On This Day 2026
Hello, … and welcome to day 75 of the year.

Monday, March 16th

Today is National Panda Day, No Selfies Day and Lips Appreciation Day. Your star sign is Pisces and your birthstone is Aquamarine.
1996 – Mike Tyson defeated Frank Bruno by technical knockout (TKO) in the third round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to win the WBC heavyweight title.
Mike Tyson defeated Frank Bruno by technical knockout (TKO) in the third round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to win the WBC heavyweight title.
Today’s birthdays
1954 – Jimmy Nail (72), English actor (Auf Wiedersehen Pet) and singer (“Ain’t No Doubt”, “Crocodile Shoes”), born in Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne.
1960 – Jenny Eclair (66), English comedian, author (Jokes, Jokes, Jokes: My Very Funny Memoir), and actress (Grumpy Old Women), born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1963 – Jerome Flynn (63), English actor (Soldier Soldier, Game of Thrones, Ripper Street) and singer (“I Believe”, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted”), born in Bromley, South London.
1966 – H.P. Baxxter (62), German musician and the vocalist of the German techno band Scooter (“Jumping All Over The World”), born in Leer, Germany.
1976 – Blu Cantrell (50), American R&B and soul singer (“Hit ‘Em Up Style”, “Breathe”), born in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
1984 – Aisling Bea (42), Irish comedian (8 Out of 10 Cats, Taskmaster), actress (Get Away, This Way Up) and screenwriter, born in Kildare, Ireland.
1989 – Theo Walcott (37), English former professional footballer (Southampton, Arsenal, Everton, England), born in Stanmore, Harrow, Greater London.
Famous deaths
2013 – Frank Thornton (b. 1921), English actor best known for playing Captain Peacock in the TV sitcom Are You Being Served? and as Herbert “Truly” Truelove in TV sitcom Last of the Summer Wine.
2016 – Frank Sinatra Jr. (b. 1944), American jazz and big band singer, songwriter, and conductor.
The day today
1935 – The first driving test pass slip was presented to Mr. R. Beene of Kensington, a pupil of the British School of Motoring. Tests were introduced on a voluntary basis and became compulsory in June.
1942 – The first German V-2 rocket test launch. It exploded at lift-off but eventually over 3,000 V-2s were launched as military rockets by the Germans against Allied targets during the war, mostly London and later Antwerp. The attacks resulted in the death of an estimated 7,000+ military personnel and civilians, whilst 12,000 forced labourers were killed producing the weapons.
1966 – David McCallum, best known for his roles in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS, famously received a massive, headline-grabbing welcome from hundreds of fans upon his return to London Airport. At the height of “U.N.C.L.E.” mania, McCallum was greeted by roughly 300 screaming fans, many of whom were schoolgirls holding “We Want Illya” signs and wearing U.N.C.L.E. badges. David McCallum passed away on September 25, 2023, at the age of 90.

1970 – Oxford University Press and Cambridge University press co-publish The Old Testament of the New English Bible, and Complete New English Bible, incorporating the New Testament first published in 1961.

1971 – The British heavyweight boxing champion Henry Cooper announced his retirement after being defeated by Joe Bugner.

1973 – Queen Elizabeth II opened the new London Bridge. The old one was sold to an American oil tycoon for £1m and transported to the United States.
1976 – Harold Wilson, Prime Minister for almost eight years, and leader of the Labour Party for 13 years, resigned. He insisted that there were no hidden reasons for his resignation although it was suggested that he might already have been aware of the first stages of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, which was to cause both his formerly excellent memory and his powers of concentration to fail dramatically.
1991 – England beats France, 21-19 at Twickenham for it’s 19th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship, 9th Grand Slam and 16th Triple Crown.
1994 – Ice skater Tonya Harding pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for covering up the January 6, 1994, attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan. She received probation, a $100,000 fine, and 500 hours of community service, avoiding prison but receiving a lifetime ban from the United States Figure Skating Association.
1996 – Mike Tyson defeated Frank Bruno by technical knockout (TKO) in the third round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to win the WBC heavyweight title. The fight was stopped at 0:50 of the round after a 13-punch combination from Tyson. This was the final fight of Bruno’s career.

1998 – Pope John Paul II asks God for forgiveness for the inactivity and silence of some Roman Catholics during the Holocaust.

