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March 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

March 24th is the 365th and last day of the year in many European implementations of the Julian calendar.

March 24 in History

1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
1387 – English victory over a Franco-Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate off the coast of Margate.
1401 – Turco-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus.
1603 – James VI of Scotland is proclaimed King James I of England and Ireland, upon the death of Elizabeth I.
1603 – Tokugawa Ieyasu is granted the title of shōgun from Emperor Go-Yōzei, and establishes the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo, Japan.
1663 – The Province of Carolina is granted by charter to eight Lords Proprietor in reward for their assistance in restoring Charles II of England to the throne.
1720 – Count Frederick of Hesse-Kassel is elected King of Sweden by the Riksdag of the Estates, after his consort Ulrika Eleonora abdicated the throne on 29 February
1721 – Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051.
1731 – Naturalization of Hieronimus de Salis Parliamentary Act is passed.
1765 – Great Britain passes the Quartering Act, which requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops.
1794 – In Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announces a general uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia, and assumes the powers of the Commander in Chief of all of the Polish forces.
1829 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
1832 – In Hiram, Ohio, a group of men beat and tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
1854 – President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela.
1860 – Sakuradamon Incident: Assassination of Japanese Chief Minister (Tairō) Ii Naosuke.
1869 – The last of Titokowaru’s forces surrendered to the New Zealand government, ending his uprising.
1878 – The British frigate HMS Eurydice sinks, killing more than 300.
1882 – Robert Koch announces the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis.
1885 – Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Bang Bo on the Tonkin–Guangxi border.
1900 – Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground “Rapid Transit Railroad” that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
1907 – The first issue of the Georgian Bolshevik newspaper Dro is published.
1921 – The 1921 Women’s Olympiad begins in Monte Carlo, first international women’s sports event.
1927 – Nanking Incident: Foreign warships bombard Nanjing, China, in defense of the foreign citizens within the city.
1934 – United States Congress passes the Tydings–McDuffie Act, allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.
1944 – Ardeatine massacre: German troops murder 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
1944 – World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 Allied prisoners of war begin breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III.
1946 – A British Cabinet Mission arrives in India to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership.
1958 – Rock ‘n’ roll teen idol Elvis Presley is drafted in the U.S. Army.
1961 – Quebec Board of the French Language is established.
1965 – Images from the Ranger 9 lunar probe are broadcast live on network television.
1973 – Kenyan athlete Kip Keino defeats Jim Ryun at the first-ever professional track meet in Los Angeles.
1976 – In Argentina, the armed forces overthrow the constitutional government of President Isabel Perón and start a 7-year dictatorial period self-styled the National Reorganization Process.
1977 – Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of India, the first Prime Minister not to belong to Indian National Congress.
1980 – El Salvadorian Archbishop Óscar Romero is assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
1986 – The Loscoe gas explosion leads to new UK laws on landfill gas migration and gas protection on landfill sites.
1989 – In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m³) of crude oil after running aground.
1993 – Discovery of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9.
1998 – Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden, aged 11 and 13 respectively, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are killed and ten are wounded.
1998 – A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India, killing 250 people and injuring 3,000 others.
1998 – First computer-assisted Bone Segment Navigation, performed at the University of Regensburg, Germany
1999 – Kosovo war: NATO began attacks on Yugoslavia without United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approval, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
1999 – A lorry carrying margarine and flour catches fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The resulting inferno kills 38 people.
2003 – The Arab League votes 21–1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq.
2008 – Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election.
2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525 crashes in the French Alps in an apparent pilot mass murder-suicide, killing all 150 people on board.

Births on March 24

1103 – Yue Fei, Chinese military general (d. 1142)
1441 – Ernest, Elector of Saxony, German ruler of Saxony (d. 1486)
1494 – Georgius Agricola, German mineralogist and scholar (d. 1555)
1577 – Francis, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin, Bishop of Cammin (d. 1620)
1607 – Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (d. 1667)
1628 – Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1685)
1657 – Arai Hakuseki, Japanese academic and politician (d. 1725)
1693 – John Harrison, English carpenter and clock-maker, invented the Marine chronometer (d. 1776)
1725 – Samuel Ashe, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1813)
1725 – Thomas Cushing, American lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1788)
1755 – Rufus King, American lawyer and politician, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
1762 – Marcos Portugal, Portuguese organist and composer (d. 1830)
1775 – Muthuswami Dikshitar, Indian poet and composer (d. 1835)
1782 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian-Italian painter (d. 1836)
1796 – Zulma Carraud, French author (d. 1889)
1796 – John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1878)
1803 – Egerton Ryerson, Canadian minister, educator, and politician (d. 1882)
1808 – Maria Malibran, Spanish-French soprano (d. 1836)
1809 – Mariano José de Larra, Spanish journalist and author (d. 1837)
1809 – Joseph Liouville, French mathematician and academic (d. 1882)
1816 – Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos, Roman Catholic archbishop and Mexican politician who served as regent during the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (d. 1891)
1820 – Edmond Becquerel, French physicist and academic (d. 1891)
1820 – Fanny Crosby, American poet and composer (d. 1915)
1823 – Thomas Spencer Baynes, English philosopher and critic (d. 1887)
1826 – Matilda Joslyn Gage, American activist and author (d. 1898)
1828 – Horace Gray, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1902)
1829 – George Francis Train, American businessman (d. 1904)
1829 – Ignacio Zaragoza, Mexican general (d. 1862)
1830 – Robert Hamerling, Austrian poet and playwright (d. 1889)
1834 – William Morris, English textile designer, poet, and author (d. 1896)
1834 – John Wesley Powell, American soldier, geologist, and explorer (d. 1902)
1835 – Joseph Stefan, Austrian physicist, mathematician, and poet (d. 1893)
1848 – Honoré Beaugrand, Canadian journalist and politician, 18th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1906)
1850 – Silas Hocking, English minister and author (d. 1935)
1854 – Henry Lefroy, Australian politician, 11th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1930)
1855 – Andrew W. Mellon, American banker, financier, and diplomat, 49th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1937)
1855 – Olive Schreiner, South African author and activist (d. 1920)
1862 – Frank Weston Benson, American painter and educator (d. 1951)
1869 – Émile Fabre, French author and playwright (d. 1955)
1871 – Alec Hurley, English music hall singer (d. 1913)
1874 – Luigi Einaudi, Italian economist and politician, 2nd President of the Italian Republic (d. 1961)
1874 – Harry Houdini, Hungarian-Jewish American magician and actor (d. 1926)
1875 – William Burns, Canadian lacrosse player (d. 1953)
1879 – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish philosopher, poet, and composer (d. 1953)
1882 – Marcel Lalu, French gymnast (d. 1951)
1882 – George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, English politician, 5th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1943)
1883 – Dorothy Campbell, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1945)
1884 – Peter Debye, Dutch-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
1884 – Chika Kuroda, Japanese chemist (d. 1968)
1884 – Eugène Tisserant, French cardinal (d. 1972)
1885 – Charles Daniels, American swimmer (d. 1973)
1885 – Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian violinist and composer (d. 1978)
1886 – Edward Weston, American photographer (d. 1958)
1886 – Robert Mallet-Stevens, French architect and designer (d. 1945)
1887 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1933)
1888 – Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian politician (d. 1922)
1889 – Albert Hill, English-Canadian runner (d. 1969)
1890 – Agnes Macphail, Canadian educator and politician (d. 1954)
1891 – Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1951)
1892 – Marston Morse, American mathematician and academic (d. 1977)
1893 – Walter Baade, German astronomer and author (d. 1960)
1893 – George Sisler, American baseball player and scout (d. 1973)
1897 – Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-American psychotherapist and academic (d. 1957)
1901 – Ub Iwerks, American animator, director, and producer, co-created Mickey Mouse (d. 1971)
1902 – Thomas E. Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of New York (d. 1971)
1903 – Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
1903 – Malcolm Muggeridge, English journalist, author, and scholar (d. 1990)
1905 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino author and diplomat (d. 2007)
1907 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (d. 1960)
1909 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (d. 1934)
1909 – Richard Wurmbrand, Romanian Pastor and Evangelist (d. 2001)
1910 – Richard Conte, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1975)
1911 – Joseph Barbera, American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2006)
1912 – Dorothy Height, African-American educator and activist (d. 2010)
1915 – Eugène Martin, French racing driver (d. 2006)
1916 – Donald Hamilton, Swedish-American soldier and author (d. 2006)
1916 – Harry B. Whittington, English palaeontologist and academic (d. 2010)
1917 – John Kendrew, English biochemist and crystallographer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
1919 – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, American poet and publisher, co-founded City Lights Bookstore
1919 – Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (d. 2005)
1920 – Gene Nelson, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1996)
1920 – Mary Stolz, American author (d. 2006)
1921 – Vasily Smyslov, Russian chess player (d. 2010)
1922 – Onna White, Canadian dancer and choreographer (d. 2005)
1923 – Murray Hamilton, American actor (d. 1986)
1923 – Michael Legat, English author and publisher (d. 2011)
1924 – Norman Fell, American actor (d. 1998)
1925 – Puig Aubert, German-French rugby league player and coach (d. 1994)
1926 – Desmond Connell, Irish cardinal (d. 2017)
1926 – Dario Fo, Italian playwright, actor, director, and composer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
1926 – William Porter, American hurdler (d. 2000)
1927 – John Woodland Hastings, American biochemist and academic (d. 2014)
1927 – Martin Walser, German author and playwright
1928 – Byron Janis, American pianist and composer
1929 – Pat Renella, Italian-American actor (d. 2012)
1930 – David Dacko, Central African politician, 1st President of the Central African Republic (d. 2003)
1930 – Steve McQueen, American actor and producer (d. 1980)
1931 – Hanno Drechsler, German educator and politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 2003)
1933 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (d. 2011)
1933 – Lee Mendelson, American television producer (d. 2019)
1936 – Don Covay, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
1936 – Alex Olmedo, Peruvian-American tennis player
1937 – Billy Stewart, American singer and pianist (d. 1970)
1938 – David Irving, English historian and author
1940 – Bob Mackie, American fashion designer
1941 – Michael Masser, American songwriter, composer and producer (d. 2015)
1944 – R. Lee Ermey, American sergeant and actor (d. 2018)
1944 – Vojislav Koštunica, Serbian academic and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Serbia
1945 – Robert T. Bakker, American paleontologist and academic
1945 – Curtis Hanson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1945 – Patrick Malahide, English actor and screenwriter
1946 – Klaus Dinger, German guitarist and songwriter (d. 2008)
1946 – Kitty O’Neil, American stuntwoman (d. 2018)
1947 – Dennis Erickson, American football player and coach
1947 – Christine Gregoire, American lawyer and politician, 22nd Governor of Washington
1947 – Mick Jones, English footballer and coach
1947 – Alan Sugar, English businessman
1948 – Javier Diez Canseco, Peruvian sociologist and politician (d. 2013)
1948 – Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish mountaineer (d. 1989)
1948 – Lee Oskar, Jewish-Danish musician
1949 – Tabitha King, American author and poet
1949 – Ruud Krol, Dutch footballer and coach
1949 – Steve Lang, Canadian bass player (April Wine) (d. 2017)
1949 – Nick Lowe, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
1949 – Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian academic and politician, 36th Foreign Affairs Minister of Iran
1949 – Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
1950 – Gary Wichard, American football player and agent (d. 2011)
1951 – Peter Boyle, Scottish-Australian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
1951 – Pat Bradley, American golfer
1951 – Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer, founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation
1951 – Dougie Thomson, Scottish bass player
1951 – Anna Włodarczyk, Polish long jumper and coach
1952 – Greg McCrary, American football player (d. 2013)
1953 – Anita L. Allen, African-American lawyer, philosopher, and academic
1953 – Louie Anderson, American actor and comedian
1955 – Doug Jarvis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1955 – Pat Price, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1956 – Steve Ballmer, American businessman
1956 – Bill Wray, American cartoonist and painter
1957 – Pierre Harvey, Canadian cyclist and skier
1957 – Pat Jarvis, Australian rugby league player
1958 – Mike Woodson, American basketball player and coach
1959 – Emmit King, American sprinter
1959 – Renaldo Nehemiah, American hurdler and football player
1959 – Derek Statham, English footballer
1960 – Jan Berglin, Swedish cartoonist
1960 – Barry Horowitz, American wrestler
1960 – Kelly Le Brock, English-American actress and model
1960 – Nena, German singer-songwriter and actress
1960 – Scott Pruett, American race car driver
1960 – Annabella Sciorra, American actress
1961 – Dean Jones, Australian cricketer and coach
1961 – Yanis Varoufakis, Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
1962 – Angèle Dubeau, Canadian violinist
1962 – Star Jones, African-American lawyer, journalist, and talk show host
1962 – Irina Meszynski, German discus thrower
1963 – Raimond van der Gouw, Dutch footballer and coach
1963 – Vadym Tyshchenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 2015)
1963 – Torsten Voss, German decathlete and bobsledder
1965 – The Undertaker, American wrestler and actor
1966 – Floyd Heard, American sprinter and coach
1967 – Diann Roffe, American skier
1968 – Minarti Timur, Indonesian badminton player
1969 – Stephan Eberharter, Austrian skier
1970 – Lara Flynn Boyle, American actress
1970 – Sharon Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and violinist
1970 – Judith Draxler, Austrian swimmer
1970 – Erica Kennedy, African-American journalist and author (d. 2012)
1970 – Mike Vanderjagt, Canadian-American football player
1971 – Tig Notaro, American comedian and actor
1972 – Christophe Dugarry, French footballer
1972 – Steve Karsay, American baseball player and coach
1973 – Jacek Bąk, Polish footballer
1973 – Philippe Boucher, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
1973 – Steve Corica, Australian footballer and coach
1973 – Jure Ivanušič, Slovenian actor, concert pianist and chansonnier
1973 – Mette Jacobsen, Danish swimmer
1973 – Glen Jakovich, Australian footballer
1973 – Jim Parsons, American actor
1974 – Alyson Hannigan, American actress
1974 – Sergey Klyugin, Russian high jumper
1974 – Tado, Filipino comedian and activist (d. 2014)
1975 – Thomas Johansson, Swedish-Monacan tennis player
1976 – Aaron Brooks, American football player
1976 – Aliou Cissé, Senegalese footballer and coach
1976 – Athanasios Kostoulas, Greek footballer
1976 – Peyton Manning, American football player and entrepreneur
1977 – Jessica Chastain, American actress
1977 – Maxim Kuznetsov, Russian ice hockey player
1977 – Darren Lockyer, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
1978 – Michael Braun, Australian footballer and coach
1978 – Tomáš Ujfaluši, Czech footballer and manager
1978 – José Valverde, Dominican baseball player
1979 – Lake Bell, Jewish-American actress, director, and screenwriter
1979 – Norris Hopper, American baseball player
1979 – Periklis Iakovakis, Greek hurdler
1979 – Graeme Swann, English cricketer
1980 – Tassos Venetis, Greek footballer
1981 – Mike Adams, American football player
1981 – Ron Hainsey, American ice hockey player
1981 – Dirk Hayhurst, American baseball player
1981 – Mark Looms, Dutch footballer
1981 – Gary Paffett, English racing driver
1982 – Corey Hart, American baseball player
1982 – Jack Swagger, American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler
1982 – Epico Colon, Puerto Rican professional wrestler
1982 – Jimmy Hempte, Belgian footballer
1982 – Dustin McGowan, American baseball player
1983 – Luca Ceccarelli, Italian footballer
1983 – Riccardo Musetti, Italian footballer
1983 – Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – T.J. Ford, American basketball player
1984 – Benoît Assou-Ekotto, French born Cameroonian international footballer, left-back
1984 – Chris Bosh, American basketball player
1984 – Adrian D’Souza, Indian field hockey player
1984 – Lucy Wangui Kabuu, Kenyan runner
1984 – Park Bom, South Korean singer
1984 – Philipp Petzschner, German tennis player
1985 – Lana, American wrestler and manager
1985 – Haruka Ayase, Japanese actress and singer
1987 – Ramires, Brazilian footballer
1987 – Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladeshi cricketer
1987 – Billy Jones, English footballer
1987 – Yuma Asami, Japanese actress and singer
1988 – Aiga Grabuste, Latvian heptathlete
1988 – Ryan Higgins, Zimbabwean cricketer
1988 – Matías Martínez, Argentinian footballer
1988 – Kardo Ploomipuu, Estonian swimmer
1988 – Matt Todd, New Zealand rugby union player
1990 – Starlin Castro, American baseball player
1990 – Aljur Abrenica, Filipino actor
1990 – Keisha Castle-Hughes, Australian-New Zealand actress
1990 – Lacey Evans, American wrestler
1991 – Nick Browne, English cricketer
1991 – Dalila Jakupovic, Slovenian tennis player
1995 – Enzo Fernandez, French-Spanish footballer

Deaths on March 24

809 – Harun al-Rashid, Arab caliph (b. 763)
832 – Wulfred, archbishop of Canterbury
1284 – Hugh III of Cyprus (b. 1235)
1296 – Odon de Pins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
1381 – Catherine of Vadstena, Swedish saint (b. 1332)
1394 – Constance of Castile, claimant to the throne of Castile
1396 – Walter Hilton, English mystic and saint (b. 1340)
1399 – Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk (b.c. 1320)
1443 – James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas (b. 1371)
1455 – Pope Nicholas V (b. 1397)
1499 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire, English nobleman (b. 1470)
1563 – Hosokawa Harumoto, Japanese daimyō (b. 1514)
1575 – Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, Spanish-Portuguese rabbi and author (b. 1488)
1603 – Elizabeth I of England (b. 1533)
1653 – Samuel Scheidt, German organist and composer (b. 1587)
1684 – Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (b. 1629)
1684 – Elizabeth Ridgeway, English woman convicted of poisoning her husband
1773 – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English politician, Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (b. 1694)
1776 – John Harrison, English carpenter and clockmaker, invented the Marine chronometer (b. 1693)
1824 – Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux, French lawyer (b. 1753)
1838 – Abraham Hume, English floriculturist and Tory politician (b. 1748/49)
1869 – Antoine-Henri Jomini, French-Russian general (b. 1779)
1881 – Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist and mineralogist (b. 1817)
1882 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator (b. 1807)
1887 – Ivan Kramskoi, Russian painter and critic (b. 1837)
1888 – Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (b. 1855)
1905 – Jules Verne, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1828)
1909 – John Millington Synge, Irish playwright and poet (b. 1871)
1915 – Margaret Lindsay Huggins, Anglo-Irish astronomer (b. 1848)
1915 – Karol Olszewski, Polish chemist, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1846)
1916 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1867)
1926 – Phan Châu Trinh, Vietnamese activist (b. 1872)
1940 – Édouard Branly, French physicist and academic (b. 1844)
1944 – Orde Wingate, Indian-English general (b. 1903)
1946 – Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player (b. 1892)
1946 – Carl Schuhmann, German gymnast, shot putter, and jumper (b. 1869)
1948 – Sigrid Hjertén, Swedish painter and illustrator (b. 1885)
1950 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1865)
1951 – Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (b. 1887)
1953 – Mary of Teck (b. 1867)
1962 – Jean Goldkette, French-American pianist and bandleader (b. 1899)
1962 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (b. 1884)
1968 – Alice Guy-Blaché, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1873)
1971 – Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect, designed the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel and Aarhus City Hall (b. 1902)
1971 – Arthur Metcalfe, Australian public servant (b. 1895)
1976 – Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, English field marshal (b. 1887)
1978 – Park Mok-wol, influential Korean poet and academic (b. 1916)
1980 – Óscar Romero, Salvadoran archbishop (b. 1917)
1984 – Sam Jaffe, American actor (b. 1891)
1985 – Raoul Ubac, French painter, sculptor, photographer and engraver (b. 1910)
1988 – Turhan Feyzioğlu, Turkish academic and politician, 27th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1922)
1990 – Ray Goulding, American comedian and radio host (b. 1922)
1991 – John Kerr, Australian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1914)
1993 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (b. 1905)
1993 – John Hersey, American journalist and author (b. 1914)
1995 – Joseph Needham, English historian and academic (b. 1900)
1999 – Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, German politician (b. 1902)
1999 – Birdie Tebbetts, American baseball player and manager (b. 1912)
2001 – Muriel Young, English television host and producer (b. 1928)
2002 – César Milstein, Argentinian-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
2002 – Bob Said, American race car driver and bobsledder (b. 1932)
2003 – Hans Hermann Groër, Austrian cardinal (b. 1919)
2006 – Rudra Rajasingham, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (b. 1926)
2007 – Shripad Narayan Pendse, Indian Marathi novelist (b. 1913)
2008 – Chalmers Alford, American guitarist (b. 1955)
2008 – Neil Aspinall, Welsh-English record producer and manager (b. 1941)
2008 – Rafael Azcona, Spanish author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
2008 – Richard Widmark, American actor (b. 1914)
2009 – George Kell, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1922)
2009 – Hans Klenk, German racing driver (b. 1919)
2009 – Gábor Ocskay, Hungarian ice hockey player (b. 1975)
2010 – Robert Culp, American actor (b. 1930)
2010 – Jim Marshall, American photographer (b. 1936)
2012 – Paul Callaghan, New Zealand physicist and academic (b. 1947)
2012 – Nick Noble, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
2013 – Barbara Anderson, New Zealand author (b. 1926)
2013 – Inge Lønning, Norwegian theologian, academic, and politician (b. 1938)
2013 – Gury Marchuk, Russian physicist, mathematician, and academic (b. 1925)
2013 – Paolo Ponzo, Italian footballer (b. 1972)
2013 – Mohamed Yousri Salama, Egyptian dentist and politician (b. 1974)
2013 – Francis Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 8th Baron Thurlow, English diplomat (b. 1912)
2014 – Oleksandr Muzychko, Ukrainian activist (b. 1962)
2014 – John Rowe Townsend, English author and scholar (b. 1922)
2014 – David A. Trampier, American illustrator (b. 1954)
2015 – Yehuda Avner, English-Israeli diplomat (b. 1928)
2015 – notable deaths of the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash:
- Oleg Bryjak, Kazakhstani-German opera singer (b. 1960)
- Maria Radner, German opera singer (b. 1981)
2016 – Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer (b. 1947)
2016 – Garry Shandling, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
2018 – Lys Assia, Swiss singer and First Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest (b. 1924)
2019 – Joseph Pilato, American film and voice actor (b.1949)
2020 – Albert Uderzo, French comic book artist (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances on March 24

Christian feast day:
- Catherine of Vadstena
- Hildelith of Barking
- Mac Cairthinn of Clogher
- Óscar Romero (Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism)
- Paul Couturier (Church of England)
- Walter Hilton (Church of England)
- March 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (Argentina)
National Tree Planting Day (Uganda)
Student Day (Scientology)
World Tuberculosis Day (International)

March 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official.
1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
1568 – The Peace of Longjumeau is signed, ending the second phase of the French Wars of Religion.
1708 – James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth as part of the planned French invasion of Britain.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” – at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia.
1801 – Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death inside his bedroom at St. Michael’s Castle.
1806 – After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their “Corps of Discovery” begin their arduous journey home.
1821 – Greek War of Independence: Battle and fall of city of Kalamata.
1848 – The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
1857 – Elisha Otis’s first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.
1862 – American Civil War: The First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia, marks the start of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign. Although a Confederate defeat, the engagement distracts Federal efforts to capture Richmond.
1868 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
1879 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topáter, the first battle of the war is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru.
1885 – Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao near Hưng Hóa, northern Vietnam.
1888 – In England, The Football League, the world’s oldest professional association football league, meets for the first time.
1889 – The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, British India.
1901 – Emilio Aguinaldo, only President of the First Philippine Republic, was captured at Palanan, Isabela by the forces of General Frederick Funston.
1905 – Eleftherios Venizelos calls for Crete’s union with Greece, and begins what is to be known as the Theriso revolt.
1909 – Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
1918 – First World War: On the third day of the German Spring Offensive, the 10th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment is annihilated with many of the men becoming prisoners of war
1919 – In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
1931 – Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for the killing of a deputy superintendent of police during the Indian independence movement.
1933 – The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
1935 – Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1939 – The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of the Slovak air force in Spišská Nová Ves, killing 13 people and beginning the Slovak–Hungarian War.
1940 – The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All-India Muslim League.
1956 – Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. This date is now celebrated as Republic Day in Pakistan.
1965 – NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States’ first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
1977 – The first of The Nixon Interviews (12 will be recorded over four weeks) is videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former United States President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal and the Nixon tapes.
1978 – The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
1980 – Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.
1982 – Guatemala’s government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García is overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.
1983 – Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
1991 – The Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invades Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh, sparking the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War.
1994 – At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.
1994 – A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground. This later became known as the Green Ramp disaster.
1994 – Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, killing 75.
1996 – Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
1999 – Gunmen assassinate Paraguay’s Vice President Luis María Argaña.
2001 – The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
2003 – Battle of Nasiriyah, first major conflict during the invasion of Iraq.
2008 – Official opening of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India
2009 – FedEx Express Flight 80: A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 flying from Guangzhou, China crashes at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, killing both the captain and the co-pilot.
2018 – President of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigns from the presidency amid a mass corruption scandal before certain impeachment by the opposition-majority Congress of Peru.
2019 – The Kazakh capital of Astana was renamed to Nur-Sultan.
2019 – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared military victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after four years of fighting, although the group maintains a scattered presence and sleeper cells across Syria and Iraq.

