March 17
| Template:MarchCalendar | |||||||||||
|
March 17 is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 289 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 45 BC - In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
- 180 - Marcus Aurelius dies. Commodus is now the only emperor.
- 624 - Muhammad wins a key victory over his Meccan adversaries in the Battle of Badr.
- 1337 - Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy made in England.
- 1577 - The Cathay Company is formed to send Martin Frobisher back to the New World for more gold.
- 1756 - St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).
- 1776 - American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery overlooking the city.
- 1805 - The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King.
- 1845 - The rubber band is patented.
- 1861 - The Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) is proclaimed.
- 1886 - Carrollton Massacre: 20 African Americans are killed in Mississippi.
- 1891 - The British steamship SS Utopia sinks off the coast of Gibraltar, killing 574.
- 1901 - A showing of 71 Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation.
- 1906 - The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity is founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
- 1910 - Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte found Camp Fire Girls (now Camp Fire USA) (formally announced in 1912).
- 1913 - The Uruguayan Air Force is founded.
- 1917 - Delta Phi Epsilon is founded at New York University Law School.
- 1921 - The Second Republic of Poland adopts the March Constitution.
- 1931 - Nevada legalizes gambling.
- 1939 - Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945): The Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and the Japanese breaks out.
- 1941 - In Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1942 - Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lviv Ghetto (western Ukraine) are gassed at the Belzec death camp (eastern Poland).
- 1945 - The strategically important captured railway Bridge at Remagen, having sped the end of WW-II, but ironically no longer taking artillery fire, collapses ten days into the battle rendering the lodgement on the Germany bank of the Rhine dependent entirely on pontoon bridges.
- 1948 - Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the NATO Agreement.
- 1950 - University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98, which they name "Californium".
- 1958 - The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.
- 1959 - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India.
- 1960 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
- 1966 - Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
- 1969 - Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
- 1970 - My Lai massacre: The United States Army charges 14 officers with suppressing information related to the incident.
- 1973 - The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family.
- 1973 - Pink Floyd releases their landmark album Dark Side of the Moon.
- 1979 - The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.
- 1985 - Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker", commits his first two murders in Los Angeles, California murder spree.
- 1988 - A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
- 1992 - A suicide car-bomb kills 29 and injures 242 at the Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 2003 - British Cabinet Minister Robin Cook, resigns over government plans for war with Iraq.
- 2004 - Massive unrest in Kosovo results in more than 22 killed, 200 wounded, and the destruction of 35 Serb Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Belgrade and Nis.
Births
- 1231 - Emperor Shijō of Japan (d. 1242)
- 1473 - King James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
- 1628 - François Girardon, French sculptor (d. 1715)
- 1676 - Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (d. 1732)
- 1725 - Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader (d. 1806)
- 1777 - Roger Brooke Taney, 5th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1864)
- 1780 - Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor, social reformer, author, and scientist (d. 1847)
- 1787 - Edmund Kean, English actor (d. 1833)
- 1804 - Jim Bridger, American trapper and explorer (d. 1881)
- 1820 - Jean Ingelow, English poet (d. 1897)
- 1834 - Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and inventor (d. 1900)
- 1846 - Kate Greenaway, English children's author and illustrator (d. 1901)
- 1856 - Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (d. 1910)
- 1862 - Silvio Gesell, Belgian economist (d. 1930)
- 1866 - Pierce Butler, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1939)
- 1870 - Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (d. 1951)
- 1880 - Sir Patrick Hastings, British barrister (d. 1952)
- 1881 - Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1883 - Urmuz, Romanian writer (d. 1923)
