From today's featured article
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 The last voyage of the Karluk, flagship of the Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913–16, ended in a disaster which led to the deaths of almost half the ship's complement. In August 1913 the ship became trapped by ice in the Arctic Ocean. The expedition's leader, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, then left with a hunting party; while he was away the ship began to drift, preventing his return. When after many weeks the ship was crushed by ice and sunk, its captain, Robert Bartlett, led the 25 crew and expedition personnel across the sea ice to Wrangel Island, 80 miles (130 km) away. In the dangerous conditions, eight men were lost on the march. From the island Bartlett and an Inuk companion set out for the Siberian coast to seek help; they eventually reached Alaska, but weather conditions delayed the organisation of a rescue. On Wrangel Island the stranded party were short of food and troubled by internal dissent; before their rescue in September 1914 three more of the party had died. Some of the voyage's survivors were critical of Stefansson for leaving the ship, although he escaped official censure. Bartlett was hailed as a hero by the public and by his former Karluk shipmates. (Full article...)
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March 31: Easter (Western Christianity, 2013); King Nangklao Memorial Day in Thailand; Cesar Chavez Day in various U.S. states
- 1146 – French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux preached a sermon to a crowd at Vézelay, with King Louis VII in attendance, urging the necessity of a Second Crusade.
- 1492 – The Catholic Monarchs of Spain issued the Alhambra Decree, ordering all Jews to convert to Christianity or be expelled from the country.
- 1889 – The Eiffel Tower (pictured) was inaugurated in Paris, becoming a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world.
- 1942 – Second World War: Because of a mutiny by Indian soldiers against their British officers, Japanese troops captured Christmas Island without any resistance.
- 1995 – American singer-songwriter, Selena, known as "The Queen of Tejano music", was murdered in Corpus Christi, Texas, by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar.
More anniversaries: March 30 – March 31 – April 1
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