On April 7, 1948, the World Health Organization (WHO) was officially created as a specialized agency of the United Nations. The WHO coordinates international efforts to combat outbreaks of infectious diseases and conduct research and education.
On April 3, 1783, the US signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce with Sweden, the first such treaty between the US and a country that wasn’t an ally in the Revolutionary War.
On April 1, 1960, the US issued two boat stamps for use on motorboat applications. The stamps were part of an effort to promote boating safety in collaboration with the Coast Guard.
On March 30, 1867, US Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia in what many at the time called “Seward’s Folly.”
On March 27, 1912, US First Lady Helen Taft and wife of the Japanese ambassador Viscountess Chinda Iwa planted two Yoshina cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River. The plantings were in celebration of the Japanese gift of 3,020 cherry trees to the US government.
Naval officer John Barry was born on March 25, 1745, in Tacumshane, Ireland. A hero of the Revolutionary War, he’s been called the “Father of the American Navy.”
On March 24, 1663, King Charles II approved the Carolina Charter, granting land in America to a group of eight Englishmen. Establishing the first laws in the Carolina province, it guaranteed religious and political freedom.
On March 21, 1918, Germany launched its Spring Offensive in the hopes of tipping the scales of the war before American troops and supplies could reach the front.
Educator Charles William Eliot was born on March 20, 1834, in Boston, Massachusetts. A pioneer in higher education reform, he was Harvard’s youngest and longest-serving president, and helped make it the premier university it is today.