On this day in history, March 18, 1925, the deadly Tri-State Tornado struck southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, and southwestern Indiana, claiming the lives of nearly 700 people in the deadliest single tornado in U.S. history. In 1922, Mohandas K. Gandhi was sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience in India, but was released after serving two years. America’s worst school disaster occurred in 1937 when nearly 300 people, mostly children, were killed in a natural gas explosion at the New London Consolidated School in Texas.
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the War Relocation Authority, which led to the forced internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. In a landmark ruling in 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that state courts were required to provide legal counsel to criminal defendants who could not afford an attorney.
In 1965, the first spacewalk took place as Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov ventured outside his Voskhod 2 capsule. In 1990, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Art in Boston fell victim to the biggest art heist in history, with thieves stealing 13 works valued at over $500 million. In 2018, tragedy struck as a self-driving Uber SUV struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona, marking the first death involving a fully autonomous test vehicle.
Today, notable personalities celebrate their birthdays, including composer John Kander, actor Brad Dourif, and singer-actor Vanessa L. Williams. The day is also marked by the birth of Olympic speed skating gold medalist Bonnie Blair and rapper-actor Queen Latifah. Joining the celebration are singer Adam Levine and actor Lily Collins.
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