, in 1898, philosopher William James and other prominent US intellectuals had formed the Anti-Imperialist League to educate the public on the horrors of US policy in the Philippines. Despite the group's efforts, however, there was no great public outcry, and US destruction and domination of the Philippines continued.

Major Littletown Waller (accused of killing 11 defenceless Filipinos) said that General Smith instructed him to kill and burn, and said that the more he killed and burned the better pleased he would be; that it was no time to take prisoners, and that he was to make Samar a howling wilderness. Major Waller asked General Smith to define the age limit for killing, and he replied "Everything over ten".

An American military detachment attacked a village of Filipino Muslims (Moros) living in the hollow of a mountain in one of the southern islands. Every one of 600 men, women, and children were killed. This was the Moro Massacre, which drew an angry response from Mark Twain and other anti-imperialist Americans. Twain was a leader of the Anti-Imperialist League which opposed the annexation of the Philippines by the United States. He wrote 'Incident in the Philippines' (published posthumously in 1924) in response to the Moro Crater Massacre.

We have pacified some thousands of the islanders and buried them; destroyed their fields; burned their villages, and turned their widows and orphans out-of-doors; furnished heartbreak by exile to some dozens of disagreeable patriots; subjugated the remaining ten millions by Benevolent Assimilation, which is the pious new name of the musket; we have acquired property in the three hundred concubines and other slaves of our business partner Sultan of Sulu, and hoisted our protecting flag over that swag. And so, by the Providences of God – and the phrase is the government's, not mine – we are a World Power.
Mark Twain

Source

 

Washington, DC, March 9th, 1906.

Major-General Leonard Wood,

Commanding the Philippine Division, U.S.A.

I congratulate you and the officers and men of your command upon the brave feat of arms wherein you and they so well upheld the honor of the American flag.

Theodore Roosevelt

Articles on Moro history, culture and lifestyle    Moro Human Rights Center

Mark Twain's 'War Prayer', in the Scriptorium

 

1911 International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time.

1917 The February Revolution broke out in Russia (February 23 OS).

More

1917 The United States Senate adopted the cloture rule in order to limit filibusters. Under the cloture rule (Rule XXII), the Senate may limit consideration of a pending matter to 30 additional hours, but only by vote of three-fifths of the full Senate, normally 60 votes.

1918 The first case of Spanish flu occurred, the start of a devastating pandemic that killed some 50 million to 100 million people world-wide in 1918 and 1919. It was probably the worst pandemic in human history.

The Spanish called it the French flu, but it was no worse in either Spain or France than many other places, and probably did not start in either country. There are several theories about where the pandemic began, but the likeliest origin (PDF file) was in Haskell County, Kansas, USA.

Secrets of the Dead: Killer Flu (PBS)    The Deadliest Fall                                  Pandemic News (popup)

1921 Spanish Premier Eduardo Dato was assassinated while leaving the parliament building in Madrid.

1942 World War II: The Dutch surrendered to Japanese forces on Java.

1942 World War II: Japan captured Rangoon, Burma.

1942 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi), Indian leader and proponent of civil disobedience, addressed the All India Congress Committee in Bombay and the Quit India resolution was passed.

Gandhi Timeline

1943 World War II: Japanese troops counter-attacked American forces on Hill 700 in Bougainville in a battle that would last five days.

1947 American suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt died, New Rochelle, New York.

 

1948 The United States Supreme Court ruled that religious instruction in public schools violated the USA Constitution.

1950 The Soviet Union claimed to have an atomic bomb.

1952 Antoine Pinay became Prime Minister of France.

1952 The first artificial heart transplant surgery was performed in the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, USA on a 41-year-old steelworker, who was kept alive by this device for 80 minutes.

1957 Egypt re-opened the Suez Canal.

1959 Last television appearance of The Marx Brothers, in The Incredible Jewel Robbery.

1961 Max Conrad circumnavigated the earth in eight days, 18 hours and 49 minutes, setting a new world record.

1961 The British Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference opened in London and South African president Hendrik Verwoerd announced his country would leave on May 31.

1965 Vietnam War: 3,500 United States Marines arrived in South Vietnam, becoming the first American combat troops in Vietnam.

