On this day in history - March 15

What Happened On This Day – March 15

• 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes President of the Soviet Union

  His economic and political reforms, as well as his advocacy of free speech, strengthened pro-democracy movements in other Eastern European countries and ultimately led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

• 1985 The world's first internet domain name is registered

  symbolics.com was registered by the Symbolics Computer Corporation of Massachusetts. There are over 1 billion domains today.

• 1972 Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather is premiered

  The gangster movie based on Mario Puzo's novel is one of the most popular films of all time.

• 1917 The last emperor of Russia abdicates

  Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated following the February Revolution. He was later executed together with his family and some of his servants.

• 1895 Enrico Caruso makes his stage debut

  The Italian tenor is arguably the most famous opera singer of all time.