March 1971

January – February – March 1971 – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December

The following events occurred in March 1971.

March 1, 1971 (Monday)

• A bomb explodes in the men's room at the United States Capitol. Weather Underground Organization claims responsibility.
• Pakistani President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending National Assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
• John Robarts ends his term of office as the 17th Premier of Ontario, Canada.
• Born: Allen Johnson, American athlete, in Washington, D.C.
• Died: Harald Damsleth, Norwegian cartoonist and illustrator, 64

March 2, 1971 (Tuesday)

• Born: Dave Gorman, English comedian, in Stafford
• Died: Assault, 28, American thoroughbred racehorse; Charles W. Engelhard, Jr., 54, American businessman

March 3, 1971 (Wednesday)

• Beginning of the Eastern Canadian Blizzard of March 1971.
• The Tonkin Ministry (Western Australia) is constituted by the Governor, Major-General Sir Douglas Kendrew.
• Born: Willie Martinez, Puerto Rican jockey, in Santurce, San Juan

March 4, 1971 (Thursday)

• The southern part of Quebec, and especially Montreal, receive 42 cm of snow in what becomes known as the Century's Snowstorm (la tempête du siècle).
• A Lockheed D-21B military reconnaissance drone aircraft makes an abortive mission to spy on the Lop Nor nuclear test site in the People's Republic of China.
• Died: Jacinto Gutierrez, University of Puerto Rico Río Piedras campus ROTC cadet, and Puerto Rican police officers Juan Birino Mercado and Miguel Rosario Rondón, all murdered at the Reserve Officers Training Corps building during a riot by groups opposing the program's presence on the campus

March 5, 1971 (Friday)

• The Pakistani army occupies East Pakistan.
• Led Zeppelin perform "Stairway to Heaven" live for the first time, at Belfast's Ulster Hall.
• Died: Punch Broadbent, 78, Canadian ice hockey player

March 6, 1971 (Saturday)

• A fire in a mental hospital at Burghölzli, Switzerland, kills 28 people.

March 7, 1971 (Sunday)

• The British postal workers' strike, led by UPW General Secretary Tom Jackson, ends after 47 days.
• Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, political leader of then East Pakistan (present day - Bangladesh), delivers his famous speech in the Racecourse Field in Dhaka, calling on the masses to be prepared to fight for national independence.
• Died: Stevie Smith, 68, English poet

March 8, 1971 (Monday)

• Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali at Madison Square Garden.

March 9, 1971 (Tuesday)

• Born: Kinga Rusin, Polish TV journalist and producer; Diego Torres, Argentinian singer, in Buenos Aires
• Died: K. Asif, 48, Indian film director; Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria, 68, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church; Anthony Berkeley Cox, 77, English crime writer; Barry Wood, 60, American footballer and medical educator

March 10, 1971 (Wednesday)

• Beginning of the McMahon Ministry, the forty-seventh Australian Commonwealth ministry.

March 11, 1971 (Thursday)

• Gualliguaica rail accident: Near Vicuña in the Elqui Province of northern Chile, a runaway train carrying 350 passengers, mostly children, is derailed next to a 12-metre deep ravine, killing twelve people.
• Died: Philo Farnsworth, 64, American inventor

March 12, 1971 (Friday)

• 1971 Turkish coup d'état: In a "coup by memorandum", the Chief of the General Staff, Memduh Tağmaç, hands prime minister Süleyman Demirel an ultimatum from the armed forces; Demirel resigns after a three-hour meeting with his cabinet.
• Hafez al-Assad becomes president of Syria.
• The Allman Brothers Band begin their legendary concert at the Fillmore East.
• Died: Elliot Quincy Adams, 82, American scientist

March 13, 1971 (Saturday)

• At Inzell, Ard Schenk sets a new world record of 7:12.0 in the 5,000 m speed skating event.
• At Cardiff Arms Park, Wales defeat Ireland 23-9 in the 1971 Five Nations Championship to take the Triple Crown.
• Born: Annabeth Gish, American actress, in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Maxim Kononenko, Russian journalist, in Apatity; Allan Nielsen, Danish footballer, in Esbjerg
• Died: Rockwell Kent, 88, American artist

