On this day in 1971, United Nations Secretary General U Thant signed UN proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day
On this day in 1995, the United Kingdom's oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapsed after securities broker Nick Leeson, lost US$1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
And on this day in 2003, the world's oldest Asian elephant living in captivity, Lin Wang, died at the Taipei City Zoo at the age of 86.