Births on March 23

1338 – Emperor Go-Kōgon of Japan (d. 1374)
1430 – Margaret of Anjou (d. 1482)
1514 – Lorenzino de’ Medici, Italian writer and assassin (d. 1548)
1599 – Thomas Selle, German composer (d. 1663)
1614 – Jahanara Begum, Mughal princess (d. 1681)
1643 – Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado, Spanish Dominican lay sister and mystic (d. 1731)
1699 – John Bartram, American botanist and explorer (d. 1777)
1732 – Princess Marie Adélaïde of France (d. 1800)
1749 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)
1750 – Johannes Matthias Sperger, Austrian bassist and composer (d. 1812)
1754 – Jurij Vega, Slovene mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (d. 1802)
1769 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general and diplomat (d. 1832)
1769 – William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (d. 1839)
1823 – Schuyler Colfax, American journalist and politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
1826 – Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1917)
1834 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (d. 1858)
1838 – Marie Adam-Doerrer, Swiss women’s rights activist and unionist (d. 1908)
1842 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian-German historian, businessman and composer (d. 1909)
1842 – Susan Jane Cunningham, American mathematician (d. 1921)
1858 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
1862 – Nathaniel Reed, American criminal (d. 1950)
1868 – Dietrich Eckart, German journalist and politician (d. 1923)
1869 – Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino general and politician, 1st President of the Philippines (d. 1964)
1869 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Turkish-Armenian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1955)
1872 – Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand union leader and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1940)
1874 – Grantley Goulding, English hurdler (d. 1947)
1874 – J. C. Leyendecker, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1951)
1876 – Ziya Gökalp, Turkish sociologist, poet and activist (d. 1924)
1876 – Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Burmese poet, writer and political leader (d. 1964)
1878 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1934)
1880 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician, Finnish Minister of the Interior (d. 1922)
1881 – Lacey Hearn, American sprinter (d. 1969)
1881 – Roger Martin du Gard, French novelist and paleographer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
1881 – Hermann Staudinger, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
1882 – Emmy Noether, Jewish German-American mathematician, physicist and academic (d. 1935)
1884 – Joseph Boxhall, English sailor (d. 1967)
1885 – Platt Adams, American jumper and politician (d. 1961)
1885 – Roque González Garza, Mexican general and acting president (1915) (d. 1962)
1886 – Frank Irons, American long jumper (d. 1942)
1887 – Josef Čapek, Czech painter and poet (d. 1945)
1887 – Rudolf Kinau, German author (d. 1975)
1887 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1927)
1887 – Sidney Hillman, Lithuanian-born American labor leader (d. 1946)
1891 – Po Kya, Burmese author and educationist (d. 1942)
1893 – Cedric Gibbons, Irish-American art director and production designer (d. 1960)
1893 – Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, Indian engineer and businessman (d. 1974)
1894 – Arthur Grimsdell, English international footballer wing half and cricketer (d. 1963)
1895 – Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian and educator (d. 2001)
1895 – Dane Rudhyar, French-American astrologer, author and composer (d. 1985)
1898 – Louis Adamic, Slovenian-American author, translator and politician (d. 1951)
1898 – Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset, Duchess of Parma (d. 1984)
1899 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)
1900 – Erich Fromm, German psychologist and sociologist (d. 1980)
1901 – Bon Maharaja, Indian guru and religious writer (d. 1982)
1903 – Frank Sargeson, New Zealand author (d. 1982)
1904 – Joan Crawford, American film actress (d. 1977)
1905 – Lale Andersen, German chanson singer-songwriter (d. 1972)
1907 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
1909 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (d. 1997)
1910 – Jerry Cornes, English runner, colonial officer and educator (d. 2001)
1910 – Akira Kurosawa, Japanese director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1998)
1912 – Eleanor Cameron, Canadian-American author and critic (d. 1996)
1912 – Neil McCorkell, English-South African cricketer and coach (d. 2013)
1912 – Wernher von Braun, German-American physicist and engineer (d. 1977)
1913 – Abidin Dino, Turko-French painter and illustrator (d. 1993)
1914 – Milbourne Christopher, American magician and author (d. 1984)
1915 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (d. 2014)
1915 – Vasily Zaytsev, Russian captain (d. 1991)
1917 – Harry Cranbrook Allen, English historian (d. 1998)
1918 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (d. 1992)
1918 – Helene Hale, American politician (d. 2013)
1918 – Naoki Kazu, Japanese football player (d.1940s)
1919 – Carl Graffunder, American architect and educator (d. 2013)
1920 – Neal Edward Smith, American pilot, lawyer and politician
1920 – Tetsuharu Kawakami, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
1921 – Donald Campbell, English race car driver (d. 1967)
1921 – Peter Lawler, Australian public servant (d. 2017)
1922 – Marty Allen, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
1922 – Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor (d. 1990)
1923 – Angelo Ingrassia, American soldier and judge (d. 2013)
1924 – Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (d. 2013)
1924 – Bette Nesmith Graham, American inventor, invented Liquid Paper (d. 1980)
1924 – Olga Kennard, English crystallographer and academic
1924 – John Madin, English architect (d. 2012)
1925 – David Watkin, English cinematographer (d. 2008)
1929 – Roger Bannister, English runner, neurologist and academic (d. 2018)
1929 – Michael Manser, English architect and engineer (d. 2016)
1931 – Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)
1931 – Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player and author (d. 2016)
1931 – Yevdokiya Mekshilo, Russian skier (d. 2013)
1932 – Don Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player
1933 – Norman Bailey, English opera singer and educator
1933 – Philip Zimbardo, American psychologist and academic
1934 – Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 2017)
1934 – Mark Rydell, American actor, director and producer
1935 – Barry Cryer, English comedian, actor and screenwriter
1936 – Jannis Kounellis, Greek painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
1937 – Craig Breedlove, American race car driver
1937 – Tony Burton, American actor, comedian, boxer and football player (d. 2016)
1937 – Robert Gallo, American physician and academic
1938 – Jon Finlayson, Australian actor and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1942 – Michael Haneke, Austrian director, producer and screenwriter
1942 – Jimmy Miller, American record producer and musician (d. 1994)
1942 – Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian, scholar and activist (d. 1980)
1943 – Andrew Crockett, Scottish-English economist and banker (d. 2012)
1943 – Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Finnish singer, author and director (d. 2001)
1944 – B. P. Gavrilov, Russian rugby player (d. 2006)
1944 – Tony McPhee, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Michael Nyman, English composer of minimalist music and pianist
1945 – Franco Battiato, Italian singer-songwriter and director
1945 – David Grisman, American mandolin player and composer
1946 – Alan Bleasdale, English screenwriter and producer
1947 – Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, American author
1948 – Wasim Bari, Pakistani cricketer
1948 – Marie Malavoy, German-Canadian educator and politician
1949 – Ric Ocasek, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 2019)
1950 – Corinne Cléry, French actress
1950 – Phil Lanzon, English keyboard player and songwriter
1950 – Ahdaf Soueif, Egyptian author and translator
1951 – Ron Jaworski, American football player and sportscaster
1951 – Adrian Reynard, English businessman, founded Reynard Motorsport
1952 – Francesco Clemente, Italian painter and illustrator
1952 – Kent Lambert, New Zealand rugby player
1952 – Kim Stanley Robinson, American author
1952 – Rex Tillerson, American businessman, engineer and diplomat; 69th United States Secretary of State
1953 – Bo Díaz, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1990)
1953 – Chaka Khan, American singer-songwriter
1953 – Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indian zoologist and businesswoman
1954 – Geno Auriemma, Italian-American basketball player and coach
1954 – Kenneth Cole, American fashion designer, founded Kenneth Cole Productions
1954 – Paul Price, English born, Welsh international footballer, defender and manager
1955 – Moses Malone, American basketball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
1956 – José Manuel Barroso, Portuguese academic and politician, 115th Prime Minister of Portugal
1957 – Lucio Gutiérrez, Ecuadorian politician, 52nd President of Ecuador
1957 – Robbie James, Welsh footballer and manager (d. 1998)
1957 – Amanda Plummer, American actress
1958 – Etienne De Wilde, Belgian cyclist
1958 – Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
1958 – Hugh Grant, Scottish business executive
1959 – Catherine Keener, American actress
1960 – Nicol Stephen, Baron Stephen, Scottish lawyer and politician, 2nd Deputy First Minister of Scotland
1961 – Roger Crisp, English philosopher and academic
1961 – Craig Green, New Zealand rugby player
1961 – Helmi Johannes, Indonesian journalist and producer
1962 – Steve Redgrave, English rower
1963 – Míchel, Spanish footballer and manager
1963 – Juan Ramón López Caro, Spanish footballer and manager
1963 – Ana Fidelia Quirot, Cuban runner
1964 – Hope Davis, American actress
1965 – Gary Whitehead, American poet and painter
1966 – Lorenzo Daniel, American sprinter
1966 – Vasilis Vouzas, Greek footballer and manager
1968 – Damon Albarn, English singer-songwriter, producer and actor
1968 – Mike Atherton, English cricketer and journalist
1968 – Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer and manager
1968 – Pierre Palmade, French actor and screenwriter
1971 – Yasmeen Ghauri, Canadian model
1971 – Gail Porter, Scottish model and television host
1971 – Alexander Selivanov, Russian ice hockey player
1971 – Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Japanese wrestler
1972 – Jonas Björkman, Swedish-Monégasque tennis player and coach
1972 – Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
1972 – Judith Godrèche, French actress and author
1973 – Jerzy Dudek, Polish footballer
1973 – Wim Eyckmans, Belgian race car driver
1973 – Jason Kidd, American basketball player and coach
1974 – Randall Park, American actor, director and screenwriter
1975 – Burak Gürpınar, Turkish drummer
1975 – Andy Turner, English footballer, winger and manager
1976 – Chris Hoy, Scottish cyclist and race car driver
1976 – Smriti Irani, Indian actress, producer and politician, Indian Minister of Human Resource Development
1976 – Dougie Lampkin, English motorcycle racer
1976 – Michelle Monaghan, American actress
1976 – Joel Peralta, Dominican baseball player
1976 – Keri Russell, American actress
1976 – Ricardo Zonta, Brazilian race car driver
1976 – Sa Beining, Chinese host
1977 – Miklos Perlus, Canadian actor and screenwriter
1978 – Simon Gärdenfors, Swedish illustrator
1978 – Walter Samuel, Argentinian footballer
1979 – Mark Buehrle, American baseball player
1979 – Donncha O’Callaghan, Irish rugby player
1981 – Erin Crocker, American race car driver
1981 – Tony Peña, Jr., Dominican baseball player
1981 – Shelley Rudman, English bobsledder
1981 – Giuseppe Sculli, Italian footballer
1981 – Brett Young, American country music singer
1982 – José Contreras Arrau, Chilean footballer
1982 – Andrea Musacco, Italian footballer
1982 – Evgeni Striganov, Estonian ice dancer
1983 – Hakan Balta, Turkish footballer
1983 – Mo Farah, Somali-English runner
1983 – Sascha Riether, German international footballer
1983 – Jerome Thomas, English footballer
1984 – Ryan Araña, Filipino basketball player
1984 – Brandon Marshall, American football player
1985 – Maurice Jones-Drew, American football player
1985 – Bethanie Mattek-Sands, American tennis player
1986 – Patrick Bordeleau, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Andrea Dovizioso, Italian motorcycle racer
1986 – Brett Eldredge, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1986 – Kangana Ranaut, Indian actress
1987 – Alan Toovey, Australian footballer
1988 – Dellin Betances, American baseball player
1988 – Jason Kenny, English cyclist
1988 – Michal Neuvirth, Czech ice hockey player
1989 – Ayesha Curry, Canadian-American chef, author and television personality
1989 – Nikola Gulan, Serbian footballer
1989 – Sarah McKenna, English rugby player
1989 – Luis Fernando Silva, Mexican footballer
1990 – Jaime Alguersuari, Spanish race car driver
1990 – Robert Zickert, German footballer
1991 – Gregg Wylde, Scottish footballer
1992 – Tolga Ciğerci, German-Turkish footballer
1992 – Kyrie Irving, Australian-American basketball player
1993 – Kyle Lovett, Australian rugby league player
1993 – Aytaç Kara, Turkish footballer
1994 – Nick Powell, English footballer
1995 – Kevin Kauber, Estonian footballer
1995 – Jan Lisiecki, Canadian pianist
1995 – Ozan Tufan, Turkish footballer
1996 – Alexander Albon, Thai-British race car driver

Deaths on March 23

851 – Zhou Chi, Chinese historian and politician (b. 793)
1022 – Zhen Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 968)
1103 – Eudes I, duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)
1361 – Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, English politician, Lord High Steward of England (b. 1310)
1369 – Peter, king of Castile and León (b. 1334)
1483 – Yolande, duchess of Lorraine (b. 1428)
1548 – Itagaki Nobukata, Japanese samurai (b. 1489)
1555 – Julius III, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1487)
1559 – Gelawdewos, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1521)
1596 – Henry Unton, English diplomat (b. 1557)
1606 – Justus Lipsius, Flemish philologist and scholar (b. 1547)
1618 – James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, Scottish police officer and politician (b. 1575)
1629 – Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland, English landowner and politician (b. 1580)
1675 – Anthoni van Noordt, Dutch organist and composer (b. 1619)
1680 – Nicolas Fouquet, French politician (b. 1615)
1742 – Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French historian and author (b. 1670)
1747 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (b. 1675)
1748 – Johann Gottfried Walther, German organist and composer (b. 1684)
1754 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian and critic (b. 1693)
1783 – Charles Carroll, English barrister and politician (b. 1723)
1801 – Paul I, Russian emperor (b. 1754)
1842 – Stendhal, French novelist (b. 1783)
1862 – Manuel Robles Pezuela, Unconstitutional Mexican interim president, 1858–1859 (b. 1817)
1883 – Arthur Macalister, Scottish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Queensland (b. 1818)
1884 – Henry C. Lord, American businessman (b. 1824)
1910 – Nadar, French photographer, journalist, and author (b. 1820)
1914 – Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès, Lebanese saint (b. 1832)
1923 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian poet and author (b. 1869)
1927 – Paul César Helleu, French painter and etcher (b. 1859)
1931 – Shivaram Rajguru, Indian activist (b. 1908)
1931 – Bhagat Singh, Indian activist (b. 1907)
1931 – Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (b. 1907)
1953 – Raoul Dufy, French painter and illustrator (b. 1877)
1953 – Oskar Luts, Estonian author and playwright (b. 1887)
1955 – Arthur Bernardes, Brazilian politician, 12th President of Brazil (b. 1875)
1960 – Franklin Pierce Adams, American journalist and author (b. 1881)
1960 – Said Nursî, Turkish theologian and scholar (b. 1878)
1961 – Albert Bloch, American painter and educator (b. 1882)
1961 – Jack Russell, English cricketer (b. 1887)
1963 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and logician (b. 1887)
1964 – Peter Lorre, American actor (b. 1904)
1965 – Mae Murray, American actress, dancer, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
1968 – Edwin O’Connor, American journalist and author (b. 1918)
1972 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (b. 1895)
1973 – Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1889)
1978 – Haim Ernst Wertheimer, Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1893)
1979 – Ted Anderson, English footballer (b. 1911)
1980 – Arthur Melvin Okun, American economist and academic (b. 1928)
1981 – Beatrice Tinsley, English-New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (b. 1941)
1981 – Mike Hailwood, English motorcyclist (b. 1940)
1985 – Richard Beeching, Baron Beeching, English physicist and engineer (b. 1913)
1985 – Peter Charanis, Greek-American scholar and educator (b. 1908)
1987 – Olev Roomet, Estonian singer and violinist (b. 1901)
1990 – John Dexter, English director and producer (b. 1925)
1991 – Margaret Atwood Judson, American historian and author (b. 1899)
1991 – Parkash Singh, Indian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1913)
1992 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian-German economist, philosopher, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
1992 – Ron Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1949)
1994 – Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican economist and politician (b. 1950)
1994 – Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (b. 1921)
1995 – Davie Cooper, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1956)
1999 – Luis María Argaña, Paraguayan judge and politician, Vice President of Paraguay (b. 1932)
1999 – Osmond Borradaile, Canadian director and cinematographer (b. 1898)
2001 – Rowland Evans, American journalist (b. 1921)
2001 – Margaret Jones, British archaeologist (b. 1916)
2001 – Robert Laxalt, American author (b. 1923)
2001 – David McTaggart, Canadian badminton player and environmentalist (b. 1932)
2002 – Eileen Farrell, American soprano (b. 1920)
2002 – Ben Hollioake, Australian-English cricketer (b. 1977)
2003 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian-English flute player and journalist (b. 1926)
2004 – Rupert Hamer, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (b. 1916)
2006 – David B. Bleak, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1932)
2006 – Desmond Doss, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
2006 – Cindy Walker, American singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1918)
2007 – Paul Cohen, American mathematician and theorist (b. 1934)
2007 – Eric Medlen, American race car driver (b. 1973)
2008 – Vaino Vahing, Estonian psychiatrist, author, and playwright (b. 1940)
2009 – Ghukas Chubaryan, Armenian sculptor (b. 1923)
2009 – Raúl Macías, Mexican boxer and trainer (b. 1934)
2011 – Jean Bartik, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
2011 – Rosario Morales, Puerto Rican poet and writer (b.1930)
2011 – Elizabeth Taylor, American-British actress, socialite and humanitarian (b. 1932)
2012 – Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Somalian politician, President of Somalia (b. 1934)
2012 – Jim Duffy, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1937)
2012 – Naji Talib, Iraqi politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Iraq (b. 1917)
2012 – Lonnie Wright, American basketball and football player (b. 1945)
2013 – Boris Berezovsky, Russian-born Soviet-British mathematician and businessman (b. 1946)
2013 – Onofre Corpuz, Filipino economist, historian, and academic (b. 1926)
2013 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1917)
2013 – Joe Weider, Canadian-American bodybuilder and publisher, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (b. 1919)
2014 – Dave Brockie, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1963)
2014 – Jaroslav Šerých, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
2014 – Adolfo Suárez, Spanish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1932)
2015 – Gian Vittorio Baldi, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
2015 – Lee Kuan Yew, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1923)
2015 – Bobby Lowther, American basketball player and lieutenant (b. 1923)
2015 – Lil’ Chris, English singer-songwriter, actor, and television personality (b. 1990)
2016 – Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1926)
2016 – Ken Howard, American actor (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on March 23

Christian feast day:
- Gregory the Illuminator (Episcopal Church)
- Gwinear
- Joseph Oriol
- Ottone Frangipane
- Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès (Maronite Church)
- Turibius of Mogrovejo
- Victorian, Frumentius and Companions
- March 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of Hungarian-Polish Friendship (Hungary and Poland)
Day of the Sea (Bolivia)
Earliest day on which Easter Monday can fall, while April 26 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after Easter. (Western Christianity)
- Family Day (South Africa)
- Śmigus-Dyngus (Poland, Ukraine), Polish diaspora communities)
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Day (Azerbaijan)
Pakistan Day (Pakistan)
Promised Messiah Day (Ahmadiyya)
World Meteorological Day

March 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 20- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

Typically the March equinox falls on March 20, marking the vernal point in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal point in the Southern Hemisphere.

235 – Maximinus Thrax is proclaimed emperor.
673 – Emperor Tenmu of Japan assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Palace of Kiyomihara in Asuka.
1206 – Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden: five Swedish noblemen are publicly beheaded in the aftermath of the War against Sigismund (1598–1599).
1602 – The Dutch East India Company is established.
1616 – Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
1760 – The Great Boston Fire of 1760 destroys 349 buildings.
1815 – After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his “Hundred Days” rule.
1848 – German revolutions of 1848–49: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
1854 – The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin, US.
1861 – An earthquake destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
1883 – The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is signed.
1888 – The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia.
1890 – Prime Minister of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck is dismissed by Emperor Wilhelm II.
1896 – With the approval of Emperor Guangxu, the Qing dynasty post office is opened, marking the beginning of a postal service in China.
1913 – Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
1915 – Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
1921 – The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty to determine a section of the border between Weimar Germany and Poland.
1922 – The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
1923 – The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso’s first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States.
1933 – Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler ordered the creation of Dachau concentration camp as Chief of Police of Munich and appointed Theodor Eicke as the camp commandant.
1942 – World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”.
1948 – With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
1951 – Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded.
1952 – The US Senate ratifies the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan.
1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France.
1964 – The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
1972 – The Troubles: The first Provisional IRA car bombing in Belfast kills seven people and injures 148 others in Northern Ireland.
1985 – Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
1985 – Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
1987 – The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT.
1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
1990 – Ferdinand Marcos’s widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
1993 – The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb kills two children in Warrington, England. It leads to mass protests in both Britain and Ireland.
1995 – The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carries out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 13 and wounding over 6,200 people.
1999 – Legoland California, the first Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California, US.
2000 – Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after murdering Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen and critically wounding Deputy Aldranon English.
2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries (the UK, Australia and Poland) begin military operations in Iraq.
2006 – Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Déby.
2012 – At least 52 people are killed and more than 250 injured in a wave of terror attacks across ten cities in Iraq.
2014 – Four suspected Taliban members attack the Kabul Serena Hotel, killing at least nine people.
2015 – A Solar eclipse, equinox, and a supermoon all occur on the same day.

