From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Day of the year
March 18 is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar ; 288 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
37 - The Roman Senate annuls Tiberius ' will and proclaims Caligula emperor.1229 - Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor declares himself King of Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade .1241 - Kraków is ravaged by Mongols .1314 - Jacques de Molay , the 23rd and the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar , is burned at the stake.1438 - Albert II of Habsburg becomes King of Germany .1608 - Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia .1673 - John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton sells his part of New Jersey to the Religious Society of Friends , commonly known as Quakers.1766 - American Revolution : The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act , which had been very unpopular in the British colonies .1793 - The first republican state in Germany , the Republic of Mainz , is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann .1834 - Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle , Dorset , England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union .1850 - American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo .1865 - American Civil War : The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time.1871 - Declaration of the Paris Commune ; President of the French Republic, Adolphe Thiers , orders evacuation of Paris .1874 - Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.1893 - Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup, later named after him, as an award for the best hockey team in Canada ; originally presented to amateur champions, the Stanley Cup has been awarded to the top pro team since 1910 , and since 1926 , only to National Hockey League teams.1906 - Traian Vuia flies a self-propelled heavier-than-air aircraft .1909 - Einar Dessau uses a short-wave radio transmitter, becoming the first radio broadcaster.1913 - King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki .1915 - World War I : Massive naval attack in Battle of Gallipoli . Three battleships are sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles .1921 - The second Peace of Riga between Poland and Soviet Union .1922 - In India , Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience . He would serve only 2 years.1922 - The first public celebration of Bat mitzvah , for the daughter of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan , is held in New York City .
1925 - The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern states of Missouri , Illinois , and Indiana , killing 695 people.1937 - The New London School explosion kills three hundred, mostly children.1937 - Spanish Civil War : Spanish Republican forces defeat the Italians at the Battle of Guadalajara .
1937 - The human-powered aircraft, Pedaliante Milan .
1938 - Mexico nationalizes all foreign-owned oil properties within its borders.1940 - World War II : Axis Powers - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.1944 - The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy kills 26 and causes thousands to flee their homes.1945 - World War II: 1,250 American bombers attack Berlin .1946 - Diplomatic relations between Switzerland and the Soviet Union are established.1953 - An earthquake hits western Turkey , killing 250.1959 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law allowing for Hawaiian statehood, which would become official on August 21 .1962 - The Evian Accords put an end to the Algerian War of Independence , which began in 1954 .1965 - Cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov , leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space .1967 - The Supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off the Cornish coast.1968 - Gold standard : The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency .1970 - Lon Nol ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia .1971 - A landslide at Chungar , Peru crashes into Lake Yanahuani killing 200.1974 - Oil embargo crisis : Most OPEC nations end a five-month oil embargo against the United States, Europe and Japan .1980 - At Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia , 50 people are killed by an explosion of a Vostok-2M rocket on its launch pad during a fueling operation.1989 - In Egypt , a 4,400-year-old mummy is found in the Pyramid of Cheops .1990 - In the largest art theft in US history , 12 paintings, collectively worth around $300 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts .1996 - A nightclub fire in Quezon City , Philippines kills 162.1997 - The tail of a Russian Antonov An-24 charter plane breaks off while en-route to Turkey causing the plane to crash and killing all 50 on board and leading to the grounding of all An-24s.2003 - The Iraq War begins.2003 - FBI agents raid the corporate headquarters of HealthSouth Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama on suspicion of massive corporate fraud led by the company's top executives.
2003 - British Sign Language is recognised as an official British language.
2005 - Terri Schiavo 's feeding tube is removed at the request of her husband.
