/year

March 17 in history

247 sourced entries recorded on March 17, from 45 BCE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 45 BCECivil War: In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the younger in the Battle of Munda. Labienus dies in battle, Pompey the younger is executed, but Sextus Pompey escapes to take command of the remnants of the Pompeian fleet.source
  • 455Petronius Maximus, former domesticus ("elite bodyguard") of Aetius, becomes (with support of the Roman Senate) emperor of the Western Roman Empire. He secures the throne by bribing officials of the imperial palace. Maximus consolidates his power by a forced marriage with Licinia Eudoxia, widow of Valentinian III.source
  • 659Gertrude of Nivelles, daughter of Pepin of Landen (mayor of the palace of Austrasia), requests on her deathbed a burial wearing a plain linen shroud. This is the traditional (pagan) practice of a 'furnished' grave.source
  • 1001The Buddhist ruler of Butuan, in the Philippines (P’u-tuan in the Sung Dynasty records), Sari Bata Shaja, makes the first tributary mission to China.source
  • 1041Battle of Olivento: Norman troops and their Lombard allies, led by William Iron Arm, are victorious against the Byzantines at the feet of the Monte Vulture, near the River Olivento in Apulia.source
  • 1229Frederick II enters Jerusalem, escorted by German and Italian troops. Of the Military Orders only the Teutonic Knights are represented and some clergy. He receives the formal surrender of the city by Al-Kamil's governor (or Qadi), who hands him the keys of Jerusalem. The procession then passes through streets to the old building of the Hospital (or the Muristan), where Frederick takes up his residence in the Christian Quarter.source
  • 1303Joan II of the Anscarids becomes the Countess and ruler of Burgundy, a free state within the Holy Roman Empire (now the département of Jura in France), upon the death of her father Otto IV.source
  • 1304Cardinal Albertini, the papal legate and peacemaker, enters Florence and is granted special powers by the government to facilitate his mission.source
  • 1309Robert the Bruce holds his first Parliament at St. Andrewssource
  • 1317In Germany, Waldemar the Great becomes the sole ruler of the reunited Margraviate of Brandenburg upon the death of his cousin, John V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel. Waldemar had been the Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal since 1308.source
  • 1328King Robert the Bruce signs the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton that marks English acceptance of Scottish independence.source
  • 1398The Teutonic Knights resume their attack on Lithuania as a fleet of 84 ships, 4,000 men and 400 horses departs from Danzig toward Gotland, and arrive on March 21.source
  • 1401Turko-Mongol Emperor Timur sacks Damascus.source
  • 1420Ferdinand de Palacios, an envoy of the Pope, publishes the papal bull at Wroclaw, calling for a crusade against the Hussites.source
  • 142112 Rabi al-Awwal 824 AH: Ibrahim ibn Hasan ibn Ajlan and his brother Barakat ibn Hasan are confirmed by the Mamluk Egyptian Sultan Al-Muzaffar Ahmad as co-Emirs of Mecca.source
  • 1438Albert II of Germany is approved by the electors in the Holy Roman Empire as the King of the Romans, the ruler of Germany.source
  • 1441The Swiss Canton of Bern intervenes to block an agreement between the Canton of Zürich that would have ceded the town of Grüningen to the Habsburg family of Germany.source
  • 1452Reconquista – Battle of Los Alporchones (around the city of Lorca in Murcia): The combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile, and its subsidiary kingdom of Murcia, defeat the Emirate of Granada.source
  • 1453In Poland, Przemysław of Toszek, Duke of Oświęcim, takes responsibility for the brief war by his brother Jan IV against King Caasimir IV, frees all prisoners of war taken in the conflict, and agrees to pay 2,800 florins to King Casimir compensation for the damages sustained.source
  • 1473An heir to the throne of Scotland is born to Queen Margaret and King James III. Prince James of the House of Stewart will become King James IV at the age of 15 in 1488.source
  • 1480Lorenzo the Magnificent, Lord of the Republic of Florence, and King Ferrante of Naples agree to an alliance between the two Italian nations, and to end the ongoing war that had started in 1479. Lorenzo had traveled to Naples in December to reach a treaty to end the war.source
  • 1526King François I crosses from the Bidasoa River from Spain into France, while at the same time, his sons the Dauphin Prince François and Prince Henri, 8 and 5 at the time, cross into Spain to take his place as hostages to guarantee France's compliance with the Madrid Treaty. King François repudiates the treaty and the two boys remain captive for the next three years.source
  • 1526King Francis I crosses from the Bidasoa River from Spain into France, while at the same time, his sons the Dauphin Prince François and Prince Henri, cross into Spain to take his place as hostages to guarantee France's compliance with the Madrid Treaty.source
  • 1527In India, the Battle of Khanwa is fought as the Mughal Emperor Babur defeats Rajput ruler Rana Sanga. This and two other major Moghul victories lead to their domination of northern India. Dhaulpur fort is taken by Babur.source
  • 1527The Battle of Khanwa is fought.source
  • 1545Mircea the Shepherd enters Bucharest as the new ruler of Wallachia, now in Romania.source
  • 1560Leaders of the Amboise conspiracy, including Godefroy de Barry, seigneur de La Renaudie, make an unsuccessful attempt to storm the château of Amboise, where the young French king and queen are residing. La Renaudie is subsequently caught and executed, along with over 1,000 of his followers.source
