What Happened On
Tokyo Subway Attack
March 20, 1995
Members of Aum Shinrikyo religious group release sarin gas in five coordinated attacks on Tokyo subways. Thirteen people are killed and thousands more were injured. The motive for the attacks is still unclear, although some speculate that the leader of the group, Shoko Asahara, was trying to distract authorities in order to stall an investigation into his activities. Asahara had been informed of a police raid set to take place March 22. Another possible motive was to start the apocalypse they believed was coming. About 200 members of the group were arrested, many were sentenced to life in prison, and other were executed, including Asahara who was executed in 2018.
The members of Aum Shinrikyo were also linked to a failed attempt to release a toxin in a Tokyo train station five days earlier.
Lennon and Ono in March 1969
Lennon and Ono in March 1969
Ota Benga (left and bottom) and Africans in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Ota Benga (left and bottom) and Africans in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Pigmy Once Featured as Zoo Exhibit Commits Suicide
March 20, 1916
Despondent over not being able to return to his homeland, Ota Benga commits suicide. Ota Benga was a pigmy from the Congo who was featured as an anthropology exhibit at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and then as an exhibit at the Bronx Zoo. Missionary and anthropologist Samuel Phillips Verner was searching for African people to be part of an exhibit for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition when he found Benga. Benga's wife and two children had been killed when the Force Publique attacked his village while he was out hunting. He was then captured by slave traders. Verner purchased Benga from the slave traders for a pound of salt and a bolt of cloth, although he would later claim he had rescued Benga from cannibals. Verneer, with the help of Benga, also convinced a number of other Africans to join them for their trip to the U.S. The exhibit was an immediate sensation at the Exposition, especially Benga, because his teeth had been filed to sharp points in his early youth as ritual decoration, and Benga would charge people five cents to see them. After the exhibit, Verner, Benga, and the other Africans returned to the Congo, but Benga choose to come back to the U.S. with Verner. There he was hired by the Bronx Zoo to help maintain the animal habitats. Benga spent considerable time at the monkey cage and hung a hammock inside. Eventually, the zoo began using him as an exhibit, although he was still allowed to roam the zoo grounds while not on exhibit.
African-American clergymen protested to zoo officials and Benga was released into the custody of Reverend James Gordon, who placed him in a black orphanage he ran. Several years later Gordon arranged for Benga to have his teeth capped and for Benga to live with a family in Virginia. There he continued his education and found a job at a tobacco factory, where he would tell his life story in exchange for sandwiches and root beer. Benga saved the money he earned and began making plans to return to the Congo, but then World War I broke out and passenger traffic to Africa was suspended. Depressed about not being able to return to his homeland, he built a ceremonial fire, removed the caps from his teeth, and shot himself in the heart with a pistol.
Typhoid Mary
March 20, 1907
Mary Mallon is apprehended in New York. Known as Typhoid Mary, Mallon was the first recorded U.S. case of a healthy carrier of typhoid. She is suspected of directly infecting 51 people, three of whom died, with typhoid while working as a cook. She herself remained healthy. Outbreaks of typhoid followed her wherever she worked. She was put in quarantine for three years, but released when she promised not to work as a cook. However, after release she resumed working as a cook causing several more typhoid outbreaks. She was then put in quarantine for the remainder of her life.
First Woman Executed in the Electric Chair
March 20, 1899
Martha M. Place is executed for the murder of her 17-year-old stepdaughter. Martha had attacked her stepdaughter with an axe, threw acid in her face, and then killed her by asphyxiation.
She pleaded not guilty at her trial, but with her husband as a witness against her, she was convicted of the murder.
Martha Place was struck in the head by a sleigh at age 23. Her brother said that the accident left her mentally unstable.
Although Place was the first woman to die in the electric chair, she was the third sentenced to die by electric chair, the first two being serial killer Lizzie Halliday (1894 conviction commuted and sent to an asylum) and Maria Barbella (sentenced in 1895 and acquitted the next year).
First Comic Book
March 20, 1897
The Yellow Kid, by Richard Felton Outcault, is released. It was based on his comic strip character The Yellow Kid.
The Yellow Kid was the first recurring comic strip character. The character had been featured in Truth magazine starting in 1894. The Yellow Kid represented the kids of the New York slums of the late 1800s. His head was shaved, as was common in children that had been treated for lice, and wore a nightshirt that was a hand-me-down from an older sister. Initially, the Yellow Kid's speech was written on his shirt, but this later changed to word balloons (1896). Outcault's comics popularized the use of word balloons and multi-paneled comic strips.
Simon Legree beats Uncle Tom
Simon Legree beats Uncle Tom
Uncle Tom's Cabin
March 20, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel is published in book form. It became the first American novel to sell 1,000,000 copies. It had previously been published as a serial in a Washington D.C. anti-slavery newspaper.
