March 17
Appearance
March 17is the 76th day of the year (77th inleap years) in theGregorian calendar.There are 289 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
[change|change source]Up to 1900
[change|change source]- 45 BC- In his last victory,Julius Caesardefeats the Pompeian forces ofTitus LabienusandPompey the Youngerin theBattle of Munda.
- 180-Marcus Aureliusdies, leavingCommodusas sole Emperor of theRoman Empire.
- 624- Led by the ProphetMuhammad,theMuslimsofMedinadefeat the Quraysh ofMeccain theBattle of Badr.
- 1328-Isabella of France,on behalf of her 15-year-old son,Edward III of England,recognizes the independence ofScotland,ending the first of theScottish Wars of Independence.
- 1337-Edward, the Black PrincebecomesDukeofCornwall,the firstDuchyinEngland.
- 1452- TheBattle of Los Alporchonesis fought in the context of the SpanishReconquistabetween theEmirateofGranadaand the combined forces of theKingdomofCastileandMurcia,resulting in aChristianvictory.
- 1667-Siege of Valenciennes:During theFranco-Dutch War,ends withFrance's taking over of thecity.
- 1776-American Revolution:British forces evacuateBoston, Massachusetts,ending theSiege of Boston,afterGeorge WashingtonandHenry Knoxplaceartilleryin positions overlooking thecity.
- 1780-American Revolution:George Washingtongrants theContinental ArmyaholidayonSt. Patrick's Day,in solidarity with the Irish people.
- 1800- BritishshipHMSQueen Charlottesinks after afireon board offLivorno,Tuscany,Italy,killing 673 people.
- 1805–Italybecomes aKingdomfor the first time, withNapoleon Bonapartebecoming King.
- 1842- The Relief Society of theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintsis formed.
- 1860- TheFirst Taranaki Warbegins inTaranaki,New Zealand,a major phase in theNew Zealand Land Wars.
- 1861– TheKingdomofItalyis proclaimed, making Italy a united nation. It lasts until1946,when a majority of voters supports becoming aRepublic.
- 1891– The USS Utopia collides with the HMS Anson in the Bay ofGibraltar,and sinks, killing 562 people.
- 1899-William Henry PickeringdiscoversSaturn'smoonPhoebe.
1901 – 2000
[change|change source]- 1921- The SecondRepublicofPolandadopts the MarchConstitution.
- 1939-Second Sino-Japanese War:TheBattle of Nanchangbetween theRepublic of China'sKuomintangandJapanbegins.
- 1941– InWashington, DC,the National Gallery ofArtis opened.
- 1945–World War II:The Ludendorff Bridge inRemagen,Germany,collapses, shortly after its capture.
- 1948- TheNetherlands,Belgium,Luxembourg,Franceand theUnited Kingdomsign theTreaty of Brussels.
- 1950- Researchers at theUniversity of California, Berkeleyannounce the creation ofelement98, which they nameCalifornium.
- 1957– A plane crash inCebu,Philippines,kills 25 people, includingPresidentRamon Magsaysay.
- 1958- TheUnited Stateslaunches the Vanguard 1satellite.
- 1959-Tenzin Gyatso,14thDalai Lama,escapesTibettoIndia.
- 1960- US PresidentDwight D. Eisenhowersigns the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cubancovert action program that will ultimately lead to theBay of Pigsinvasion.
- 1963– The Gunung AgungvolcanoonBali,Indonesia,erupts, killing around 1,300 people.
- 1966- A missing Americanhydrogenbombis found off theMediterranean Seacoast ofSpain.
- 1968- As a result of nervegastesting in Skull Valley,Utah,US,over 6,000sheepare found dead.
- 1969–Golda MeirbecomesPrime Minister of Israel.
- 1988- Avianca Flight 410, aColombianBoeing 727jetliner,crashes into amountainsidein EasternColombia,near theVenezuelanborder,killing 143 people.
- 1988-Eritrean War of Independence:The Nadew Command, anEthiopianarmy corps inEritrea,is attacked on three sides bymilitaryunits of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front in the opening action of theBattle of Afabet.
- 1991-Diego Maradonais found to have takencocaineand is banned fromfootballfor 15 months.
- 1992– A referendum inSouth Africaapproves the end ofApartheid.
- 1992- A suicide carbombingatIsrael'sEmbassyinBuenos Aires,Argentina,kills 29 people.
- 1996-Legoland Windsoropens inWindsor, Berkshire,England
- 2000- More than 800 members of theUgandancultMovement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of Goddie in what is considered to be a massmurderandsuicide,orchestrated by the leaders of the cult.
