Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese doomsday cult, carries out a sarin gas attack by releasing several packages on the Tokyo subway system, killing 13 and injuring over 5000. The odorless, colorless, and highly toxic nerve gas was invented by the Nazis and is one of the most lethal nerve gases known to man.
Browse Historical Events by Month:
What Happened in March?
The first Olympic games, the founding of dynasties, and legendary battles. Explore historic milestones from March that influenced today's world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
Note: Sources for the historical content shown, include research and reviews of relevant Online History Resources or printed material. When possible, we show a link to a source which provides additional or unique perspective about the event.
We do our best to provide accurate information but would appreciate being notified if any incorrect information is found. You may do so by using our Feedback link.
NATO begins airstrikes against Yugoslavia, marking the start of the Kosovo War.
The NASDAQ Composite stock market index peaked at 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000, during the dot-com bubble. However, on March 13, 2000, a global sell off was triggered on news that Japan had entered into another recession triggered a global sell off leading to 2.6% NASDAQ mostly affecting technology stocks, as investors sought the relative safety of established stocks.
The BBC airs the first episode of "The Office," a British mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.
The Taliban destroy two ancient statues of Buddha in Afghanistan's Bamiyan Valley.
President George W. Bush announces that U.S. forces have begun a military operation into Iraq. U.S. forces invaded Iraq vowing to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and end the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. When WMD intelligence proved illusory and a violent insurgency arose, the war lost public support. 4,700 U.S. and allied troop deaths, and more than one hundred thousand Iraqi civilians were killed and 31,994 U.S. troops wounded in action (WIA). More
The United States and its allies invade Iraq, initiating the Iraq War.
Coordinated bombings across four commuter trains on March 11, 2004 in Madrid's commuter train system, kill 191 people and wounding around 2,000 others. The bombings took place three days before the general elections and were linked to Al-Qaeda. More
The U.S. Supreme Court rules on March 1, 2005, that it was unconstitutional to execute convicts who were under age 18 at the time of their crimes.
Steve Fossett completes his record-setting first solo, nonstop, non-refueled airplane circumnavigation of the glove as he lands his single engine Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer on March 3, 2005 in Kansas after a 67- hour flight.
In 2002, Steve Fossett had become the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon. He started his flight, in the Spirit of Freedom balloon from Northam, Western Australia and landed in Queensland, Australia.13 days, 8 hours, and 33 minutes later. Fossett set many other records, including three of the seven absolute world records for fixed-wing aircraft recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. He died in a plane accident after disappearing on September 3, 2007, while flying a light aircraft between Nevada and . Fossett's plane was discovered wrecked in 2008. Crash Article
The People's Republic of China passes an anti-secession law, authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it moves towards formal independence.
The first public tweet is sent by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, The message was: "just setting up my twttr". The tweet was sent at 9:50 PM. At the time, Twitter was still in its early stages and known as "Twttr".
The UN Human Rights Council holds its first session in Geneva, replacing the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
The Kepler space observatory, designed to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars, is launched by NASA on March 7, 2009.
A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami struck in Japan on March 11, 2010, off the northeastern coast of Honshu causing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and considerable damage in the region. The tsunami resulted in a human death toll of about 19,500 and much damage to coastal ports and towns, with over a million buildings destroyed or partly collapsed.
It was a rare and complex double quake giving a severe duration of about 3 minutes. An area of the seafloor extending 650 km north-south moved typically 10-20 meters horizontally. Japan moved a few yards east and the local coastline sank about 1.5 feet (half a meter.) More
Civil unrest and peaceful pro-democracy protests erupt in Syria against President Bashar al-Assad's regime on March 15, 2011, marking the start of the Syrian Civil War.
Bashar al-Assadwas removed from power on December 8, 2024, ending his 24-year rule and the 53-year reign of the Assad dynasty.
Pope Francis is elected as the 266th pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas.
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio becomes Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope and the first from the Americas.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappears in route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, on March 8, 2014, with 239 people aboard sparking a large-scale international search effort.
The Boeing 777's transponder had been turned off and disappeared from radar. Despite extensive international search efforts, including recent underwater searches in 2025-2026, the main wreckage remains unfound in the southern Indian Ocean. The event still is one of the greatest mysteries in modern aviation,
The co-pilot of a German airliner deliberately flies the plane into the French Alps, killing himself and the other 149 people onboard. The Germanwings flight 9525 had been traveling from Barcelona, Spain, to Dusseldorf, Germany. More