Births
1395 - John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter , English military leader (d. 1447 )1496 - Mary Tudor , daughter of Henry VII of England and queen consort of Louis XII of France (d. 1533 )1555 - François, Duke of Anjou (d. 1584 )1590 - Manuel de Faria e Sousa , Portuguese historian and poet (d. 1649 )1602 - Jacques de Billy , French mathematician (d. 1679 )1603 - Simon Bradstreet , Massachusetts Bay colonist (d. 1693 )1634 - Marie-Madeleine Pioche de la Vergne, comtesse de la Fayette , French writer (d. 1693 )1640 - Philippe de la Hire , French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1719 )1657 - Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni , Italian composer (d. 1743 )1679 - Matthew Decker , English merchant and writer (d. 1759 )1685 - Ralph Ersine , Scottish minister (d. 1752 )1690 - Christian Goldbach , Prussian mathematician (d. 1764 )1701 - Niclas Sahlgren , Swedish merchant and philanthropist (d. 1776 )1780 - Milos Obrenovic , Leader of The Second Serbian Uprising and Prince of Serbia (d. 1860 )1782 - John C. Calhoun , 7th Vice President of the United States (d. 1850 )1813 - Christian Friedrich Hebbel , German writer (d. 1864 )1823 - Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy , French general (d. 1883 )1828 - William Randal Cremer , English politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1908 )1837 - Grover Cleveland , 22nd and 24th President of the United States (d. 1908 )1840 - William Cosmo Monkhouse , English poet and critic (d. 1901 )1842 - Stéphane Mallarmé , French poet (d. 1898 )1844 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov , Russian composer (d. 1908 )1848 - Nathanael Herreshoff , American naval architect (d. 1938 )1848 - Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll , daughter of Queen Victoria (d. 1939 )
1858 - Rudolf Diesel , German inventor (d. 1913 )1869 - Neville Chamberlain , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1940 )1872 - Anna Held , Polish actress and singer (d. 1918 )1874 - Nikolai Berdyaev , Russian philosopher (d. 1948 )1877 - Edgar Cayce , American psychic (d. 1945 )1877 - Clem Hill , Australian cricketer (d. 1945 )
1882 - Gian Francesco Malipiero , Italian composer (d. 1973 )1886 - Edward Everett Horton , American actor (d. 1970 )1898 - Jake Swirbul , American aircraft manufacturer (d. 1960 )1893 - Costante Girardengo , Italian cyclist (d. 1978 )1893 - Wilfred Owen , British poet (d. 1918 )
1893 - Jean Goldkette , Greek-born jazz musician (d. 1962 )
1901 - William H. Johnson , African-American artist of the Harlem Renaissance (d. 1970 )1904 - Srečko Kosovel , Slovenian poet (d. 1926 )1905 - Robert Donat , English actor (d. 1958 )1905 - Thomas Townsend Brown , American scientist (d. 1985 )
1907 - John Zachary Young , British biologist (d. 1997 )1909 - Ernest Gallo , American winemaker (d. 2007 )1910 - Chiang Ching-kuo , President of the Republic of China (d. 1988 )1911 - Smiley Burnette , American singer and songwriter (d. 1967 )1913 - René Clément , French film director and screenwriter (d. 1996 )1913 - Werner Mölders German WWII fighter pilot (d. 1941 )
1915 - Richard Condon , American novelist (d. 1996 )1917 - Frederika of Hanover , queen of the Hellenes (d. 1981 )1918 - Al Benton , American baseball player (d. 1968 )1918 - Bob Broeg , American sports writer (d. 2005 )
1919 - Christopher Challis , British cinematographer1922 - Egon Bahr , German politician1923 - Andy Granatelli , American motorsports entrepreneur1926 - Peter Graves , American actor1926 - Dick Littlefield , American baseball player (d. 1997 )
1927 - John Kander , American songwriter1927 - George Plimpton , American writer and actor (d. 2003 )
1928 - Julia Mullock , Princess of Korea1928 - Miguel Poblet , Spanish cyclist
1928 - Fidel V. Ramos , President of the Philippines
1929 - John Macurdy , American bass1930 - Pat Halcox , British musician1931 - John Fraser , Scottish-born stage, film and television actor1931 - John Mollo , British costume designer
1932 - John Updike , American author1934 - Roy Chapman , English footballer and manager (d. 1983 )1935 - Ole Barndorff-Nielsen , Danish mathematician1936 - Frederik Willem de Klerk , President of South Africa , recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize 1937 - Mark Donohue , American race car driver (d. 1975 )1937 - Rudi Altig , German cyclist
