222 – Alexander Severus becomes emperor of Rome, replacing his cousin, 18-year-old Elagabalus. The bodies of the assassinated emperor and his mother, Julia Soaemias, are dragged through the streets of the city and thrown into the Tiber.
1387 – Battle of Castagnaro: English condottiero Sir John Hawkwood leads Padova to victory in a factional clash with Verona.
1641 – Guaraní forces living in the Jesuit reductions defeat bandeirantes loyal to the Portuguese Empire at the Battle of Mbororé in present-day Panambí, Argentina.
1649 – The Frondeurs and the French sign the Peace of Rueil.
1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper, is published for the first time.
1708 – Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.
1784 – The signing of the Treaty of Mangalore brings the Second Anglo-Mysore War to an end.
1811 – During André Masséna’s retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras, a division led by French Marshal Michel Ney fights off a combined Anglo-Portuguese force to give Masséna time to escape.
1824 – The United States Department of War creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
1845 – Flagstaff War: Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hone Heke, Kawiti and Māori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororareka, New Zealand.
1848 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.
1851 – The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.
1861 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
1864 – The Great Sheffield Flood kills 238 people in Sheffield, England.
1872 – Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.
1879 – Shō Tai formally abdicated his position of King of Ryūkyū, under orders from Tokyo, ending the Ryukyu Kingdom.
1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
1917 – World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.
1927 – In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.
1931 – Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union.
1941 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.
1945 – World War II: The Empire of Vietnam, a short-lived Japanese puppet state, is established with Bảo Đại as its ruler.
1946 – Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.
1975 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrilla forces establish control over Buôn Ma Thuột commune from the South Vietnamese army.
1977 – The 1977 Hanafi Siege: More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
1978 – Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel’s Operation Litani.
1981 – Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights. The protests then became a nationwide movement.
1983 – Pakistan successfully conducts a cold test of a nuclear weapon.
1983 – Bob Hawke is appointed Prime Minister of Australia.
1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union making Gorbachev the USSR’s de facto, and last, head of state.
1990 – Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
1990 – Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.
1993 – Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States.
1999 – Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
2004 – Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush-hour trains in Madrid, Spain, killing 192 people.
2006 – Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as first female president of Chile.
2007 – Georgia claims Russian helicopters attacked the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, an accusation that Russia categorically denies later.
2009 – Winnenden school shooting: Sixteen are killed and 11 are injured before recent-graduate Tim Kretschmer shoots and kills himself, leading to tightened weapons restrictions in Germany.
2010 – Economist and businessman Sebastián Piñera is sworn in as President of Chile, while three earthquakes, the strongest measuring magnitude 6.9 and all centered next to Pichilemu, capital of Cardenal Caro province, hit central Chile during the ceremony.
2011 – An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
2012 – A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar.
2016 – At least 21 people are killed by flooding and mudslides in and around São Paulo, Brazil, following heavy rain.
2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares a pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus.
Births on March 11
1279 – Mary of Woodstock, daughter of Edward I of England (d. c.1332)
1503 – George Harper, English politician (d. 1558)
1530 – Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (d. 1573)
1544 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and educator (d. 1595)
1634 – Nicholas Gassaway, English colonial military and political leader (d. 1691)
1738 – Benjamin Tupper, American general (d. 1792)
1745 – Bodawpaya, Burmese king (d. 1819)
1785 – John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (d. 1861)
1787 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (d. 1852)
1806 – Louis Boulanger, French Romantic painter, lithographer and illustrator (d. 1867)
1811 – Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1877)
1815 – Anna Bochkoltz, German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer (d. 1879)
1818 – Marius Petipa, French-Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1910)