Births on March 20

43 BC – Ovid, Roman poet (d. 17)
1253 – Magadu, renamed Wareru, founder of Ramanya Kingdom, renamed Hanthawady Kingdom of Pegu (b. a commoner; d. on a Saturday in January 1307)
1319 – Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d. 1348)
1469 – Cecily of York (d. 1507)
1477 – Jerome Emser, German theologian and scholar (d. 1527)
1479 – Ippolito d’Este, Italian cardinal (d. 1520)
1502 – Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
1532 – Juan de Ribera, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1611)
1612 – Anne Bradstreet, Puritan American poet (d. 1672)
1615 – Dara Shikoh, Indian prince (d. 1659)
1639 – Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat, Hetman of Ukraine (d. 1709)
1725 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1789)
1737 – Rama I, Thai king (d. 1809)
1771 – Heinrich Clauren, German author (d. 1854)
1796 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (d. 1862)
1799 – Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet and author (d. 1839)
1800 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, President of Costa Rica (d. 1845)
1805 – Thomas Cooper, British poet (d. 1892)
1811 – Napoleon II, French emperor (d. 1832)
1811 – George Caleb Bingham, American painter and politician, State Treasurer of Missouri (d. 1879)
1821 – Ned Buntline, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 1886)
1824 – Theodor von Heuglin, German explorer and ornithologist (d. 1876)
1828 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian poet, playwright, and director (d. 1906)
1831 – Patrick Jennings, Northern Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1897)
1831 – Solomon L. Spink, American lawyer and politician (d. 1881)
1834 – Charles William Eliot, American mathematician and academic (d. 1926)
1836 – Ferris Jacobs, Jr., American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1886)
1836 – Edward Poynter, English painter, illustrator, and curator (d. 1919)
1840 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
1851 – Ismail Gasprinski, Ukrainian educator, publisher, and politician (d. 1914)
1856 – John Lavery, Irish painter (d. 1941)
1856 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American tennis player and engineer (d. 1915)
1870 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
1874 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet and activist (d. 1945)
1876 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1927)
1879 – Maud Menten, Canadian physician and biochemist (d. 1960)
1882 – René Coty, French lawyer and politician, 17th President of France (d. 1962)
1882 – Harold Weber, American golfer (d. 1933)
1884 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1966)
1884 – John Jensen, Australian public servant (d. 1970)
1885 – Vernon Ransford, Australian cricketer (d. 1958)
1888 – Amanda Clement, American baseball player, umpire, and educator (d. 1971)
1890 – Lauritz Melchior, Danish-American tenor and actor (d. 1973)
1894 – Amalie Sara Colquhoun, Australian landscape and portrait painter (d. 1974)
1895 – Fredric Wertham, German-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
1898 – Eduard Wiiralt, Estonian artist (d. 1954)
1900 – Amelia Chopitea Villa, Bolivia’s first female physician (d. 1942)
1903 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
1904 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist and author (d. 1990)
1905 – Jean Galia, French rugby player and boxer (d. 1949)
1906 – Abraham Beame, American accountant and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (d. 2001)
1906 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (d. 1975)
1907 – Hugh MacLennan, Canadian author and educator (d. 1990)
1908 – Michael Redgrave, English actor and director (d. 1985)
1910 – Erwin Blask, German hammer thrower (d. 1999)
1911 – Alfonso García Robles, Mexican lawyer and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
1912 – Ralph Hauenstein, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
1913 – Nikolai Stepulov, Russian-Estonian boxer (d. 1968)
1914 – Wendell Corey, American actor and politician (d. 1968)
1915 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (d. 2000)
1915 – Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist and composer (d. 1997)
1915 – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1973)
1916 – Pierre Messmer, French lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
1917 – Vera Lynn, English singer, songwriter and actress (d. 2020)
1917 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1984)
1918 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (d. 1984)
1918 – Donald Featherstone, English soldier and author (d. 2013)
1918 – Marian McPartland, English-American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
1918 – Bernd Alois Zimmermann, German composer (d. 1970)
1919 – Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter ace (d. 1983)
1920 – Pamela Harriman, English-American diplomat, 58th United States Ambassador to France (d. 1997)
1920 – Rosemary Timperley, English author and screenwriter (d. 1988)
1921 – Usmar Ismail, Indonesian filmmaker (d. 1971)
1921 – Dušan Pirjevec, Slovenian historian and philosopher (d. 1977)
1921 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and theorist (d. 1970)
1922 – Larry Elgart, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2017)
1922 – Ray Goulding, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1990)
1922 – Carl Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
1923 – Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
1923 – Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
1925 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer, 12th White House Counsel (d. 1999)
1927 – John Joubert, South African-English composer and academic (d. 2019)
1928 – Jerome Biffle, American long jumper and coach (d. 2002)
1928 – James P. Gordon, American physicist and engineer (d. 2013)
1928 – Fred Rogers, American television host and producer (d. 2003)
1929 – William Andrew MacKay, Canadian lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
1929 – Germán Robles, Spanish-Mexican actor and director (d. 2015)
1930 – S. Arasaratnam, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (d. 1998)
1931 – Hal Linden, American actor, singer, and director
1931 – Rein Raamat, Estonian director and screenwriter
1933 – Lateef Adegbite, Nigerian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
1933 – George Altman, American baseball player
1933 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2013)
1934 – Willie Brown, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Mayor of San Francisco
1934 – David Malouf, Australian author and playwright
1935 – Ted Bessell, American actor and director (d. 1996)
1935 – Bettye Washington Greene, American chemist (d. 1995)
1936 – Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jamaican singer, songwriter, music producer, and inventor
1936 – Mark Saville, Baron Saville of Newdigate, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge
1937 – Lois Lowry, American author
1937 – Jerry Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
1938 – Sergei Novikov, Russian mathematician and academic
1939 – Gerald Curran, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1939 – Don Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1939 – Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (d. 2014)
1939 – Brian Mulroney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Canada
1940 – Stathis Chaitas, Greek footballer and manager
1940 – Mary Ellen Mark, American photographer and journalist (d. 2015)
1940 – Giampiero Moretti, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded the Momo company (d. 2012)
1941 – Pat Corrales, American baseball player and manager
1941 – Kenji Kimihara, Japanese runner
1943 – Gerard Malanga, American poet and photographer
1943 – Douglas Tompkins, American businessman, co-founded The North Face and Esprit Holdings (d. 2015)
1943 – Paul Junger Witt, American director and producer (d. 2018)
1944 – John Cameron, English composer and conductor
1944 – Camille Cosby, American author, producer, and philanthropist
1944 – Alan Harper, English-Irish archbishop
1945 – Henry Bartholomay, American soldier and pilot (d. 2015)
1945 – Jay Ingram, Canadian television host and author
1945 – Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
1945 – Tim Yeo, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Health
1946 – Douglas B. Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1946 – Malcolm Simmons, English motorcycle racer (d. 2014)
1947 – John Boswell, American historian, philologist, and academic (d. 1994)
1948 – John de Lancie, American actor
1948 – Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1948 – Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
1949 – Marcia Ball, American blues singer-songwriter and pianist
1949 – Richard Dowden, English journalist and educator
1950 – William Hurt, American actor
1950 – Carl Palmer, English drummer, percussionist, and songwriter
1951 – Jimmie Vaughan, American blues-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – Geoff Brabham, Australian race car driver
1952 – David Greenaway, English economist and academic
1953 – Phil Judd, New Zealand singer-songwriter, guitarist and painter
1954 – Mike Francesa, American radio talk show host and television commentator
1954 – Liana Kanelli, Greek journalist and politician
1954 – Paul Mirabella, American baseball player
1955 – Nina Kiriki Hoffman, American author
1955 – Ian Moss, Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter
1955 – Mariya Takeuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
1956 – Catherine Ashton, English politician, Vice-President of the European Commission
1956 – Anne Donahue, American lawyer and politician
1956 – Naoto Takenaka, Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director
1957 – Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
1957 – David Foster, Australian woodchopper
1957 – Spike Lee, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1957 – Theresa Russell, American actress
1957 – Chris Wedge, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
1958 – Holly Hunter, American actress and producer
1958 – Rickey Jackson, American football player
1958 – Joe Reaiche, Australian rugby player
1959 – Dave Beasant, English footballer and coach
1959 – Mary Roach, American author
1959 – Sting, American wrestler
1959 – Peter Truscott, Baron Truscott, British Labour Party politician and peer
1960 – Norm Magnusson, American painter and sculptor
1960 – Norbert Pohlmann, German computer scientist and academic
1960 – Yuri Shargin, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
1961 – Ingrid Arndt-Brauer, German politician
1961 – Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer and manager
1961 – Sara Wheeler, English author and journalist
1962 – Stephen Sommers, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1963 – Paul Annacone, American tennis player and coach
1963 – Kathy Ireland, American model, actress, and furniture designer
1963 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (d. 2007)
1963 – David Thewlis, English-French actor, director, and screenwriter
1964 – Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer-songwriter
1965 – William Dalrymple, Scottish historian and author
1967 – Xavier Beauvois, French actor, director, and screenwriter
1967 – Mookie Blaylock, American basketball player
1968 – Carlos Almeida, Cape Verdean runner
1968 – A. J. Jacobs, American journalist and author
1968 – Paul Merson, English footballer and manager
1968 – Ultra Naté, American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, and promoter
1969 – Yvette Cooper, English economist and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
1969 – Fabien Galthie, French rugby player
1970 – Edoardo Ballerini, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1970 – Josephine Medina, Filipino Paralympic table tennis player
1970 – sj Miller, American academic, public speaker, and social justice activist
1970 – Michael Rapaport, American actor, podcast host, and director
1971 – Manny Alexander, Dominican baseball player
1971 – Touré, American journalist and author
1972 – Chilly Gonzales, Canadian-German singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
1972 – Alex Kapranos, English-Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1972 – Greg Searle, English rower
1972 – Marco Sejna, German footballer
1972 – Cristel Vahtra, Estonian skier
1973 – Nicky Boje, South African cricketer
1973 – Natalya Khrushcheleva, Russian runner
1973 – Talal Khalifa Aljeri, Kuwaiti businessman
1974 – Carsten Ramelow, German footballer
1975 – Ramin Bahrani, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1975 – Isolde Kostner, Italian skier
1976 – Chester Bennington, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2017)
1978 – Kevin Betsy, English born Seychelles international footballer, midfielder and manager
1978 – Brent Sherwin, Australian rugby league player
1979 – Shinnosuke Abe, Japanese baseball player
1979 – Freema Agyeman, English actress
1979 – Keven Mealamu, New Zealand rugby player
1980 – Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
1980 – Robertas Javtokas, Lithuanian basketball player
1981 – Ian Murray, Scottish footballer
1981 – Carl Webb, Australian rugby league player
1982 – Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricketer
1982 – Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
1982 – José Moreira, Portuguese footballer
1983 – Carolina Padrón, Venezuelan journalist
1983 – Jenni Vartiainen, Finnish singer
1984 – Vikram Banerjee, English cricketer
1984 – Christy Carlson Romano, American actress and singer
1984 – Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
1985 – Morgan Amalfitano, French footballer
1985 – Ronnie Brewer, American basketball player
1985 – Nicolas Lombaerts, Belgian footballer
1986 – Dean Geyer, South African-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
1986 – Julián Magallanes, Argentinian footballer
1986 – Ruby Rose, Australian actress and model
1986 – Román Torres, Panamanian footballer
1987 – Daniel Maa Boumsong, Cameroonian footballer
1987 – Jô, Brazilian footballer
1987 – Pedro Ken, Brazilian footballer
1987 – Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
1989 – Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor and director
1989 – Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshi Cricketer
1990 – Blake Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
1990 – Marcos Rojo, Argentine footballer
1991 – Mattia Destro, Italian footballer
1991 – Michał Kucharczyk, Polish footballer
1991 – Ethan Lowe, Australian rugby league player
1993 – Sloane Stephens, American tennis player
1995 – Jack Bird, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on March 20

687 – Cuthbert, Northumbrian (English) monk, bishop, and saint (b. 634)
703 – Wulfram, archbishop of Sens
842 – Alfonso II, king of Asturias (Spain) (b. 759)
851 – Ebbo, archbishop of Reims
1181 – Taira no Kiyomori, Japanese general (b. 1118)
1191 – Pope Clement III (b. 1130)
1239 – Hermann von Salza, German knight and diplomat (b. 1179)
1302 – Ralph Walpole, Bishop of Norwich
1336 – Maurice Csák, Hungarian Dominican friar (b. 1270)
1351 – Muhammad bin Tughluq, Sultan of Delhi
1390 – Alexios III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1338)
1413 – Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
1440 – Sigismund I of Lithuania
1475 – Georges Chastellain, Burgundian chronicler and poet
1549 – Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, English general and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1508)
1568 – Albert, Duke of Prussia (b. 1490)
1619 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
1673 – Augustyn Kordecki, Polish monk (b. 1603)
1688 – Maria of Orange-Nassau, Dutch princess (b. 1642)
1730 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
1746 – Nicolas de Largillière, French painter and academic (b. 1656)
1780 – Benjamin Truman, English brewer and businessman (b. 1699)
1793 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1705)
1835 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
1849 – James Justinian Morier, Turkish-English author and diplomat (b. 1780)
1855 – Joseph Aspdin, English businessman (b. 1788)
1865 – Yamanami Keisuke, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
1874 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (b. 1810)
1878 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
1894 – Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian lawyer, journalist and politician (b. 1802)
1897 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1821)
1899 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist and author (b. 1822)
1909 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian historian and businessman (b. 1842)
1918 – Lewis A. Grant, American general and lawyer (b. 1828)
1925 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (b. 1859)
1929 – Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (b. 1851)
1930 – Arthur F. Andrews, American cyclist (b. 1876)
1931 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
1933 – Giuseppe Zangara, Italian-American assassin of Anton Cermak (b. 1900; executed)
1940 – Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
1945 – Dorothy Campbell, Scottish-American golfer (b. 1883)
1946 – Amadeus William Grabau, American-Chinese geologist, paleontologist, and academic (b. 1870)
1947 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and director (b. 1884)
1952 – Hjalmar Väre, Finnish cyclist (b. 1892)
1958 – Adegoke Adelabu, Nigerian merchant, journalist, and politician (b. 1915)
1964 – Brendan Behan, Irish republican and playwright (b. 1923)
1965 – Daniel Frank, American long jumper (b. 1882)
1966 – Johnny Morrison, American baseball player (b. 1895)
1968 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (b. 1889)
1969 – Henri Longchambon, French politician (b. 1896)
1971 – Falih Rıfkı Atay, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1894)
1972 – Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (b. 1921)
1974 – Chet Huntley, American journalist (b. 1911)
1977 – Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, English politician, 9th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1909)
1977 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (b. 1919)
1978 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (b. 1895)
1981 – Gerry Bertier, American football player (b. 1953)
1983 – Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1891)
1990 – Maurice Cloche, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
1990 – Lev Yashin, Russian footballer (b. 1929)
1992 – Georges Delerue, French composer (b. 1925)
1993 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
1994 – Lewis Grizzard, American writer and humorist (b. 1946)
1997 – V. S. Pritchett, English short story writer, essayist, and critic (b. 1900)
1999 – Patrick Heron, British painter (b. 1920)
2000 – Gene Eugene, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1961)
2001 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1949)
2004 – Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
2004 – Pierre Sévigny, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1917)
2005 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
2007 – Raynald Fréchette, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1933)
2007 – Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraqi politician, Vice President of Iraq (b. 1938)
2007 – Hawa Yakubu, Ghanaian politician (b. 1948)
2010 – Ai, American poet and academic (b. 1947)
2010 – Girija Prasad Koirala, Indian-Nepalese politician, 30th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
2010 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1920)
2011 – Johnny Pearson, English pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1925)
2012 – Lincoln Hall, Australian mountaineer and author (b. 1955)
2012 – Noboru Ishiguro, Japanese animator and director (b. 1938)
2012 – Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Polish-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
2012 – Jim Stynes, Irish-Australian footballer (b. 1966)
2013 – James Herbert, English author (b. 1943)
2013 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1924)
2013 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (b. 1929)
2014 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (b. 1934)
2014 – Hilderaldo Bellini, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
2014 – Tonie Nathan, American politician (b. 1923)
2014 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (b. 1915)
2015 – Eva Burrows, Australian 13th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1929)
2015 – Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1930)
2016 – Anker Jørgensen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1922)
2017 – David Rockefeller, American billionaire and philanthropist (b. 1915)
2018 – C. K. Mann, a Ghanaian Highlife musician and producer (b. 1936)
2019 – Mary Warnock, English philosopher & writer (b. 1924)
2020 – Kenny Rogers, American singer (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on March 20

Christian feast day:
- Alexandra
- Blessed John of Parma
- Clement of Ireland
- Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
- Herbert of Derwentwater
- John of Nepomuk
- Józef Bilczewski
- María Josefa Sancho de Guerra
- Martin of Braga
- Michele Carcano
- Wulfram
- March 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest date for the vernal equinox in the Northern hemisphere:
- Bahá’í Naw-Rúz, started at sunset on March 20. The end of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset fast. (Bahá’í Faith)
- Chunfen (China)
- Earth Equinox Day
- International Astrology Day
- New Year (Thelema)
- Nowruz (Persian, Gilaki, Kurdish, Zoroastrians, and other Iranian people and countries with an Iranian influence)
- Ostara in the northern hemisphere, Mabon in the southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
- Shunbun no Hi (Japan)
- Sun-Earth Day (United States)
- Vernal Equinox Day/Kōreisai (Japan)
- World Storytelling Day
Earliest day on which Good Friday can fall, while April 23 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Easter. (Christianity)
Great American Meatout (United States)
Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Tunisia from France in 1956.
International Day of Happiness (United Nations)
International Francophonie Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), and its related observances:
- UN French Language Day (United Nations)
National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
World Sparrow Day

March 20- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 15- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

In the Roman calendar, March 15 was known as the Ides of March.

March 15 in History

474 BC – Roman consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso celebrates an ovation for concluding the war against Veii and securing a forty years’ truce.
44 BC – Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger and his fellow conspirators, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Junius Brutus, and several other Roman senators, march to the Capitol following the assassination of Julius Caesar, but there is no response to their appeals to the population, who have left the streets in fear. Caesar’s body remains in its place
351 – Constantius II elevates his cousin Gallus to Caesar, and puts him in charge of the Eastern part of the Roman Empire.
493 – Odoacer, the first barbarian King of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, is slain by Theoderic the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, while the two kings were feasting together.
856 – Michael III, emperor of the Byzantine Empire, overthrows the regency of his mother, empress Theodora (wife of Theophilos) with support of the Byzantine nobility.
933 – After a ten-year truce, German King Henry the Fowler defeats a Hungarian army at the Battle of Riade near the Unstrut river.
1147 – Conquest of Santarém: The forces of Afonso I of Portugal capture Santarém.
1311 – Battle of Halmyros: The Catalan Company defeats Walter V, Count of Brienne to take control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in Greece.
1493 – Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas.
1564 – Mughal Emperor Akbar abolishes “jizya” (per capita tax).
1672 – Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Court House: Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat a mixed American force numbering 4,400 in a Pyrrhic victory.
1783 – In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. The plea is successful and the threatened coup d’état never takes place.
1819 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel is adjudged the winner of the Grand Prix of the Académie des Sciences for his “Memoir on the Diffraction of Light”, which verifies the Fresnel integrals, accounts for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishes Newton’s initial objection to the wave theory of light.
1820 – Maine becomes the 23rd U.S. state.
1827 – University of Toronto is founded.
1848 – A revolution breaks out in Hungary. The Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party.
1864 – American Civil War: The Red River Campaign: U.S. Navy fleet arrives at Alexandria, Louisiana.
1874 – France and Vietnam sign the Second Treaty of Saigon, further recognizing the full sovereignty of France over Cochinchina.
1875 – Archbishop of New York John McCloskey is named the first cardinal in the United States.
1877 – First ever official cricket test match is played: Australia vs England at the MCG Stadium, in Melbourne, Australia.
1878 – Restoration of the Scottish Catholic hierarchy, broken off back in 1603.
1888 – Start of the Anglo-Tibetan War of 1888.
1895 – Heian Shrine is founded.
1906 – Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated.
1916 – United States President Woodrow Wilson sends 4,800 United States troops over the U.S.–Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa.
1917 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty.
1921 – Talaat Pasha, former Grand Vizir of the Ottoman Empire and chief architect of the Armenian Genocide is assassinated in Berlin by a 23-year-old Armenian, Soghomon Tehlirian.
1922 – After Egypt gains nominal independence from the United Kingdom, Fuad I becomes King of Egypt.
1926 – The dictator Theodoros Pangalos is elected President of Greece without opposition.
1927 – The first Women’s Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place on The Isis in Oxford.
1931 – SS Viking explodes off Newfoundland, killing 27 of the 147 onboard.
1933 – Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss keeps members of the National Council from convening, starting the Austrofascist dictatorship.
1939 – Germany occupies Czechoslovakia.
1939 – Carpatho-Ukraine declares itself an independent republic, but is annexed by Hungary the next day.
1941 – Philippine Airlines, the flag carrier of the Philippines takes its first flight between Manila (from Nielson Field) to Baguio City with a Beechcraft Model 18 making the airline the first and oldest commercial airline in Asia operating under its original name.
1943 – World War II: Third Battle of Kharkov: The Germans retake the city of Kharkov from the Soviet armies in bitter street fighting.
1945 – World War II: Soviet forces begin an offensive to push Germans from Upper Silesia.
1951 – the Iranian oil industry is nationalized.
1952 – In Cilaos, Réunion, 1870 mm (73 inches) of rain falls in a 24-hour period, setting a new world record (March 15 through March 16).
1961 – At the 1961 Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conference, South Africa announces that it will withdraw from the Commonwealth when the South African Constitution of 1961 comes into effect.
1965 – President Lyndon B. Johnson, responding to the Selma crisis, tells U.S. Congress “We shall overcome” while advocating the Voting Rights Act.
1978 – Somalia and Ethiopia signed a truce to end the Ethio-Somali War.
1986 – Collapse of Hotel New World: Thirty-three people die when the Hotel New World in Singapore collapses.
1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.
1991 – Cold War: The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany comes into effect, granting full sovereignty to the Federal Republic of Germany.
2008 – Stockpiles of obsolete ammunition explode at an ex-military ammunition depot in the village of Gërdec, Albania, killing 26 people.
2011 – Beginning of the Syrian Civil War.
2019 – Fifty-one people are killed in the Christchurch mosque shootings.
2019 – Beginning of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
2019 – Approximately 1.4 million young people in 123 countries go on strike to protest climate change.

Births on March 15

270 – Saint Nicholas, Greek bishop and saint (d. 343)
1097 – Fujiwara no Tadamichi, Japanese noble (d. 1164)
1275 – Margaret of England, Duchess of Brabant (d. 1333)
1407 – Jacob, Margrave of Baden-Baden (d. 1453)
1444 – Francesco Gonzaga, Catholic cardinal (d. 1483)
1493 – Anne de Montmorency, French captain and diplomat (d. 1567)
1513 – Hedwig Jagiellon, Electress of Brandenburg (d. 1573)
1516 – Alqas Mirza, Safavid prince (d. 1550)
1582 – Daniel Featley, English theologian and controversialist (d. 1645)
1584 – Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (d. 1663)
1591 – Alexandre de Rhodes, French missionary and lexicographer (d. 1660)
1611 – Jan Fyt, Flemish painter (d. 1661)
1638 – Shunzhi Emperor of China (d. 1661)
1666 – George Bähr, German architect, designed the Dresden Frauenkirche (d. 1738)
1754 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon and botanist (d. 1842)
1767 – Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (d. 1845)
1779 – William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1848)
1790 – Ludwig Immanuel Magnus, German mathematician and academic (d. 1861)
1791 – Charles Knight, English author and publisher (d. 1873)
1809 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, American-Liberian historian and politician, 1st President of Liberia (d. 1876)
1809 – Karl Josef von Hefele, German bishop and theologian (d. 1893)
1813 – John Snow, English physician and epidemiologist (d. 1858)
1818 – Mariano Álvarez, Filipino general and politician (d. 1924)
1821 – Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian physicist and chemist (d. 1895)
1821 – William Milligan, Scottish theologian, author, and educator (d. 1892)
1824 – Jules Chevalier, French priest, founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (d. 1907)
1830 – Paul Heyse, German author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
1830 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer and academic (d. 1905)
1831 – Saint Daniele Comboni, Italian missionary and saint (d. 1881)
1835 – John Henry Kagi, American lawyer and activist (d. 1859)
1835 – Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1916)
1838 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1889)
1851 – John Sebastian Little, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Arkansas (d. 1916)
1851 – William Mitchell Ramsay, Scottish archaeologist and scholar (d. 1939)
1852 – Augusta, Lady Gregory, Anglo-Irish landowner, playwright, and translator (d. 1932)
1854 – Emil von Behring, German physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
1857 – Christian Michelsen, Norwegian businessman and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1925)
1858 – Liberty Hyde Bailey, American botanist and academic, co-founded the American Society for Horticultural Science (d. 1954)
1860 – Waldemar Haffkine, Russian-Swiss bacteriologist and microbiologist (d. 1930)
1864 – Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian violinist, composer, and conductor (Oslo Philharmonic) (d. 1935)
1865 – Manuk Abeghian, Armenian author and scholar (d. 1944)
1866 – Matthew Charlton, Australian miner and politician (d. 1948)
1866 – Johan Vaaler, Norwegian inventor, often erroneously identified as the inventor of the Paper clip (d. 1910)
1868 – Grace Chisholm Young, English mathematician (d. 1944)
1869 – Stanisław Wojciechowski, Polish scholar and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Poland (d. 1953)
1874 – Eugène Fiset, Canadian physician, general, and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1951)
1874 – Harold L. Ickes, American journalist and politician, 32nd United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1952)
1878 – Reza Shah, Iranian king (d. 1944)
1886 – Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian-Greek painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
1887 – Marjorie Merriweather Post, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded General Foods (d. 1973)
1887 – Lütfi Kırdar, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (d. 1961)
1879 – Benjamin R. Jacobs, American biochemist (d. 1963)
1890 – Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician and mountaineer (d. 1980)
1892 – James Basevi Ord, Mexican-American colonel (d. 1938)
1897 – Jackson Scholz, American runner (d. 1986)
1900 – Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian and writer (d. 1987)
1904 – George Brent, Irish-American actor (d. 1979)
1904 – J. Pat O’Malley, English-American actor (d. 1985)
1905 – Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, German lawyer and judge (d. 1944)
1907 – Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d. 1981)
1909 – Jaroslava Muchová Syllabová, Czech painter (d. 1986)
1912 – Lightnin’ Hopkins, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1982)
1912 – Louis Paul Boon, Flemish journalist and author (d. 1979)
1913 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (d. 1994)
1913 – Jack Fairman, English race car driver (d. 2002)
1916 – Frank Coghlan, Jr., American actor and pilot (d. 2009)
1916 – Fadil Hoxha, Kosovar commander and politician, 2nd President of Kosovo (d. 2001)
1916 – Harry James, American trumpet player, bandleader, and actor (d. 1983)
1918 – Richard Ellmann, American author and critic (d. 1987)
1918 – Punch Imlach, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 1987)
1919 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (d. 2002)
1920 – E. Donnall Thomas, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
1921 – Madelyn Pugh, American television writer and producer (d. 2011)
1922 – Eddie Calvert, English trumpeter (d. 1978)
1926 – Ben Johnston, American composer and academic (d. 2019)
1926 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
1927 – Christian Marquand, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2000)
1927 – Carl Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
1928 – Bob Wilber, American clarinetist and saxophonist (d. 2019)
1930 – Zhores Alferov, Belarusian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
1932 – Alan Bean, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2018)
1932 – Arif Mardin, Turkish-American record producer (d. 2006)
1933 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American lawyer and judge
1933 – Philippe de Broca, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1934 – Richard Layard, Baron Layard, English economist and academic
1934 – Kanshi Ram, Indian politician (d. 2006)
1935 – David Andrews, Irish politician, 21st Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ireland
1935 – Judd Hirsch, American actor
1935 – Jimmy Swaggart, American pastor and television host
1935 – Leonid Yengibarov, Russian-Armenian clown and boxer (d. 1972)
1936 – Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (d. 1986)
1937 – Marcus Raichle, American neurologist and physiologist
1937 – Valentin Rasputin, Russian environmentalist and author (d. 2015)
1938 – Charles Lloyd, American saxophonist and flute player
1939 – Ted Kaufman, American engineer and politician
1939 – Robert Nye, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 2016)
1939 – Julie Tullis, English mountaineer (d. 1986)
1940 – Frank Dobson, English politician, Secretary of State for Health (d. 2019)
1940 – Phil Lesh, American bassist
1941 – Mike Love, American singer-songwriter and musician
1941 – Carolyn Hansson, Canadian materials engineer
1943 – David Cronenberg, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
1943 – Lynda La Plante, English actress, screenwriter, and author
1943 – Michael Scott-Joynt, English bishop (d. 2014)
1943 – Sly Stone, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
1943 – The Iron Sheik, Iranian-American wrestler and actor
1944 – Chi Cheng, Taiwanese runner and politician
1944 – Jacques Doillon, French director and screenwriter
1944 – Francis Mankiewicz, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
1944 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
1945 – Mark J. Green, American lawyer and politician
1946 – Bobby Bonds, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
1946 – John Dempsey, English born Irish international footballer, centre-back and manager
1947 – Ry Cooder, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1947 – Gino Ferrin, German footballer and manager
1947 – Juraj Kukura, Slovak-German actor
1948 – Kate Bornstein, American author and activist
1948 – Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (d. 2003)
1950 – Jørgen Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter
1950 – Kurt Koch, Swiss cardinal
1951 – David Alton, Baron Alton of Liverpool, English educator and politician
1952 – Howard Devoto, English singer-songwriter
1952 – Philip Green, English businessman
1952 – Howard Koh, American physician and politician, 14th United States Assistant Secretary for Health
1953 – Richard Bruton, Irish economist and politician, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
1953 – Heather Graham Pozzessere, American author
1953 – Kumba Ialá, Bissau-Guinean educator and politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2014)
1954 – Massimo Bubola, Italian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1954 – Isobel Buchanan, Scottish soprano and actress
1954 – Bob Budiansky, American author and illustrator
1954 – Henry Marsh, American runner and businessman, co-founded MonaVie
1954 – Craig Wasson, American actor
1955 – Mohsin Khan, Pakistani cricketer
1955 – Dee Snider, American singer-songwriter and actor
1956 – Clay Matthews, Jr., American football player and coach
1957 – Joaquim de Almeida, Portuguese-American actor
1957 – Víctor Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager
1957 – David Silverman, American animator, director, and screenwriter
1958 – Anne Davies, English television presenter and newsreader
1959 – Harold Baines, American baseball player and coach
1959 – Renny Harlin, Finnish director and producer
1959 – Lisa Holton, American journalist and author
1959 – Ben Okri, Nigerian poet and author
1960 – Mike Pagliarulo, American baseball player and coach
1960 – Phil Walsh, Australian rules footballer and coach (d. 2015)
1961 – Terry Cummings, American basketball player and singer
1961 – Craig Ludwig, American ice hockey player and coach
1962 – Terence Trent D’Arby, American singer-songwriter
1962 – Jimmy Baio, American actor
1963 – Bret Michaels, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1964 – Davide Pinato, Italian footballer
1964 – Rockwell, American singer-songwriter and musician
1965 – Sunetra Gupta, Indian epidemiologist, author, and academic
1965 – Robyn Malcolm, New Zealand actress
1967 – Naoko Takeuchi, Japanese manga artist, creator of Sailor Moon
1968 – Kahimi Karie, Japanese singer
1968 – Mark McGrath, American singer-songwriter and television host
1968 – Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy
1968 – Sabrina Salerno, Italian singer-songwriter, actress, and producer
1969 – Rona Ambrose, Canadian journalist and politician, former Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
1969 – Gianluca Festa, Italian footballer and coach
1969 – Yutaka Take, Japanese jockey
1970 – Christine Anu, Australian singer
1970 – Naka Drotske, South African rugby player
1970 – Derek Parra, American speed skater and coach
1971 – Penny Lancaster, English model and photographer
1971 – Joanne Wise, English long jumper
1972 – Mark Hoppus, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
1972 – Holger Stromberg, German chef
1972 – Mike Tomlin, American football player and coach
1973 – Robin Hunicke, American video game designer and producer
1973 – Masayuki Naruse, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
1974 – Robert Fick, American baseball player
1975 – Eva Longoria, American actress and producer
1975 – Veselin Topalov, Bulgarian chess player
1975 – Darcy Tucker, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – will.i.am, American rapper, producer, and actor
1976 – Katherine Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1976 – Abhay Deol, Indian actor
1976 – Cara Pifko, Canadian actress
1977 – Joe Hahn, American DJ, producer, and director
1977 – Brian Tee, Japanese-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1978 – Takeru Kobayashi, Japanese competitive eater
1979 – Kyle Mills, New Zealand cricketer
1979 – Kevin Youkilis, American baseball player and scout
1980 – Freddie Bynum, American baseball player
1980 – Eric Grothe, Jr. Australian rugby league player and guitarist
1980 – Claudiney Ramos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
1981 – Young Buck, American rapper, producer, and actor
1981 – Mikael Forssell, German-Finnish footballer
1981 – Veronica Maggio, Swedish singer-songwriter
1981 – Jens Salumäe, Estonian skier
1982 – Tom Budge, Australian actor
1982 – Emily Dunn, American actress and dancer
1982 – Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich, Kenyan runner
1983 – Sean Biggerstaff, Scottish actor
1983 – Umut Bulut, Turkish footballer
1983 – Ben Hilfenhaus, Australian cricketer
1983 – Kostas Kaimakoglou, Greek basketball player
1983 – Golda Marcus, Salvadoran swimmer
1983 – Daryl Murphy, Irish footballer
1983 – Heiko Niidas, Estonian basketball player
1983 – Ricky Sekhon, English actor
1983 – Yo Yo Honey Singh, Indian music producer
1984 – Badradine Belloumou, French-Algerian footballer
1984 – Malin Buska, Swedish actress
1984 – Olivier Jean, Canadian speed skater
1984 – Kostas Vasileiadis, Greek basketball player
1984 – Wilson Aparecido Xavier Júnior, Brazilian footballer
1987 – Eric Decker, American football player
1988 – Éver Guzmán, Mexican footballer
1988 – James Reimer, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Jolo Revilla, Filipino actor and politician
1988 – Alexander Sims, English race car driver
1989 – Sam Baldock, English footballer
1989 – Bryce Gibbs, Australian footballer
1989 – Sandro, Brazilian international footballer, midfielder
1989 – Gil Roberts, American sprinter
1989 – Adrien Silva, Portuguese footballer
1989 – Caitlin Wachs, American actress
1990 – Siobhan Magnus, American singer-songwriter
1991 – Tavon Austin, American footballer
1991 – Kurt Baptiste, Australian rugby league player
1991 – Xavier Henry, American basketball player
1996 – Seonaid McIntosh, Scottish sports shooter
2000 – Kristian Kostov, Russian-Bulgarian singer-songwriter

Deaths on March 15

44 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman (b. 100 BC)
220 – Cao Cao, Chinese general, warlord and statesman (b. 155)
493 – Odoacer, the first king of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire (b. 433)
752 – Pope Zachary
963 – Romanos II, Byzantine emperor (b. 938)
990 – Siegfried I (the Older), German nobleman
1086 – Richilde, Countess of Hainaut, Flemish consort and regent (b. c. 1018)
1124 – Ernulf, Bishop of Rochester (b. c. 1040)
1190 – Isabella of Hainault, queen of Philip II of France (b. 1170)
1311 – Walter V, Count of Brienne (b. 1275)
1311 – Thomas III d’Autremencourt, Lord of Salona, Marshal of Achaea
1311 – Albert Pallavicini, Margrave of Bodonitza
1311 – George I Ghisi, Triarch of Euboea, Baron of Chalandritsa, Lord of Tinos, Mykonos, Serifos and Keos
1327 – Albert of Schwarzburg, grand preceptor of the Knights Hospitaller
1346 – Shah Jalal, Sufi saint of Bengal (b. 1271).
1536 – Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, Ottoman politician, 35th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1493)
1575 – Annibale Padovano, Italian organist and composer (b. 1527)
1644 – Countess Louise Juliana of Nassau (b. 1576)
1657 – David Pardo, Dutch rabbi and scholar (b. 1591)
1673 – Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet (b. 1615)
1711 – Eusebio Kino, Italian priest and missionary (b. 1645)
1820 – Clement Mary Hofbauer, Austrian priest and saint (b. 1751)
1832 – Otto Wilhelm Masing, Estonian linguist and clergyman (b. 1763)
1842 – Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1760)
1849 – Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti, Italian cardinal and linguist (b. 1774)
1891 – Joseph Bazalgette, English engineer and academic (b. 1819)
1897 – James Joseph Sylvester, English mathematician and academic (b. 1814)
1898 – Henry Bessemer, English engineer and businessman (b. 1813)
1921 – Talaat Pasha, Ottoman politician, 281st Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1874)
1927 – Hector Rason, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1858)
1933 – Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd President of Peru (b. 1886)
1937 – H. P. Lovecraft, American short story writer, editor, and novelist (b. 1890)
1938 – Nikolai Bukharin, Russian journalist, and politician (b. 1888)
1939 – Luis Barceló, Spanish colonel (b. 1896)
1941 – Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian-German painter (b. 1864)
1944 – Otto von Below, Prussian general (b. 1857)
1951 – John S. Paraskevopoulos, Greek-South African astronomer and academic (b. 1889)
1957 – Ernst Nobs, Swiss politician (b. 1886)
1959 – Lester Young, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1909)
1962 – Charles Bartliff, American soccer player (b. 1886)
1962 – Arthur Compton, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
1966 – Abe Saperstein, American basketball player and coach (b. 1902)
1969 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1888)
1969 – Musashiyama Takeshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 33rd Yokozuna (b. 1909)
1970 – Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1897)
1971 – Jean-Pierre Monseré, Belgian cyclist (b. 1948)
1972 – Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1910)
1975 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek-Argentinian businessman (b. 1906)
1977 – Hubert Aquin, Canadian author and activist (b. 1929)
1977 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler and referee (b. 1921)
1981 – René Clair, French director and screenwriter (b. 1898)
1983 – Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian footballer and manager (b. 1905)
1983 – Rebecca West, English author and critic (b. 1892)
1985 – Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and author (b. 1921)
1986 – Alexandru Giugaru, Romanian actor (b. 1897)
1987 – Douglas Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1899)
1988 – Dmitri Polyakov, Ukrainian general and spy (b. 1926)
1989 – Muhammad Jameel Didi, Maldivian poet and politician (b. 1915)
1990 – Farzad Bazoft, Iranian-English journalist (b. 1958)
1990 – Tom Harmon, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1919)
1991 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1906)
1992 – Rahi Masoom Raza, Indian Urdu poet (b.1927)
1997 – Gail Davis, American actress (b. 1925)
1997 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (b. 1906)
1998 – Tim Maia, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
1998 – Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and author (b. 1903)
1999 – Guy D’Artois, Canadian soldier (b. 1917)
2001 – Gaetano Cozzi, Italian historian and academic (b. 1922)
2001 – Ann Sothern, American actress and singer (b. 1909)
2003 – Thora Hird, English actress (b. 1911)
2003 – Paul Stojanovich, American television producer, created World’s Wildest Police Videos (b. 1956)
2004 – Philippe Lemaire, French actor (b. 1927)
2004 – Bill Pickering, New Zealand-American scientist and engineer (b. 1910)
2004 – John Pople, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
2005 – Bob Bellear, Australian engineer and judge (b. 1944)
2005 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
2005 – Shoji Nishio, Japanese martial artist (b. 1927)
2006 – Georgios Rallis, Greek lieutenant and politician, 173rd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1918)
2006 – Red Storey, Canadian football player and referee (b. 1918)
2007 – Charles Harrelson, American murderer (b. 1938)
2007 – Bowie Kuhn, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1926)
2007 – Stuart Rosenberg, American director and producer (b. 1927)
2008 – Mikey Dread, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1954)
2008 – Vytautas Kernagis, Lithuanian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1951)
2008 – G. David Low, American astronaut and engineer (b. 1956)
2008 – Ken Reardon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
2008 – Sarla Thakral, First Indian woman to earn a pilot’s license. (b. 1914)
2009 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1946)
2011 – Nate Dogg, American rapper (b. 1969)
2011 – Smiley Culture, English singer and DJ (b. 1963)
2012 – Mervyn Davies, Welsh rugby player (b. 1946)
2012 – Eb Gaines, American businessman and diplomat (b. 1927)
2012 – Luis Gonzales, Filipino actor (b. 1928)
2012 – Bernardino González Ruíz, Panamanian physician and politician, President of Panama (b. 1911)
2012 – Fran Matera, American illustrator (b. 1924)
2012 – Dave Philley, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
2013 – James Bonk, American chemist and academic (b. 1931)
2013 – Booth Gardner, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Washington (b. 1936)
2013 – Hardrock Gunter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
2013 – Shannon Larratt, Canadian publisher, founded BMEzine (b. 1973)
2013 – Terry Lightfoot, English clarinet player (b. 1935)
2013 – Leverne McDonnell, Australian actress (b. 1963).
2013 – Masamichi Noro, Japanese-French martial artist, founded Kinomichi (b. 1935)
2013 – Kallam Anji Reddy, Indian engineer and businessman, founded Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (b. 1940)
2013 – Peter Worsley, English sociologist (b. 1924)
2013 – Felipe Zetter, Mexican footballer (b. 1923)
2014 – Scott Asheton, American drummer (b. 1949).
2014 – David Brenner, American comedian, actor, and author (b. 1936)
2014 – Bo Callaway, American soldier and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Army (b. 1927)
2014 – Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, and television personality (b. 1947)
2014 – Everett L. Fullam, American priest and scholar (b. 1930)
2014 – Cees Veerman, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1943)
2015 – Collins Chabane, South African politician (b. 1960)
2015 – Robert Clatworthy, English sculptor and educator (b. 1928)
2015 – Narayan Desai, Indian author and activist (b. 1924)
2015 – Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (b. 1928)
2015 – Curtis Gans, American political scientist and author (b. 1937)
2015 – Mike Porcaro, American bass player (b. 1955)
2016 – Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress and television and film producer (b. 1927)
2016 – Asa Briggs, English historian and academic (b. 1921)
2016 – Daryl Coley, American singer and pastor (b. 1955)
2016 – Seru Rabeni, Fijian rugby player (b. 1978)
2019 – Larry DiTillio, American film and TV series writer (b. 1948)
2020 – Vittorio Gregotti, Italian architect (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances on March 15

Christian feast day:
- Aristobulus of Britannia
- Clemens Maria Hofbauer
- Leocritia
- Longinus
- Louise de Marillac
- Raymond of Fitero
- March 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Constitution Day (Belarus)
Earliest day on which Birth of Benito Juárez can fall, while March 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of March. (Mexico)
Earliest day on which Palm Sunday can fall, while April 18 is the latest; celebrated on the sixth Sunday of Lent. (Christianity)
Hōnen Matsuri (Japan)
International Day Against Police Brutality (International)
J. J. Roberts’ Birthday (Liberia)
National Day, celebrating the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 (Hungary)
World Consumer Rights Day (International)
World Contact Day
World Day of Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film (International)
World Speech Day
Youth Day (Palau)

March 15- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 11- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

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)
1984 – Kostas Roukounas, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1903)
1986 – Sonny Terry, American singer and harmonica player (b. 1911)
1989 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
1989 – John J. McCloy, American lawyer and banker (b. 1895)
1992 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
1995 – Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress and singer (b. 1945)
1996 – Vince Edwards, American actor and director (b. 1928)
1999 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist, anatomist, and neurologist (b. 1906)
1999 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician (b. 1922)
2002 – James Tobin, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
2006 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1931)
2006 – Slobodan Milošević, Serbian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1941)
2007 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
2008 – Nils Taube, Estonian-English businessman (b. 1928)
2009 – Charles Lewis, Jr., American businessman, co-founded Tapout Clothing (b. 1963)
2010 – John Hill, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1941)
2010 – Merlin Olsen, American football player and actor (b. 1940)
2010 – T. Somasekaram, Sri Lankan geographer and politician, 37th Surveyor General of Sri Lanka (b. 1934)
2010 – Hans van Mierlo, Dutch journalist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1931)
2011 – Gary Wichard, American football player and agent (b. 1950)
2012 – Henry Adefope, Nigerian physician and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Nigeria (b. 1926)
2012 – Sid Couchey, American author and illustrator (b. 1919)
2012 – James B. Morehead, American colonel and pilot (b. 1916)
2012 – Gösta Schwarck, German-Danish pianist and composer (b. 1915)
2013 – Erica Andrews, Mexican-American drag queen performer (b. 1969)
2013 – Martin Adolf Bormann, German priest and theologian (b. 1930)
2013 – Doug Christie, Canadian lawyer and activist (b. 1946)
2013 – Simón Alberto Consalvi, Venezuelan journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Venezuela (b. 1927)
2013 – Florian Siwicki, Polish general and politician (b. 1925)
2014 – Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1967)
2014 – Joel Brinkley, American journalist and academic (b. 1952)
2015 – Walter Burkert, German philologist and scholar (b. 1931)
2015 – Jimmy Greenspoon, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (b. 1948)
2015 – Gerald Hurst, American chemist and academic (b. 1937)
2016 – Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper and educator (b. 1936)
2016 – Keith Emerson, English musician and composer. (b. 1944)
2016 – Doreen Massey, English geographer and academic (b. 1944)
2018 – Mary Rosenblum, American science fiction and mystery author (b. 1952)

Holidays and observances on March 11

Christian feast day:
- Alberta of Agen
- Áurea of San Millán
- Benedict of Milan
- Constantine
- Eulogius of Córdoba
- Blessed John Righi
- Óengus of Tallaght
- Sophronius of Jerusalem
- Vindicianus
Day of Restoration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 (Lithuania)
Johnny Appleseed Day (United States)
Moshoeshoe Day (Lesotho)

March 11- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem Shahnameh.
1126 – Following the death of his mother Urraca, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bourgeois militias and the army of the bishop of Strasbourg.
1576 – Spanish explorer Diego García de Palacio first sights the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copán.
1618 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
1655 – John Casor becomes the first legally-recognized slave in England’s North American colonies where a crime was not committed.
1658 – Treaty of Roskilde: After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars (1655–1661), Frederick III, the King of Denmark–Norway is forced to give up nearly half his territory to Sweden to save the rest.
1702 – Queen Anne, the younger sister of Mary II, becomes Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland
1722 – The Safavid Empire of Iran is defeated by an army from Afghanistan at the Battle of Gulnabad, pushing Iran into anarchy.
1736 – Nader Shah, founder of the Afsharid dynasty, is crowned Shah of Iran.
1775 – An anonymous writer, thought by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes “African Slavery in America”, the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery.
1777 – Regiments from Ansbach and Bayreuth, sent to support Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, mutiny in the town of Ochsenfurt.
1782 – Gnadenhutten massacre: Ninety-six Native Americans in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, who had converted to Christianity, are killed by Pennsylvania militiamen in retaliation for raids carried out by other Indian tribes.
1801 – War of the Second Coalition: At the Battle of Abukir, a British force under Sir Ralph Abercromby lands in Egypt with the aim of ending the French campaign in Egypt and Syria.
1817 – The New York Stock Exchange is founded.
1844 – King Oscar I ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
1862 – American Civil War: The Naval Battle of Hampton Roads begins.
1868 – Sakai incident: Japanese samurai kill 11 French sailors in the port of Sakai, Osaka.
1910 – French aviator Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot’s license.
1914 – First flights (for the Royal Thai Air Force) at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok.
1916 – World War I: A British force unsuccessfully attempts to relieve the siege of Kut (present-day Iraq) in the Battle of Dujaila.
1917 – International Women’s Day protests in St. Petersburg mark the beginning of the February Revolution (February 23rd in the Julian calendar).
1917 – The United States Senate votes to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.
1920 – The Arab Kingdom of Syria, the first modern Arab state to come into existence, is established.
1921 – Spanish Prime Minister Eduardo Dato Iradier is assassinated while exiting the parliament building in Madrid.
1924 – A mine disaster kills 172 coal miners near Castle Gate, Utah.
1936 – Daytona Beach and Road Course holds its first oval stock car race.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: The Battle of Guadalajara begins.
1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces gave an ultimatum to Dutch East Indies Governor General Jonkheer Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer and KNIL Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten, to unconditionally surrender.
1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces captured Rangoon, Burma from British.
1947 – Thirteen thousand troops of the Republic of China Army arrive in Taiwan after the February 28 Incident and launch crackdowns which kill thousands of people, including many elites. This turns into a major root of the Taiwan independence movement.
1949 – President of France Vincent Auriol and ex-emperor of Annam Bảo Đại sign the Élysée Accords, giving Vietnam greater independence from France and creating the State of Vietnam to oppose Viet Minh-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
1957 – Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal after the Suez Crisis.
1957 – The 1957 Georgia Memorial to Congress, which petitions the U.S. Congress to declare the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution null and void, is adopted by the U.S. state of Georgia.
1963 – The Ba’ath Party comes to power in Syria in a coup d’état by a clique of quasi-leftist Syrian Army officers calling themselves the National Council of the Revolutionary Command.
1965 – Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War.
1966 – Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin, Ireland, destroyed by a bomb.
1971 – The Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali commences. Frazier wins in 15 rounds via unanimous decision.
1974 – Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
1979 – Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.
1983 – Cold War: While addressing a convention of Evangelicals, U.S. President Ronald Reagan labels the Soviet Union an “evil empire”.
1985 – A supposed failed assassination attempt on Islamic cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in Beirut, Lebanon kills at least 45 and injures 175 others.
2004 – A new constitution is signed by Iraq’s Governing Council.
2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying a total of 239 people, disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
2017 – The Azure Window, a natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapses in stormy weather.

Births on March 8

1286 – John III, Duke of Brittany (d. 1341)
1293 – Beatrice of Castile (d. 1359)
1495 – John of God, Portuguese friar and saint (d. 1550)
1514 – Amago Haruhisa, Japanese daimyō (d. 1562)
1518 – Sidonie of Saxony, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg (d. 1575)
1550 – William Drury, English politician (d. 1590)
1658 – Thomas Trevor, 1st Baron Trevor, British Baron (d. 1730)
1566 – Carlo Gesualdo, Italian lute player and composer (d. 1613)
1712 – John Fothergill, English physician and botanist (d. 1780)
1714 – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German pianist and composer (d. 1788)
1726 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English admiral and politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1799)
1746 – André Michaux, French botanist and explorer (d. 1802)
1748 – William V, Prince of Orange (d. 1806)
1761 – Jan Potocki, Polish ethnologist, historian, linguist, and author (d. 1815)
1799 – Simon Cameron, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Secretary of War (d. 1889)
1804 – Alvan Clark, American astronomer and optician (d. 1887)
1822 – Ignacy Łukasiewicz, Polish inventor and businessman, invented the Kerosene lamp (d. 1882)
1826 – Johann Köler, Estonian painter and academic (d. 1899)
1827 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist and anthropologist (d. 1875)
1830 – João de Deus, Portuguese poet and educator (d. 1896)
1839 – Josephine Cochrane, American inventor (d. 1913)
1841 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and jurist (d. 1935)
1848 – LaMarcus Adna Thompson, American engineer and businessman, developed the roller coaster (d. 1917)
1856 – Bramwell Booth, English 2nd General of The Salvation Army (d. 1929)
1856 – Colin Campbell Cooper, American painter and academic (d. 1937)
1859 – Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English banker and author (d. 1932)
1865 – Frederic Goudy, American type designer, created Copperplate Gothic and Goudy Old Style (d. 1947)
1879 – Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
1886 – Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
1892 – Juana de Ibarbourou, Uruguayan poet and author (d. 1979)
1896 – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian journalist and politician, 46th Mayor of Ottawa (d. 1975)
1899 – Elmer Keith, American gun designer and author (d. 1984)
1900 – Howard H. Aiken, American physicist and computer scientist, created the Harvard Mark I (d. 1973)
1902 – Louise Beavers, American actress and singer (d. 1962)
1902 – Jennings Randolph, American journalist and politician (d. 1998)
1907 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Greece (d. 1998)
1909 – Beatrice Shilling, English motorcycle racer and engineer (d. 1990)
1909 – Paula Strasberg, American actress and acting coach (d. 1966)
1910 – Claire Trevor, American actress (d. 2000)
1911 – Alan Hovhaness, Armenian-American pianist and composer (d. 2000)
1912 – Preston Smith, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Texas (d. 2003)
1912 – Meldrim Thomson, Jr., American publisher and politician, 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2001)
1914 – Yakov Borisovich Zel’dovich, Belarusian-Russian physicist and astronomer (d. 1987)
1918 – Eileen Herlie, Scottish-American actress (d. 2008)
1920 – Douglass Wallop, American author and playwright (d. 1985)
1921 – Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (d. 1990)
1921 – Sahir Ludhianvi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1980)
1922 – Ralph H. Baer, German-American video game designer, created the Magnavox Odyssey (d. 2014)
1922 – Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer (d. 2008)
1922 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (d. 1989)
1922 – Yevgeny Matveyev, Russian actor and director (d. 2003)
1922 – Shigeru Mizuki, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2015)
1924 – Anthony Caro, English sculptor and illustrator (d. 2013)
1924 – Georges Charpak, Ukrainian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
1924 – Sean McClory, Irish-American actor and director (d. 2003)
1925 – Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (d. 2014)
1926 – Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1929 – Hebe Camargo, Brazilian actress and singer (d. 2012)
1930 – Bob Grim, American baseball player (d. 1996)
1930 – Douglas Hurd, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
1931 – Neil Adcock, South African cricketer (d. 2013)
1931 – John McPhee, American author and educator
1931 – Gerald Potterton, English-Canadian animator, director, and producer
1931 – Neil Postman, American author and critic (d. 2003)
1934 – Marv Breeding, American baseball player and scout (d. 2006)
1935 – George Coleman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
1936 – Sue Ane Langdon, American actress and singer
1936 – Gábor Szabó, Hungarian guitarist and composer (d. 1982)
1937 – Richard Fariña, American singer-songwriter and author (d. 1966)
1937 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan politician, 2nd President of Rwanda (d. 1994)
1938 – Pete Dawkins, American football player, colonel, and politician
1939 – Jim Bouton, American baseball player and journalist (d. 2019)
1939 – Lynn Seymour, Canadian ballerina and choreographer
1939 – Lidiya Skoblikova, Russian speed skater and coach
1939 – Robert Tear, Welsh tenor and conductor (d. 2011)
1941 – Norman Stone, Scottish-English historian, author, and academic (d. 2019)
1942 – Dick Allen, American baseball player and tenor
1942 – Ann Packer, English sprinter, hurdler, and long jumper
1943 – Susan Clark, Canadian actress and producer
1943 – Michael Grade, English businessman
1943 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (d. 2010)
1943 – Dionysis Simopoulos, Greek physicist and astronomer
1944 – Sergey Nikitin, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – Jim Chapman, American lawyer and politician
1945 – Micky Dolenz, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
1945 – Anselm Kiefer, German painter and sculptor
1945 – Sylvia Wiegand, American mathematician
1946 – Robert Jaworski, Filipino basketball player, coach, and politician
1946 – Randy Meisner, American singer-songwriter and bass player
1947 – Carole Bayer Sager, American singer-songwriter and painter
1947 – Michael S. Hart, American author, founded Project Gutenberg (d. 2011)
1947 – Vladimír Mišík, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Florentino Pérez, Spanish engineer and businessman
1948 – Robert W. Boyd, American physicist and academic
1948 – Gyles Brandreth, German-English actor, screenwriter, and politician
1948 – Mel Galley, English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
1948 – Sam Lacey, American basketball player (d. 2014)
1948 – Peggy March, American pop singer
1948 – Jonathan Sacks, English rabbi, philosopher, and scholar
1949 – Teofilo Cubillas, Peruvian footballer
1951 – Phil Edmonds, Zambian-English cricketer and businessman
1951 – Dianne Walker, American tap dancer
1952 – George Allen, American lawyer and politician, 67th Governor of Virginia
1953 – Jim Rice, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
1954 – Steve James, American documentary filmmaker
1954 – David Wilkie, Sri Lankan-Scottish swimmer
1956 – Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (d. 1989)
1956 – David Malpass, American economist and government official
1957 – Clive Burr, English rock drummer (d. 2013)
1957 – William Edward Childs, American pianist and composer
1957 – Bob Stoddard, American baseball player
1958 – Andy McDonald, English lawyer and politician
1958 – Gary Numan, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1959 – Aidan Quinn, Irish-American actor
1960 – Jeffrey Eugenides, American author and academic
1960 – Irek Mukhamedov, Russian ballet dancer
1960 – Buck Williams, American basketball player and coach
1961 – Camryn Manheim, American actress
1961 – Larry Murphy, Canadian ice hockey player and journalist
1962 – Leon Robinson, American actor and producer
1964 – Kate Betts, American journalist and author
1965 – Kenny Smith, American basketball player and sportscaster
1966 – Greg Barker, Baron Barker of Battle, English politician
1966 – Jaime Levy, American computer scientist and academic
1967 – Joel Johnston, American baseball player
1968 – Michael Bartels, German race car driver
1968 – Shawn Mullins, American singer-songwriter
1969 – Juan de Dios Ramírez Perales, Mexican footballer
1970 – Jason Elam, American football player
1971 – Kit Symons, English-Welsh footballer and manager
1972 – Georgios Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager
1972 – Matthew Nable, Australian rugby player and actor
1972 – Lena Sundström, Swedish journalist and author
1973 – Boris Kodjoe, Austrian-born American actor and producer
1973 – Anneke van Giersbergen, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
1975 – Mauro Briano, Italian footballer
1976 – Gaz Coombes, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1976 – Juan Encarnación, Dominican baseball player
1976 – Freddie Prinze, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1977 – James Van Der Beek, American actor
1977 – Johann Vogel, Swiss footballer
1978 – Nick Zano, American actor and producer
1979 – Apathy, American rapper and producer
1979 – Tom Chaplin, English singer-songwriter
1979 – Andy Ross, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1980 – Stephen Milne, Australian footballer
1981 – Michael Beauchamp, Australian footballer
1981 – Timothy Jordan II, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2005)
1981 – Joost Posthuma, Dutch cyclist
1982 – Nicolas Armindo, French racing driver
1982 – Leonidas Kampantais, Greek footballer
1982 – Isak Strand, Norwegian drummer, composer, and producer
1983 – André Santos, Brazilian footballer
1983 – Mark Worrell, American baseball player
1984 – Rafik Djebbour, Algerian footballer
1984 – Ross Taylor, New Zealand cricketer
1984 – Sasha Vujačić, Slovenian basketball player
1987 – Jonathan Wright, Australian rugby league player
1988 – Benny Blanco, American rapper and producer
1990 – Asier Illarramendi, Spanish footballer
1990 – Petra Kvitová, Czech tennis player
1990 – Nico Salva, Filipino basketball player
1990 – Ben Tozer, English footballer
1991 – Miriam Bryant, Swedish-Finnish singer-songwriter
1991 – Tom English, Australian rugby player
1992 – Uki Satake, Japanese singer, actress, and radio host
1994 – Pablo Dyego, Brazilian footballer
1994 – Claire Emslie, Scottish footballer
1994 – Dylan Tombides, Australian footballer (d. 2014)
1996 – Matthew Hammelmann, Australian rules footballer
1998 – Tali Darsigny, Canadian weightlifter

Deaths on March 8

865 – Rudolf of Fulda, German theologian
1126 – Urraca of León and Castile (b. 1079)
1137 – Adela of Normandy, by marriage countess of Blois (b. c. 1067)
1144 – Pope Celestine II
1223 – Wincenty Kadłubek, Polish bishop and historian (b. 1161)
1365 – Queen Noguk of Korea
1403 – Bayezid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1360)
1441 – Margaret of Burgundy, Duchess of Bavaria
1466 – Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1401)
1550 – John of God, Portuguese friar and saint (b. 1495)
1619 – Veit Bach, German baker and miller (b. 1550)
1641 – Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer (b. 1587)
1702 – William III of England (b. 1650)
1717 – Abraham Darby I, English blacksmith (b. 1678)
1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St. Paul’s Cathedral (b. 1632)
1731 – Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor (b. 1688)
1771 – Louis August le Clerc, French-Danish sculptor and academic (b. 1688)
1819 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1739)
1844 – Charles XIV John of Sweden (b. 1763)
1869 – Hector Berlioz, French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1803)
1872 – Cornelius Krieghoff, Dutch-Canadian painter (b. 1815)
1874 – Millard Fillmore, American lawyer and politician, 13th President of the United States (b. 1800)
1887 – Henry Ward Beecher, American minister and activist (b. 1813)
1887 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (b. 1820)
1889 – John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, designed the USS Monitor (b. 1803)
1917 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman, founded the Zeppelin Company (b. 1838)
1923 – Krišjānis Barons, Latvian linguist and author (b. 1835)
1923 – Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
1930 – William Howard Taft, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 27th President of the United States (b. 1857)
1930 – Edward Terry Sanford, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, United States Assistant Attorney General (b. 1865)
1935 – Hachikō, Japanese dog (b. 1923)
1937 – Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1902)
1941 – Sherwood Anderson, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1876)
1942 – José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban chess player and theoretician (b. 1888)
1944 – Fredy Hirsch, German Jewish athlete who helped thousands of Jewish children in the Holocaust (b. 1916)
1945 – Frederick Bligh Bond, English archaeologist and architect (b. 1864)
1948 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and scientist (b. 1889)
1957 – Othmar Schoeck, Swiss composer and conductor (b. 1886)
1961 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor and composer (b. 1879)
1971 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
1973 – Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1945)
1975 – George Stevens, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
1976 – Alfons Rebane, Estonian colonel (b. 1908)
1983 – Chabuca Granda, Peruvian-American singer-songwriter (b. 1920)
1983 – Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1904)
1983 – William Walton, English composer (b. 1902)
1985 – Edward Andrews, American actor (b. 1914)
1988 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1961)
1988 – Werner Hartmann, German physicist and academic (b. 1912)
1991 – John Bellairs, American author and academic (b. 1938)
1993 – Billy Eckstine, American trumpet player (b. 1914)
1996 – Jack Churchill, British colonel (b. 1906)
1997 – Gershon Liebman, French rabbi (b. 1905)
1998 – Ray Nitschke, American football player and actor (b. 1936)
1999 – Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentinian journalist and author (b. 1914)
1999 – Peggy Cass, American actress and comedian (b. 1924)
1999 – Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player and coach (b. 1914)
2001 – Edward Winter, American actor (b. 1937)
2003 – Adam Faith, English singer (b. 1940)
2003 – Karen Morley, American actress (b. 1909)
2004 – Muhammad Zaidan, Syrian terrorist, founded the Palestine Liberation Front (b. 1948)
2005 – César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (b. 1924)
2005 – Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen commander and politician, 3rd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (b. 1951)
2007 – John Inman, English actor (b. 1935)
2007 – John Vukovich, American baseball player and coach (b. 1947)
2009 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
2009 – Zbigniew Religa, Polish surgeon and politician, Polish Minister of Health (b. 1938)
2011 – Mike Starr, American bass player (b. 1966)
2012 – Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (b. 1921)
2012 – Minoru Mori, Japanese businessman, founded the Mori Art Museum (b. 1934)
2012 – Steven Rubenstein, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1962)
2013 – Haseeb Ahsan, Pakistani cricketer and manager (b. 1939)
2013 – John O’Connell, Irish journalist and politician, 17th Irish Minister of Health (b. 1927)
2013 – Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin, German soldier and publisher (b. 1922)
2014 – Leo Bretholz, Austrian-American Holocaust survivor and author (b. 1921)
2014 – William Guarnere, American sergeant (b. 1923)
2015 – Tjol Lategan, South African rugby player (b. 1925)
2015 – Sam Simon, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1955)
2016 – Aldo Ferrer, Argentinian economist and diplomat (b. 1927)
2016 – Ross Hannaford, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)
2016 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (b. 1926)
2018 – Kate Wilhelm, American author (b. 1928)
2019 – Marshall Brodien, American actor (b. 1934)
2019 – Cedrick Hardman, American football player and actor (b. 1948)
2020 – Max von Sydow, Swedish actor (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on March 8

Christian feast day:
- Edward King (Church of England)
- Felix of Burgundy
- Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (the Church of England, The Episcopal Church (USA))
- John of God
- Philemon the actor
- March 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Canberra Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in March (Australian Capital Territory)
Earliest day on which Commonwealth Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in March (Commonwealth of Nations)
Earliest day on which Decoration Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Wednesday in March (Liberia)
Earliest day on which Passion Sunday can fall, while April 17 is the latest; observed on the fifth Sunday of Lent (Christianity)
International Women’s Day, and its related observances:
- International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day

March 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

363 – Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death.
1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama.
1279 – The Livonian Order is defeated in the Battle of Aizkraukle by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
1496 – King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorising them to explore unknown lands.
1616 – Nicolaus Copernicus’s book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres is added to the Index of Forbidden Books 73 years after it was first published.
1766 – Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.
1770 – Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including Crispus Attucks, are fatally shot by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence) five years later.
1811 – Peninsular War: A French force under the command of Marshal Victor is routed while trying to prevent an Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese army from lifting the Siege of Cádiz in the Battle of Barrosa.
1824 – First Anglo-Burmese War: The British officially declare war on Burma.
1836 – Samuel Colt patents the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber.
1850 – The Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales is opened.
1860 – Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Romagna vote in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia.
1868 – Mefistofele, an opera by Arrigo Boito, receives its premiere performance at La Scala.
1872 – George Westinghouse patents the air brake.
1906 – Moro Rebellion: United States Army troops bring overwhelming force against the native Moros in the First Battle of Bud Dajo, leaving only six survivors.
1912 – Italo-Turkish War: Italian forces are the first to use airships for military purposes, employing them for reconnaissance behind Turkish lines.
1931 – The British Raj: Gandhi–Irwin Pact is signed.
1933 – Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party receives 43.9% at the Reichstag elections, which allows the Nazis to later pass the Enabling Act and establish a dictatorship.
1936 – First flight of K5054, the first prototype Supermarine Spitfire advanced monoplane fighter aircraft in the United Kingdom.
1940 – Six high-ranking members of Soviet politburo, including Joseph Stalin, sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs, in what will become known as the Katyn massacre.
1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Batavia, capital of Dutch East Indies, which is left undefended after the withdrawal of the KNIL garrison and Australian Blackforce battalion to Buitenzorg and Bandung.
1943 – First Flight of the Gloster Meteor, Britain’s first combat jet aircraft.
1944 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Uman–Botoșani Offensive in the western Ukrainian SSR.
1946 – Cold War: Winston Churchill coins the phrase “Iron Curtain” in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
1953 – Joseph Stalin, the longest serving leader of the Soviet Union, dies at his Volynskoe dacha in Moscow after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage four days earlier.
1960 – Indonesian President Sukarno dismissed the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), 1955 democratically elected parliament, and replaced with DPR-GR, the parliament of his own selected members.
1963 – American country music stars Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas and their pilot Randy Hughes are killed in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee.
1965 – March Intifada: A Leftist uprising erupts in Bahrain against British colonial presence.
1966 – BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707 aircraft, breaks apart in mid-air due to clear-air turbulence and crashes into Mount Fuji, Japan, killing all 124 people on board.
1970 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
1974 – Yom Kippur War: Israeli forces withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal.
1978 – The Landsat 3 is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
1979 – Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the German-American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by “off the scale” gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.
1981 – The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, is launched by Sinclair Research and would go on to sell over 1¹⁄₂ million units around the world.
1982 – Soviet probe Venera 14 lands on Venus.
2003 – In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed in the Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing.
2012 – Tropical Storm Irina kills over 75 as it passes through Madagascar.

Births on March 5

1133 – Henry II of England (d. 1189)
1224 – Saint Kinga of Poland (d. 1292)
1324 – David II of Scotland (d. 1371)
1326 – Louis I of Hungary (d. 1382)
1340 – Cansignorio della Scala, Lord of Verona (d. 1375)
1451 – William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English Earl (d. 1491)
1512 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mathematician, cartographer, and philosopher (d. 1594)
1523 – Rodrigo de Castro Osorio, Spanish cardinal (d. 1600)
1527 – Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1603)
1539 – Christoph Pezel, German theologian (d. 1604)
1563 – John Coke, English civil servant and politician (d. 1644)
1575 – William Oughtred, English minister and mathematician (d. 1660)
1585 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1656)
1585 – Frederick I, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (d. 1638)
1637 – Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter and engineer (d. 1712)
1658 – Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, French explorer and politician, 3rd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (d. 1730)
1693 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian and scholar (d. 1754)
1696 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (d. 1770)
1703 – Vasily Trediakovsky, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1768)
1713 – Edward Cornwallis, English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (d. 1776)
1713 – Frederick Cornwallis, English archbishop (d. 1783)
1723 – Princess Mary of Great Britain (d. 1773)
1733 – Vincenzo Galeotti, Italian-Danish dancer and choreographer (d. 1816)
1739 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American colonel and physician (d. 1819)
1748 – Jonas Carlsson Dryander, Swedish botanist and biologist (d. 1810)
1748 – William Shield, English violinist and composer (d. 1829)
1750 – Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d’Ansse de Villoison, French scholar and academic (d. 1805)
1751 – Jan Křtitel Kuchař, Czech organist, composer, and educator (d. 1829)
1774 – Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse, Danish organist and composer (d. 1842)
1779 – Benjamin Gompertz, English mathematician and statistician (d. 1865)
1785 – Carlo Odescalchi, Italian cardinal (d. 1841)
1794 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (d. 1872)
1794 – Robert Cooper Grier, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1870)
1814 – Wilhelm von Giesebrecht, German historian and academic (d. 1889)
1800 – Georg Friedrich Daumer, German poet and philosopher (d. 1875)
1815 – John Wentworth, American journalist and politician, 19th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1888)
1817 – Austen Henry Layard, English archaeologist, academic, and politician, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (d. 1894)
1830 – Étienne-Jules Marey, French physiologist and chronophotographer (d. 1904)
1830 – Charles Wyville Thomson, Scottish historian and zoologist (d. 1882)
1834 – Félix de Blochausen, Luxembourgian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1915)
1834 – Marietta Piccolomini, Italian soprano (d. 1899)
1853 – Howard Pyle, American author and illustrator (d. 1911)
1862 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (d. 1934)
1867 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Premier of Quebec (d. 1952)
1869 – Michael von Faulhaber, German cardinal (d. 1952)
1870 – Frank Norris, American journalist and author (d. 1902)
1870 – Evgeny Paton, French-Ukrainian engineer (d. 1953)
1871 – Rosa Luxemburg, Polish-Russian economist and philosopher (d. 1919)
1871 – Konstantinos Pallis, Greek general and politician, Minister Governor-General of Macedonia (d. 1941)
1873 – Olav Bjaaland, Norwegian skier and explorer (d. 1961)
1874 – Henry Travers, English-American actor (d. 1965)
1875 – Harry Lawson, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Victoria (d. 1952)
1876 – Thomas Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote, English lawyer and politician, 8th Lord Chief Justice of England (d. 1947)
1876 – Elisabeth Moore, American tennis player (d. 1959)
1879 – William Beveridge, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic (d. 1963)
1879 – Andres Larka, Estonian general and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of War (d. 1943)
1880 – Sergei Natanovich Bernstein, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1968)
1882 – Dora Marsden, English author and activist (d. 1960)
1883 – Pauline Sperry, American mathematician (d. 1967)
1885 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian ethnographer and academic (d. 1969)
1886 – Dong Biwu, Chinese judge and politician, Chairman of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1975)
1886 – Freddie Welsh, Welsh boxer (d. 1927)
1887 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 1959)
1894 – Henry Daniell, English-American actor (d. 1963)
1898 – Zhou Enlai, Chinese politician, 1st Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1976)
1898 – Misao Okawa, Japanese super-centenarian (d. 2015)
1900 – Lilli Jahn, Jewish German doctor (d. 1944)
1900 – Johanna Langefeld, German guard and supervisor of three Nazi concentration camps (d. 1974)
1901 – Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg (d. 1971)
1901 – Julian Przyboś, Polish poet, essayist and translator (d. 1970)
1904 – Karl Rahner, German priest and theologian (d. 1984)
1905 – László Benedek, Hungarian-American director and cinematographer (d. 1992)
1908 – Fritz Fischer, German historian and author (d. 1999)
1908 – Irving Fiske, American author and playwright (d. 1990)
1908 – Rex Harrison, English actor (d. 1990)
1910 – Momofuku Ando, Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, founded Nissin Foods (d. 2007)
1910 – Ennio Flaiano, Italian author, screenwriter, and critic (d. 1972)
1912 – Jack Marshall, New Zealand colonel, lawyer, and politician, 28th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1988)
1915 – Henry Hicks, Canadian academic and politician, 16th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 1990)
1915 – Laurent Schwartz, French mathematician and academic (d. 2002)
1918 – Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2017)
1918 – Red Storey, Canadian football player, referee, and sportscaster (d. 2006)
1918 – James Tobin, American economist and academic (d. 2002)
1920 – José Aboulker, Algerian surgeon and activist (d. 2009)
1920 – Virginia Christine, American actress (d. 1996)
1920 – Rachel Gurney, English actress (d. 2001)
1920 – Wang Zengqi, Chinese writer (d. 1997)
1921 – Elmer Valo, American baseball player and coach (d. 1998)
1922 – James Noble, American actor (d. 2016)
1922 – Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1975)
1923 – Juan A. Rivero, Puerto Rican biologist and academic (d. 2014)
1923 – Laurence Tisch, American businessman, co-founded the Loews Corporation (d. 2003)
1924 – Roger Marche, French footballer (d. 1997)
1927 – Jack Cassidy, American actor and singer (d. 1976)
1927 – Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, Scottish businessman and politician
1928 – J. Hillis Miller, American academic and critic
1929 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish race car driver (d. 2015)
1929 – J. B. Lenoir, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
1930 – John Ashley, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (d. 2008)
1930 – Del Crandall, American baseball player and manager
1931 – Fred, French author and illustrator (d. 2013)
1931 – Barry Tuckwell, Australian horn player and educator (d. 2020)
1932 – Paul Sand, American actor
1933 – Walter Kasper, German cardinal and theologian
1934 – Daniel Kahneman, Israeli-American economist and psychologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 – Letizia Battaglia, Italian photographer and journalist
1935 – Philip K. Chapman, Australian-American astronaut and engineer
1936 – Canaan Banana, Zimbabwean minister and politician, 1st President of Zimbabwe (d. 2003)
1936 – Dale Douglass, American golfer
1936 – Dean Stockwell, American actor
1937 – Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian general and politician, 5th President of Nigeria
1938 – Paul Evans, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1938 – Lynn Margulis, American biologist and academic (d. 2011)
1938 – Fred Williamson, American football player, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1939 – Samantha Eggar, English actress
1939 – Tony Rundle, Australian politician, 40th Premier of Tasmania
1939 – Benyamin Sueb, Indonesian actor and comedian (d. 1995)
1939 – Peter Woodcock, Canadian serial killer (d. 2010)
1939 – Pierre Wynants, Belgian chef
1940 – Tom Butler, English bishop
1940 – Ken Irvine, Australian rugby league player (d. 1990)
1940 – Graham McRae, New Zealand race car driver
1940 – Sepp Piontek, German footballer and manager
1941 – Des Wilson, New Zealand-English businessman and activist
1942 – Felipe González, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
1942 – Mike Resnick, American author and editor (d. 2020)
1942 – David Watkins, Welsh rugby player
1943 – Lucio Battisti, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
1944 – Peter Brandes, Danish painter and sculptor
1944 – Roy Gutman, American journalist and author
1945 – Wilf Tranter, English footballer
1946 – Richard Bell, Canadian pianist (d. 2007)
1946 – Guerrino Boatto, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 2018)
1946 – Graham Hawkins, English footballer and manager (d. 2016)
1946 – Murray Head, English actor and singer
1947 – Clodagh Rodgers, Northern Irish singer and actress
1947 – Kent Tekulve, American baseball player and sportscaster
1948 – Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1984)
1948 – Eddy Grant, Guyanese-British singer-songwriter and musician
1948 – Richard Hickox, English conductor and scholar (d. 2008)
1948 – Elaine Paige, English singer and actress
1948 – Jan van Beveren, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2011)
1949 – Bernard Arnault, French businessman, philanthropist, and art collector
1949 – Franz Josef Jung, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of Defence
1949 – Tom Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Rodney Hogg, Australian cricketer and coach
1952 – Petar Borota, Serbian footballer and coach (d. 2010)
1952 – Mike Squires, American baseball player and scout
1953 – Katarina Frostenson, Swedish poet and author
1953 – Michael J. Sandel, American philosopher and academic
1953 – Tokyo Sexwale, South African businessman and politician, 1st Premier of Gauteng
1954 – Marsha Warfield, American actress
1954 – João Lourenço, Angolan president
1955 – Penn Jillette, American magician, actor, and author
1956 – Teena Marie, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
1956 – Christopher Snowden, English engineer and academic
1957 – Mark E. Smith, English singer, songwriter and musician (d. 2018)
1957 – Ray Suarez, American journalist and author
1958 – Volodymyr Bezsonov, Ukrainian footballer and manager
1958 – Bob Forward, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1958 – Andy Gibb, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1988)
1959 – Vazgen Sargsyan, Armenian colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 1999)
1960 – Paul Drayson, Baron Drayson, English businessman and politician, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
1963 – Joel Osteen, American pastor, author, and television host
1964 – Bertrand Cantat, French singer-songwriter
1964 – Gerald Vanenburg, Dutch footballer and manager
1965 – José Semedo, Portuguese footballer and coach
1966 – Oh Eun-sun, South Korean mountaineer
1966 – Bob Halkidis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1966 – Michael Irvin, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
1966 – Aasif Mandvi, Indian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1966 – Zachery Stevens, American singer-songwriter
1968 – Gordon Bajnai, Hungarian businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Hungary
1968 – Theresa Villiers, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1969 – Paul Blackthorne, English actor and producer
1969 – Danny King, English author and playwright
1969 – Moussa Saïb, Algerian footballer and manager
1969 – M.C. Solaar, Afro-French rapper
1970 – Mike Brown, American basketball player and coach
1970 – John Frusciante, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1970 – Yuu Watase, Japanese illustrator
1971 – Greg Berry, English footballer and coach
1971 – Jeffrey Hammonds, American baseball player and scout
1971 – Yuri Lowenthal, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
1971 – Filip Meirhaeghe, Belgian cyclist
1971 – Mark Protheroe, Australian rugby league player
1973 – Yannis Anastasiou, Greek footballer and manager
1973 – Nelly Arcan, Canadian author (d. 2009)
1973 – Juan Esnáider, Argentinian footballer and manager
1973 – Ryan Franklin, American baseball player
1973 – Nicole Pratt, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
1973 – Špela Pretnar, Slovenian skier
1974 – Kevin Connolly, American actor and director
1974 – Jens Jeremies, German footballer
1974 – Eva Mendes, American model and actress
1975 – Luciano Burti, Brazilian race car driver and sportscaster
1975 – Sasho Petrovski, Australian footballer
1975 – Chris Silverwood, English cricketer and coach
1976 – Neil Jackson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
1976 – Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
1976 – Paul Konerko, American baseball player
1976 – Norm Maxwell, New Zealand rugby player
1977 – Taismary Agüero, Cuban-Italian volleyball player
1978 – Jared Crouch, Australian footballer
1978 – Mike Hessman, American baseball player and coach
1978 – Kimberly McCullough, American actress, singer, and dancer
1978 – Carlos Ochoa, Mexican footballer
1979 – Martin Axenrot, Swedish drummer
1979 – Lee Mears, English rugby player
1980 – Shay Carl, American businessman, co-founded Maker Studios
1981 – Barret Jackman, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Paul Martin, American ice hockey player
1982 – Dan Carter, New Zealand rugby player
1982 – Philipp Haastrup, German footballer
1983 – Édgar Dueñas, Mexican footballer
1984 – Branko Cvetković, Serbian basketball player
1984 – Guillaume Hoarau, French footballer
1985 – David Marshall, Scottish footballer
1985 – Brad Mills, American baseball player
1985 – Kenichi Matsuyama, Japanese actor
1986 – Alexandre Barthe, French footballer
1986 – Matty Fryatt, English footballer
1987 – Anna Chakvetadze, Russian tennis player
1987 – Chris Cohen, English footballer
1988 – Liassine Cadamuro-Bentaïba, Algerian footballer
1990 – Danny Drinkwater, English footballer
1990 – Mason Plumlee, American basketball player
1990 – Alex Smithies, English footballer
1991 – Ramiro Funes Mori, Argentinian footballer
1991 – Daniil Trifonov, Russian pianist and composer
1993 – El Hadji Ba, French footballer
1993 – Joshua Coyne, American violinist and composer
1993 – Harry Maguire, English footballer
1994 – Daria Gavrilova, Russian-Australian tennis player
1994 – Kyle Schwarber, American baseball player
1996 – Taylor Hill, American model
1996 – Emmanuel Mudiay, Congolese basketball player
1997 – Milena Venega, Cuban rower
1998 – Bo Bichette, American baseball player
1999 – Madison Beer, American singer, songwriter and producer.
2007 – Roman Griffin Davis, British actor, second youngest Golden Globe recipient.

Deaths on March 5

254 – Pope Lucius I (b. 200)
824 – Suppo I, Frankish nobleman
1239 – Hermann Balk, German knight
1410 – Matthew of Kraków, Polish reformer (b. 1335)
1417 – Manuel III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1364)
1534 – Antonio da Correggio, Italian painter and educator (b. 1489)
1539 – Nuno da Cunha, Portuguese admiral and politician, Governor of Portuguese India (b. 1487)
1599 – Guido Panciroli, Italian historian and jurist (b. 1523)
1611 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1533)
1622 – Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1569)
1695 – Henry Wharton, English writer and librarian (b. 1664)
1726 – Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1655)
1770 – Crispus Attucks, American slave (b. 1723)
1778 – Thomas Arne, English composer and educator (b. 1710)
1815 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologist (b. 1734)
1827 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1749)
1827 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1745)
1829 – John Adams, English sailor and mutineer (b. 1766)
1849 – David Scott, Scottish historical painter (b. 1806)
1876 – Marie d’Agoult, German-French historian and author (b. 1805)
1893 – Hippolyte Taine, French historian and critic (b. 1828)
1895 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1831)
1895 – Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, English general and scholar (b. 1810)
1907 – Friedrich Blass, German philologist, scholar, and academic (b. 1843)
1925 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (b. 1859)
1927 – Franz Mertens, Polish-Austrian mathematician and academic (b. 1840)
1929 – David Dunbar Buick, Scottish-American businessman, founded Buick (b. 1854)
1934 – Reşit Galip, Turkish academic and politician, 6th Turkish Minister of National Education (b. 1893)
1935 – Roque Ruaño, Spanish priest and engineer (b. 1877)
1940 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher and academic (b. 1868)
1944 – Max Jacob, French poet and author (b. 1876)
1945 – Lena Baker, African American maid and murderer (b. 1900)
1947 – Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1883)
1950 – Edgar Lee Masters, American poet, author, and playwright (b. 1868)
1950 – Roman Shukhevych, Ukrainian general and politician (b. 1907)
1953 – Herman J. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1897)
1953 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1891)
1953 – Joseph Stalin, Soviet dictator and politician of Georgian descent, 2nd leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1878)
1955 – Antanas Merkys, Lithuanian lawyer and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Lithuania (b. 1888)
1963 – Patsy Cline, American singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
1963 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1913)
1963 – Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1921)
1965 – Chen Cheng, Chinese general and politician, 27th Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1897)
1965 – Pepper Martin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1904)
1966 – Anna Akhmatova, Ukrainian-Russian poet, author, and translator (b. 1889)
1967 – Mischa Auer, Russian-American actor (b. 1905)
1967 – Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iranian political scientist and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1882)
1967 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (b. 1888)
1971 – Allan Nevins, American journalist and author (b. 1890)
1973 – Robert C. O’Brien, American journalist and author (b. 1918)
1974 – John Samuel Bourque, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1894)
1974 – Billy De Wolfe, American actor (b. 1907)
1974 – Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American businessman (b. 1888)
1976 – Otto Tief, Estonian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1889)
1977 – Tom Pryce, Welsh race car driver (b. 1949)
1980 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian-American actor (b. 1912)
1981 – Yip Harburg, American songwriter and composer (b. 1896)
1982 – John Belushi, American actor (b. 1949)
1984 – Pierre Cochereau, French organist and composer (b. 1924)
1984 – Tito Gobbi, Italian operatic baritone (b. 1913)
1984 – William Powell, American actor (b. 1892)
1988 – Alberto Olmedo, Argentine comedian and actor (b. 1933)
1990 – Gary Merrill, American actor and director (b. 1915)
1995 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1943)
1996 – Whit Bissell, American character actor (b. 1909)
1997 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American writer (b. 1909)
1997 – Jean Dréville, French director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
1999 – Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (b. 1922)
2000 – Lolo Ferrari, French dancer, actress and singer (b. 1963)
2005 – David Sheppard, English cricketer and bishop (b. 1929)
2008 – Joseph Weizenbaum, German computer scientist and author (b. 1923)
2010 – Charles B. Pierce, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
2010 – Richard Stapley, British actor and writer (b. 1923)
2011 – Manolis Rasoulis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
2012 – Paul Haines, New Zealand-Australian author (b. 1970)
2012 – Philip Madoc, Welsh-English actor (b. 1934)
2012 – Robert B. Sherman, American songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1925)
2012 – William O. Wooldridge, American sergeant (b. 1922)
2013 – Paul Bearer, American wrestler and manager (b. 1954)
2013 – Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan colonel and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1954)
2013 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (b. 1921)
2014 – Geoff Edwards, American actor and game show host (b. 1931)
2014 – Ailsa McKay, Scottish economist and academic (b. 1963)
2014 – Leopoldo María Panero, Spanish poet and translator (b. 1948)
2014 – Ola L. Mize, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1931)
2015 – Vlada Divljan, Serbian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
2015 – Edward Egan, American cardinal (b. 1932)
2016 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (b. 1932)
2016 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (b. 1941)
2016 – Al Wistert, American football player and coach (b. 1920)
2017 – Kurt Moll, German opera singer (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on March 5

Christian feast day:
- Ciarán of Saigir
- John Joseph of the Cross
- Piran
- Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea
- Thietmar of Minden
- March 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Custom Chief’s Day (Vanuatu)
Day of Physical Culture and Sport (Azerbaijan)
Learn from Lei Feng Day (China)
St Piran’s Day (Cornwall)

March 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 3- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
1575 – Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani’s army at the Battle of Tukaroi.
1585 – The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.
1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Brier Creek near Savannah, Georgia.
1799 – The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison.
1820 – The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.
1845 – Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
1849 – The Territory of Minnesota is created.
1857 – Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, concludes.
1861 – Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs.
1865 – Opening of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group.
1873 – Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any “obscene literature and articles of immoral use” through the mail.
1875 – Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen receives its première at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
1875 – The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as recorded in the Montreal Gazette.
1878 – The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano.
1885 – The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York.
1891 – Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world.
1910 – Rockefeller Foundation: John D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote all his time to philanthropy.
1913 – Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.
1918 – Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to withdraw from World War I, and conceding German control of the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine. It also conceded Turkish control of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi.
1923 – TIME magazine is published for the first time.
1924 – The 407-year-old Islamic caliphate is abolished, when Caliph Abdülmecid II of the Ottoman Caliphate is deposed. The last remnant of the old regime gives way to the reformed Turkey of Kemal Atatürk.
1924 – The Free State of Fiume is annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.
1931 – The United States adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem.
1938 – Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
1939 – In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India.
1940 – Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden.
1942 – World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid Broome, Western Australia, killing more than 100 people.
1943 – World War II: In London, 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station.
1944 – The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.
1945 – World War II: American and Filipino troops recapture Manila.
1945 – World War II: The RAF accidentally bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people.
1951 – Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, records “Rocket 88”, often cited as “the first rock and roll record”, at Sam Phillips’s recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee.
1953 – A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11.
1958 – Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.
1969 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
1972 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.
1974 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.
1980 – The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.
1985 – Arthur Scargill declares that the National Union of Mineworkers’ national executive voted to end the longest-running industrial dispute in Great Britain without any peace deal over pit closures.
1985 – A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.
1986 – The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.
1991 – An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
2005 – James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. This is the deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 and the North-West Rebellion.
2005 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.
2005 – Margaret Wilson is elected as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, beginning a period lasting until August 23, 2006 where all the highest political offices (including Elizabeth II as Head of State), were occupied by women, making New Zealand the first country for this to occur.
2013 – A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 45 people and injured 180 others in a predominately Shia Muslim area.

Births on March 3

1455 – John II of Portugal (d. 1495)
1455 – Ascanio Sforza, Catholic cardinal (d. 1505)
1506 – Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja (d. 1555)
1520 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (d. 1575)
1583 – Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English-Welsh soldier, historian, and diplomat (d. 1648)
1589 – Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1676)
1606 – Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (d. 1687)
1652 – Thomas Otway, English playwright and author (d. 1685)
1678 – Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian rebel leader (d. 1747)
1756 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (d. 1836)
1778 – Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1841)
1793 – William Macready, English actor and manager (d. 1873)
1800 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1862)
1803 – Thomas Field Gibson, English manufacturer who aided the welfare of the Spitalfields silk weavers (d. 1889)
1805 – Jonas Furrer, Swiss politician (d. 1861)
1816 – William James Blacklock, English-Scottish painter (d. 1858)
1819 – Gustave de Molinari, Dutch-Belgian economist and theorist (d. 1912)
1825 – Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1879)
1831 – George Pullman, American engineer and businessman, founded the Pullman Company (d. 1897)
1839 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (d. 1904)
1841 – John Murray, Canadian-Scottish oceanographer and biologist (d. 1914)
1845 – Georg Cantor, Russian-German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1918)
1847 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-American engineer and academic, invented the telephone (d. 1922)
1860 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (d. 1925)
1866 – Fred A. Busse, American lawyer and politician, 39th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1914)
1868 – Émile Chartier, French philosopher and journalist (d. 1951)
1869 – Henry Wood, English conductor (d. 1944)
1871 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (d. 1957)
1873 – William Green, American union leader and politician (d. 1952)
1880 – Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1962)
1880 – Yōsuke Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1946)
1882 – Elisabeth Abegg, German anti-Nazi resistance fighter (d. 1974)
1882 – Charles Ponzi, Italian businessman (d. 1949)
1883 – Cyril Burt, English psychologist and geneticist (d. 1971)
1883 – Paul Marais de Beauchamp, French zoologist (d. 1977)
1887 – Lincoln J. Beachey, American pilot (d. 1915)
1891 – Damaskinos of Athens, Greek archbishop (d. 1949)
1893 – Beatrice Wood, American illustrator and potter (d. 1998)
1895 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
1895 – Matthew Ridgway, American general (d. 1993)
1898 – Emil Artin, Austrian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1962)
1900 – Edna Best, British stage and film actress, appeared on early television in 1938 (d. 1974)
1902 – Ruby Dandridge, African-American film and radio actress (d. 1987)
1901 – Claude Choules, English-Australian soldier (d. 2011)
1903 – Vasily Kozlov, Belarusian general and politician (d. 1967)
1906 – Artur Lundkvist, Swedish poet and critic (d. 1991)
1911 – Jean Harlow, American actress (d. 1937)
1911 – Hugues Lapointe, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1982)
1913 – Margaret Bonds, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
1913 – Harold J. Stone, American actor (d. 2005)
1914 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 1973)
1916 – Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician (d. 2006)
1917 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (d. 1952)
1918 – Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
1920 – Julius Boros, American golfer and accountant (d. 1994)
1920 – James Doohan, Canadian-American actor and soldier (d. 2005)
1920 – Ronald Searle, English-French soldier and illustrator (d. 2011)
1921 – Diana Barrymore, American actress (d. 1960)
1922 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2002)
1923 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (d. 2005)
1923 – Doc Watson, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2012)
1924 – Tomiichi Murayama, Japanese soldier and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Japan
1926 – James Merrill, American poet and playwright (d. 1995)
1927 – Pierre Aubert, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
1930 – Ion Iliescu, Romanian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Romania
1934 – Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, English politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1934 – Jimmy Garrison, American bassist and educator (d. 1976)
1935 – Mal Anderson, Australian tennis player
1935 – Michael Walzer, American philosopher and academic
1935 – Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (d. 2015)
1939 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (d. 2003)
1939 – M. L. Jaisimha, Indian cricketer (d. 1999)
1940 – Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian author and journalist
1940 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded Perry Ellis (d. 1986)
1940 – Jean-Paul Proust, French-Monacan police officer and politician, 21st Minister of State of Monaco (d. 2010)
1941 – Mike Pender, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – George Miller, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
1945 – Hattie Winston, American actress
1947 – Clifton Snider, American author, poet, and critic
1947 – Jennifer Warnes, American singer-songwriter and producer
1948 – Snowy White, English guitarist
1949 – Ron Chernow, American historian, journalist, and author
1949 – Bonnie J. Dunbar, American engineer, academic, and astronaut
1949 – Jesse Jefferson, American baseball player (d. 2011)
1950 – Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Bangladeshi politician
1951 – Andy Murray, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1951 – Heizō Takenaka, Japanese economist and politician
1952 – Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor and producer (d. 2008)
1953 – Robyn Hitchcock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Zico, Brazilian footballer and coach
1954 – Keith Fergus, American golfer
1954 – John Lilley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Édouard Lock, Moroccan-Canadian dancer and choreographer
1955 – Darnell Williams, English-American actor and director
1956 – Zbigniew Boniek, Polish footballer and manager
1956 – John Fulton Reid, New Zealand cricketer
1957 – Stephen Budiansky, American historian, journalist, and author
1957 – Thom Hoffman, Dutch actor and photographer
1958 – Miranda Richardson, English actress
1959 – Ira Glass, American radio host and producer
1959 – Duško Vujošević, Montenegrin basketball player and coach
1960 – Neal Heaton, American baseball player and coach
1961 – Mary Page Keller, American actress and producer
1961 – John Matteson, American biographer
1961 – Perry McCarthy, English race car driver
1961 – Fatima Whitbread, English javelin thrower
1962 – Glen E. Friedman, American photographer
1962 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American heptathlete and long jumper
1962 – Herschel Walker, American football player and mixed martial artist
1963 – Martín Fiz, Spanish runner
1963 – Khaltmaagiin Battulga, 5th President of Mongolia
1964 – Raúl Alcalá, Mexican cyclist
1964 – Laura Harring, Mexican-American model and actress, Miss USA 1985
1964 – Glenn Kulka, Canadian ice hockey player and wrestler
1965 – Dragan Stojković, Serbian footballer and manager
1966 – Tone Lōc, American rapper, producer, and actor
1966 – Timo Tolkki, Finnish guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1968 – Brian Cox, English keyboard player and physicist
1968 – Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
1970 – Julie Bowen, American actress
1970 – Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer and coach
1971 – Charlie Brooker, English journalist, producer, and author
1971 – Tyler Florence, American chef and author
1972 – Darren Anderton, English international footballer, midfielder and sportscaster
1973 – Xavier Bettel, Luxembourger lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
1973 – Matthew Marsden, English actor and martial artist
1974 – David Faustino, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1976 – Fraser Gehrig, Australian footballer
1976 – Isabel Granada, Filipino-Spanish actress (d. 2017)
1976 – Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, Estonian politician, 28th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1976 – Kampamba Mulenga Chilumba, Zambian politician
1977 – Ronan Keating, Irish singer-songwriter and actor
1977 – Stéphane Robidas, Canadian ice hockey player
1977 – Buddy Valastro, American chef and television host
1978 – Matt Diaz, American baseball player
1979 – Albert Jorquera, Spanish footballer
1980 – Mason Unck, American football player
1981 – David Bailey, American basketball player
1981 – Julius Malema, South African politician
1981 – Emmanuel Pappoe, Ghanaian footballer
1982 – Jessica Biel, American actress, singer, and producer
1982 – Colton Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
1982 – Tolu Ogunlesi, Nigerian journalist and writer
1982 – Brent Tate, Australian rugby league player
1983 – Ashley Hansen, Australian footballer
1983 – Sarah Poewe, South African swimmer
1984 – Valerio Bernabò, Italian rugby player
1984 – Santonio Holmes, American football player
1984 – Alexander Semin, Russian ice hockey player
1986 – Jed Collins, American football player
1986 – Stacie Orrico, American singer-songwriter
1986 – Mehmet Topal, Turkish footballer
1987 – Jesús Padilla, Mexican footballer
1987 – Shraddha Kapoor, Indian actress, singer, and designer
1988 – Teodora Mirčić, Serbian tennis player
1988 – Michael Morrison, English footballer
1988 – Jan-Arie van der Heijden, Dutch footballer
1988 – Max Waller, English cricketer
1989 – Erwin Mulder, Dutch footballer
1990 – Vladimir Janković, Greek-Serbian basketball player
1991 – Anri Sakaguchi, Japanese actress
1991 – Cho-rong, South Korean singer
1993 – Gabriela Cé, Brazilian tennis player
1993 – Josef Dostál, Czech kayaker
1993 – James Roberts, Australian rugby league player
1994 – Umika Kawashima, Japanese singer and actress
1996 – Cameron Johnson, American basketball player
1997 – Camila Cabello, Cuban-American singer
1998 – Jayson Tatum, American basketball player

Deaths on March 3

532 – Winwaloe, founder of Landévennec Abbey (b. c. 460)
1009 – Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, Umayyad chief minister (b. 983)
1111 – Bohemond I, Italo-Norman nobleman (b. 1058)
1195 – Hugh de Puiset, bishop of Durham (b. c. 1125)
1239 – Vladimir IV Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1187)
1311 – Antony Bek, bishop of Durham
1323 – Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English military leader
1383 – Hugh III, Italian nobleman
1459 – Ausiàs March, Catalan knight and poet (b. 1397)
1542 – Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, illegitimate son of Edward IV
1554 – John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1503)
1578 – Sebastiano Venier, doge of Venice (b. 1496)
1578 – Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu, Ottoman Greek magnate
1588 – Henry XI, duke of Legnica (b. 1539)
1592 – Michael Coxcie, Flemish painter (b. 1499)
1605 – Clement VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1536)
1611 – William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus, Scottish nobleman (b. 1552)
1616 – Matthias de l’Obel, Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1538)
1700 – Chhatrapati Rajaram, 3rd Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire (b. 1670)
1703 – Robert Hooke, English architect and philosopher (b. 1635)
1706 – Johann Pachelbel, German organist and composer (b. 1653)
1744 – Jean Barbeyrac, French scholar and jurist (b. 1674)
1765 – William Stukeley, English archaeologist and historian (b. 1687)
1768 – Nicola Porpora, Italian composer and educator (b. 1686)
1792 – Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect and politician, designed the Culzean Castle (b. 1728)
1850 – Oliver Cowdery, American religious leader (b. 1806)
1894 – Ned Williamson, American baseball player (b. 1857)
1901 – George Gilman, American businessman, founded The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (b. 1826)
1905 – Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (b. 1830)
1927 – Mikhail Artsybashev, Ukrainian author and playwright (b. 1878)
1927 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (b. 1884)
1929 – Katharine Wright, American educator (b. 1874)
1932 – Eugen d’Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (b. 1864)
1943 – George Thompson, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1877)
1959 – Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (b. 1906)
1961 – Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-American pianist (b. 1887)
1966 – Joseph Fields, American playwright, director, and producer (b. 1895)
1966 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (b. 1887)
1966 – Alice Pearce, American actress (b. 1917)
1981 – Rebecca Lancefield, American microbiologist and researcher (b. 1895)
1982 – Firaq Gorakhpuri, Indian poet and critic (b. 1896)
1982 – Georges Perec, French author and screenwriter (b. 1936)
1983 – Hergé, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1907)
1987 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
1988 – Henryk Szeryng, Polish-Mexican violinist and composer (b. 1918)
1988 – Sewall Wright, American biologist and geneticist (b. 1889)
1990 – Charlotte Moore Sitterly, American astronomer (b. 1898)
1991 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (b. 1895)
1991 – William Penney, Baron Penney, Gibraltar-born English mathematician, physicist, and academic (b. 1909)
1993 – Mel Bradford, American author and critic (b. 1934)
1993 – Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-American mob boss (b. 1910)
1993 – Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist and composer (b. 1903)
1993 – Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist (b. 1906)
1994 – John Edward Williams, American author and academic (b. 1922)
1995 – Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader, 14th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1907)
1996 – Marguerite Duras, French author and director (b. 1914)
1996 – John Krol, American cardinal (b. 1910)
1998 – Fred W. Friendly, American journalist and broadcaster (b. 1915)
1999 – Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1999 – Lee Philips, American actor and director (b. 1927)
2000 – Toni Ortelli, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1904)
2001 – Louis Edmonds, American actor (b. 1923)
2001 – Eugene Sledge, American soldier, author, and academic (b. 1923)
2002 – G. M. C. Balayogi, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1951)
2003 – Horst Buchholz, German actor (b. 1933)
2003 – Luis Marden, American linguist, photographer, and explorer (b. 1913)
2003 – Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1904)
2005 – Max Fisher, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1928)
2006 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1923)
2006 – Else Fisher, Australian-Swedish dancer, choreographer, and director (b. 1918)
2006 – William Herskovic, Hungarian-American humanitarian (b. 1914)
2007 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (b. 1920)
2008 – Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1921)
2008 – Norman Smith, English drummer and producer (b. 1923)
2009 – Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (b. 1935)
2010 – Keith Alexander, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
2010 – Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (b. 1913)
2011 – May Cutler, Canadian journalist, author, and politician (b. 1923)
2012 – Ralph McQuarrie, American conceptual designer and illustrator (b. 1929)
2012 – Ronnie Montrose, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1947)
2012 – Alex Webster, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
2013 – Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1940)
2013 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
2013 – James Strong, Qantas CEO from 1993 to 2001 (b. 1944)
2014 – Robert Ashley, American soldier and composer (b. 1930)
2014 – Sherwin B. Nuland, American surgeon, author, and educator (b. 1930)
2014 – William R. Pogue, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
2015 – Ernest Braun, Austrian-English physicist and academic (b. 1925)
2015 – M. Stanton Evans, American journalist and author (b. 1934)
2016 – Hayabusa, Japanese wrestler (b. 1968)
2016 – Berta Cáceres, Honduran environmentalist (b. 1973)
2016 – Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1962)
2016 – Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1914)
2016 – Sarah Tait, Australian Olympic rower (b. 1983)
2017 – René Préval, Haitian politician (b. 1943)
2018 – Roger Bannister, English middle-distance athlete, first man to run a four-minute mile (b. 1929)
2018 – Mal Bryce, Australian politician (b. 1943)
2018 – Vanessa Goodwin, Australian politician (b. 1969)
2018 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor, voice actor and musician (b. 1942)
2019 – Peter Hurford OBE, British organist and composer (b. 1930)
2020 – Charles J. Urstadt, American real estate executive and investor (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on March 3

Christian feast day:
- Anselm, Duke of Friuli
- Arthelais
- Cunigunde of Luxembourg
- Katharine Drexel
- John and Charles Wesley (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Marinus and Asterius of Caesarea
- Winwaloe
- March 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Hinamatsuri or “Girl’s Day” (Japan)
Liberation and Freedom Day (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA)
Liberation Day (Bulgaria)
Martyrs’ Day (Malawi)
Mother’s Day (Georgia)
Sportsmen’s Day (Egypt)
Teacher’s Day (Lebanon)
World Hearing Day
World Wildlife Day

March 3- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day, Uncategorized / admin

380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity.
425 – The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia.
907 – Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, is enthroned as Emperor Taizu, establishing the Liao dynasty in northern China.
1560 – The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland.
1594 – Henry IV is crowned King of France.
1617 – Sweden and Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War and shutting Russia out of the Baltic Sea.
1626 – Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after leading the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
1700 – The island of New Britain is discovered by Europeans.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.
1782 – American Revolutionary War: The House of Commons of Great Britain votes against further war in America.
1801 – Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.
1809 – Action of 27 February 1809: Captain Bernard Dubourdieu captures HMS Proserpine.
1812 – Argentine War of Independence: Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina in the city of Rosario for the first time.
1812 – Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
1844 – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
1864 – American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
1870 – The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships.
1881 – First Boer War: The Battle of Majuba Hill takes place.
1898 – King George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt.
1900 – Second Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronjé at the Battle of Paardeberg.
1900 – The British Labour Party is founded.
1900 – Fußball-Club Bayern München is founded.
1902 – Second Boer War: Australian soldiers Harry “Breaker” Morant and Peter Handcock are executed in Pretoria after being convicted of war crimes.
1916 – Ocean liner SS Maloja strikes a mine near Dover and sinks with the loss of 155 lives.
1921 – The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
1922 – A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Leser v. Garnett.
1933 – Reichstag fire: Germany’s parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire; Marinus van der Lubbe, a young Dutch Communist claims responsibility.
1939 – United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. that the National Labor Relations Board has no authority to force an employer to rehire workers who engage in sit-down strikes.
1940 – Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14.
1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Java Sea, an Allied strike force is defeated by a Japanese task force in the Java Sea in the Dutch East Indies.
1943 – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
1943 – In Berlin, the Gestapo arrest 1,800 Jewish men with German wives, leading to the Rosenstrasse protest.
1951 – The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
1961 – The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
1962 – Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bomb the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate South Vietnam President Ngô Đình Diệm.
1963 – The Dominican Republic receives its first democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, since the end of the dictatorship led by Rafael Trujillo.
1964 – The Government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
1971 – Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start performing artificially-induced abortions.
1973 – The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee in protest of the federal government.
1976 – The formerly Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
1988 – Sumgait pogrom: The Armenian community in Sumgait, Azerbaijan is targeted in a violent pogrom.
1991 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated”.
2002 – Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair’s handling of the evacuation.
2002 – Godhra train burning: A Muslim mob torches a train returning from Ayodhya, killing 59 Hindu pilgrims.
2004 – A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines’ worst terrorist attack kills 116.
2004 – Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, is sentenced to death for masterminding the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.
2007 – The Chinese Correction: The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in ten years.
2010 – An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale strikes central parts of Chile leaving over 500 victims, and thousands injured. The quake triggers a tsunami which strikes Hawaii shortly after.
2013 – A shooting takes place at a factory in Menznau, Switzerland, in which five people (including the perpetrator) are killed and five others injured.
2015 – Russian politician Boris Nemtsov is assassinated.

Births on February 27

272 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (d. 337)
1343 – Alberto d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara (d. 1393)
1427 – Ruprecht, Archbishop of Cologne (d. 1480)
1500 – João de Castro, Portuguese nobleman and fourth viceroy of Portuguese India (d. 1548)
1535 – Min Phalaung, Burmese monarch (d. 1593)
1567 – William Alabaster, English poet (d. 1640)
1572 – Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1632)
1575 – John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1616)
1622 – Carel Fabritius, Dutch painter (d. 1654)
1630 – Roche Braziliano, Dutch pirate (d. 1671)
1659 – William Sherard, English botanist (d. 1728)
1667 – Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł, Prussian-Lithuanian wife of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1695)
1689 – Pietro Gnocchi, Italian composer, director, historian, and geographer (d. 1775)
1703 – Lord Sidney Beauclerk, English politician (d. 1744)
1711 – Constantine Mavrocordatos, Ottoman ruler (d. 1769)
1724 – Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1767)
1732 – Jean de Dieu-Raymond de Cucé de Boisgelin, French cardinal (d. 1804)
1746 – Louis-Jérôme Gohier, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1830)
1748 – Anders Sparrman, Swedish physician and activist (d. 1820)
1767 – Jacques-Charles Dupont de l’Eure, French lawyer and politician, 24th Prime Minister of France (d. 1855)
1779 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English businessman, founded Hazlehurst & Sons (d. 1842)
1789 – Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, Chilean lawyer and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1818)
1795 – José Antonio Navarro, American merchant and politician (d. 1871)
1799 – Edward Belcher, British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer (d. 1877)
1799 – Frederick Catherwood, British artist, architect and explorer (d. 1854)
1807 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator (d. 1882)
1809 – Jean-Charles Cornay, French missionary and saint (d. 1837)
1816 – William Nicholson, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Victoria (d. 1865)
1847 – Ellen Terry, English actress (d. 1928)
1848 – Hubert Parry, English composer and historian (d. 1918)
1859 – Bertha Pappenheim, Austrian-German activist and author (d. 1936)
1863 – Joaquín Sorolla, Spanish painter (d. 1923)
1863 – George Herbert Mead, American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1930)
1864 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1935)
1867 – Irving Fisher, American economist and statistician (d. 1947)
1867 – Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Swedish composer and critic (d. 1942)
1869 – Alice Hamilton, American physician and academic (d. 1970)
1872 – Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Romanian politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1950)
1875 – Vladimir Filatov, Russian-Ukrainian ophthalmologist and surgeon (d. 1956)
1877 – Adela Verne, English pianist and composer (d. 1952)
1877 – Joseph Grinnell, American zoologist and biologist (d. 1939)
1878 – Alvan T. Fuller, American businessman and politician, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
1880 – Xenophon Kasdaglis, Greek-Egyptian tennis player (d. 1943)
1881 – Sveinn Björnsson, Danish-Icelandic lawyer and politician, 1st President of Iceland (d. 1952)
1881 – L. E. J. Brouwer, Dutch mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1966)
1886 – Hugo Black, American captain, jurist, and politician (d. 1971)
1887 – Pyotr Nesterov, Russian captain, pilot, and engineer (d. 1914)
1888 – Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist and psychologist (d. 1974)
1888 – Lotte Lehmann, German-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)
1890 – Mabel Keaton Staupers, American nurse and advocate (d. 1989)
1891 – David Sarnoff, American businessman, founded RCA (d. 1971)
1892 – William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
1895 – Miyagiyama Fukumatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1943)
1897 – Marian Anderson, American singer (d. 1993)
1899 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian physiologist and biochemist, co-discovered Insulin (d. 1978)
1901 – Marino Marini, Italian sculptor and academic (d. 1980)
1901 – Kotama Okada, Japanese religious leader (d. 1974)
1902 – Lúcio Costa, French-Brazilian architect and engineer, designed Gustavo Capanema Palace (d. 1998)
1902 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 1999)
1902 – John Steinbeck, American journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
1903 – Reginald Gardiner, English-American actor and singer (d. 1980)
1903 – Hans Rohrbach, German mathematician (d. 1993)
1903 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Belorussian-American rabbi and philosopher (d. 1993)
1904 – James T. Farrell, American author and poet (d. 1979)
1904 – André Leducq, French cyclist (d. 1980)
1904 – Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1996)
1905 – Franchot Tone, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1968)
1907 – Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
1907 – Momčilo Đujić, Serbian-American priest and commander (d. 1999)
1910 – Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)
1910 – Peter De Vries, American journalist and author (d. 1993)
1910 – Genrikh Kasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer (d. 1995)
1910 – Kelly Johnson, American engineer, co-founded Skunk Works (d. 1990)
1911 – Oscar Heidenstam, English bodybuilder (d. 1991)
1912 – Kusumagraj, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1999)
1912 – Lawrence Durrell, Indian-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1990)
1913 – Paul Ricœur, French philosopher and academic (d. 2005)
1913 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish soldier and politician, President of Poland (d. 1989)
1913 – Irwin Shaw, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
1915 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general, football player, and businessman (d. 2001)
1917 – John Connally, American lieutenant and politician, 61st United States Secretary of Treasury (d. 1993)
1920 – Reg Simpson, English cricketer (d. 2013)
1921 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (d. 2014)
1922 – Hans Rookmaaker, Dutch historian, author, and scholar (d. 1977)
1923 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (d. 1990)
1925 – Pia Sebastiani, Argentine pianist and composer (d. 2015)
1925 – Kenneth Koch, American poet, playwright and professor (d. 2002)
1926 – David H. Hubel, Canadian-American neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
1927 – Peter Whittle, English-New Zealand mathematician and theorist
1928 – René Clemencic, Austrian composer, recorder player, harpsichordist, conductor and clavichord player
1929 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
1929 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
1929 – Patricia Ward Hales, British tennis player (d. 1985)
1930 – Jovan Krkobabić, Serbian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2014)
1930 – Peter Stone, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2003)
1930 – Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist and academic (d. 2014)
1930 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
1932 – Dame Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress and humanitarian (d. 2011)
1932 – David Young, Baron Young of Graffham, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
1933 – Raymond Berry, American football player and coach
1933 – Malcolm Wallop, American politician (d. 2011)
1934 – Vincent Fourcade, French interior designer (d. 1992)
1934 – Ralph Nader, American lawyer, politician, and activist
1935 – Mirella Freni, Italian soprano and actress (d. 2020)
1935 – Uri Shulevitz, American author and illustrator
1936 – Sonia Johnson, American feminist activist and author
1936 – Ron Barassi, Australian footballer and coach
1936 – Roger Mahony, American cardinal
1937 – Barbara Babcock, American actress
1938 – Jake Thackray, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist (d. 2002)
1939 – Don McKinnon, English-New Zealand farmer and politician, 12th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
1939 – Peter Revson, American race car driver (d. 1974)
1940 – Pierre Duchesne, Canadian lawyer and politician, 28th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
1940 – Howard Hesseman, American actor
1940 – Bill Hunter, Australian actor (d. 2011)
1941 – Paddy Ashdown, British captain and politician (d. 2018)
1942 – Jimmy Burns, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1942 – Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1942 – Charlayne Hunter-Gault, American journalist
1942 – Klaus-Dieter Sieloff, German footballer (d. 2011)
1943 – Mary Frann, American actress (d. 1998)
1943 – Morten Lauridsen, American composer and conductor
1943 – Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazilian footballer and manager
1944 – Ken Grimwood, American author (d. 2003)
1944 – Graeme Pollock, South African cricketer and coach
1944 – Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher and writer (d. 2020)
1947 – Alan Guth, American physicist and cosmologist
1947 – Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist and conductor
1950 – Annabel Goldie, Scottish lawyer and politician
1950 – Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, English rabbi and politician
1951 – Carl A. Anderson, 13th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus
1951 – Lee Atwater, American journalist, activist and political strategist (d. 1991)
1951 – Walter de Silva, Italian car designer
1951 – Steve Harley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Gavin Esler, Scottish journalist and author
1953 – Ian Khama, English-Botswanan lieutenant and politician, 4th President of Botswana
1953 – Stelios Kouloglou, Greek journalist, author, director and politician
1954 – Neal Schon, American rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
1956 – Belus Prajoux, Chilean tennis player
1957 – Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, producer, and screenwriter
1957 – Kevin Curran, American screenwriter and television producer (d. 2016)
1957 – Robert de Castella, Australian runner
1957 – Adrian Smith, English guitarist and songwriter
1957 – Timothy Spall, English actor
1958 – Naas Botha, South African rugby player and sportscaster
1958 – Maggie Hassan, American politician, 81st Governor and United States Senator of New Hampshire
1960 – Andrés Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player
1960 – Johnny Van Zant, American singer-songwriter
1961 – James Worthy, American basketball player and sportscaster
1962 – Adam Baldwin, American actor
1963 – Nasty Suicide, Finnish musician and pharmacist
1964 – Jeffrey Pasley, American educator and academic
1965 – Noah Emmerich, American actor
1965 – Pedro Chaves, Portuguese race car driver
1966 – Donal Logue, Canadian actor and director
1966 – Oliver Reck, German footballer and manager
1966 – Baltasar Kormákur, Icelandic actor, director, and producer
1967 – Dănuț Lupu, Romanian footballer
1967 – Jony Ive, English industrial designer, former chief design officer (CDO) of Apple
1968 – Matt Stairs, Canadian baseball player and sportscaster
1969 – Gareth Llewellyn, Welsh rugby union player
1969 – Juan E. Gilbert, American computer scientist, inventor, and academic
1970 – Kent Desormeaux, American jockey
1970 – Patricia Petibon, French soprano and actress
1971 – Sara Blakely, American businesswoman, founded Spanx
1971 – Derren Brown, English magician and painter
1971 – David Rikl, Czech-English tennis player
1971 – Roman Giertych, Polish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
1971 – Rozonda Thomas, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (TLC)
1973 – Peter Andre, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
1973 – Mark Taylor, Welsh rugby player and manager
1974 – Carte Goodwin, American lawyer and politician
1975 – Aitor González, Spanish racing driver
1975 – Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete
1976 – Sergei Semak, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
1976 – Ludovic Capelle, Belgian cyclist
1978 – James Beattie, English footballer and manager
1978 – Kakha Kaladze, Georgian footballer and politician
1978 – Emelie Öhrstig, Swedish skier and cyclist
1978 – Simone Di Pasquale, Italian ballet dancer
1980 – Chelsea Clinton, American journalist and academic
1980 – Scott Prince, Australian rugby league player
1981 – Josh Groban, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1981 – Natalie Grandin, English-South African tennis player
1981 – Élodie Ouédraogo, Belgian sprinter
1982 – Ali Bastian, English actress
1982 – Pat Richards, Australian rugby league player
1982 – Bruno Soares, Brazilian tennis player
1983 – Devin Harris, American basketball player
1983 – Kate Mara, American actress
1984 – Aníbal Sánchez, American baseball player
1984 – Lotta Schelin, Swedish footballer
1984 – Akseli Kokkonen, Norwegian ski jumper
1985 – Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian footballer
1985 – Braydon Coburn, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Vladislav Kulik, Ukrainian-Russian footballer
1985 – Asami Abe, Japanese singer and actress
1985 – Thiago Neves, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Brett Stewart, Australian rugby league player
1986 – Yovani Gallardo, American baseball player
1986 – Jonathan Moreira, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Sandeep Singh, Indian field hockey player
1987 – Scott Davies, English footballer
1987 – Bridie Kean, Australian wheelchair basketball player
1987 – Florence Kiplagat, Kenyan runner
1987 – Sandy Paillot, French footballer
1987 – Valeriy Andriytsev, Ukrainian wrestler
1987 – Maximiliano Moralez, Argentinian footballer
1988 – Iain Ramsay, Australian footballer
1988 – Dustin Jeffrey, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – David Button, English footballer, goalkeeper
1989 – Lloyd Rigby, English footballer
1990 – Elijah Taylor, New Zealand rugby league player
1991 – Azeem Rafiq, Pakistani cricketer
1992 – Ty Dillon, American race car driver
1992 – Meyers Leonard, American basketball player
1992 – Filip Krajinović, Serbian tennis player
1992 – Ioannis Potouridis, Greek footballer
1992 – Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
1995 – Laura Gulbe, Latvian tennis player
1998 – Todd Cantwell, English footballer

