March 17: What Happened on This Day in History (High_school Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1776 - American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.
2. 1805 - The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King.
3. 1941 - In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
4. 1948 - The Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
5. 1950 - Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name "Californium".
6. 1958 - The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.
7. 1960 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
8. 1969 - Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
9. 1973 - The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family.
10. 2013 - The largest meteorite (since NASA started observing the moon in 2005) hit the moon.
11. Famous Birthdays: Jean-Baptiste Oudry (French painter and engraver), Walter Rudolf Hess (Swiss physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate), Paul Green (American playwright), Nat King Cole (American singer, pianist, and television host), James Irwin (American pilot and astronaut)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: March 16

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: March 18

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.