Originally posted to ydnar.vox.com in June 2006.

This one is sort of interesting. My birthday falls on March 11 , exactly 6 months to the day opposite September 11 . There are a number of tragic events that have occurred on this day:

• 1861 - American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
• 1917 - Baghdad falls to the Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Maude.
• 1977 - 130+ hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims were set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations joined negotiations.
• 1978 - Nine Palestinian Al Fatah guerillas hijack a bus in Israel, killing 34 civilians and wounding 70 before being killed by security forces. The Israelis retaliate by invading southern Lebanon three days later, under codename Operation Litani.
• 2004 - Simultaneous explosions on rush hour trains in Madrid kill 191 people.

Not to fear, some good things happened as well:

• 1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader.
• 1988 - Iran-Iraq War: Ceasefire declared.
• 1993 - Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn-in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States.
• 2003 - The International Criminal Court is founded in The Hague.

To round it out, other people who share my birthday:

• 1931 - Rupert Murdoch
• 1934 - Sam Donaldson
• 1936 - Antonin Scalia (eh)
• 1952 - Douglas Adams (yay)
• 1968 - Lisa Loeb
• 1971 - Johnny Knoxville (heh)

Copy & paste is fun for the whole family!