In History, Today on March 8

Johannes Kepler discovered the third law of planetary motion, which states that the square of the orbital period of a planet is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.

Queen Anne ascended the throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland following the death of King William III.

The New York Stock Exchange was founded, establishing a formalized system for trading stocks and securities.

The French aviator Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman in the world to receive a pilot's license.

The February Revolution began in Russia, leading to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and the end of the Russian Empire.

The Spanish Communist Workers' Party was founded.

The Japanese captured Rangoon, Burma, during World War II.

The United States Supreme Court ruled in McCollum v. Board of Education that religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional.

Egypt reopened the Suez Canal after the Suez Crisis.

The first U.S. combat troops arrived in Vietnam, marking a significant escalation in American involvement in the Vietnam War.

The compact disc (CD) was publicly demonstrated for the first time by Philips and Sony.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" in a speech to the National Association of Evangelicals.

The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the conviction of Timothy McVeigh for the Oklahoma City bombing.

A new constitution was signed in Iraq, marking a significant step in the country's political reconstruction following the 2003 invasion by the United States and its allies.

The first International Women's Day was celebrated as an official holiday in several countries, including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, sparking one of the largest and most perplexing aviation mysteries in history.

International Women's Day was marked by the 'Day Without a Woman' strike in the United States, where women were encouraged to take the day off work to highlight their economic power and contributions.

The European Central Bank announced it would phase out its bond-buying program, a significant step in unwinding the monetary stimulus measures implemented during the Eurozone crisis.

Italy placed the entire Lombardy region and 14 other provinces under quarantine in an effort to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, marking one of the first major lockdowns in Europe.