Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 March 20

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Mike Jackson (born 1944) is a retired British Army officer and one of its most high-profile generals since the Second World War. Originally commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in 1963, he transferred to the Parachute Regiment. On the first of his tours of duty in Northern Ireland with the regiment, he was present as an adjutant at the events of Bloody Sunday (1972), when soldiers opened fire on protesters, killing 13 people. He was assigned to a staff post at the Ministry of Defence in 1982 before assuming command of the 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, in 1984. Jackson served his first tour in the Balkans in 1994, commanding a multi-national division of the Implementation Force, and was appointed commander of NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in 1997. In this role, he controversially refused to obey an order from American General Wesley Clark (his immediate superior in the NATO chain of command during the Kosovo War) to block the runways of Pristina Airport. Upon his return to the UK, Jackson was promoted to full general and later served as Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army, from 2003 to 2006. (Full article...)

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... that Piotrków Trybunalski Ghetto (synagogue pictured), created only 38 days after the invasion of Poland in World War II, was the first Jewish ghetto in occupied Europe?
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... that Beryl Platt helped design and test three WWII fighter planes: the Hurricane, the Typhoon, and the Tempest V?
... that 29 inmates escaped from Metris Prison in Istanbul through a self-built tunnel while the prison was still under military administration?
... that during races, Ryan Reed would monitor his blood sugar levels?
... that Flotilla's development was influenced by cats and board games?

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Following the passage of a secession referendum, the Republic of Crimea declares independence from Ukraine and begins the process of accession to the Russian Federation.
Anna Fenninger (pictured) and Marcel Hirscher of Austria win the overall Alpine Skiing World Cup titles.
The United States announces that it will relinquish control of the DNS root zone, removing its oversight of ICANN.
In rugby union, the Six Nations concludes with Ireland winning the championship.
Chiquita and Fyffes agree to a merger that would create the world's largest banana producer.

Recent deaths: Tony Benn – Bob Crow

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March 20: Nowruz in Iran, Central Asia, and Zoroastrianism (2014); Independence Day in Tunisia (1956)

1602 – The Dutch East India Company—the first company to issue stock, one of the first multinational corporations, and possibly the first megacorporation—was established.
1815 – After escaping from exile in Elba, Napoleon Bonaparte (pictured) entered Paris, officially beginning his "Hundred Days" rule.
1854 – At a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin, US, an anti-slavery political party decided to name itself the Republican Party.
1944 – World War II: Four thousand U.S. Marines made a landing on Emirau Island in the Bismarck Archipelago to develop an airbase as part of Operation Cartwheel.
2006 – Cyclone Larry made landfall in Far North Queensland, eventually causing nearly AU$1 billion in total damage and destroying over 80 percent of Australia's banana crop.

More anniversaries: March 19 – March 20 – March 21

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It is now March 20, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

The Bernina Express passing over the Brusio spiral viaduct. Located near Brusio, Graubünden, Switzerland, the single track nine-arched stone spiral railway viaduct was opened in 1908. It is part of the World Heritage-listed Bernina railway.

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