Art Deco

On November 11, 1960, a failed coup attempt against President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam was led by Lieutenant Colonel Vuong Van Dong and Colonel Nguyen Chanh Thi of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The rebels launched the coup in response to Diem's autocratic rule and the negative political influence of his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu and his sister-in-law Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu. After initially being trapped inside the Independence Palace, Diem stalled the coup by holding negotiations and promising reforms. However, his real aim was to buy time for loyalist forces to enter Saigon and relieve him. The coup failed when the Fifth and Seventh Divisions of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam entered Saigon and defeated the rebels. More than four hundred people—many of whom were spectating civilians—were killed in the ensuing battle. Dong and Thi fled to Cambodia, while Diem excoriated the United States for a perceived lack of support during the crisis. Afterwards, Diem ordered a crackdown, imprisoning numerous anti-government critics and former cabinet ministers. (more...)

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• Mauricio Funes (pictured) is elected President of El Salvador.
• Space Shuttle Discovery is launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, carrying solar arrays to the International Space Station.
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March 17: Saint Patrick's Day

• 45 BC – Caesar's civil war: Julius Caesar scored his final military victory at the Battle of Munda, defeating the Optimate forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger.
• 624 – History of Islam: The Muslims of Medina defeated the Quraysh of Mecca in Badr, present-day Saudi Arabia, a victory that has been attributed to divine intervention or the genius of Muhammad.
• 1958 – Vanguard 1 (pictured), the first solar-powered satellite, was launched. It is the oldest human-launched object still in Earth orbit today.
• 1969 – Golda Meir of the Labor Party became the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
• 2000 – Over 700 followers of the Ugandan sect Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God perished in a fire and a series of poisonings and killings, considered either a cult suicide or an orchestrated mass murder by its leaders.
• 2004 – Unrest in Kosovo broke out, resulting in more than 20 people killed, 200 more wounded, and the destruction of several Serb Orthodox churches and shrines.

• More events: March 16 – March 17 – March 18

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