1819 – Henry Tate, English businessman and philanthropist, founded Tate & Lyle (d. 1899)
1822 – Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (d. 1900)
1854 – Jane Meade Welch, American journalist and lecturer (d. 1931)
1863 – Andrew Stoddart, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1915)
1870 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1946)
1872 – Kathleen Clarice Groom, Australian-English author and screenwriter (d. 1954)
1873 – David Horsley, English-American film producer, co-founded Universal Studios (d. 1933)
1876 – Carl Ruggles, American pianist and composer (d. 1971)
1878 – Umegatani Tōtarō II, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1927)
1880 – Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist and sociologist (d. 1943)
1884 – Lewi Pethrus, Swedish minister and hymn-writer (d. 1974)
1884 – Ömer Seyfettin, Turkish soldier, author, and educator (d. 1920)
1885 – Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver and journalist (d. 1948)
1887 – Raoul Walsh, American actor and director (d. 1980)
1887 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician (d. 1964)
1890 – Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (d. 1974)
1893 – Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (d. 1946)
1895 – Shemp Howard, American actor (d. 1955)
1896 – Olivério Pinto, Brazilian zoologist and physician (d. 1981)
1897 – Henry Cowell, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
1898 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (d. 1968)
1899 – James H. Douglas, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 1988)
1899 – Frederick IX of Denmark (d. 1972)
1900 – Hanna Bergas, German teacher who contributed to the rescue of Jewish children during WWII (d. 1987)
1903 – Ronald Syme, New Zealand historian and scholar (d. 1989)
1903 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (d. 1992)
1907 – Jessie Matthews, English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
1908 – Matti Sippala, Finnish javelin thrower (d. 1997)
1910 – Robert Havemann, German chemist and academic (d. 1982)
1911 – Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Egyptian-Scottish general and politician (d. 1996)
1913 – Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, German colonel and pilot (d. 1944)
1915 – Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (d. 2004)
1915 – J. C. R. Licklider, American computer scientist and psychologist (d. 1990)
1916 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (d. 1983)
1916 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
1920 – Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
1921 – Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (d. 2005)
1921 – Jeff Stollmeyer, Trinidadian cricketer (d. 1989)
1921 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player (d. 1992)
1922 – Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek economist and philosopher (d. 1997)
1922 – José Luis López Vázquez, Spanish actor and director (d. 2009)
1922 – Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1976)
1923 – Louise Brough, American tennis player (d. 2014)
1925 – Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American biochemist and academic (d. 1983)
1925 – İlhan Selçuk, Turkish lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2010)
1926 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (d. 1990)
1927 – Joachim Fuchsberger, German actor and television host (d. 2014)
1927 – Col Geelan, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1996)
1927 – Freda Meissner-Blau, Austrian activist and politician (d. 2015)
1927 – Robert Mosbacher, American sailor, businessman, and politician, 25th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 2010)
1927 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
1928 – Albert Salmi, American actor (d. 1990)
1929 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1929 – Jackie McGlew, South African cricketer (d. 1998)
1930 – David Gentleman, English illustrator and engraver
1930 – Claude Jutra, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
1931 – Janosch, Polish-German author and illustrator
1931 – Marisa Del Frate, Italian actress and singer (d. 2015)
1931 – Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate
1932 – Leroy Jenkins, American violinist and composer (Revolutionary Ensemble) (d. 2007)
1932 – Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
1934 – Sam Donaldson, American journalist
1936 – Hollis Frampton, American director, screenwriter, and photographer (d. 1984)
1936 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2016)
1938 – Joseph Brooks, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 2011)
1939 – Lorraine Hunt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
1939 – Orlando Quevedo, Filipino cardinal
1940 – Alberto Cortez, Argentinian-Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
1942 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian and author (d. 2015)
1942 – Joel Steiger, American director, producer and screenwriter
1943 – Arturo Merzario, Italian race car driver
1945 – Dock Ellis, American baseball player and coach (d. 2008)
1945 – Harvey Mandel, American guitarist
1946 – Mark Metcalf, American actor and producer
1947 – Geoff Hunt, Australian squash player
1947 – Tristan Murail, French composer and educator
1948 – Roy Barnes, American lawyer and politician, 80th Governor of Georgia