Napoleon - 100 Days War
March 20, 1815
The 100 Days War begins when Napoleon Bonaparte and his forces arrive in Paris after he had escaped from exile earlier that month. Wellington takes command of the allied army in Belgium. The war included Napoleon's famous defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. It lasted until July 8 (111 days).
Iraq War
March 20, 2003
The U.S. begins bombing Iraq after announcing the beginning of the Iraq War the previous day.
First AIDS Drug
March 20, 1987
AZT is approved by the FDA.
Patty Hearst (right) robbing bank
Patty Hearst (right) robbing bank
Patty Hearst Convicted of Bank Robbery
March 20, 1976
Patty Hearst, heiress to the Hearst publishing fortune, is convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to seven years. She participated in the bank robbery with the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) who had kidnapped her in 1974.
After her kidnapping, the SLA demanding the Hearst family deliver $70 worth of food to every needy person in California. The estimated cost of such an operation would have been about $400,000,000. Patty Hearst's father tried to donate $2,000,000 worth of food to the Bay Area, but the distribution turned into chaos and the SLA refused to release Patty. She claimed she was then raped and tortured to coerce her into participating in their crimes, claiming she was a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, in which a hostage bonds with their captors. She was sentenced to seven years in prison, but given clemency by U.S. President Jimmy Carter after serving 22 months and was given a full pardon in 2001 by President Bill Clinton.
First U.S. Governor Removed From Office By a State Supreme Court
March 20, 1856
W.A. Barstow of Wisconsin is removed for election irregularities.
First U.S. Treaty With an Asian Country
March 20, 1833
The Treaty of Amity and Commerce with Siam is signed. It was ratified in 1836. It was replaced by a subsequent treaty in 1921.
Lord North Resigns
March 20, 1782
Lord North resigns as Prime Minister of England, due to pressure from the peace faction in Parliament.
Birthdays
Mister Rogers (Fred McFeely Rogers)
Born March 20, 1928 d. 2003
American Emmy-winning TV personality, Presbyterian minister. One of his sweaters, which were knitted by his mother, is on display at the Smithsonian. TV: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968-2001, creator/producer/host).
"You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you; and I like you just the way you are."
Why he announces when he's feeding the fish:
"One girl and her family wrote to tell us there was a special reason why she wanted me to talk about feeding the fish each day.
Dear Mister Rogers,
Please say when you are feeding your fish, because I worry about them. I can't see if you are feeding them, so please say you are feeding them out loud.
Katie, age 5
(Father's note: Katie is blind, and she does cry if you don't say you that you have fed the fish.)"
- from Dear Mister Rogers, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?: Letters to Mister Rogers.
Photo Credit: Silly rabbit
Photo Credit: Silly rabbit
B.F. Skinner (Burrhus Frederic Skinner)
Born March 20, 1904 d. 1990
American psychologist, pioneer in behaviorism. He worked on WWII Project Pigeon, which attempted to develop pigeon-guided bombs. A glider with a bomb attached had a guidance system in the nose cone. The guidance system projected and image onto a screen. Several pigeons that were trained to recognize a particular target would peck at the screen when they saw the target. If the target moved to the edge of the screen, the pigeon's pecking would follow it on the screen and the guidance system would adjust the direction of the glider to re-center the target, thus keeping the glider on course.
Holly Hunter
Born March 20, 1958
American Oscar-winning actress. Film: Broadcast News (1987), Raising Arizona (1987), and The Piano (Oscar).
Spike Lee (Shelton Jackson Lee)
Born March 20, 1957
American actor, director. Film: She's Gotta Have It (1986), School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), and Jungle Fever (1991). In 1992, he took out an ad in Rolling Stone magazine claiming that AIDS is a government plot, against gays, blacks, and Hispanics that went out of control.
William Hurt
Born March 20, 1950 d. 2022
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: Altered States (1980), Body Heat (1981), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985, Oscar), and Broadcast News (1987).
Carl Palmer
Born March 20, 1950
British Drummer, with Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Music: Lucky Man (1970), Tarkus (1971), and Brain Salad Surgery (1974).
Pat Riley
Born March 20, 1945
American basketball coach, coached the Lakers to four NBA championships and was twice named NBA Coach of the Year.
Paul Junger Witt
Born March 20, 1941 d. 2018
American Emmy-winning film producer. He, with his partners Susan Harris (his wife) and Tony Thomas, produced a number of hit TV shows including The Partridge Family, The Golden Girls, Soap, and Empty Nest. Witt also produced the films Dead Poets Society and the TV movie Brian's Song.
Jerry Reed (Jerry Hubbard)
Born March 20, 1937 d. 2008
American Grammy-winning country musician, actor. Music: Lord, Mr. Ford (1973, #1) and She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft). Film: Smokey and the Bandit (1977).
Ted Bessell (Howard Weston Bessell, Jr.)
Born March 20, 1935 d. 1996
American actor, Emmy-winning director. TV: That Girl (1966-71, Marlo Thomas' character's boyfriend) and The Tracey Ullman Show (director).
