Nicosia, Cyprus. A range of major political, infrastructure, business and security events have been recorded on March 19 across several countries.
1920: United States and the Versailles Treaty
The United States refused to ratify the Versailles Treaty, and so join the League of Nations, for fear of being drawn into a war if another member country was invaded.
1930: Death of Arthur Balfour
Arthur Balfour, British Conservative prime minister, died. He is known for the Balfour Declaration he made as foreign secretary in 1917, which promised Jewish people a homeland in Palestine.
1932: Sydney Harbour Bridge opens
Australia’s Sydney Harbour Bridge opened.
1964: Great St Bernard Tunnel opens
The Great St Bernard Tunnel under the Alps between Switzerland and Italy opened.
2000: Abdoulaye Wade elected president of Senegal
Longtime opposition leader Abdoulaye Wade was elected president of Senegal, ending 40 unbroken years of Socialist Party government.
2001: Mayoral election in Paris
Socialist Bertrand Delanoe won the mayoral election in Paris and the Left took power in the capital for the first time in 130 years.
2001: BHP and Billiton merger announcement
Australia’s largest resources group, BHP, announced a $28 billion merger with London-listed Billiton to create the world’s second biggest minerals and metals giant.
2002: Marco Biagi shot dead
Marco Biagi, an author of Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi’s controversial reforms, making it easier for firms to hire and fire employees, was shot dead in Bologna.
2007: Methane explosion in a Siberian coal mine
A methane explosion killed 110 people in a Siberian coal mine in the deadliest accident in Russia’s mining industry for at least a decade.
Which of these March 19 events do you find most significant?