1965 Qantas made the first non-stop commercial flight from the USA to Australia.

 

1966 At about 2 am, Nelson's Pillar, a 41-metre (134-ft) -high monument to the British admiral in Dublin, Ireland, and a symbol of the historical British domination of the republic, was blown up by young Republicans.

Nelson Pillar, erected in honour of Admiral Horatio Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1808, was a large granite pillar with a statue of Lord Nelson on top, located in the centre of O'Connell Street in Dublin. A new monument, known as the Spire of Dublin, was erected on the long vacant site in January 2003.

 

Pictured: Students on Killiney beach (south county Dublin) clearing up after using head [in sack] for a fashion photo which was published in the national press some days later. Photographer Polo lived in the area and happened by purely by accident and with his camera. Thanks to Nora Ui Dhuibhir for arranging info and the three Nelson Pillar photos for the Book of Days and to Polo for allowing reproduction.

 

1966 Vietnam War: Australia announced it was going to substantially increase its number of troops in Vietnam.

1966 In the Blind Beggar, a notorious Whitechapel, London (East End) pub, Ronnie Kray, of the notorious Kray Twins, shot rival crook, George Cornell, through the head.

1968 Bill Graham, owner of The Fillmore, San Francisco's legendary rock ballroom, opened The Fillmore East in New York City. The opening bill featured Albert King, Tim Buckley, and Big Brother and the Holding Company.

1972 USA: The Goodyear blimp flew for the first time.

1973 Fifteen people died in a firebomb attack on the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in Brisbane, Australia – the worst mass murder in Australia at that time. Grease was smeared on the door handles to prevent the escape of patrons, and the fire was started with the ignition of two nine-litre cans of petrol in the building's foyer.

1973 Death of Ron Pigpen McKernan (b. 1945) of the Grateful Dead.

1973 Paul McCartney (later Sir Paul) pleaded guilty to charges of growing marijuana outside his Scottish countryside farm and was fined $240. Paul claimed Yoko Ono gave him the seeds and he didn't know what they would grow.

Wilson's Almanac Book of Days hip list

1974 Charles de Gaulle Airport opened in Paris, France.

1978 The first-ever radio episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams was transmitted on BBC Radio 4.

1980 USA President Jimmy Carter refused to apologise to Iran for past American inactions in that country in return for the release of American hostages being held there.

1983 La Ragnatela (Spider's Web) Women's Peace Camp, was created at Comiso, Sicily, Italy, the first overseas site for US cruise missiles.

1983 USA President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an "evil empire".

1985 Women from Eastern and Western Europe invited all citizens to sign a petition for denuclearisation.

1988 Two United States Army helicopters collided in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, killing 17 servicemen.

1988 American soap opera writers went on strike.

1989 Chinese authorities declared martial law in Tibet as pro-Dalai Lama protests gained ground.

1990 USA Admiral John Poindexter, former National Security Adviser to President Ronald Reagan, went on trial on charges arising from the Iran-Contra Affair. Poindexter was convicted on multiple felony counts on April 7, 1990 for conspiracy, obstruction of justice, perjury, defrauding the government, and the alteration and destruction of evidence. Years later he was to serve a brief stint (December, 2002, to August, 2003) as the Director of the DARPA Information Awareness Office, appointed by President George W Bush.

1991 Forty foreign journalists and two USA servicemen were captured by Iraqi soldiers. They were later released into the custody of the Red Cross in Baghdad.

1993 South Korea's President Kim Yung-Sam dismissed two key generals in a move to begin reforms.

1993 Women's Strike Day in cities across Germany protested an anti-abortion court ruling.

1994 Thirty-six hours after leaving hospital following a kidney operation, Carol Matthews of Australia was bitten by a brown snake caught in a redback spider's web - and by the spider. Doctors said it was almost a miracle that she survived the 'double whammy'.

1999 USA: Oklahoma City bombing: The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the murder convictions of Timothy McVeigh.

2004 A new, democratically founded constitution was signed by Iraq's Governing Council.

 

 

Tomorrow: Strinennia, ancient Slavic holiday