31 MARCH

1899 - Malolos, the capital of the fledgling Philippine Republic, falls to the imperialist American forces led by General Arthur MacArthur, thus forcing President Emilio Aguinaldo to transfer the capital northwards to Tarlac; American's sense of racial superiority is seen today as explaining US colonization of the Southeast Asian archipelago, as reflected in the diary of Sgt. Hiram Harlow, an American soldier who sees action in  several battles in Malolos, with his multiple referral to the Filipinos as "niggers."

1959 - The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader, escapes to India by crossing the Indian border following the fierce Chinese crackdown on the Tibetan uprising earlier this month; the Dalai Laima travelled for 15 days on foot from Lhasa, over the Himalayan mountains, to the Indian border and will be given Asylum in India where about 80,000 Tibetans will follow him in exile away from communist rule of Tibet.

1966 - The Soviet Union launches Luna 10, the first human-made unmanned space object to orbit the moon; also called Lunik 10, it is launched from an Earth orbiting platform and will enter the lunar orbit three days later and within 3 hours, will complete its first orbit (April 4, Moscow time).

1968 - United States President Lyndon Baines Johnson announces his irrevocable decision not to seek election, citing the need for national unity, which is America's "ultimate strength"; Johnson's decision is now seen the result of turmoil within the Democratic Party related to opposition to the Vietnam War.