On March 29, 1974, the unmanned probe Mariner 10 takes the first detailed photographs of the planet Mercury. The smallest and closest planet to the Sun is usually obscured from view to even the best telescopes. Launched by NASA in 1973, Mariner 10 made a close pass of Venus in January, using its gravity to slingshot it toward Mercury. In three close passes over the next year, the probe would map about 35% of Mercury's surface, and would also disprove astronomers' belief that the tiny planet does not rotate on its axis. In fact, it rotates once every 58 earth days, only slightly faster than its solar year of 88 days.


Same day, March 29, 1974, farmers digging a well in Shaanxi province, China, discover the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, who died around 210 BC. Archaeologists taking over the dig would soon find that centuries-old rumors were true; the emperor had been buried with an "army" of statues of soldiers who would protect him in the afterlife. Estimates (the excavation is ongoing) of the "Terracotta Army" consists of roughly 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots attached to more than 500 horses, and an additional 150 cavalry horses. All are roughly life-size. There are also an unspecified number of non-military figures. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the tomb of the emperor himself has yet to be excavated.


On March 29, 1982, 19-year old Michael Jordan hits a 16-foot jump shot that gives North Carolina a one-point lead over Georgetown in the NCAA men's basketball championship game in Louisiana Superdome. The victory would be clinched seconds later when Georgetown's Fred Brown makes an errant pass that ends up in the hands of Carolina's James Worthy. The game-winning shot propels Jordan, a freshman who was usually overshadowed in a Tar Heels' lineup that included star upperclassmen Worthy, Sam Perkins and Matt Doherty, into the national spotlight.

First Final Four I saw in person. You had Carolina, Georgetown with Patrick Ewing, and Houston (a year before Phi Slamma Jamma) with Drexler and Olajuwon.

On March 30, 1855, about 5,000 Missouri residents infiltrate the Kansas Territory and illegally vote in a territorial election, putting a pro-slavery legislature in place. This was one of the less violent acts the so-called "border ruffians" perpetrated on the territory, their interference throughout the decade leading to the area being nicknamed "bleeding Kansas." Ironically, its believed few of these ruffians were slave owners themselves, nor have historians ever uncovered any kind of organizational structure to their acts. Most were poor farmers who hated Yankees, feared the idea of free blacks as neighbors and were riled up by the rhetoric of the time. Although it was recognized the election was tainted (many in the territory referred to the "illegal legislature") Governor Andrew Reeder allowed the results to stand to avoid further violence.


On March 30, 1980, 123 offshore oil workers are killed when their floating dormitory capsizes in the North Sea. The Alexander Kielland housed about 200 men who worked on a nearby rig about 230 miles off the coast of Scotland. Its facilities included bedrooms, kitchens and recreation rooms, including a theater, which is where most of the off-duty crew was when a rogue wave struck the platform, sinking it in 15 minutes. Most of the dead were Norwegian, though there were a few Brits and Americans lost as well. An investigation found a previously undetected crack in one of the platform's support legs contributed to its loss.


On March 30, 1964, TV producer/mogul Merv Griffin premiers his new quiz show, Jeopardy! Art Fleming was the host of the show, which varied from other quiz shows in that the clues were presented as "answers", and the contestants phrased their responses in the form of questions that fit the answer. The program went off the air in 1975, saw a couple of brief revivals over the next 10 years before returning in its current form with Alex Trebek as host in September, 1984. Jeopardy! has won a Peabody Award and 39 Daytime Emmys.

Oops

On March 31, 1492, King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castille issue the Alhambra Decree. It is directed to the estimated 150,000 Jews living in Spain and offers a clear choice; convert to Christianity by the end of July or be expelled. Over the previous 15 years, the Spanish Inquisition had "converted" an estimated 200,000 Jews. Roughly 100,000 converted as a result of the Decree (many continued to practice Judaism in secret), but historians believe 40-50,000 Jews left the country,emigrating into the Ottoman Empire or other European nations. Its believed few survived in their new homelands.


On March 31, 1992, the USS Missouri is decommissioned for the second, and final time, officially ending the battleship era of the U.S. Navy. Most famed as the signing site for the Japanese surrender to end World War II, the Missouri and her 3 sister ships of the Iowa class were the largest U.S. battleships ever built, 887 feet long and displacing more than 58,000 tons. The Missouri earned over 100 battle stars in WWII and Korea. Decommissioned into the reserve fleet in 1955, she was modernized and recommissioned in 1984, and participated in Operation Desert Storm. The Missouri is now a museum ship, and is sited at the "Battleship Row" anchorage of Pearl Harbor, 500 yards from the wreckage of the USS Arizona.


On March 31, 1931, eight people are killed when a TWA airliner crashes near Bazaar, KS. Among the dead is legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, who's Fighting Irish teams were coming off back-to-back national championships. In 13 seasons, Rockne compiled a 105-12-5 record, winning three national titles. His innovative "Notre Dame box", in which the offense lined up in the T formation and all 4 backfield players shifted to a box just before the snap, confounded opposing defenses for years. It also contributed to the success of the famed "Four Horsemen" quartet that led the Irish to the 1924 national title. He also had a flair for showmanship and promotion, which gave Notre Dame its first taste of national appeal. Rockne was 43 at the time of his death; President Herbert Hoover called his death "a national loss." He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.