- 1884 - Alcide Nunez, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1934)
- 1886 - Princess Patricia of Connaught, British princess (d. 1974)
- 1888 - Paul Ramadier, French politician (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Benjamin Drake Van Wissen, Australian Engineer (d. 1984)
- 1894 - Paul Green, American writer (d. 1981)
- 1901 - Alfred Newman, American film composer (d. 1970)
- 1902 - Bobby Jones, American golfer (d. 1971)
- 1907 - Sonny Werblin, former owner of the New York Jets (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Brigitte Helm, German actress (d. 1996)
- 1912 - Bayard Rustin, American civil rights activist (d. 1987)
- 1914 - Sammy Baugh, American football player
- 1915 - Henry Bumstead, American art director (d. 2006)
- 1916 - Ray Ellington, British singer (d. 1985)
- 1919 - Nat King Cole, American singer (d. 1965)
- 1922 - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Founding Leader of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
- 1925 - Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian film and stage actor
- 1926 - Siegfried Lenz, German writer
- 1928 - William John McKeag, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
- 1930 - James Irwin, American astronaut (d. 1991)
- 1931 - David Peakall, British scientist (d. 2001)
- 1936 - Ladislav Kupkovic, Slovakian composer
- 1936 - Ken Mattingly, American astronaut
- 1937 - Adam Wade, American singer and actor
- 1938 - Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-born dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
- 1938 - Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien, Northern Irish clergyman
- 1939 - Jim Gary, American sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1939 - Robin Knox-Johnston, British Yachtsman
- 1940 - Mark White, American politician
- 1941 - Paul Kantner, American musician (Jefferson Airplane)
- 1942 - John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (d. 1994)
- 1942 - Dimitris Poulikakos, Greek composer, singer and actor
- 1944 - Pattie Boyd, British photographer and model
- 1944 - Cito Gaston, American baseball player and manager
- 1944 - John Sebastian, American singer and songwriter
- 1945 - Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (d. 1982)
- 1945 - Michael Hayden, General USAF, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- 1945 - Katri Helena, Finnish singer
- 1947 - James Morrow, American author
- 1947 - Jan Andersson, Swedish politician
- 1947 - Yury Chernavsky, Russian-born Composer and Producer
- 1948 - William Gibson, American writer
- 1948 - Alex MacDonald, Scottish Footballer and football manager
- 1949 - Patrick Duffy, American actor
- 1949 - Pat Rice, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
- 1949 - Daniel Lavoie, French Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1950 - Patrick Adams, American record producer and songwriter
- 1951 - Donald Findlay, Scottish lawyer
- 1951 - Scott Gorham, American musician (Thin Lizzy)
- 1951 - Kurt Russell, American actor
- 1951 - Craig Ramsay, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1952 - Nikos Xydakis, Greek musician and composer
- 1953 - Filemon Lagman, Filipino communist revolutionary (d. 2001)
- 1953 - Chuck Muncie, American former football running back
- 1954 - Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
- 1955 - Cynthia McKinney, American politician
- 1955 - Gary Sinise, American actor
- 1956 - Patrick McDonnell, American cartoonist
- 1957 - Mal Donaghy, Northern Irish footballer
- 1957 - Michael Kelly, American journalist (d. 2003)
- 1958 - Pat Bolland, Canadian Broadcaster
- 1959 - Danny Ainge, American basketball player and coach
- 1961 - Casey Siemaszko, American actor
- 1961 - Dana Reeve, American actress and activist (d. 2006)
- 1961 - Andrew Paul, English actor
- 1962 - Clare Grogan, Scottish actress-singer
- 1962 - Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, Dutch politician
- 1963 - Nick Peros, Canadian composer
- 1964 - Rob Lowe, American actor
- 1964 - Lee Dixon, English footballer
- 1964 - Jacques Songo'o, Cameroonian footballer
- 1966 - Jeremy Sheffield, English actor
- 1967 - Billy Corgan, American musician (The Smashing Pumpkins)
- 1967 - Barry Minkow, American religious leader and ex-convict (fraud)
- 1969 - Mathew St. Patrick, American actor
- 1970 - Yanic Truesdale, Canadian actor
- 1971 - Bill Mueller, American baseball player
- 1972 - Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian musician
- 1972 - Marc Gunn, poet, podcaster, and Celtic musician (Brobdingnagian Bards)
- 1972 - Mia Hamm, American soccer player
- 1973 - Rico Blanco, Filipino singer (Rivermaya)
- 1973 - Caroline Corr, Irish singer and musician
- 1975 - Justin Hawkins, British singer (The Darkness)
- 1975 - Andrew "Test" Martin, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1975 - Natalie Zea, American actress
- 1976 - Stephen Gately, Irish singer, musician, and actor (Boyzone)
- 1976 - Brittany Daniel, American actress
- 1976 - Cynthia Daniel, American actress and photographer
