TODAY IN HISTORY - MARCH 31ST

1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.

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.

1913 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier (b. 1837) dies.

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

1929 – Liz Claiborne, Belgian-American fashion designer, founded Liz Claiborne Inc. (d. 2007) is born.

1930 – The Motion Picture 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.

1931 – TWA Flight 599 crashes near Bazaar, Kansas, killing eight, including University of Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne.

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

1935 – Herb Alpert, American singer-songwriter, trumpet player, and producer is born.

1935 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman and diplomat, founded Prince Matchabelli perfume (b. 1885) dies.

1948 – Al Gore, American soldier and politician, 45th Vice President of the United States and Nobel Prize laureate is born.

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

1958 – In the Canadian federal election, the Progressive Conservatives, led by John Diefenbaker, win the largest percentage of seats in Canadian history, with 208 seats of 265.

1966 – The Soviet Union launches Luna 10 which later becomes the first space probe to enter orbit around the Moon.

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

1972 – Evan Williams, American businessman, co-founded Twitter and Pyra Labs is born.

1978 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian physiologist and biochemist, co-discovered Insulin (b. 1899) dies.

1980 – The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad operates its final train after being ordered to liquidate its assets because of bankruptcy and debts owed to creditors.

1985 – The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (then the WWF), takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

1992 – The USS Missouri, the last active United States Navy battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California.

1993 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (b. 1965) dies.

1998 – Netscape releases Mozilla source code under an open source license.