1949 – Griselda Pollock, South African-English historian and academic
1950 – Sam Kekovich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
1950 – Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, and conductor
1950 – Jerry Zucker, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1951 – Andres Metspalu, Estonian geneticist and academic
1951 – Dominique Sanda, French model and actress
1952 – Douglas Adams, English author and playwright (d. 2001)
1953 – László Bölöni, Romanian-Hungarian footballer and manager
1953 – Derek Daly, Irish-American race car driver and sportscaster
1953 – Jimmy Iovine, American record producer and businessman, co-founded Interscope Records and Beats Electronics
1953 – Bernie LaBarge, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – David Newman, American composer and conductor
1954 – Gale Norton, American lawyer and politician, 48th United States Secretary of the Interior
1955 – Leslie Cliff, Canadian swimmer
1955 – Nina Hagen, German singer and actress
1955 – D. J. MacHale, American author, director, and screenwriter
1956 – Willie Banks, American triple jumper
1956 – Curtis Brown, American colonel, pilot and astronaut
1956 – Helen Rollason, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 1999)
1957 – The Lady Chablis, American drag queen performer (d. 2016)
1958 – Ian Horrocks, English computer scientist and academic
1958 – Tetsurō Oda, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
1958 – James Pinkerton, American journalist and author
1958 – Anissa Jones, American child actress (d. 1976)
1958 – Flemming Rose, Danish journalist and author
1959 – Manuel Negrete Arias, Mexican footballer and coach
1959 – Nina Hartley, American pornographic actress/director, sex educator, sex-positive feminist, and author
1959 – Margus Oopkaup, Estonian actor
1959 – Dejan Stojanović, Serbian-American journalist and poet
1960 – Christophe Gans, French director, producer, and screenwriter
1960 – Junichi Sato, Japanese animator and director
1960 – Warwick Taylor, New Zealand rugby player
1961 – Elias Koteas, Canadian actor
1961 – Bruce Watson, Canadian-Scottish guitarist
1962 – Mary Gauthier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Matt Mead, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of Wyoming
1963 – Gary Barnett, English footballer and manager
1963 – Alex Kingston, English actress
1963 – David LaChapelle, American photographer and director
1964 – Peter Berg, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter
1964 – Vinnie Paul, American drummer, songwriter and producer (d. 2018)
1964 – Shane Richie, English actor and singer
1965 – Nigel Adkins, English footballer and manager
1965 – Jesse Jackson, Jr., American lawyer and politician
1965 – Wallace Langham, American actor
1965 – Jenny Packham, English fashion designer
1965 – Allan Vainola, Estonian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1966 – Robbie Brookside, English wrestler and trainer
1966 – John Thompson III, American basketball player and coach
1966 – Ilias Zouros, Greek basketball player and coach
1967 – John Barrowman, Scottish-American actor and singer
1967 – Brad Carson, American lawyer and politician, United States Under Secretary of the Army
1967 – Renzo Gracie, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and trainer
1967 – Cynthia Klitbo, Mexican actress
1968 – Stéphane Bédard, Canadian lawyer and politician
1968 – Simone Buchanan, Australian actress
1968 – Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress
1969 – Terrence Howard, American actor and producer
1969 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2006)
1970 – Andre Nickatina, American rapper and producer
1971 – Johnny Knoxville, American actor, stuntman, and producer
1971 – Martin Ručinský, Czech ice hockey player
1972 – Paolo Ponzo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
1973 – Martin Hiden, Austrian footballer and coach
1974 – Bobby Abreu, Venezuelan baseball player
1975 – João Barbosa, Portuguese racing driver
1975 – Shawn Springs, American football player
1976 – Thomas Gravesen, Danish footballer
1976 – Kotomitsuki Keiji, Japanese sumo wrestler
1977 – Becky Hammon, American-Russian basketball player and coach
1978 – Scott Calderwood, English-Scottish footballer and manager
1978 – Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
1978 – Albert Luque, Spanish footballer
1979 – Elton Brand, American basketball player
1979 – Fred Jones, American basketball player
1979 – Benji Madden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Joel Madden, American singer-songwriter and producer
1979 – Keren Peles, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist
1979 – Kirk Reynoldson, Australian rugby league player
1980 – Paul Scharner, Austrian footballer
1980 – Dan Uggla, American baseball player
1981 – Heidi Cortez, American businesswoman and author
1981 – Luke Johnson, English drummer and songwriter
1981 – LeToya Luckett, American singer-songwriter and actress
1982 – Brian Anderson, American baseball player
1982 – Thora Birch, American actress
1982 – Hasan Raza, Pakistani cricketer
1983 – Lucy DeVito, American actress
1985 – Paul Bissonnette, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Daniel Vázquez Evuy, Equatoguinean footballer
1985 – Cassandra Fairbanks, American journalist and activist
