March 20

Today in History
• 1345 - Saturn/Jupiter/Mars-conjunction: thought "cause of Black Death"
• 1525 - Paris' parliament begins pursuit of Protestants
• 1598 - French king Henri IV and duke van Mercour sign treaty
• 1602 - United Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) forms
• 1760 - Great Fire of Boston destroys 349 buildings
• 1815 - Napoleon enters Paris after escape from Elba, begins 100-day rule
• 1868 - Jesse James Gang robs bank in Russelville Kentucky of $14,000
• 1886 - 1st AC power plant in U.S. begins commercial operation, Massachusetts


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Alien Abduction Day
• Bibliomania Day
• French Language Day
• Great American Meat Out Day
• March Equinox
• National Ravioli Day
• World Flour Day
• World Storytelling Day

Birthdays
• 1469 - Princess Cecily of York
• 1725 - Abdul-Hamid I, 27th sultan of Turkey, 1774-89
• 1737 - Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, King of Thailand
• 1811 - Napoleon FKJ Bonaparte II, Napoleon's son/King of Rome
• 1823 - Ned Buntline, American publisher
• 1834 - Charles William Eliot, American academic (President of Harvard University)
• 1881 - Eugène Schueller, French chemist, founder of L'Oréal
• 1906 - Abraham Beame, (Mayor-D-NYC), NYC's 1st Jewish mayor