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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on March 14th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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Géza I becomes King of Hungary after being victorious at the decisive battle of Mogyoród on March 14, 1074 against his cousin King Solomon maintained power in the western regions of Moson and Pressburg (Bratislava), leading to continued, though reduced, conflict with Géza who died in 1077.
After Geza I died in 1077, he was succeeded by his brother Ladislaus I (also known as Saint Ladislas or László I), reigning until 1095.
Pope Innocent III issues a papal bull calling for the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics in southern France c, March 14, 1208, after a papal legate, Pierre de Castelnau, was assassinated. Pope Innocent III, offered indulgences (forgiveness for sins) to participants and promised the lands of the heretics to any noble who would fight.
The Albigensian Crusade did not officially begin until the following year, when the crusader army assembled in Lyon in southern France in the summer of 1209 and went on to commit the "Massacre at Béziers" on July 22, 1209. Where the Crusaders sacked the city, slaughter thousands of inhabitants, both Cathars and Catholics, and burned the city to the ground. The event is associated with the phrase, "Kill them all; God will know his own," allegedly uttered by papal legate Arnaud Amalric.
The military Albigensian campaign continued for 20 years until1229. But shifted after the Béziers massacre, to more of an Inquisition led "search and punish campaign" to root out remaining Cathar "heretics". It technically ended on April 12, 1229, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris (Treaty of Meaux), which secured French royal control over Languedoc. However resistance continued until 1244 with the fall of Montségur, and the final Cathar stronghold of Quéribus fell in 1255, following years of Inquisition, about 45 years after it started.
Duke Charles of Habsburg was officially proclaimed King of Spain (as Charles I), on March 14, 1516, after the death of his grandfather Ferdinand II on January 23, 1516. Charles was the first monarch to simultaneously rule both the Castilian and Aragonese crowns. In 1519, he became Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.
Eli Whitney was granted a U.S. patent on March 14, 1794 for the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the American cotton industry. The machine was developed to speed up the removal of seeds from raw cotton, dramatically increasing production efficiency, and transforming the South’s economy.
The cotton gin, mechanically separated seeds from fiber, increasing the daily processing from one pound to roughly 50–55 pounds per person., massively speeding cotton production and intensifying demand for enslaved labor. Patent laws were difficult to enforce at the time, and unauthorized versions spread quickly. Whitney filed a number of lawsuits against those who copied their design. but he struggled to win his cases. Eventually Whitney shifted to a licensing system, collecting fees from states and manufacturers.
The Salvation Army begins operations in the United States, holding their first Official Meeting on March 14, 1880, at Harry Hill’s Variety Theatre, a local dance hall and saloon in New York City.
Ferdinand, Graf von Zeppelin, was granted a U.S. Patent for his "navigable balloon" on March 14, 1899. The first Zeppelin airship, the LZ-1, made its maiden flight on July 2, 1900, lasting about 20 minutes over Lake Constance in Germany.
The Inventor: Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin was a retired German Brigadier General who and devoted his efforts to creating the dirigible, after his retirement in 1891
The Pi Day celebration, of the never-ending mathematical constant pi (π), is started on March 14, 1988, by American physicist Larry Shaw, who worked at the Exploratorium, a science museum in San Francisco. The celebration began on 3/14 at 1:59 pm (for: 3.14159)
Definition:
Pi is the never-ending mathematical constant (pi (π)), which relates the circumference C of a circle to its diameter d; that is,π = C/d. The numerical value of pi to five decimal places is 3.14159.
Formal Recognitions:
On March 12, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives recognized March 14 as National Pi Day.
On November 26, 2019, UNESCO designated Pi Day as the International Day of Mathematics
Coincidences:
Pi Day shares the calendar with two of history's most famous physicists:
~ Albert Einstein’s Birthday: Born on March 14, 1879.
~ Stephen Hawking’s Death: Passed away on March 14, 2018.
~ Super Pi Day: The date 3/14/15 at 9:26:53 AM/PM represents the first ten digits of Pi.
The People's Republic of China passes an anti-secession law, authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves towards formal independence.