From 2001
[change|change source]- 2003–Robin Cookresigns from the British cabinet over plans to go to war inIraq.
- 2004- Unrest occurs inKosovo.22 people are killed, and 220 injured, as 35SerbianOrthodox Shrines inKosovoand 2mosquesinBelgradeandNis,Serbia,are destroyed.
- 2008–New YorkGovernorEliot Spitzerresigns over a prostitution scandal.David Patersonreplaces him.
- 2009–Marc Ravalomananaresigns asPresidentofMadagascar,asAndry Rajoelinatakes over, following weeks of unrest.
- 2011-2011 Libyan civil war:TheUnited Nations Security Councilauthorizesmilitaryintervention to protect civilians inLibya,as well as a no-fly zone overLibya.
- 2013- Ameteoritehits theMoon.
- 2018-Russiaexpels 23Britishdiplomats (after the UK did the same with 23 RussiandiplomatsonMarch 14) and also decides to close the BritishConsulateinSaint Petersburgand end the work of theBritish CouncilinRussia.This is because of an ongoing diplomatic row between the two countries over thepoisoningof former Russian spySergei Skripaland his daughter Yulia inSalisbury.
Births
[change|change source]Up to 1900
[change|change source]- 765–Harun al-Rashid,AbbasidCaliph(d.809) (N.SMarch 27onGregorian calendar)
- 1231-Emperor ShijoofJapan(d.1242)
- 1473– KingJames IV of Scotland(d.1513)
- 1537-Toyotomi Hideyoshi,Japanese general and politician (d.1598)
- 1628-François Girardon,Frenchsculptor(d.1715)
- 1665-Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre,Frenchmusician,harpsichordistandcomposer(d.1829)
- 1676-Thomas Boston,Scottishchurchleader (d.1732)
- 1686-Jean-Baptiste Oudry,French painter, engraver andtapestrydesigner(d.1755)
- 1725-Lachlan McIntosh,Scottish-American military and political leader
- 1777-Patrick Bronte,father of the Brontë sisters (d.1861)
- 1777-Roger Brooke Taney,5th Chief Justice of theUnited States Supreme Court(d.1864)
- 1780-Thomas Chalmers,Scottishtheologian,religious reformer and writer (d.1847)
- 1794-Gabriel Antonio Pereira,PresidentofUruguay(d.1861)
- 1804-Jim Bridger,American explorer (d.1881)
- 1813– KingKamehameha IIIofHawaii(d.1854) (March 17 was official birthday)
- 1822–Sa'id,Khedive (Viceroy) ofEgypt(d.1854)
- 1832-Walter Q. Gresham,United States Secretary of State(d.1895)
- 1834–Gottlieb Daimler,German engineer and inventor (d.1900)
- 1846-Kate Greenaway,English writer and illustrator (d.1901)
- 1849-Charles F. Brush,American inventor and entrepreneur (d.1929)
- 1856-Mikhail Vrubel,Russian painter (d.1910)
- 1858-Policarpo Bonilla,PresidentofHonduras(d.1926)
- 1862-Silvio Gesell,Belgian merchant and economist (d.1930)
- 1865–Gabriel Narutowicz,President of Poland(d.1922)
- 1868-Nathan E. Kendall,23rdGovernorofIowa(d.1936)
- 1872-Konstantinos Skarlatos,Greek shooter (d.1969)
- 1876-Frederick Ayres,American composer (d.1926)
- 1877-Otto Gross,Austrianpsychoanalyst(d.1920)
- 1879-Jim Nance McCord,GovernorofTennessee(d.1968)
- 1880–Lawrence Oates,English Antarctic explorer (d.1912)
- 1881–Walter Rudolf Hess,Swiss physiologist (d.1973)
- 1883-Urmuz,Romanian writer (d.1923)
- 1884–Alcide Nunez,Americanjazzclarinettist (d.1934)
- 1885-Ralph Rose,American athlete (d.1913)
- 1886-Princess Patricia of Connaught(d.1974)
- 1888-Paul Ramadier,French politician (d.1961)
- 1889-Harry Clarke,Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator (d.1931)
- 1892-Sayed Darwish,Egyptian singer and composer (d.1923)
- 1900–Alfred Neumann,American movie composer (d.1970)
1901 – 1950
[change|change source]- 1902–Bobby Jones,Americangolfer(d.1971)
- 1906-Brigitte Helm,German actress (d.1996)
- 1907–Miki Takeo,Prime Minister of Japan(d.1988)
- 1907-Jean Van Houtte,Prime Minister of Belgium(d.1991)
- 1907-John O. Pastore,GovernorofRhode Island(d.2000)
- 1911-Vello Kaaristo,Estonian cross-country skier (d.1965)
- 1912-Bayard Rustin,AmericanCivil rightsactivist (d.1987)
- 1914-Juan Ongania,Argentine military officer and politician (d.1995)
- 1915-Ray Ellington,British singer (d.1985)
- 1919–Nat King Cole,American singer (d.1965)
- 1920-Jose Tomas Sanchez,Filipinocardinal(d.2012)
- 1921–Meir Amit,Israeli politician and general (d.2009)
- 1922–Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,Bengalifounder (d.1975)
- 1925-Gabriele Ferzetti,Italian actor (d.2015)
- 1926-Siegfried Lenz,German writer (d.2014)
- 1927-Francisco Gonzalez Ledesma,Spanishwriter(d.2015)
- 1927- Patrick Allen, British actor (d.2006)
- 1929-Peter L. Berger,Austrianphilosopher(d.2017)
- 1930–James Irwin,Americanastronaut(d.1991)
- 1933–Penelope Lively,British writer
- 1933-Heather Armitage,British athlete
- 1935-Oscar Panno,Argentinechessplayer
- 1936-Ken Mattingly,Americanadmiral,pilotandastronaut
- 1937-Adam Wade,Americansinger,drummerandactor
- 1937-Galina Samsova,Russianballetdancer
- 1938–Rudolf Nureyev,Russian dancer and choreographer (d.1993)
- 1938–Keith O'Brien,former Roman Catholic Archbishop ofSt. AndrewsandEdinburghandcardinal(d.2018)
- 1939–Giovanni Trapattoni,Italianfootballerand manager
- 1939-Robin Knox-Johnston,Britishyachtsman
- 1939-Bill Graham,Canadian politician
- 1940-Mark White,40thGovernorofTexas(d.2017)
- 1940-Jim Telfer,Scottishrugbyplayer
- 1941-Paul Kantner,American musician (d.2016)
- 1942–John Wayne Gacy,American serial killer (d.1994;executed bylethal injection)
- 1943-Jim Weatherly,Americansinger-songwriter
- 1943-Bakili Muluzi,formerPresidentofMalawi
- 1944-John Sebastian,Americansinger,songwriterandguitarist
- 1944-Juan Ramon Veron,Argentinefootballerandcoach
- 1944-Cito Galston,Americanbaseballplayer
- 1945–Michael Hayden,GeneralUSAF,Director of theCentral Intelligence Agency
- 1945-Elis Regina,Braziliansinger(d.1982)
- 1947-Yury Chernavsky,Russian composer and producer
- 1948-William Gibson,American writer
- 1949–Patrick Duffy,American actor
- 1949-Pat Rice,Irishfootballerand coach
- 1949-Hartmut Briesenick,East German athlete (d.2013)
- 1949-Stuart Rose,Englishbusinessman
1951 – 1975
[change|change source]- 1951–Donald Findlay,Scottish lawyer
- 1951-Sydne Rome,American actress
- 1951-Kurt Russell,American actor
- 1954-Lesley-Anne Down,English actress and singer
- 1955–Cynthia McKinney,American politician
- 1955–Gary Sinise,American actor
- 1955-Mark Boone Junior,American actor
- 1956-Rory McGrath,English comedian and writer
- 1957-Michael Kelly,Americanjournalist(d.2003)
- 1958-José-Manuel Abascal,Spanish middle-distance runner
- 1958-Christian Clemenson,American actor
- 1960-Ruth Langsford,English television presenter
- 1960-Michael Whitaker,Englishequestrian
- 1961-Sam Bowie,Americanbasketballplayer
- 1961-Casey Siemaszko,American actor
- 1961-Dana Reeve,American actress and activist (d.2006)
- 1962–Clare Grogan,Scottish singer and actress
- 1962-Rob Sitch,Australianactor,director,producerandscreenwriter
- 1962-Kalpana Chawla,Indianastronaut(d.2003)
- 1964-Stefano Borgonovo,Italianfootballer(d.2013)
- 1964–Lee Dixon,English footballer and pundit
- 1964–Rob Lowe,American actor
- 1964–Jacques Songo'o,Cameroonianfootballer
- 1966-Espen Hammer,Norwegianphilosopher
- 1966-Andrew Rosindell,English politician
- 1967-Billy Corgan,American musician
- 1969–Alexander McQueen,British fashion designer (d.2010)
- 1969-Bruce Parry,British former soldier, traveler and adventurer
