March 20th, 1852

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s  Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published. The novel is often noted for its largely influential role in persuading Northerners within the United States to turn against slavery and potentially join the abolitionist movement.

March 21st, 1963

Alcatraz prison, the facility that held the most dangerous prisoners within the United States, was closed. Its closure was a result of the high cost to operate the institution.

March 22nd, 1638

Anne Hutchinson, after a long trial in which she was made to recite Bible verses and answer lines of questioning, was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony due to her liberal religious ideas. 

March 23rd, 1996

Lee Teng-hui, the first democratically elected leader of Taiwan, won the nation’s first presidential election. As president, Teng-hui worked to make the nation more democratic and less authoritarian. 

March 24th, 1874

The Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini was born in Budapest, Hungary. After making a name for himself in Hungary, Houdini bought a farm in Connecticut and property in Manhattan. 

March 25th, 1807

The British parliament voted to abolish the slave trade in the West Indies. The nation and its influence would play a large role in widespread global abolition that occurred in the decades to come.

March 26th, 2000

Russian president Vladimir Putin was elected president in Russia for the very first time. This came after his service as active president in 1999 after the resignation of Boris Yelstin.