10 Odd but True Facts From March 31

Love history? Here are Anniversaries of Historical Events from March 31

1854 – Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.

1889 – The Eiffel Tower in Paris is officially opened as the entrance arch to the 1889 World's Fair. Named for its engineer Gustave Eiffel, the iron latticework tower is a globally-recognized cultural icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The tower is the tallest structure in Paris (and the European Union), and the most-visited paid monument in the world. In 2001, 7.1 million people ascended it.

1906 – The Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (later the National Collegiate Athletic Association) is established to set rules for college sports in the United States.

1917 – The United States takes possession of the Danish West Indies after paying $25 million to Denmark, and renames the territory the United States Virgin Islands. (Yet another real estate purchase I wish I could have made.)

1918 – Daylight saving time goes into effect for the first time in the United States.

1930 – The Motion Pictures Production Code is instituted, imposing strict guidelines on the treatment of sex, crime, religion and violence in film, in the U.S., for the next thirty eight years.

1933 – The Civilian Conservation Corps is established with the mission of relieving rampant unemployment in the United States.

1951 – Remington Rand delivers the first UNIVAC I computer to the United States Census Bureau.

1959 – The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.

1970 – Explorer 1 re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after 12 years in orbit.

BONUS QUESTION: Where was the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull found? (Scroll down for answer).

Thank you for reading. You may want to read my blog at www.activerain.com/results for more fun facts on history, real estate, home, life and other topics.

Images courtesy of www.wikipedia.org. 

Thanks for reading "11 Odd but True Facts From March 31."

Bonus Answer: 1994 – The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull.