Royal Opera House, where Flight Pattern premiered

Flight Pattern is a contemporary ballet choreographed by Crystal Pite, set to the first movement of Henryk Górecki's Symphony No. 3. It premiered at the Royal Opera House (pictured) in London on 16 March 2017, making Pite the first woman to choreograph for the Royal Ballet's main stage in 18 years. The ballet won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 2018. Flight Pattern examines the plight of refugees, drawing inspiration from 20th and 21st-century events, particularly the refugee crisis caused by the Syrian civil war. The ballet starts with 36 dancers performing on stage and transitions to a series of duets and solos originated by the dancers Marcelino Sambé and Kristen McNally. The piece was mostly positively reviewed by critics, with many praising the performance of the two soloists and the choreography of the ensemble. In 2022, Pite expanded the ballet into Light of Passage, with Flight Pattern becoming the first part of the ballet. (Full article...)

Bersey Electric Cab

• ... that the crash of a Bersey Electric Cab (pictured) in London in 1897 led to the first-ever charge of drunk driving?
• ... that Domingo Chalá worked as a gravedigger for much of his life before releasing his debut album?
• ... that the Louafi Bouguera Olympic Bridge was named after the first Franco-Algerian athlete to win an Olympic gold medal?
• ... that brass casting, which later became a hallmark of Benin art, was first introduced to Igodomigodo during Uwa's reign?
• ... that Benevacantism is the belief that Francis is not truly the pope, because his predecessor did not validly resign?
• ... that Wes Carlson used a different last name than his father because of a schoolteacher's mistake?
• ... that Sedum palmeri is common on windowsills in the Mediterranean because it is easy to share with other people?
• ... that the runway show for Scanners by Alexander McQueen concluded with a mostly nude model struggling through an artificial snowstorm in a wind tunnel?
• ... that the lord of Bitchū Matsuyama Castle is a cat?

Mark Carney

• Mark Carney (pictured) succeeds Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada after winning the Liberal Party leadership election.
• Martin Pfister is elected to the Swiss Federal Council.
• In Pakistan, a train hijacking by the Balochistan Liberation Army leaves at least 71 people dead.
• Former president of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte is arrested on the basis of an International Criminal Court warrant charging him with crimes against humanity.

March 16: Remembrance Day of the Latvian Legionnaires

Cap badge of the Royal Welch Fusiliers

• 934 – Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period: Chinese general Meng Zhixiang proclaimed himself emperor and established Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang.
• 1689 – The Royal Welch Fusiliers (cap badge pictured), one of the oldest line-infantry regiments of the British Army, was founded.
• 1819 – The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York, the first savings bank in New York City, was incorporated.
• 1984 – William Buckley, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency station chief in Beirut, Lebanon, was kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists.
• 1988 – Michael Stone, an Ulster loyalist, attacked the funeral of three Provisional IRA members, killing three attendees and injuring at least sixty others.