March 14

Events

• 1489: The last Lusignan queen of Cyprus, Catherine Cornaro, sells the island to the Venetians.
• 1865: Alexandros Koumoundouros forms his first government.
• 1942: The Axis powers impose upon Greece a "loan" for their expenses in occupying the country. The loan was estimated in 1993 to be equivalent to US $9 billion of that time. The Axis powers promised to repay the loan "in the future".
• 1957: Evagoras Pallikaridis is hanged in the Central Jail of Lefkosia.
• 1969: April 21 becomes a national holiday.
• 1998: PM Costas Simitis announces the devaluation of the drachma by 14%.
• 2012: Former PASOK MPs Louka Katseli and Haris Kastanidis announce the creation of a new political party: the Social Contract.

Sports

• 1986: Dimitris Koutsoukis breaks the Greek shot put indoor record with 20.27 in Oklahoma, USA. The record will stand for 24 years.

Births

• 1772: Georgakis Olympios, revolutionary
• 1939: Stavros Xarchakos, composer
• 1944: Mariza Koch, singer
• 1953: Kleanthis Ierissiotis, athlete (Hammer throw)

Deaths

• 1957: Evagoras Pallikaridis, EOKA fighter, aged 19.