1492 – Queen Isabella of Castille issued the Alhambra decree on the 31st March 1492, ordering her 150,000 Jewish and muslim subjects to convert to Christianity or face expulsion.

1732 – Joseph Haydn the Austrian composer was born on the 31st March 1732 (died 1809).

1889 – The Eiffel Tower was officially opened on the 31st March 1889.

1921 – The Royal Australian Air Force was formed on the 31st March 1921.

1930 – The Motion Pictures Production Code was instituted on the 31st March 1930, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next 38 years.

1934 – Richard Chamberlain the American actor and singer was born on the 31st March 1934.

1934 – Shirley Jones the American actress and singer was born on the 31st March 1934.

1935 – Herb Alpert the American singer-songwriter and trumpet player was born on the 31st March 1935.

1938 – Sheila Dikshit the Indian politician and 6th Chief Minister of Delhi was born on the 31st March 1938.

1948 – Al Gore the American politician, 45th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Prize laureate was born on the 31st March 1948.

1955 – Angus Young the Scottish-Australian guitarist from AC/DC was born on the 31st March 1955.

1959 – The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, crossed the border into India on the 31st March 1959, and was granted political asylum.

1963 – Paul Mercurio the Australian actor and dancer was born on the 31st March 1963.

1966 – The Soviet Union launched Luna 10 on the 31st of March 1966, which later became the 1st space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.

1970 – Explorer 1 re-entered the Earth‘s atmosphere on the 31st March 1970, after 12 years in orbit.

1971 – Ewan McGregor the Scottish-American actor was born on the 31st March 1971.

1972 – Evan Williams the American businessman and co-founder of Twitter and Pyra Labs was born on the 31st March 1972.

1986 – A Mexicana Boeing 727 en route to Puerto Vallarta erupted in flames and crashed in the mountains northwest of Mexico City on the 31st March 1986, killing 167 people.

1994 – The journal Nature reported the finding in Ethiopia of the 1st complete Australopithecus afarensis skull on the 31st March 1994.

1995 – TAROM Flight 371 crashed on the 31st March 1995, killing all of the 10 crew and 50 passengers on board.

1842 – Ether anesthesia was used for the 1st time on the 30th March 1842, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.

1853 – Vincent van Gogh the Dutch painter was born on the 30th March 1853 (died 1890).

1856 – The Treaty of Paris was signed on the 30th March 1856, ending the Crimean War.

1957 ~ Paul Reiser the American comedian, actor, writer, author, musician, best known for his role in the sitcom Mad About You was born on the 30th March 1957.

1867 – Alaska was purchased from Russia for $7.2 million on the 30th March 1867, about 2 cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.

1913 – Frankie Laine the American singer-songwriter, and actor was born on the 30th March 1913 (died 2007).

1930 – Rolf Harris the Australian singer-songwriter was born on the 30th March 1930.

1937 – Warren Beatty the American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter was born on the 30th March 1937.

1941 – Graeme Edge the English singer-songwriter and drummer from the Moody Blues was born on the 30th March 1941.

1945 – Eric Clapton the English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer was born on the 30th March 1945.

1962 – MC Hammer the American rapper and actor was born on the 30th March 1962.

1964 – Tracy Chapman the American singer-songwriter and guitarist was born on the 30th March 1964.

1964 – Ian Ziering the American actor was born on the 30th March 1964.

1968 – Celine Dion the Canadian singer-songwriter was born on the 30th March 1968.

1982 – STS-3 Mission was completed on the 30th March 1982, with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.