- 1969-Patricia Ford,American model
- 1969-Edgar Gronspiron,French skier
- 1972–Mia Hamm,Americansoccerplayer
- 1972-Sean Price,American rapper an producer
- 1973–Caroline Corr,Irish singer and musician
- 1974–Mark Dolan,British television presenter
- 1975–Justin Hawkins,British singer (The Darkness)
- 1975-Puneeth Rajkumar,Indian actor, singer and producer
- 1975-Gina Holden,Canadian actress
- 1975-Andrew Martin,Canadianprofessional wrestler(d.2009)
From 1976
[change|change source]- 1976–Stephen Gately,Irish singer (Boyzone) (d.2009)
- 1976-Alvaro Recoba,Uruguayanfootballer
- 1976-Brittany Daniel,American actress
- 1976-Cynthia Daniel,American actress and photographer
- 1978-Pilar Rubio,Spanish actress
- 1978-Owen Thompson,Scottish politician
- 1979-Sharman Joshi,Indian actor
- 1979-Stephen Kramer Glickman,American actor and comedian
- 1979-Million Wolde,Ethiopian runner
- 1979-Stormy Daniels,American pornographic actress
- 1980-Katie Morgan,American pornographic actress
- 1981-Nicky Jam,American singer and songwriter
- 1981-Servet Cetin,Turkishfootballer
- 1982–Steven Pienaar,South African footballer
- 1983–Raul Meireles,Portuguese footballer
- 1983-Matteo Paro,Italianfootballer
- 1984-Ryan Rottman,American actor
- 1986–Edin Dzeko,Bosnian footballer
- 1987–Bobby Ryan,Americanice hockeyplayer
- 1987-Rob Kardashian,Americantelevisionpersonality
- 1987-Ryan Parent,Canadianice hockeyplayer
- 1987-Federico Fazio,Argentinefootballer
- 1988-Fraser Forster,Englishfootballer
- 1988-Rasmus Elm,Swedishfootballer
- 1988-Grimes,Canadiansingerandsongwriter
- 1988-Jack Monroe,English food writer, journalist and activist
- 1989–Shinji Kagawa,Japanese footballer
- 1989-Mason Musso,Americansinger-songwriterandguitarist
- 1990-Hozier,Irishsinger-songwriterandguitarist
- 1990-Jean Segura,Dominicanbaseballplayer
- 1991-Thomas Robinson,Americanbasketballplayer
- 1992-Eliza Bennett,English actress and singer
- 1992-John Boyega,English actor
- 1992-Yeltsin Tejeda,Costa Ricanfootballer
- 1997-Katie Ledecky,American swimmer
Deaths
[change|change source]Up to 1900
[change|change source]- 45 BC-Titus Labienus,Roman leader (b.100 BC)
- 45 BC-Publius Attius Varus,RomanGovernorofAfrica
- 180–Marcus Aurelius,Roman Emperor (b.121)
- unknown year (probably461or493) –Saint Patrick,patron saint ofIreland
- 659-Gertrude of Nivelles,Belgianabbess(b.626)
- 1040–Harold Harefoot,King of England
- 1058-Lulach,King of the Scots
- 1199-Jocelyn of Glasgow,Scottish monk and bishop (b.1130)
- 1272-Emperor Go-SagaofJapan(b.1220)
- 1425–Ashikaga Yoshikazu,Japaneseshogun(b.1407)
- 1516-Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici,ruler ofFlorence(b.1479)
- 1620-John Sarkander,Polish-Moravianpriestandsaint(b.1576)
- 1680-François de Rochefoucauld,French author (b.1613)
- 1741–Jean-Baptiste Rousseau,Frenchpoet(b.1674)
- 1782–Daniel Bernoulli,Swissmathematician(b.1700)
- 1830-Lauren de Gouvion Saint-Cyr,French politician (b.1764)
- 1846-Friedrich Bessel,Germanmathematicianandastronomer(b.1764)
- 1849– KingWilliam II of the Netherlands(b.1792)
- 1853–Christian Doppler,Austrian physician and mathematician (b.1803)
- 1871-Robert Chambers,Scottish geologist and publisher (b.1802)
- 1875-Ferdinand Laub,Czech violinist and composer (b.1832)
- 1886-Leopold Zunz,German Jewish scientist (b.1794)
- 1893-Jules Ferry,Frenchstatesman(b.1832)
1901 – 2000
[change|change source]- 1917–Franz Brentano,Germanphilosopher(b.1838)
- 1921-Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky,Russianmathematicianandengineer(b.1847)
- 1926-Aleksei Brusilov,Russian general (b.1853)
