Today’s almanac March 24: the march on Vaduz and the coup in Buenos Aires

L’Connection — the annexation of Austria to Hitler’s Germany — had gone so “smoothly” that the Nazis of nearby Lichtenstein thought of organizing something similar. On March 24, 1939, affiliates of the local swastikas triggered the putsch. They marched up Vaduz with the aim of triggering a reaction from the government, which according to them would have pushed Germany to intervene by deposing the sovereign Franz Josef and annexing the tiny country. But there was unexpected popular opposition. Hitler he didn’t lift a finger and the conspirators were arrested. They were not condemned (for fear of retaliation), but invited to leave the principality. However, on the night of March 24, 1976, he succeeded perfectly in the coup d’état Buenos Aires. Around one in the morning, in an atmosphere of apparent tranquility, the president “Isabelita” Perónwidow of Juan Domingo, she was arrested and the army took power. In the same atmosphere of surreal calm — often under cover of darkness — opponents soon began to disappear. (Luigi Gaetani)

Born of the day

Luigi Einaudi24 March 1874, politician, journalist and second President of the Italian Republic

Harry Houdini24 March 1874, Austro-Hungarian illusionist and actor

Joseph BarberaMarch 24, 1911, American director, television and film producer

Dario FoMarch 24, 1926, playwright, actor and director

Steve McQueenMarch 24, 1930, American actor and rally driver

Giulia LazzariniMarch 24, 1934, actress

Guglielmo Epifani24 March 1950, trade unionist and politician

Tommy HilfigerMarch 24, 1951, American fashion designer

Vauro24 March 1955, cartoonist, writer and commentator

Enzo DecaroMarch 24, 1958, actor, screenwriter and cabaret artist

Giorgio Gori24 March 1960, journalist, television producer and politician

Maria Luisa Busi24 March 1964, journalist and television presenter

Jessica ChastainMarch 24, 1977, American actress and film producer, Oscar winner for best actress 2022

Deaths of the day

Elizabeth I24 March 1603, English queen

Jules VerneMarch 24, 1905, French writer

Lilac BrignoneMarch 24, 1984, actress and voice actress

Johan Cruijff24 March 2016, Dutch footballer, coach and sports manager

Said MarianoMarch 24, 2020, composer and lyricist

Saint of the day

Catherine of SwedenSwedish nun and daughter of Saint Brigid. Against her wishes, she was married off at a young age and, in agreement with her husband, she took a vow of chastity. During a trip to Rome, she received the news of her husband’s death, following which she dedicated herself to the religious activity of Saint Bridget. She undertook long pilgrimages alongside her mother, during which, according to tradition, the two women overcame dangerous obstacles thanks to supernatural interventions. After her mother’s death in 1373, she entered the Vadstena monastery, where she became abbess. Some stories attribute the miraculous rescue of Rome from a flood of the Tiber River to Catherine of Sweden. The episode is represented in a painting in the chapel dedicated to her in the house in Piazza Farnese.