Today in History: March 17, white South Africans vote to end apartheid

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Today is Tuesday, March 17, the 76th day of 2026. There are 289 days left in the year. This is St. Patrick’s Day.

Today in history:

On March 17, 1992, white South Africans voted 68.7% to 31.3% to end over 40 years of apartheid in a national referendum. (Voters of all races were allowed to vote two years later in the general election that resulted in Nelson Mandela becoming president.)

Also on this date:

In 1762, New York held its first St. Patrick’s Day parade.

In 1776, the Revolutionary War Siege of Boston ended as British forces evacuated the city.

In 1950, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, announced that they had created a new radioactive element they named “californium.”

In 1959, the nuclear-powered USS Skate became the first submarine to break through the ice and to surface at the North Pole.

In 1969, Golda Meir took office as prime minister in Israel, beginning a term that would last through five crucial years in the nation’s history.

In 1992, a truck bomb destroyed the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people and injuring more than 200; the Islamic Jihad Organization claimed responsibility.

In 2003, edging to the brink of war, U.S. President George W. Bush gave Iraqi President Saddam Hussein 48 hours to leave his country. Iraq rejected Bush’s ultimatum, saying a U.S. attack to force Saddam from power would be “a grave mistake.”

In 2010, Michael Jordan became the first ex-player to become a majority owner in the NBA as the league’s Board of Governors unanimously approved his $275 million bid to buy the Charlotte Bobcats from Bob Johnson.

In 2016, SeaWorld Entertainment said it would stop breeding killer whales and making them perform crowd-pleasing tricks, bowing to years of public pressure.

Today’s Birthdays: Civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams is 93. Singer-songwriter John Sebastian (The Lovin’ Spoonful) is 82. Author William Gibson is 78. Actor Patrick Duffy is 77. Actor Kurt Russell is 75. Actor Gary Sinise is 71. NBA executive Danny Ainge is 67. Actor Rob Lowe is 62. Rock musician Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) is 59. Olympic soccer gold medalist Mia Hamm is 54. Singer-TV personality Tamar Braxton is 49. Singer-songwriter Hozier is 36. Actor John Boyega is 34. Olympic swimming gold medalist Katie Ledecky is 29.