◆ On this day

March 11

3 sourced moments from March 11 in history: The Flagstaff War began in New Zealand (1845); Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader (1985); and The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan (2011).

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3 things happened on March 11

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2011 Earth & Climate · Natural Disasters

The Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan

A magnitude-9.0 megathrust quake off Japan unleashed a towering tsunami and triggered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

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1985 History · Modern

Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader

A day after Chernenko died, the Politburo handed its youngest member the keys to a superpower that would not outlive him in office.

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1845 History · War & Conflict

The Flagstaff War began in New Zealand

Hone Heke's axe brought down a British flagpole for the fourth time, opening the first serious armed challenge to the Crown after the Treaty of Waitangi.

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