On this day in history - March 17

What Happened On This Day – March 17

• 1992 Apartheid in South Africa comes to an end

  In a referendum, 68.7% of white South Africans voted for an abolishment of racial segregation in the country.

• 1973 The photograph known as Burst of joy is taken

  Photographer Slava Veder was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the image depicting a former U.S. prisoner of war being reunited with his family.

• 1969 Golda Meir becomes Israel's first female Prime Minister

  In her country, Meir was known as the “Iron Lady” long before British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher rose to power.

• 1959 The Dalai Lama flees Tibet for India

  Followers and advisers of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, feared for his life after a revolt had erupted in Lhasa against the Chinese.

• 1941 The National Gallery of Art opens in Washington. D.C.

  U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the gallery, which today houses one of the world's finest art collections.