March 16 in history — What Happened Today in History

American activist Rachel Corrie is killed in Rafah by being run over by an Israel Defense Forces bulldozer while trying to obstruct the demolition of a home.

Sofia Gubaidulina's Johannes-Ostern is premiered, together with her earlier Johannes-Passion, at Hamburg's Michaeliskirche, performed by soloists, choir and orchestra from the Mariinsky Theatre combined with NDR choir and orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev.

A series of bomb blasts in the city of Shijiazhuang, China kill 108 people and injure 38 others, the biggest mass murder in China in decades.

Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.

Iran–Contra affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Halabja chemical attack: The Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5,000 people and injuring about 10,000 people.

The Troubles: Ulster loyalist militant Michael Stone attacks a Provisional IRA funeral in Belfast with pistols and grenades. Three persons, one of them a member of PIRA, are killed, and more than 60 others are wounded.

Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut; he is not released until December 1991.

William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Lebanon, is kidnapped by Hezbollah; he later dies in captivity.

Sino-Vietnamese War: The People's Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ending the war.

Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is kidnapped; he is later murdered by his captors.

A Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 crashes near Gabare, Bulgaria, killing 73.

Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on the Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the largest oil spill in history at that time.

Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, the main leader of the anti-government forces in the Lebanese Civil War.

A Viasa McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashes in Maracaibo, Venezuela, killing 155.

Vietnam War: My Lai massacre occurs; between 347 and 500 Vietnamese villagers are killed by American troops.

Launch of Gemini 8 with astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott. It would perform the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit.

Flying Tiger Line Flight 739 disappears in the western Pacific Ocean with all 107 aboard missing and presumed dead.

World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persist.

World War II: Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers, resulting in at least 4,000 deaths.

Operation Appearance takes place to re-establish British Somaliland.

From Prague Castle, Hitler proclaims Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate.

Warmer-than-normal temperatures rapidly melt snow and ice on the upper Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, leading to a major flood in Pittsburgh.

Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm itself in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Conscription is reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.

History of rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.

An earthquake (measuring around 7.0 magnitude) occurs in Dali, China, killing an estimated 5,000 people.

In accordance with the Treaty of Rome, Fiume becomes annexed as part of Italy.

Finnish Civil War: Battle of Länkipohja is infamous for its bloody aftermath as the Whites execute 70–100 capitulated Reds.

Sierra McClain, American actress

George Ford, English rugby union player

Marine Lorphelin, French model and beauty queen, Miss France 2013

Tim Hardaway Jr., American basketball player

Brett Davern, American actor

Chris Boswell, American football player

Reggie Bullock, American basketball player

Admir Mehmedi, Swiss footballer

Wolfgang Van Halen, American bassist

Josh Johnson, American comedian and writer

Andre Young, American basketball player

Blake Griffin, American basketball player

Jung So-min, South Korean actress

Steve Moore, English author and illustrator (born 1949)

Alexander Pochinok, Russian economist and politician (born 1958)

Jamal Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi physicist and cosmologist (born 1939)

José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz, Argentinian economist and politician, Minister of Economy of Argentina (born 1925)

Yadier Pedroso, Cuban pitcher (born 1986)

Ruchoma Shain, American-born teacher and author (born 1914)

Marina Solodkin, Russian-Israeli academic and politician (born 1952)

Frank Thornton, English actor (born 1921)

Donald E. Hillman, American colonel and pilot (born 1918)

Takaaki Yoshimoto, Japanese poet, philosopher, and critic (born 1924)

Richard Wirthlin, American religious leader (born 1931)

Ksenija Pajčin, Serbian singer, dancer and model (born 1977)

Bill Brown, Australian cricketer and soldier (born 1912)