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Snooker historian Chris Turner looks back at this week in the game, including the birth of the legendary Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins.

14 March 1982 - THIRD IRISH TITLE FOR TAYLOR

At the Riverside Theatre in Coleraine Dennis Taylor won the Irish Professional Championship for the third year in succession. He beat former champion, Alex Higgins, 16-13 in the final.

14 March 1992 - JIMMY WINS EUROPEAN OPEN

Jimmy White won the European Open in Tongeren, Belgium, beating Mark Johnston-Allen 9-3 in the final. It was the second year running that Mark had lost in the final of this event.

14 March 2004 - SIXTH PREMIER LEAGUE TITLE FOR HENDRY

At Colwyn Bay, Stephen Hendry beat John Higgins 9-6 in the play-off final to clinch the Premier League title for a record sixth time.

14 March 2006 - MAXIMUM FOR MILKINS

In the final World Championship qualifying round in Prestatyn, Robert Milkins compiled his first competitive 147 break in his match against Mark Selby - but still lost 10-4. This was the first maximum ever made in the qualifying stage of snooker's premier event.

15 March 1981 - FIRST ENGLISH PRO CHAMPIONSHIP GOES TO DAVIS

The first ever English Professional Championship was won by Steve Davis, who beat Tony Meo 9-8 in the final. The event was held at the Haden Hill Leisure Centre at Sandwell near Birmingham.

15 March 1998 - HENDRY WINS THAILAND MASTERS

Stephen Hendry won the Thailand Masters for the only time in his career to date. He beat John Parrott 9-6 in the final at the Imperial Queens Park Hotel in Bangkok.

15 March 1999 - HIGGINS WINS ALL-SCOTTISH CLASH IN CHINA

The first China International to be a world ranking event was won by John Higgins. In the all-Scottish final at the JC Mandarin Hotel in Shanghai, he beat Billy Snaddon, who was appearing in his first ranking final, 9-3.

16 March 1990 - PARROTT RETAINS EUROPEAN OPEN

The second European Open was won, like the first, by John Parrott who beat Stephen Hendry 10-6 at the Palais de Sport, Lyon, France.

16 March 1991 - TONY JONES IS UNLIKELY EUROPEAN OPEN WINNER

World number 36, Tony Jones, who had only once previously reached a ranking quarter final, was the surprise winner of the European Open at the Imax Centre in Rotterdam. In a final nobody would have predicted, he beat world number 60 Mark Johnston-Allen 9-7.

16 March 1997 - EBDON WINS IN THAILAND

The fourth and last Thailand Open provided Peter Ebdon with his second world ranking title. He defeated Nigel Bond 9-7 in the final athe Century Park Hotel in Bangkok.

16 March 2003 - FIRST EUROPEAN OPEN FOR RONNIE

The European Open was held in the UK for the first time, at the Palace Hotel in Torquay. Ronnie O'Sullivan took the title with a 9-6 victory in the final over Stephen Hendry.

16 March 2003 - TONY JAMES IS OLDEST ENGLISH BILLIARDS CHAMP

At the age of 70, Tony James became the oldest ever winner of the English Amateur Billiards Championship. He beat Matthew Sutton - 50 years his junior - 899-694 in the final.

17 March 1996 - McMANUS CLAIMS THAILAND OPEN

Alan McManus won the Thailand Open, his second world ranking title, when he defeated Ken Doherty 9-8 in the final at the Riverside Montien Hotel in Bangkok.

17 March 2001 - BACK-TO-BACK TITLES FOR KEN

A 9-3 victory over Stephen Hendry in the final of the Blue Eagle/Thai Airways Thailand Masters at the Merchant Court Hotel in Bangkok, gave Ken Doherty a back-to-back double of ranking titles. He had already won the Regal Welsh Open a few weeks earlier.

17 March 2002 - BARRY McNAMEE KILLED IN CRASH

Former Northern Ireland professional Barry McNamee was killed in a car crash near Dungannon. He was 31.

18 March 2000 - LONGEST BEST-OF-19 FRAMES MATCH

The World Championship final qualifier between Gary Wilkinson and Jason Ferguson at the Newport Centre ended in a 10-9 win for Gary after no less than 11 hours and 38 minutes of play. This made it the longest ever best-of-19 frame match.

18 March 1949 - ALEX 'HURRICANE' HIGGINS BORN

Snooker's most controversial character won two world championships ten years apart and was also runner up twice. He also won two Masters and one UK Championship as well as many other titles. In recent years he has been battling against cancer but still plays exhibitions most recently on the 'Snooker Legends' Tour.

19 March 1955 - FRED CLAIMS SEVENTH WORLD TITLE

At Blackpool Tower Circus, Fred Davis won his seventh world title - and his fifth in succession - as he beat John Pulman 37-34 in the final of the Professional Match Play Championship. This event had replaced the official world championship following a dispute with the then governing body, and has always been regarded as the world championship in all but name.

19 March 1988 - ENGLAND REGAIN WORLD CUP

After a gap of five years, England regained the World Cup at the Bournemouth International Centre. Steve Davis, Neal Foulds and Jimmy White beat the Australian trio of Eddie Charlton, John Campbell and Warren King 9-7 in the final.

19 March 1995 - THAILAND DOUBLE FOR WATTANA

Thailand's sporting hero James Wattana won the Thailand Open title for the second year running. He beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 9-6 in the final at the Imperial Queen's Park Hotel in Bangkok.

20 March 1993 - HAROLD TAKES HOLD OF ASIAN TITLE

World number 93 Dave Harold was a 300-1 outsider in only his second season as a professional, but stormed to a shock win of the Asian Open at the Imperial Queens Park Hotel in Bangkok. In a tournament of surprises he beat Stephen Hendry in the last 16 and then went on to beat Darren Morgan 9-3 in the final, becoming the lowest ranked winner of a ranking event ever - a record which still stands.

Click the link beneath the picture to read more from Chris Turner's Snooker Archive

Chris Turner / Eurosport