Hal Linden (Harold Lipshitz)
Born March 20, 1931
American Emmy-winning actor, singer. TV: Barney Miller (title role).
Philip Abbott
Born March 20, 1924 d. 1998
American actor. TV: The FBI (Arthur Ward).
Bob & Ray (left)
Bob & Ray (left)
Ray Goulding
Born March 20, 1922 d. 1990
American comedian. Part of the comedy team Bob & Ray.
Carl Reiner
Born March 20, 1922 d. 2020
American Emmy-Grammy-winning actor, writer. He created the Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66) in which he played Alan Brady. He and Mel Brooks formed a comedy duo and together created the 2000 Year Old Man as one of their skits. He directed The Jerk (1979), Oh, God! (1977), and All of Me (1984).
His wife Estelle Lebost delivered the line "I'll have what she's having" in the film When Harry Met Sally… (1989).
Their son is actor/director Rob Reiner.
Jack Barry
Born March 20, 1918 d. 1984
American game-show host. TV: Joker's Wild and Twenty-One, which was involved in the '50s game show scandals. The movie Quiz Show (1994) was based on this scandal.
Vera Lynn (Vera Welch)
Born March 20, 1917 d. 2020
British singer. She became the first British artist to hit #1 on the American Billboard chart (1952) with Auf Wiederseh'n, Sweetheart. During World War II, she became known as "The Forces Sweetheart" for her performances for the troops.
Ozzie Nelson (Oswald George Nelson)
Born March 20, 1906 d. 1975
American actor, musician. TV: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (creator and star).
Edgar Buchanan
Born March 20, 1903 d. 1979
American actor. TV: Petticoat Junction (Uncle Joe) and Green Acres (Uncle Joe).
Frederick Winslow Taylor
Born March 20, 1856 d. 1915
America's first efficiency expert, called the father of scientific management.
Dunglas levitating in front of witnesses
Dunglas levitating in front of witnesses
Claimed to Levitate and Speak with the Dead
Daniel Dunglas Home
Born March 20, 1833 d. 1886
Scottish medium. He claimed to levitate and speak with the dead and was one of the most famous mediums of his time, performing for royalty and high society. Three witnesses claim that he levitated out of a third-story window and reentered the building through the window of an adjoining room.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle believed that Home's abilities were unequaled, while Harry Houdini claimed he was a fraud. Another of his critics, poet Robert Browning wrote a poem critical of Home, Sludge the Medium (1864), while his wife Elizabeth Barrett Browning remained a Home's believer.
Anne Dudley Bradstreet
Born March 20, 1612 d. 1672
American poet. First published poet of New England (1650).
Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)
Born March 20, 43 B.C. d. A.D. 18
Roman poet. Writings: Metamorphoses and Heroides.
Deaths
First Woman Executed in the Electric Chair
Martha M. Place
Died March 20, 1899 b. 1849
American murderer. First woman executed in the electric chair. She was convicted of killing her 17-year-old stepdaughter and executed in 1899. Martha had attacked her stepdaughter with an axe, threw acid in her face, and then killed her by asphyxiation.
She pleaded not guilty at her trial, but with her husband as a witness against her, she was convicted of the murder.
Martha Place was struck in the head by a sleigh at age 23. Her brother said that the accident left her mentally unstable.
Although Place was the first woman to die in the electric chair, she was the third sentenced to die by electric chair, the first two being serial killer Lizzie Halliday (1894 conviction commuted and sent to an asylum) and Maria Barbella (sentenced in 1895 and acquitted the next year).
Sir Isaac Newton
Died March 20, 1727 b. 1642
English mathematician, philosopher, astronomer. He discovered the three laws of motion, the law of gravity, and invented calculus.
Kenny Rogers
Died March 20, 2020 b. 1938
American Grammy-winning singer. Music: Lucille (1977, #1), The Gambler (1978), Lady (1980, #1), and Islands in the Stream (1983, #1).
David Rockefeller
Died March 20, 2017 b. 1915
American banker, chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. His fortune was estimated at $3.3 billion at the time of his death. He served as an officer in the U.S. Army in North Africa and France for military intelligence during World War II.
Sidney Kingsley (Sidney Kirshner)
Died March 20, 1995 b. 1906
American Pulitzer-winning playwright. Writings: Men in White (1933, Pulitzer) and Night Life (1962).
Chet Huntley (Chester Robert Huntley)
Died March 20, 1974 b. 1911
American newsman. TV: NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report. "Goodnight, Chet."
Ilya Ivanovich Ivanov
Died March 20, 1932 b. 1870
Soviet biologist, specializing in artificial insemination. He tried to create a human-ape hybrid via artificial insemination as part of Joseph Stalin's quest for a super-warrior.
James Ward Packard
Died March 20, 1928 b. 1863
American inventor, automobile maker.
Henry IV
Died March 20, 1413 b. 1367
King of England (1399-1413).
Clement III (Paolo Scolari)
Died March 20, 1191 b. ????
Italian-born religious leader, 174th Pope (1187-91).