#TodayInHistory – March 31

March 31 – Some Important Events on this day

1146 👉🏼 Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade. Louis VII is present, and joins the Crusade.
1492 👉🏼 Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon issue the Alhambra Decree which expels Jews from their kingdoms
1521 👉🏼 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan takes possession of Homohon, Archipelago of St Lazarus, Philippines 🇵🇭

1657 👉🏼 English Parliament makes the Humble Petition to Military and Political Leader Oliver Cromwell offering him the crown: he declines.
Leader of Parliamentary forces in the English Civil War, reluctantly agreed to be appointed Lord Protector after the execution of Charles I. He was one of only two commoners to become the English head of state, the other being his son, Richard Cromwell.

1736 👉🏼 Bellevue Hospital founded in a New York City almshouse – 1st public hospital in the US 🏥
1745 👉🏼 Jews are expelled from Prague 🇨🇿
1870 👉🏼 Thomas Mundy Peterson of Perth Amboy, New Jersey is the first African American to vote in the US (in a local election on town’s charter)

1889 👉🏼 Eiffel Tower officially opens in Paris. Built for the Exposition Universelle, at 300m high it retains the record for the tallest man made structure for 41 years.
The Eiffel Tower was built to be the entrance to the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. Construction was started by Gustave Eiffel’s company in January 1887 and completed in March 1889.
It was the tallest structure in the world until the Chrysler Building was built in New York in 1930. Today it is the most visited paid-for monument in the world with over 6 million making the journey to one of it’s three viewing levels.

1909 👉🏼 In a diplomatic note to Austria, Serbia recognizes the Bosnian annexation and promises to maintain friendly relations with Austria
1920 👉🏼 British parliament accepts Irish Home Rule law
1923 👉🏼 French soldiers fire on workers at Krupp factory in Essen. 13 die
1967 👉🏼 1st time Jimi Hendrix burns his guitar – London 🎸🔥

1972 👉🏼 Final day of the rum ration in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Black Tot Day (July 31, 1970) is the name given to the last day on which the British Royal Navy issued sailors with a daily rum ration known as the daily tot.
The Royal Australian Navy stopped the practice earlier in 1921 with the Canadian and New Zealander Royal Navies following in 1972 and 1990 respectively. 🍹

2001 👉🏼 German brothers Michael and Ralf Schumacher become first siblings to share front row of the grid in a Formula 1 World Championship event. They qualify 1st and 2nd respectively for Brazilian GP in São Paulo 🏎👇🏼