Today in history

March 18

1871
Tolpuddle Martyrs banished to Australia for union activities. (1843)
Beginning of Paris Commune.
1895
202 African Americans sailed from Savannah, GA to make a new home in Monrovia, Liberia, an African colony formed by freed slaves.

1962
Algeria became a sovereign nation after 130 years of French colonial rule. The struggle for independence inspired “The Battle of Algiers,” a movie by Gillo Pontecorvo. The film has been shown extensively in the Pentagon to help understand the Iraqi insurgency.

French army confront demonstrators for Algerian independence in 1960

1963
The Supreme Court rules on Gideon v. Wainwright, holding states must supply free legal counsel to all poor persons facing criminal charges.

1967
The first big oil spill: US supertanker “Torrey Canyon” runs aground off Land’s End, Cornwall, England, releasing 119,000 tons of oil.

1970
The first strike against the U.S. government and the first mass work stoppage in the 195-year history of the Post Office began with a walkout of letter carriers in Brooklyn and Manhattan demanding better wages. Ultimately 210,000 of the nation’s 750,000 postal employees participated. With mail service virtually paralyzed in New York, Detroit, and Philadelphia, Pres. Nixon declared a state of national emergency and assigned military units to New York City post offices. The stand-off ended one week later.