- 1976 - Álvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer
- 1976 - Anthony Matarese, American Soldier
- 1976 - Scott Downs, American baseball player
- 1979 - Andrew Ference, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 - Samoa Joe, Samoan professional wrestler
- 1979 - Stormy Daniels, American pornographic actress
- 1981 - Kyle Korver, American Basketball Player
- 1982 - Steven Pienaar, South African footballer
- 1986 - Olesya Rulin, American actress
- 1988 - Fraser Forster, English footballer
- 1993 - Julia Winter, English actress
Deaths
- 45 BC - Titus Labienus, Roman leader
- 45 BC - Gnaeus Pompeius, the Younger, Roman general
- 180 - Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
- 493 - Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland
- 659 - Gertrude of Nivelles, Belgian abbess
- 1040 - Harold Harefoot, King of England
- 1058 - King Lulach I of Scotland
- 1199 - Jocelin, bishop of Glasgow
- 1272 - Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (b. 1220)
- 1425 - Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shogun (b. 1407)
- 1516 - Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (b. 1478)
- 1565 - Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian (b. 1500)
- 1640 - Philip Massinger, English dramatist (b. 1583)
- 1649 - Gabriel Lallemant, French Jesuit missionary, one of the Canadian Martyrs (b. 1610)
- 1680 - François de La Rochefoucauld, French writer (b. 1613)
- 1704 - Menno van Coehoorn, Dutch military engineer (b. 1641)
- 1713 - Juraj Jánošík, famous Slovak outlaw [b. 1688)
- 1715 - Gilbert Burnet, Scottish Bishop of Salisbury (b. 1643)
- 1741 - Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet (b. 1671)
- 1764 - George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, English astronomer
- 1782 - Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-born mathematician (b. 1700)
- 1830 - Laurent, Marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French marshal (b. 1764)
- 1846 - Friedrich Bessel, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1784)
- 1849 - William II of the Netherlands (b. 1792)
- 1853 - Christian Doppler, Austrian physician and mathematician (b. 1803)
- 1875 - Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist (b. 1832)
- 1893 - Jules Ferry, French statesman (b. 1832)
- 1912 - Lawrence Oates, English army officer (b. 1880)
- 1917 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
- 1926 - Aleksei Brusilov, Russian general (b. 1853)
- 1937 - Austen Chamberlain, English statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1863)
- 1941 - Marguerite Nichols, American actress (b. 1895)
- 1949 - Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (b. 1882)
- 1956 - Fred Allen, American actor and comedian (b. 1894)
- 1956 - Irene Joliot-Curie, French physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1897)
- 1957 - Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines (b. 1907)
- 1961 - Susanna M. Salter, Mayor of Argonia, Kansas (b. 1860)
- 1965 - Amos Alonzo Stagg, American football coach, player, and innovator (b. 1862)
- 1974 - Louis Kahn, American architect
- 1976 - Luchino Visconti, Italian director (b. 1906)
- 1981 - Paul Dean, American baseball player (b. 1913)
- 1983 - Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
- 1987 - Santo Trafficante, Jr., American gangster (b. 1914)
- 1988 - Nikolas Asimos, Greek counter-culture composer and singer (b. 1949)
- 1989 - Merritt Butrick, American actor (b. 1959)
- 1990 - Capucine, French actress (b. 1931)
- 1990 - Ric Grech, British bass player (Blind Faith - Traffic) (b. 1946)
- 1993 - Helen Hayes, American actress (b. 1900)
- 1995 - Ronnie Kray, British gangster (b. 1933)
- 1995 - Rick Aviles, American actor (b. 1952)
- 1996 - René Clément, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1913)
- 1996 - Terry Stafford, American singer (b. 1941)
- 1999 - Ernest Gold, Austrian composer (b. 1921)
- 1999 - Rod Hull, British comedian (b. 1936)
- 2002 - Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (b. 1911)
- 2002 - Pat Weaver, American broadcast executive (b. 1908)
- 2004 - J. J. Jackson, American television personality (b. 1941)
- 2005 - George F. Kennan, American Cold War strategist and historian (b. 1904)
- 2005 - Andre Norton, American writer (b. 1912)
- 2006 - Bob Blue, American singer/songwriter (b. 1948)
- 2006 - Oleg Cassini, American fashion designer (b. 1913)
- 2006 - Ray Meyer, American basketball coach (b. 1913)
- 2006 - Bob Papenbrook, American voice actor (b. 1955)
- 2007 - John Backus, American computer scientist (b. 1924)
- 2007 - Roger Bennett, American Southern Gospel performer (b. 1959)
Holidays and observances
- Ancient Latvia - Kustonu Diena (return of the larks) observed
- Feast day of St Patrick: a public holiday in Ireland (National feast) and Montserrat, widely celebrated in North America and worldwide (see St. Patrick's Day)
- Boston, Massachusetts - Evacuation Day
- Ancient Rome - the second day of the Bacchanalia in honor of Bacchus
- Ancient Rome - the Liberalia in honor of Liber