March 10: Arba'een in Shi'a Islam (2007)

• 241 BC - Rome defeated Carthage in the Battle of the Aegates Islands, ending the First Punic War.

• 1831 - The French Foreign Legion was established by King Louis-Philippe (pictured) to support his war in Algeria.

• 1861 - Toucouleur forces led by El Hadj Umar Tall seized Ségou and conquered the Bambara Empire in present-day Mali.

• 1906 - More than a thousand coal miners were killed in the Courrières mine disaster in Northern France.

• 1952 - Forbidden by law to seek re-election, former President Fulgencio Batista staged a coup d'état to resume control in Cuba.

Recent days: March 9 – March 8 – March 7