2026-03-29

British prime minister Theresa May invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, formally beginning the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union.

The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales took place following the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013.

Islamist separatists of the Caucasus Emirate detonated two bombs on the Moscow Metro, killing 40 people and injuring 102 others.

The Chamoli earthquake, one of the strongest to hit the foothills of the Himalayas in more than 90 years, killed at least 100 people.

Queen Elizabeth II granted royal assent to the Canada Act 1982, which ended any remaining constitutional dependence of Canada on the United Kingdom by a process known as patriation.

Dick Beardsley and Inge Simonsen jointly won the Men's Elite Race and Joyce Smith won the Women's Elite Race in the inaugural London Marathon.

Jeff Beck released Blow by Blow, his most successful album in the U.S., reaching the top five and selling over one million copies.

NASA's Mariner 10 became the first space probe to make a flyby of Mercury.

A group of farmers in the Chinese province of Shaanxi discovered a vast collection of terracotta statues (pictured) depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.

The funeral of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, began in Moscow with tens of thousands of people in attendance.