1939 – Born in Scandiano, Romano Prodi. Prodi is an Italian politician who served as the 10th President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. He served twice as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and then from 17 May 2006 until on May 8, 2008. He is considered the founder of the Italian center-left.
1945 – Nagasaki is destroyed when an atomic bomb, codenamed “Fat Man”, is dropped from a B-29 Bockscar military aircraft of the United States Air Force. 350,000 people were completely killed, including 250,000 – 300,000 Japanese war workers, over 20,000 Korean forced laborers and 150 Japanese soldiers.
1965 – Singapore is ousted from Malaysia and becomes the only country to reluctantly gain independence. Singapore’s involuntary territorial secession from Malaysia occurred due to rising tensions and ethnic clashes between the Singaporean and Malaysian populations. Today Singapore is one of the most developed countries in the world.
1973 – March 7 is launched by the USSR. Mars 7, also known as 3MP No. 51P was a Soviet spacecraft launched to explore Mars. It was a 3MP space shuttle bus which included the final study mission of the Mars program. Due to a malfunction, the earthing failed to perform a necessary maneuver.
1974 – As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign. His vice president, Gerald Ford, becomes president. The Watergate scandal consisted of the illegal wiretapping of Nixon Cabinet officials by Democratic Party offices.
1993 – Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party loses the election after a 38-year lead over the national leadership. The LDP has been in power almost continuously since its founding in 1955 – a period called the 1955 System – with the exception of a period between 1993 and 1994, and again from 2009 to 2012. In the 2012 elections it regained control of the government.
2006 – James Van Allen, 91, dies. Van Allen, was an American space scientist at the University of Iowa. It was useful in creating the field of magnetospheric research in space. Van Allen radiation belts were named for him, following his discovery using Geiger-Müller tube instruments on 1958 satellites.