1985 – Luis Hernández, Mexican figure skater
1985 – Stelios Malezas, Greek footballer
1985 – Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lankan cricketer
1985 – Derek Schouman, American football player
1985 – Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Australian footballer
1985 – Hakuhō Shō, Mongolian sumo wrestler, the 69th Yokozuna
1986 – Dario Cologna, Swiss skier
1986 – Mariko Shinoda, Japanese singer and actress
1987 – Marc-André Gragnani, Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – Tanel Kangert, Estonian cyclist
1987 – Ngonidzashe Makusha, Zimbabwean sprinter and long jumper
1987 – Colin Munro, South African-New Zealand cricketer
1988 – Fábio Coentrão, Portuguese footballer
1988 – Cecil Lolo, South African footballer (d. 2015)
1988 – Katsuhiko Nakajima, Japanese wrestler
1989 – Anton Yelchin, Russian-born American actor (d. 2016)
1990 – Ayumi Morita, Japanese tennis player
1991 – Kamohelo Mokotjo, South African footballer
1992 – Austin Swift, American actor
1992 – KZ Tandingan, Filipina singer and rapper
1993 – Jodie Comer, British actress
1993 – Anthony Davis, American basketball player
1994 – Andrew Robertson, Scottish footballer
Deaths on March 11
222 – Elagabalus, Roman emperor (b. 203)
452 – Tai Wu Di, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 408)
638 – Sophronius of Jerusalem (b. 560)
857 – Eulogius of Córdoba, Spanish martyr and saint (b. 819)
1198 – Marie of France, Countess of Champagne (b. 1145)
1296 – John le Romeyn, Archbishop of York
1353 – Theognostus, metropolitan of Kiev and Moscow
1486 – Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1414)
1514 – Donato Bramante, Italian architect, designed the San Pietro in Montorio (b. 1444)
1575 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (b. 1520)
1602 – Emilio de’ Cavalieri, Italian organist and composer (b. 1550)
1607 – Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer and educator (b. 1543)
1646 – Stanisław Koniecpolski, Polish soldier and statesman (b. c. 1592)
1665 – Clemente Tabone, Maltese landowner and militia member (b. c. 1575)
1722 – John Toland, Irish philosopher and theorist (b. 1670)
1759 – John Forbes, Scottish general (b. 1710)
1820 – Benjamin West, American-English painter and academic (b. 1738)
1851 – Marie Louise Coidavid, Queen of Haiti (b. 1778)
1851 – George McDuffie, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1790)
1854 – Willard Richards, American journalist and religious leader (b. 1804)
1863 – Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet, English general (b. 1803)
1869 – Vladimir Odoyevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1803)
1870 – Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho (b. 1786)
1874 – Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (b. 1811)
1898 – William Rosecrans, American general and politician (b. 1819)
1898 – Tigran Chukhajian, Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1837)
1907 – Jean Casimir-Perier, French lawyer and politician, 6th President of France (b. 1847)
1908 – Edmondo De Amicis, Italian journalist and author (b. 1846)
1908 – Benjamin Waugh, American minister and activist (b. 1839)
1915 – Thomas Alexander Browne, English-Australian author (b. 1826)
1920 – Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1865)
1927 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (b. 1869)
1931 – F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1888)
1937 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American businessman, co-founded Texaco (b. 1860)
1944 – Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American journalist and historian (b. 1882)
1944 – Edgar Zilsel, Austrian historian and philosopher of science, linked to the Vienna Circle (b. 1891)
1949 – Anastasios Charalambis, Greek general and politician, 109th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1862)
1949 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (b. 1879)
1952 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (b. 1885)
1955 – Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
1955 – Oscar F. Mayer, German-American businessman, founded Oscar Mayer (b. 1859)
1957 – Richard E. Byrd, American admiral and explorer (b. 1888)
1958 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded The Lego Group (b. 1891)
1959 – Lester Dent, American author (b. 1904)
1960 – Roy Chapman Andrews, American paleontologist and explorer (b. 1884)
1965 – Harry Altham, English cricketer, historian and coach (b. 1888)
1967 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (b. 1882)
1968 – Haşim İşcan, Turkish educator and politician, 18th Mayor of İstanbul (b. 1898)
1969 – John Daly, Irish runner (b. 1880)
1969 – John Wyndham, English soldier and author (b. 1903)
1970 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (b. 1889)
1971 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor (b. 1906)
1971 – Whitney Young, American activist (b. 1921)
1977 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1893)
1978 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1939)
1980 – Chandra Bhanu Gupta, Indian politician, 4th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (b. 1902)
1982 – Edmund Cooper, English poet and author (b. 1926)
1982 – Horace Gregory, American poet, translator, and academic (b. 1898)
1983 – Will Glickman, American playwright (b. 1910)