1938 - Charley Pride , American musician1938 - Shashi Kapoor , Indian Actor1938 - Timo Mäkinen , Finnish race car driver
1939 - Ron Atkinson , English former footballer and manager1939 - Giannis Markopoulos , Greek composer
1939 - Kenny Lynch , British entertainer
1941 - Wilson Pickett , American singer (d. 2006 )1941 - John W. Derr , American politician
1943 - Kevin Dobson , American actor1943 - Toula Grivas , Greek actress
1944 - Dick Smith , Australian Adventurer and Businessman1944 - Amnon Lipkin-Shahak , Israeli military leader and politician
1945 - Joy Fielding , Canadian novelist and actress1946 - Martyn Griffiths , British racing driver1946 - Michel Leclère , French racing driver
1947 - B.J. Wilson , English drummer (d. 1990 )1947 - Patrick Chesnais , French actor
1947 - Patrick Barlow , English actor, comedian and playwright
1947 - Roger Kenneth Evans , English politician
1947 - Heather Ryan , American model and former Playmate of the Month
1948 - Guy Lapointe , Canadian ice hockey player1948 - Lockwood Phillips , American radio host
1948 - Brian Lloyd , Welsh footballer
1949 - Alex Higgins , Northern Irish snooker player1949 - Åse Kleveland , Norwegian singer and politician
1949 - Hannu Siitonen , Finnish athlete
1950 - Brad Dourif , American actor1950 - Richard Kretchmer , English artist and historian
1950 - Rodney Milburn , American athlete (d. 1997 )
1950 - Eiji Okuda , Japanese actor and film director
1950 - Larry Perkins , Australian racing driver
1950 - John Hartman , American drummer (Doobie Brothers
1951 - Bill Frisell , American jazz musician1951 - Ben Cohen , American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream
1952 - Mike Webster , American football player (d. 2002 )1955 - Francis G. Slay , Mayor of St. Louis, Mo.1956 - Ingemar Stenmark , Swedish skier1957 - György Pazdera , Hungarian bassist (Pokolgép )1957 - Christer Fuglesang , Swedish ESA astronaut
1959 - Luc Besson , French producer, writer, and director1959 - Irene Cara , American actress and singer
1960 - Richard Biggs , American actor (d. 2004 )1960 - Guy Carbonneau , Canadian ice hockey player and manager
1960 - James MacPherson , Scottish actor
1962 - Thomas Ian Griffith , American actor1962 - James McMurtry , American folk singer/songwriter
1962 - Mike Rowe , American television personality
1962 - Etsushi Toyokawa , Japanese actor
1963 - Jeff LaBar , American guitarist1963 - Vanessa L. Williams , American beauty queen, actress, and singer1963 - Keith Brown , English cricketer
1964 - Bonnie Blair , American speed skater1964 - Courtney Pine , British jazz saxophonist
1964 - Rozalla , Zambian singer
1964 - Alex Caffi , Italian racecar driver
1964 - Paul Elliott , English footballer
1965 - Yoriko Douguchi , Japanese actress1965 - Birgit Clarius , German heptathlete
1966 - Jerry Cantrell , American musician1967 - Miki Berenyi , English singer (Lush )1968 - Shinichiro Miki , Japanese seiyu (voice actor)1968 - Eudes, duc d'Angoulême , French prince
1969 - Vassily Ivanchuk , Ukrainian chess player1969 - Shaun Udal , English cricketer
1969 - Andy Cutting , English folk musician and composer
1970 - Queen Latifah , American singer and actress1972 - Dane Cook , American comedian and actor1972 - Anja Möllenbeck , German discus thrower
1973 - Max Barry , Australian author1975 - Brian Griese , American football player1975 - Tomas Žvirgždauskas , Lithuanian footballer
1975 - Sutton Foster , American actress, singer, and dancer
1975 - Rodleen Getsic , American musician, civil servant1976 - Jovan Kirovski , American soccer player1976 - Tomokazu Ohka , Japanese baseball player
1976 - Scott Podsednik , American baseball player
1977 - Danny Murphy , English footballer1977 - Zdeno Chára , Slovak ice hockey player
1977 - Devin Lima , American singer
1977 - Willy Sagnol , French footballer
1977 - Terrmel Sledge , American baseball player
1977 - Fernando Rodney , Dominican baseball player
1978 - Khalilah Adams , American actress1978 - Yoshie Takeshita , Japanese volleyball player
1978 - Jan Bulis , Czech ice hockey player
1978 - Jonas Wallerstedt , Swedish footballer
1979 - Adam Levine , American singer (Maroon 5 )1979 - Brandon Lee , American adult actor
1979 - Danneel Harris , American actress
