March 31 in history — What Happened Today in History

The Warsaw Pact formally disbands.

Approximately 200,000 protesters take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.

Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940 crashes into the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range near the Mexican town of Maravatío, killing 167.

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.

Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.

American President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks to the nation of "Steps to Limit the War in Vietnam" in a television address. At the conclusion of his speech, he announces: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your President."

The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.

The Labour Party under Harold Wilson wins the 1966 United Kingdom general election.

Brazilian General Olímpio Mourão Filho orders his troops to move towards Rio de Janeiro, beginning the coup d'état and 21 years of military dictatorship.

The 14th Dalai Lama crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.

In the Canadian federal election, the Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265.

Elections to the Territorial Assembly of the French colony Upper Volta are held. After the elections PDU and MDV form a government.

Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.

The Dominion of Newfoundland joins the Canadian Confederation and becomes the 10th Province of Canada.

World War II: A defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1, the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.

World War II: Japanese forces invade Christmas Island, then a British possession.

Events preceding World War II in Europe: Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain pledges British military support to the Second Polish Republic in the event of an invasion by Nazi Germany.

The Civilian Conservation Corps is established with the mission of relieving rampant unemployment in the United States.

An earthquake in Nicaragua destroys Managua; killing 2,000.

A Transcontinental & Western Air airliner crashes near Bazaar, Kansas, killing eight, including University of Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne.

The Motion Picture Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty-eight years.

The Royal Australian Air Force is formed.

Massacre of ethnic Azerbaijanis is committed by allied armed groups of Armenian Revolutionary Federation and Bolsheviks. Nearly 12,000 Azerbaijani Muslims are killed.

Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.

According to the terms of the Treaty of the Danish West Indies, the islands become American possessions.

The Vienna Concert Society rioted during a performance of modernist music by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Anton von Webern, causing a premature end to the concert due to violence; this concert became known as the Skandalkonzert.

Serbia formally withdraws its opposition to Austro-Hungarian actions in the Bosnian Crisis.

The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later the National Collegiate Athletic Association) is established to set rules for college sports in the United States.

Edon Zhegrova, professional footballer

Shiann Salmon, Jamaican track and field athlete

Ben Williams, Welsh professional footballer

Luca Pizzul, Italian professional footballer

Sander Raieste, Estonian professional basketball player

Jonas Røndbjerg, Danish ice hockey player

Adele Tan, Singaporean sports shooter

Nuno Pina, Portuguese football player

Tereza Jančová, Slovak skier

Maren Lutz, German female canoeist

Shehana Vithana, Sri Lankan-Australian professional squash player

Providence Cowdrill, English cricketer

Ricardo Felipe, Brazilian footballer

Nick Newton, inventor of the Newton Starting Blocks (born 1933)

Gilbert Baker, American artist and LGBT rights activist (born 1951)

James Rosenquist, American artist (born 1933)

Ronnie Corbett, Scottish comedian, actor and screenwriter (born 1930)

Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German politician (born 1927)

Zaha Hadid, Iraqi-born English architect and academic, designed the Bridge Pavilion (born 1950)

Imre Kertész, Hungarian author, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1929)

Denise Robertson, British writer and television broadcaster (born 1932)

Betty Churcher, Australian painter, historian, and curator (born 1931)

Cocoa Fujiwara, Japanese author and illustrator (born 1983)

Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian lawyer and politician (born 1937)

Dalibor Vesely, Czech-English historian, author, and academic (born 1934)

Gonzalo Anes, Spanish economist, historian, and academic (born 1931)