- 1937–Austen Chamberlain,English statesman (b.1863)
- 1941-Marguerite Nichols,American actress (b.1895)
- 1946-Dai Li,Chinese spymaster (b.1897)
- 1956–Irène Joliot-Curie,French physicist (b.1897)
- 1956-Fred Allen,American actor (b.1894)
- 1957–Ramon Magsaysay,Presidentof thePhilippines(b.1907)
- 1958-John Pius Boland,Irish politician andtennisplayer (b.1870)
- 1961-Susanna M. Salter,American politician (b.1860)
- 1962-Pat Clayton,English soldier and surveyor (b.1896)
- 1976-Luchino Visconti,Italian director (b.1906)
- 1980-Boun Oum,Laotianpolitician (b.1912)
- 1983–Haldan Keffer Hartline,American physiologist (b.1903)
- 1986-Heinz Nixdorf,German computer pioneer and entrepreneur (b.1925)
- 1990-Capucine,French actress (b.1931)
- 1993–Charlotte Hughes,Britishsupercentenarian(b.1877)
- 1993-Helen Hayes,American actress (b.1900)
- 1994-Mai Zetterling,Swedish actress and singer (b.1925)
- 1995-Sunnyland Slim,Americanbluesmusician (b.1907)
- 1995–Ronnie Kray,British gangster (b.1933)
- 1996-Rene Clement,Frenchmovie directorandscreenwriter(b.1913)
- 1996-Terry Stafford,American singer (b.1941)
- 1999-Jean Pierre-Bloch,French resistance activist and politician (b.1905)
From 2001
[change|change source]- 2002-Van Tien Dung,Vietnamese general and politician (b.1917)
- 2002-William Witney,American director (b.1915)
- 2003-Su Buqing,Chinesemathematicianand educator (b.1902)
- 2005-George F. Kennan,Americanhistoriananddiplomat(b.1904)
- 2006-Oleg Cassini,American fashion designer (b.1913)
- 2006-G. William Miller,American politician (b.1925)
- 2007-John Backus,Americancomputerscientist(b.1924)
- 2007-Ernst Haefliger,Swisstenor(b.1919)
- 2009–Clodovil Hernandes,Brazilian politician and television host (b.1937)
- 2010–Alex Chilton,American musician (b.1950)
- 2010-Sid Fleischman,American writer (b.1920)
- 2011–Michael Gough,British actor (b.1916)
- 2012-John Demjanjuk,Ukrainian convictedNaziwar criminal(b.1920)
- 2012-Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria,leader of theEgyptianCoptic Church (b.1923)
- 2014-Mareike Carrière,German actress (b.1954)
- 2014-L'Wren Scott,American fashion designer and model (b.1964)
- 2014-Oswald Morris,Britishcinematographer(b.1915)
- 2014-Antoni Opolski,Polishphysicist(b.1913)
- 2014-Mercy Edirisinghe,Sri Lankanactressandsinger(b.1945)
- 2015-Shaw Taylor,Englishtelevisionpresenter andactor(b.1924)
- 2015-Ashley Adams,Australian Paralympic shooter (b.1955)
- 2016-Shozo Awazu,Japanesejudoka(b.1923)
- 2016-Paul Daniels,English magician (b.1938)
- 2016-Meir Dagan,Israeli military officer and intelligence official (b.1945)
- 2016-Solomon Marcus,Romanianmathematician(b.1925)
- 2016-Larry Drake,American actor (b.1950)
- 2016-Marian Kociniak,Polish actor (b.1935)
- 2017-Derek Walcott,Saint Lucianpoetandplaywright(b.1930)
- 2017-Hugh Hardy,Spanish-Americanarchitect(b.1932)
- 2017-Lawrence Montaigne,American actor (b.1931)
- 2017-Auntie Fee,AmericanYouTubepersonality (b.1957)
- 2017-Inomjon Usmonxo'jayev,Soviet-Uzbek politician (b.1930)
- 2018-Phan Van Khai,formerPrime ministerofVietnam(b.1933)
- 2018-Nicholas Edwards, Baron Crickhowell,Welsh politician (b.1934)
- 2018-Mike MacDonald,Canadian comedian (b.1955)
- 2019-Jorge Insunza Becker,Chilean engineer and politician (b.1936)
- 2019-Bill Burlison,American politician (b.1931)
- 2019-Manohar Parrikar,Indian politician (b.1955)
- 2019-Andre Williams,American R&B musician (b.1936)
Holidays
[change|change source]- St. Patrick's Day- celebrating the patron saint ofIreland,celebrated in Ireland and in Irish communities worldwide
- Children's Day (Bangladesh)