March 14, 1971 (Sunday)

• First round of the French municipal elections, 1971
• The Bandy World Championship 1971 is won by the Soviet Union.
• Died: David John Cashman, 58, English Roman Catholic bishop

March 15, 1971 (Monday)

• Beginning of the 5th Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament of India)
• Nicolai M. Klaksvig was born in Copenhagen

March 16, 1971 (Tuesday)

• Trygve Bratteli forms a government in Norway.
• Died: Bebe Daniels, 70, American actress, singer, dancer, writer and producer

March 17, 1971 (Wednesday)

• In Norway, Per Borten's Cabinet ends its tenure in government, to be replaced by Bratteli's First Cabinet.

March 18, 1971 (Thursday)

• A landslide at Chungar, Peru, crashes into Lake Yanahuani, killing 200 people.

March 19, 1971 (Friday)

• President's rule is imposed in the Indian states of Karnataka and West Bengal.
• Born: Julien MacDonald, Welsh fashion designer, in Merthyr Tydfil; Kirsty Williams, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, in Taunton, England
• Died: Jean-Marie Beaudet, 63, Canadian conductor, organist, pianist, radio producer, and music educator

March 20, 1971 (Saturday)

• The Lockheed D-21B military reconnaissance drone attempts its final spying mission over the Lop Nor nuclear test site in China. It is thought to have malfunctioned and crashed in a forest, whence the wreckage was collected by the Chinese military.

March 21, 1971 (Sunday)

• Second round of the French municipal elections, 1971
• Died: Kyūya Fukada, 67, Japanese writer and mountaineer

March 22, 1971 (Monday)

• In Australia, the McMahon Ministry announces several appointments, including those of David Fairbairn as Minister for Education and Science and Nigel Bowen as Attorney-General.
• Died: Martin Bodmer, 71, Swiss bibliophile

March 23, 1971 (Tuesday)

• General Alejandro Lanusse of Argentina takes power in a military coup.
• Died: Basil Dearden, English film director, 60 (car accident)

March 24, 1971 (Wednesday)

• The Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification is signed, establishing a common classification for patents for invention, inventors’ certificates, utility models and utility certificates, known as the “International Patent Classification” (IPC).
• Died: Arne Jacobsen, 69, Danish architect

March 25, 1971 (Thursday)

• The Pakistani army starts Operation Searchlight in East Pakistan from midnight, after President Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, a military ruler, voids election results that gave the Awami League an overwhelming majority in the parliament.
• 1971 Dhaka University massacre: ten teachers and about 34 students are killed by the army.

March 26, 1971 (Friday)

• East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) independence is declared by local Awami League leader Hannan Sarker on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from Kalurghat Radio Station in Chittagong.
• Nihat Erim (a former CHP member) forms the new government of Turkey (33rd government,composed mostly of technocrats).
• At the Logie Awards of 1971, Gerard Kennedy and Maggie Tabberer are voted the best Male and Female Personalities on Australian TV, respectively.

March 27, 1971 (Saturday)

• East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) independence is repeatedly declared by Army Major (later President of Bangladesh) Ziaur Rahman on behalf of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from Kalurghat Radio Station, Chittagong.
• At the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes, Wales defeat France 9-5 to take the Rugby Union "grand slam".

March 28, 1971 (Sunday)

• The final edition of The Ed Sullivan Show is broadcast in the USA.
• Hogan's Heroes ends its six-year run on CBS.

March 29, 1971 (Monday)

• U.S. Army Lieutenant William Calley is found guilty of 22 murders in the My Lai massacre and sentenced to life in prison (later pardoned).
• A Los Angeles, California jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and 3 female followers.
• Born: José Luis Rodríguez Pittí, Panamanian writer and photographer, in Panama

March 30, 1971 (Tuesday)

• Six hijackers attempted to hijack a Philippines Airlines BAC One-Eleven in Guangzhou, China.
• Died: Dale Morgan, 56, American historian (cancer)
• The first Starbucks was opened in Seattle, Washington

March 31, 1971 (Wednesday)

• Prime minister John Vorster, raises the issue of a new flag of South Africa at a news conference.