On March 19, 1808, Spain's King Charles IV abdicated.
In 1831 the first bank robbery in the United States occurred when $245,000 was taken from New York's City Bank.
In 1918 Congress approved the adoption of daylight-saving time.
In 1920 the U.S. Senate, for a second time, rejected the post-World War I Treaty of Versailles.
In 1931 Nevada legalized gambling.
In 1945 921 crew members were killed and 325 wounded in a fast-spreading fire aboard the USS Franklin off southern Japan when two Japanese bombs struck the aircraft carrier as it was launching its own fully armed and fueled planes.
In 1953 the Oscar ceremonies in Los Angeles were televised for the first time.
In 1980 Illinois Atty. Gen. William Scott was convicted of filing a false federal income tax return.
In 1981, at a dress rehearsal for launching the space shuttle Columbia, two workers were killed and four nearly asphyxiated when they entered a compartment filled with nitrogen.
In 1997 painter Willem de Kooning died in East Hampton, N.Y., at age 92.