2001 – According to a health survey, 16th March 2001 was the only day between 1993 and 2002 when nobody in the United Kingdom killed themselves.
2012 – George Clooney and several other prominent participants, including Martin Luther King III, are arrested outside the Sundanese Embassy for civil disobedience.
2012 – Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar becomes the first batter in history to score 100 centuries in international cricket.
2013 – Wales defeated England 30-3 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, in a record-breaking victory to retain the Six Nations Championship.
2016 – University of Virginia student Otto Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea in March 2016 for attempting to steal a political propaganda poster from a Pyongyang hotel. Detained in January 2016, he was convicted of “subversion” or crimes against the state during a one-hour trial. He was released in a coma 17 months later and died in June 2017.
2019 – A young male Cuvier’s beaked whale died in the Philippines with 88 pounds (40 kg) of plastic in its stomach, including 16 rice sacks, banana plantation bags, and shopping bags. Found near Davao City, the whale died of “gastric shock” caused by the plastic, which was so dense it was starting to calcify.
Today in music
1959 – Doo-wop group The Platters scored their only UK No.1 hit with ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ (also a US No.1 hit).
1964 – The Beatles set a new record for advance sales in the US with 2,100,000 copies of their latest single ‘Can’t Buy Me Love.’

1965 – The Rolling Stones were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with ‘The Last Time’, the bands third UK No.1 and first No.1 for songwriters Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

1968 – The posthumously released Otis Redding single ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay’ started a five week run at No.1 on the US chart, (a No.3 hit the UK). Otis was killed in a plane crash on 10th December 1967 three days after recording the song. ‘Sittin’ On The Dock Of The Bay’, became the first posthumous No.1 single in US chart history and sold over four million copies worldwide.
1971 – Winners at this years Grammy Awards included, Simon and Garfunkel who won Record of the year, Song of the year and Album of the year for Bridge Over Troubled Water. The Carpenters won Best new act and Best vocal performance for ‘Close To You’.
1972 – John Lennon lodged an appeal with the US immigration office in New York, after he was served with deportation orders arising from his 1968 cannabis possession conviction.
1977 – Paper Lace were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with the anti-war pop song ‘Billy Don’t Be A Hero,’ the group’s only No.1.
1977 – After being with the label for just six days the Sex Pistols were fired from A&M due to pressure from other label artists and its Los Angeles head office. 25,000 copies of ‘God Save The Queen’ were pressed and the band made £75,000 from the deal.
2010 – ABBA were inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with Genesis and The Hollies. Abba’s Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad accepted their trophies, in New York.
2015 – Sam Smith stopped Madonna from topping the UK album chart, denying her the 12th No.1 of her career. Madonna’s latest album, Rebel Heart, had been in pole position throughout the week, but Smith’s In The Lonely Hour sneaked ahead at the last minute, beating Madonna by 12,000 sales. In The Lonely Hour had now spent six separate spells at No.1 – a record for a male solo artist.
2015 – Andy Fraser songwriter and bass guitarist with Free died of a heart attack caused by Atherosclerosis in California aged 62. The London-born musician became a founding member of the British group when he was just 15 and went on to write most of the material with lead singer Paul Rodgers, including Free’s 1970 hit ‘All Right Now’, ‘My Brother Jake’ and ‘The Stealer’. Fraser also penned ‘Every Kinda People’, a hit for Robert Palmer as well as songs for Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart and Paul Young.
2022 – Welsh rock band Stereophonics scored their eighth No.1 album on the UK Albums Chart with Oochya! the groups twelfth studio album.
Today in history
1190 – The Crusaders massacred 150 Jews at Clifford’s Tower, York, following a wave of attacks against Jews that had moved north from London to Stamford, Lincoln, King’s Lynn, Colchester and Bury St. Edmunds before culminating in the bloodiest atrocity of them all, in York. Some Jews committed mass suicide rather than submit to baptism and they set the castle on fire to prevent their bodies being mutilated after their deaths. A few Jews did surrender, promising to convert to Christianity, but 150 were killed by the angry crowd.
1322 – The battle of Boroughbridge (North Yorkshire) resulted in a victory for forces loyal to Edward II and saw the total defeat of rebel forces under the command of Edward’s cousin the Earl of Lancaster. Lancaster and 30 of his followers were executed, including Roger de Clifford, Second Lord of Skipton, who was hung from Clifford’s Tower in York, which now bears his name. The battle allowed Edward to re-establish royal authority and hold on to power for almost five more years.
1485 – The death (aged 28) of Anne Neville, Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was born at Warwick Castle, and was the younger daughter of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and Anne de Beauchamp. Her father was one of the most powerful noblemen in England and the most important supporter of the House of York.
1647 – Harlech Castle surrendered in the English Civil War. It was a Royalist stronghold and the last Welsh castle to be taken by Parliament.
1689 – The 23rd Regiment of Foot (later known as the Royal Welch Fusiliers) was founded to oppose James II and the imminent war with France.
1774 – The birth of Matthew Flinders, English explorer who circumnavigated Australia. The Flinders River in Queensland and the Flinders Range in South Australia are named after him.
1872 – The Wanderers Football Club, based in London, beat the Royal Engineers 1–0 in the first English FA Cup Final, at Kennington Oval. The number of spectators was 2000 and the winning goal was scored by Morton Betts.
Whilst we work hard to keep every detail correct and up to date, information can change and mistakes can happen. If you notice anything that doesn’t seem right, we’d really appreciate your help. Please get in touch via our form and select “On This Day”, and our team will review it as soon as possible.