AT THE TUNISIAN FRONT, March 18 -- United States artillery fire and a bombing attack, rocking the earth miles away, hurried the already retreating Italians and Germans on their way, and mines offered the chief obstacle as American troops hurried through Gafsa. The most elaborate preparations had been made to assure recapture of this key oasis, twice before taken by the Americans and last abandoned Feb. 14.

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Notable Births

1943Nate Bowman, American basketball player (died 1984)^[†]

Nathan "Nate the Snake" Bowman was an American basketball player born in Fort Worth, Texas.

1943Mario J. Molina, Mexican chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2020)^[†]

Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez was a Mexican physical chemist. He played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, and was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in discovering the threat to the Earth's ozone layer from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases. He was the first Mexican-born scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the third Mexican-born person to receive a Nobel prize.

1943Mario Monti, Italian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Italy^[†]

Mario Monti is an Italian politician, economist and academic who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from 2011 to 2013, leading a technocratic government in the wake of the Italian debt crisis.

1943Vern Schuppan, Australian race car driver^[†]

Vernon John Schuppan is an Australian former motor racing driver. Schuppan drove in various categories, participating in Formula One, the Indianapolis 500 and most successfully in sports car racing.

Historical Events

1943Frank Nitti, the Chicago Outfit Boss after Al Capone, commits suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard.^[†]

Frank Ralph Nitto, known as Frank Nitti, was an Italian-American organized crime figure based in Chicago. The bodyguard of Al Capone, Nitti was in charge of all money flowing through the operation. Nitti later succeeded Capone as acting boss of the Chicago Outfit.