Today in History: March 10, the Tibetan uprising of 1959

Today is Tuesday, March 10, the 69th day of 2026. There are 296 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On March 10, 1959, thousands of Tibetans rebelled against occupying Chinese forces, surrounding the Dalai Lama’s palace to protect him from potential harm. Fierce fighting between Tibetans and Chinese forces ensued, causing the Dalai Lama to flee Tibet for India, where he remains in exile today.

Also on this date:

In 1496, Christopher Columbus concluded his second visit to the Western Hemisphere as he left Hispaniola for Spain.

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to lieutenant general and the command of the Union army in the Civil War.

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell’s assistant, Thomas Watson, heard Bell say over his experimental telephone: “Mr. Watson — come here — I want to see you” from the next room of Bell’s Boston laboratory; those were the first words ever conveyed by telephone.

In 1913, abolitionist and Underground Railroad “conductor” Harriet Tubman died of pneumonia in Auburn, New York.

In 1969, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty in Memphis, Tennessee, to assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (Ray later repudiated that plea, maintaining his innocence until his death.)

In 1993, Dr. David Gunn was killed outside the Pensacola Women’s Medical Services clinic by anti-abortion activist Michael Griffin; it was the first killing attributed to a doctor's role in providing abortion care.

In 2019, a Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed shortly after takeoff from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Chuck Norris is 86. Singer Dean Torrence (Jan and Dean) is...