Statue of Secretariat at Belmont Park

Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who, in 1973, became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. Secretariat set speed records in all three Triple Crown races. His time of 1:59​²⁄₅ in the Kentucky Derby still stands as the Churchill Downs track record for ​1 ¹⁄₄ miles. His disputed time in the Preakness Stakes was recognized as a stakes record in 2012. He won the Belmont Stakes by 31  lengths, setting an American record for ​1 ¹⁄₂ miles on dirt that still stands. He also set a world record in the Marlboro Cup, and proved his versatility by winning two major stakes races on turf. His 1972–1973 racing career resulted in five Eclipse Awards, including American Horse of the Year honors both years. Of The Blood-Horse's Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century, Secretariat ranks second only to Man o' War. After siring several major stakes winners, Secretariat died at age 19 of complications from laminitis. ( Full article...)

Rain (1889)

• ... that Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh used slanted lines to depict rainfall in his 1889 painting Rain (shown), drawing inspiration from Japanese prints such as those by Hiroshige?
• ... that English judoka Samantha Lowe was selected, then deselected, then reselected for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and went on to win a gold medal?
• ... that Shueisha, the publisher of Weekly Shōnen Jump, has produced a manga series in collaboration with Marvel Comics?
• ... that Jeffrey Erickson, who was accused of robbing banks in the Chicago metropolitan area with his wife Jill, was a former police officer in Hoffman Estates?
• ... that the Royal Irish Yacht Club has retained its royal title despite the establishment of the Republic of Ireland?
• ... that Gösta Neuwirth studied composition and musicology in Vienna, but wrote his dissertation on harmony in Schreker's opera Der ferne Klang in Berlin?
• ... that the Whitehall Building in New York City was developed by a company headed by the inventor of Vaseline?
• ... that during the first siege of Wardour Castle in 1643, Lady Blanche Arundell held out for a week with just 25 Royalist soldiers against 1,300 Parliamentarian troops?

NATO member states

• North Macedonia becomes a member of NATO (map of member states pictured).
• The 2020 Summer Olympics are postponed for one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
• Igor Matovič becomes Prime Minister of Slovakia following elections in February.

March 30: Land Day ( Palestinians, 1976)

Moments after the attempted assassination of Reagan

• 1861 – British chemist William Crookes published his discovery of thallium, which he had done using flame spectroscopy.
• 1867 – U.S. secretary of state William H. Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for US$7.2 million.
• 1950 – Usmar Ismail began shooting Darah dan Doa, widely recognised as the first Indonesian film.
• 1972 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese forces began the Easter Offensive in an attempt to gain as much territory and destroy as many South Vietnamese units as possible.
• 1981 – Trying to impress actress Jodie Foster, obsessed fan John Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded U.S. president Ronald Reagan and three others outside the Washington Hilton hotel (immediate aftermath pictured).

Ralph Sadler (d. 1587) · Beau Brummell (d. 1840) · Celine Dion (b. 1968)