Deaths on February 27

640 – Pepin of Landen, Frankish lord (b. 580)
906 – Conrad the Elder, Frankish nobleman
956 – Theophylact, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 917)
1167 – Robert of Melun, English theologian and bishop
1416 – Eleanor of Castile, queen consort of Navarre (b. c. 1363)
1425 – Prince Vasily I of Moscow (b. 1371)
1483 – William VIII of Montferrat (b. 1420)
1558 – Johann Faber of Heilbronn, controversial Catholic preacher (b. 1504)
1558 – Kunigunde of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, German Noblewoman (b. 1524)
1659 – Henry Dunster, English-American clergyman and academic (b. 1609)
1699 – Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (b. 1625)
1706 – John Evelyn, English gardener and author (b. 1620)
1712 – Sir William Villiers, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1645)
1720 – Samuel Parris, English-American minister (b. 1653)
1735 – John Arbuthnot, Scottish physician and polymath (b. 1667)
1784 – Count of St. Germain, European adventurer (b. 1710)
1795 – Tanikaze Kajinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1750)
1844 – Nicholas Biddle, American banker and politician (b. 1786)
1887 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (b. 1833)
1892 – Louis Vuitton, French fashion designer and businessman, founded Louis Vuitton (b. 1821)
1902 – Harry “Breaker” Morant, English-Australian lieutenant (b. 1864)
1921 – Schofield Haigh, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1871)
1931 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (b. 1906)
1936 – Joshua W. Alexander, American judge and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1852)
1936 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1849)
1937 – Hosteen Klah, Navajo artist, medicine man, and weaver (b. 1867)
1937 – Emily Malbone Morgan, American saint, foundress of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross (b. 1862)
1943 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (b. 1859)
1956 – Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1888)
1964 – Orry-Kelly, Australian-American costume designer (b. 1897)
1968 – Frankie Lymon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
1969 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian ethnographer and academic (b. 1883)
1973 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (b. 1917)
1977 – John Dickson Carr, American author and playwright (b. 1905)
1980 – George Tobias, American actor (b. 1901)
1985 – Ray Ellington, English singer and drummer (b. 1916)
1985 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American politician and diplomat, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1902)
1985 – J. Pat O’Malley, English-American actor and singer (b. 1904)
1986 – Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1929)
1987 – Bill Holman, American cartoonist (b. 1903)
1987 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (b. 1921)
1989 – Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
1992 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American linguist and politician (b. 1906)
1993 – Lillian Gish, American actress (b. 1893)
1998 – George H. Hitchings, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
1998 – J. T. Walsh, American actor (b. 1943)
1999 – Horace Tapscott, American pianist and composer (b. 1934)
2002 – Spike Milligan, Irish soldier, actor, comedian, and author (b. 1918)
2003 – John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (b. 1923)
2003 – Fred Rogers, American minister and television host (b. 1928)
2004 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian and academic (b. 1928)
2004 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and journalist (b. 1910)
2006 – Otis Chandler, American publisher (b. 1927)
2006 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American general and author (b. 1908)
2006 – Linda Smith, English comedian and author (b. 1958)
2007 – Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, German general (b. 1914)
2008 – William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and journalist, founded the National Review (b. 1925)
2008 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
2008 – Ivan Rebroff, German vocalist of Russian descent with four and a half octave range (b. 1931)
2010 – Nanaji Deshmukh, Indian educator and activist (b. 1916)
2011 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (b. 1901)
2011 – Necmettin Erbakan, Turkish engineer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1926)
2011 – Duke Snider, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
2011 – Gary Winick, American director and producer (b. 1961)
2012 – Ma Jiyuan, Chinese general (b. 1921)
2012 – Tina Strobos, Dutch physician and psychiatrist (b. 1920)
2012 – Helga Vlahović, Croatian journalist and producer (b. 1945)
2013 – Van Cliburn, American pianist (b. 1934)
2013 – Ramon Dekkers, Dutch mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (b. 1969)
2013 – Dale Robertson, American actor (b. 1923)
2013 – Adolfo Zaldívar, Chilean lawyer and politician (b. 1943)
2014 – Aaron Allston, American game designer and author (b. 1960)
2014 – Terry Rand, American basketball player (b. 1934)
2015 – Boris Nemtsov, Russian academic and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1959)
2015 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (b. 1931)
2015 – Julio César Strassera, Argentinian lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
2016 – Yi Cheol-seung, South Korean lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
2016 – James Z. Davis, American lawyer and judge (b. 1943)
2018 – Steve Folkes, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1959)
2019 – France-Albert René, Seychellois politician, 2nd President of Seychelles (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances on February 27

Christian feast day:
- Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
- George Herbert (Anglicanism)
- Honorina
- Leander
- February 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
The second day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Note: this observance is only on this date in the Gregorian calendar if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it does not in all years)
Doctors’ Day (Vietnam)
Independence Day (Dominican Republic), celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.
Majuba Day (some Afrikaners in South Africa)
Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India)
World NGO Day
International Polar Bear Day

February 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day, Uncategorized

February 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

February 8 in History

421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al Mansurah.
1347 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos.
1575 – Leiden University is founded, and given the motto Praesidium Libertatis.
1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
1590 – Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva is tortured by the Inquisition in Mexico, charged with concealing the practice Judaism of his sister and her children.
1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Queen Elizabeth I and the revolt is quickly crushed.
1693 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
1807 – After two days of bitter fighting, the Russians under Bennigsen and the Prussians under L’Estocq concede the Battle of Eylau to Napoleon.
1817 – Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
1865 – Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Slavery was outlawed in the United States, including Delaware, when the Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states on December 6, 1865. Delaware ratified the Thirteenth Amendment on February 12, 1901, which was the ninety-second anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.
1879 – Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
1879 – The England cricket team led by Lord Harris is attacked in a riot during a match in Sydney.
1885 – The first government-approved Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii.
1887 – The Dawes Act authorizes the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
1904 – Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
1904 – Aceh War: Dutch Colonial Army’s Marechaussee regiment led by General G.C.E. van Daalen launch military campaign to capture Gayo Highland, Alas Highland, and Batak Highland in Dutch East Indies’ Northern Sumatra region, which ends with genocide to Acehnese and Bataks people.
1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
1915 – D. W. Griffith’s controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
1922 – United States President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio set in the White House.
1924 – Capital punishment: The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.
1942 – World War II: Japan invades Singapore.
1942 – World War II: Dutch Colonial Army General Destruction Unit (AVC, Algemene Vernielings Corps) burns Banjarmasin, South Borneo to avoid Japanese capture.
1945 – World War II: The United Kingdom and Canada commence Operation Veritable to occupy the west bank of the Rhine.
1945 – World War II: Mikhail Devyataev escapes with nine other Soviet inmates from a Nazi concentration camp in Peenemünde on the island of Usedom by hijacking the camp commandant’s Heinkel He 111.
1946 – The first portion of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first serious challenge to the popularity of the Authorized King James Version, is published.
1946 – The People’s Republic of Korea is dissolved in the North, establishing the communist-controlled Provisional People’s Committee of North Korea.
1950 – Cold War: The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established.
1955 – The Government of Sindh, Pakistan, abolishes the Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km²) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
1960 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name Mountbatten-Windsor.
1962 – Charonne massacre. Nine trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
1963 – Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
1963 – The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq, Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba’ath Party.
1965 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean and explodes, killing everyone aboard.
1968 – American civil rights movement: The Orangeburg massacre: An attack on black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation at the town’s only bowling alley, leaves three or four dead in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time.
1971 – South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration.
1974 – After 84 days in space, the crew of Skylab 4, the last crew to visit American space station Skylab, returns to Earth.
1978 – Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
1981 – Twenty-one association football spectators are trampled to death at Karaiskakis Stadium in Neo Faliro, Greece, after a football match between Olympiacos F.C. and AEK Athens F.C.
1983 – The Melbourne dust storm hits Australia’s second largest city. The result of the worst drought on record and a day of severe weather conditions, a 320 metres (1,050 ft) deep dust cloud envelops the city, turning day to night.
1986 – Hinton train collision: Twenty-three people are killed when a VIA Rail passenger train collides with a 118-car Canadian National freight train near the town of Hinton, Alberta, west of Edmonton. It is the worst rail accident in Canada until the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec derailment in 2013 which killed forty-seven people.
1989 – Independent Air Flight 1851 strikes Pico Alto mountain while on approach to Santa Maria Airport (Azores) killing all 144 passengers on board.
1993 – General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
1993 – An Iran Air Tours Tupolev Tu-154 and an Iranian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 collide in mid-air near Qods, Iran, killing all 133 people on board both aircraft.
1996 – The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
2005 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former MP A. Chandranehru dies of injuries sustained in an ambush the previous day.
2010 – A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggers a series of at least 36 avalanches, burying over two miles of road, killing at least 172 people and trapping over 2,000 travelers.
2013 – A blizzard disrupts transportation and leaves hundreds of thousands of people without electricity in the Northeastern United States and parts of Canada.
2014 – A hotel fire in Medina, Saudi Arabia kills 15 Egyptian pilgrims with 130 others injured.

Births on February 8

120 – Vettius Valens, Greek astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer (probable; d. 175)
412 – Proclus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (probable; d. 485)
882 – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt (d. 946)
1191 – Yaroslav II of Vladimir (d. 1246)
1291 – Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
1405 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1453)
1487 – Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
1514 – Daniele Barbaro, Venetian churchman, diplomat and scholar (d. 1570)
1552 – Agrippa d’Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
1577 – Robert Burton, English priest, physician, and scholar (d. 1640)
1591 – Guercino, Italian painter (d. 1666)
1685 – Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian and author (d. 1770)
1700 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1782)
1720 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
1741 – André Grétry, Belgian-French organist and composer (d. 1813)
1762 – Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1820)
1764 – Joseph Leopold Eybler, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1846)
1792 – Caroline Augusta of Bavaria (d. 1873)
1798 – Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (d. 1849)
1807 – Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and zoologist (d. 1889)
1817 – Richard S. Ewell, American general (d. 1872)
1819 – John Ruskin, English author, critic, and academic (d. 1900)
1820 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (d. 1891)
1822 – Maxime Du Camp, French photographer and journalist (d. 1894)
1825 – Henry Walter Bates, English geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1892)
1828 – Jules Verne, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1905)
1829 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1902)
1830 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1876)
1834 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (d. 1907)
1850 – Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
1860 – Adella Brown Bailey, American politician and suffragist (d. 1937)
1866 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (d. 1947)
1876 – Paula Modersohn-Becker, German painter (d. 1907)
1878 – Martin Buber, Austrian-Israeli philosopher and academic (d. 1965)
1880 – Franz Marc, German soldier and painter (d. 1916)
1880 – Viktor Schwanneke, German actor and director (d. 1931)
1882 – Thomas Selfridge, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1908)
1883 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech-American economist and political scientist (d. 1950)
1884 – Snowy Baker, Australian boxer, rugby player, and actor (d. 1953)
1886 – Charlie Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
1888 – Edith Evans, English actress (d. 1976)
1888 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Egyptian-Italian soldier, journalist, and poet (d. 1970)
1890 – Claro M. Recto, Filipino lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1960)
1893 – Ba Maw, Burmese lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1977)
1894 – King Vidor, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
1897 – Zakir Hussain, Indian academic and politician, 3rd president of India (d. 1969)
1899 – Lonnie Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
1903 – Greta Keller, Austrian-American singer and actress (d. 1977)
1903 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
1906 – Chester Carlson, American physicist and lawyer, invented Xerography (d. 1968)
1909 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (d. 2012)
1911 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and author (d. 1979)
1913 – Betty Field, American actress (d. 1973)
1913 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
1914 – Bill Finger, American author and screenwriter, co-created Batman (d. 1974)
1915 – Georges Guétary, Egyptian-French singer, dancer, and actor (d. 1997)
1918 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (d. 2003)
1921 – Barney Danson, Canadian colonel and politician, 21st Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2011)
1921 – Nexhmije Hoxha, Albanian politician (d. 2020)
1921 – Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
1922 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and banker (d. 1996)
1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (d. 2001)
1926 – Neal Cassady, American author and poet (d. 1968)
1926 – Birgitte Reimer, Danish film actress
1930 – Alejandro Rey, Argentinian-American actor and director (d. 1987)
1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
1932 – Cliff Allison, English racing driver and businessman (d. 2005)
1932 – John Williams, American pianist, composer, and conductor
1933 – Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
1937 – Joe Raposo, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1937 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (d. 2016)
1939 – Jose Maria Sison, Filipino activist and theorist
1940 – Sophie Lihau-Kanza, Congolese politician (d. 1999)
1940 – Ted Koppel, English-American journalist
1941 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
1941 – Tom Rush, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1941 – Jagjit Singh, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
1942 – Robert Klein, American comedian, actor, and singer
1942 – Terry Melcher, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
1944 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (d. 2014)
1944 – Sebastião Salgado, Brazilian photographer and journalist
1947 – J. Richard Gott, American astronomer and academic
1948 – Dan Seals, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
1949 – Brooke Adams, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
1949 – Niels Arestrup, French actor, director, and screenwriter
1952 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
1953 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress
1954 – Joe Maddon, American baseball coach and manager
1955 – John Grisham, American lawyer and author
1955 – Jim Neidhart, American wrestler (d. 2018)
1956 – Marques Johnson, American basketball player and sportscaster
1957 – Karine Chemla, French historian of mathematics and sinologist
1958 – Sherri Martel, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
1958 – Marina Silva, Brazilian environmentalist and politician
1959 – Heinz Gunthardt, Swiss tennis player
1959 – Andrew Hoy, Australian equestrian rider
1959 – Mauricio Macri, Argentinian businessman and politician, President of Argentina
1960 – Benigno Aquino III, Filipino politician, 15th President of the Philippines
1960 – Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 – Vince Neil, American singer-songwriter and actor
1963 – Mohammad Azharuddin, Indian cricketer and politician
1964 – Arlie Petters, Belizean-American mathematical physicist and academic
1964 – Santosh Sivan, Indian director, cinematographer, producer, and actor
1964 – Trinny Woodall, English fashion designer and author
1966 – Kirk Muller, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1966 – Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
1969 – Pauly Fuemana, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
1969 – Mary Robinette Kowal, American puppeteer and author
1969 – Mary McCormack, American actress and producer
1970 – Stephanie Courtney, American actress and comedian
1970 – John Filan, Australian footballer and coach
1970 – Alonzo Mourning, American basketball player and executive
1971 – Aidy Boothroyd, English footballer and manager
1971 – Mika Karppinen, Swedish-Finnish drummer and songwriter
1972 – Big Show, American wrestler and actor
1974 – Seth Green, American actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer, and director
1976 – Khaled Mashud, Bangladeshi cricketer
1976 – Nicolas Vouilloz, French rally driver and mountain biker
1977 – Roman Kostomarov, Russian ice dancer
1978 – Mick de Brenni, Australian politician
1979 – Aaron Cook, American baseball player
1980 – William Jackson Harper, American actor
1981 – Steve Gohouri, Ivorian footballer (d. 2015)
1981 – Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
1983 – Jermaine Anderson, Canadian basketball player
1983 – Cory Jane, New Zealand rugby player
1983 – Jim Verraros, American singer and actor
1984 – Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canadian skier
1984 – Cecily Strong, American actress
1984 – Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
1985 – Petra Cetkovská, Czech tennis player
1985 – Jeremy Davis, American bass player and songwriter
1987 – Javi García, Spanish footballer
1987 – Carolina Kostner, Italian figure skater
1988 – Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
1989 – Zac Guildford, New Zealand rugby player
1989 – Julio Jones, American football player
1989 – Courtney Vandersloot, American basketball player
1990 – Emily Scarratt, English rugby union player
1990 – Klay Thompson, American professional basketball player
1991 – Aristidis Soiledis, Greek footballer
1991 – Roberto Soriano, Italian footballer
1991 – Nam Woo-hyun, South Korean singer and actor with the boy band Infinite.
1992 – Bruno Martins Indi, Portuguese-Dutch footballer
1992 – Carl Jenkinson, English-Finnish footballer
1994 – Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Turkish footballer
1994 – Nikki Yanofsky, Canadian singer-songwriter
1995 – Joshua Kimmich, German footballer
1996 – Kenedy, Brazilian footballer

Deaths on February 8

538 – Severus of Antioch, patriarch of Antioch
1135 – Elvira of Castile, Queen of Sicily (b.c. 1100)
1204 – Alexios IV Angelos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1182)
1229 – Ali ibn Hanzala, sixth Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq of Tayyibi Isma’ilism
1250 – Robert I, Count of Artois (b. 1216)
1250 – William II Longespée, English martyr (b. 1212)
1265 – Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
1285 – Theodoric of Landsberg (b. 1242)
1296 – Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
1314 – Helen of Anjou, queen of Serbia (b. 1236)
1382 – Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans (b. 1328)
1537 – Saint Gerolamo Emiliani, Italian humanitarian (b. 1481)
1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1542)
1599 – Robert Rollock, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1555)
1623 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (b. 1546)
1676 – Alexis of Russia (b. 1629)
1696 – Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
1709 – Giuseppe Torelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1658)
1725 – Peter the Great, Russian emperor (b. 1672)
1749 – Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
1750 – Aaron Hill, English playwright and poet (b. 1685)
1768 – George Dance the Elder, English architect, designed St Leonard’s and St Botolph’s Aldgate (b. 1695)
1772 – Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (b. 1719)
1849 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (b. 1781)
1849 – France Prešeren, Slovenian poet and lawyer (b. 1800)
1856 – Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist and academic (b. 1773)
1907 – Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1854)
1910 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian philosopher and activist (b. 1854)
1914 – Dayrolles Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry, Irish hereditary peer (b. 1828)
1915 – François Langelier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1838)
1921 – George Formby Sr, English actor and singer (b. 1876)
1921 – Peter Kropotkin, Russian zoologist, geographer, and philologist (b. 1842)
1928 – Theodor Curtius, German chemist (b. 1857)
1932 – Yordan Milanov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church (b. 1867)
1935 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1864)
1936 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (b. 1860)
1945 – Italo Santelli, Italian fencer and coach (b. 1866)
1956 – Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (b. 1862)
1957 – Walther Bothe, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
1957 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
1959 – William J. Donovan, American head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (b. 1883)
1960 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (b. 1911)
1960 – Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect and engineer, designed the Red telephone box and Liverpool Cathedral (b. 1880)
1963 – George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (b. 1908)
1964 – Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist and author (b. 1888)
1968 – Maurice Maillot, French actor (b. 1906)
1972 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1905)
1975 – Robert Robinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
1977 – Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (b. 1901)
1979 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian-English physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
1980 – Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
1982 – John Hay Whitney, American financier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1904)
1985 – William Lyons, English businessman, co-founded Swallow Sidecar Company (b. 1901)
1987 – Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
1990 – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
1992 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (b. 1918)
1992 – Denny Wright, British guitarist (b. 1924)
1994 – Raymond Scott, American pianist and composer (b. 1908)
1996 – Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
1997 – Corey Scott, American motorcycle stunt rider (b. 1968)
1998 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
1998 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1912)
1998 – Julian Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
1999 – Iris Murdoch, Irish-born British novelist and philosopher (b. 1919)
2000 – Sid Abel, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1918)
2000 – Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
2001 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2002 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (b. 1936)
2004 – Julius Schwartz, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
2005 – A. Chandranehru, Sri Lankan sailor and politician (b. 1944)
2006 – Elton Dean, English saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1945)
2006 – Thierry Fortineau, French actor (b. 1953)
2006 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
2007 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model and actress (b. 1967)
2007 – Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American psychiatrist and academic (b. 1918)
2008 – Ruby Garrard Woodson, American educator and cultural historian (b. 1931)
2010 – John Murtha, American colonel and politician (b. 1932)
2011 – Tony Malinosky, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1909)
2012 – Wando, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
2012 – Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi and author (b. 1912)
2012 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
2013 – Giovanni Cheli, Italian cardinal (b. 1918)
2013 – James DePreist, American conductor and educator (b. 1936)
2013 – Maureen Dragone, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
2013 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (b. 1918)
2014 – Els Borst, Dutch physician and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1932)
2014 – Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (b. 1988)
2014 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (b. 1938)
2015 – Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, Finnish physician and parapsychologist (b. 1939)
2016 – Amelia Bence, Argentine actress (b. 1914)
2016 – Nida Fazli, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1938)
2016 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (b. 1938)
2016 – Violette Verdy, French ballerina (b. 1933)
2017 – Peter Mansfield, English physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1933)
2017 – Rina Matsuno, Japanese idol singer (Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku) (b. 1998)
2017 – Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, English socialite, television presenter, model, and charity patron (b. 1971)
2017 – Alan Simpson, English scriptwriter (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on February 8

Christian feast day:
- Cuthmann of Steyning
- Elffled of Whitby
- Gerolamo Emiliani
- Josephine Bakhita
- Juventius of Pavia
- Meingold of Huy
- Stephen of Muret
- February 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Feast of Orthodoxy can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated 42 days before Easter. (Orthodoxy)
Parinirvana Day (some Mahayana Buddhism traditions, most celebrate on February 15)
Prešeren Day (Slovenia)
Propose Day

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