1979 - Dramane Coulibaly , Malian footballer
1980 - Alexei Yagudin , Russian figure skater1980 - Sophia Myles , English actress
1980 - Sebastien Frey , French footballer1981 - Jang Nara , Korean singer and actress1981 - Tora Berger , Norwegian biathlete
1982 - Chad Cordero , American baseball player1982 - Timo Glock German Formula 1 driver
1982 - Pedro Mantorras , Angolan footballer
1983 - Andy Sonnanstine , American baseball player1984 - Vonzell Solomon , American Idol Contestant1985 - Vince Lia , Australian Footballer1985 - Gennaro Esposito , Italian footballer
1986 - Bia Figueiredo , Brazilian racing driver1987 - Mauro Zárate , Argentinian Footballer1987 - Gabriel Mercado , Argentinian Footballer1987 - Ben Waterworth , Australian Radio Personality1987 - Cesare Rickler , Italian footballer
1996 - Madeline Carroll , American actress
Deaths
978 - King Edward the Martyr of England1227 - Pope Honorius III (b. 1148 )1314 - Jacques DeMolay , Frankish noble , the 23rd Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b.1244 )1583 - King Magnus of Livonia (b. 1540 )1584 - Tsar Ivan IV of Russia (b. 1530 )1675 - Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall , Irish soldier (b. 1606 )1689 - John Dixwell , English judge (b. 1607 )1696 - Robert Charnock , English conspirator1745 - Sir Robert Walpole , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1676 )1746 - Anna Leopoldovna , regent of Russia (b. 1718 )1768 - Laurence Sterne , Irish writer (b. 1713 )1781 - Anne Robert Turgot , French statesman (b. 1727 )1823 - Jean-Baptiste Breval , French composer (b. 1753 )1835 - Christian Gunther von Bernstorff , Danish-Prussian statesman and diplomat (b. 1769 )1871 - Augustus De Morgan , Indian-born British mathematician and logician (b. 1806 )1898 - Matilda Joslyn Gage , American suffragist (b. 1826 )1907 - Marcellin Berthelot , French chemist and politician (b. 1827 )1913 - King George I of Greece (b. 1845 )1936 - Eleftherios Venizelos , Former Prime minister of Greece 1939 - Henry Simpson Lunn , English humanitarian and religious leader (b. 1859 )1941 - Henri Cornet , French cyclist (b. 1884 )1945 - William Grover-Williams , British racing driver1947 - William C. Durant , American automobile pioneer (b. 1861 )1962 - Walter W. Bacon , Governor of Delaware (b. 1880 )1963 - Wanda Hawley , American actress (b. 1895 )1964 - Sigfrid Edström , Swedish sports official (b. 1870 )1965 - King Farouk I of Egypt (b. 1920 )1969 - Barbara Bates , American film actress (b. 1925 )1973 - Lauritz Melchior , Danish-born American opera singer (b. 1890 )1975 - Alain Grandbois , Quebec poet (b. 1900 )1976 - Giuseppe Genco Russo , Sicilian mafioso (b. 1893 )1977 - Marien Ngouabi , President of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1938 )1977 - José Carlos Pace , Brazilian racing driver (b. 1944 )
1978 - Leigh Brackett , American author (b. 1915 )1978 - Peggy Wood , American actress (b. 1892 )
1980 - Erich Fromm , German-born psychologist and philosopher (b. 1900)1983 - King Umberto II of Italy , (b. 1904 )1983 - Kenneth E. Boulding , English economist (b. 1910 )
1984 - Charlie Lau , American baseball player (b. 1933 )1986 - Bernard Malamud , American writer (b. 1914 )1988 - Will Thomas , all time ledgend (b. 1917 )1988 - Billy Butterfield , American jazz trumpeter (b. 1917 )1990 - Robin Harris , American actor and comedian (b. 1953 )1995 - Robin Jacques , illustrator of children's books (b. 1920 )1996 - Odysseas Elytis , Greek poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911 )1999 - Elizabeth Huckaby , American educator (b. 1905 )2000 - Eberhard Bethge , German theologian (b. 1909 )2001 - John Phillips , American musician (The Mamas and the Papas ) (b. 1935 )2002 - R.A. Lafferty , American science fiction writer (b. 1914 )2002 - Gösta Winbergh , Swedish tenor (b. 1943 )
2003 - Karl Kling , German race car driver (b. 1910 )2003 - Adam Osborne , British computer pioneer (b. 1939 )
2004 - Harrison McCain , Canadian businessman (b. 1927 )2006 - Bill Beutel , American journalist (b. 1930 )2006 - Michael Attwell , British actor (b. 1943 )2006 - Dan Gibson , musician (b. 1922 )
2007 - Bob Woolmer , South African cricketer and Pakistan national coach (b. 1948 )2008 - Anthony Minghella , Film Director (b. 1954 )
Holidays and observances
External links