  • 1574Within the Swedish Army, a fight between Scottish and German mercenaries is fought. By the end of the battle, several hundred Scots are dead, compared to 30 Germans.source
  • 1577The Cathay Company is formed, to send Martin Frobisher back to the New World for more gold.source
  • 1593Henri IV, visiting Saumur to see his sister Catherine de Bourbon, grants the inhabitants local tax privileges.source
  • 1614The States General of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands authorizes an exclusive monopoly for trade in the New World, providing for the winning company to be able to make four voyages to the eastern coast of North America between 40° N and 45° N, encompassing the area that becomes the U.S. state of New Jersey. The New Netherland Company receives the exclusive patent, effective January 1, 1615.source
  • 1616Danish East India Company receives a monopoly on trade on Danish India.source
  • 1627Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, is forced to abdicate after his spending brings Hesse-Kassel to bankruptcy. His son takes over as William V and cedes much of the landgravate in September to bring peace in its war against Hesse-Darmstadt.source
  • 1628Oliver Cromwell makes his first appearance in the English Parliament, as Member for Huntingdon.source
  • 164017 March (Saint Patrick's Day) – Henry Burnell's play Landgartha premieres at the Werburgh Street Theatre in Dublin. It is one of the earliest dramatic works from a native Irish playwright.source
  • 1642a group of nobles sign the "Catholic Remonstrance" at Trim, County Meath addressed to King Charles I.source
  • 1649The English Parliament, having voted February 7 against a proposal to continue the monarchy under Oliver Cromwell, passes the "Act Abolishing the Kingship" with the goal of creating a republic under a Lord Protector selected by an elected Parliament.source
  • 1649The Rump Parliament formally abolishes the English monarchy by passing an act abolishing the kingship creating the Commonwealth of England, a republican form of government later extended to Scotland and Ireland.source
  • 1649French colonists from Martinique, led by former Martinique Governor Jacques Dyel du Parquet, land at St. Georges Harbour on the island of Grenada for the founding of Fort Annunciation. The fort is soon abandoned and the colonists cross the harbour for the founding of Fort Royal which eventually becomes the city of St. George's, Grenadasource
  • 1654Treaty of Tienen agreed between representatives of Philip IV and Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, formally recognising the neutrality of the Prince-Bishopric of Liègesource
  • 1662two old women are hanged after being found guilty of witchcraft at the Bury St. Edmunds witch trial.source
  • 1672The Third Anglo-Dutch War begins as the Kingdom of England declares war on the Dutch Republic.source
  • 1672Third Anglo-Dutch War: England declares war on the Dutch Republic.source
  • 1677Franco-Dutch War: Siege of Valenciennes (1676–77) in the Spanish Netherlands ends with surrender of the town to the French.source
  • 1683In a battle at Kalyan (near Bombay) between the Maratha Empire and the Mughal Empire in India, Maratha General Hambirrao Mohite defeats the local Mughal official, Ranamast Khan.source
  • 1691The Athenian Mercury begins twice-weekly publication by The Athenian Society in London.source
  • 1719The coronation of Ulrika Eleonora as Queen of Sweden takes place in Stockholm.source
  • 1735The Freemasonry is introduced to Sweden by Axel Wrede Sparre.source
  • 1736act of the Parliament of Ireland for rebuilding Saint Finbar's Cathedral and erecting a workhouse in Cork.source
  • 1749At London's Covent Garden, composer George Frideric Handel conducts the first performance of his new oratorio, Solomon. More than 250 years later, an instrumental from Solomon, "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba"; will be featured in the 2012 London Summer Olympics opening ceremony.source
  • 1752the Parliament of Great Britain passes an act to bestow estates forfeited by Jacobites to the Crown and to use the revenue to develop the Scottish Highlands.source
  • 1752Parliament passes a bill to bestow estates forfeited by Jacobites to the Crown and to use the revenue to develop the Scottish Highlands.source
  • 1756St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).source
  • 1762The first Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York City takes place in lower Manhattan, inaugurating an annual tradition; the Ancient Order of the Hibernians organization later becomes the sponsor of the event, which attracts as many a 300,000 marchers in some years.source
  • 1764Francisco Javier de la Torre arrives in Manila to become the new Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines.source
  • 1768Britain's Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson, concludes a peace agreement with the leaders of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora tribal nations) of the northern American lands, and with Chiefs Oconostota and Attakullakulla of the Cherokee nation in the southern American lands.source
  • 1768The Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson, concludes a peace agreement with the leaders of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora tribal nations) of the northern American lands, and with Chiefs Oconostota and Attakullakulla of the Cherokee nation in the southern American lands.source
  • 1768William Cookworthy of Plymouth is granted a patent for the manufacture of true porcelain.source
  • 1768Prithvi Singh begins a reign of 10 years as the new Raja of Jaipur (part of the modern-day Indian state of Rajasthan), 12 days after the death of Madho Singh.source
  • 1773March 9–19 – Second voyage of James Cook: Tobias Furneaux in HMS Adventure explores the coast of Van Diemen's Land.source
  • 1775Catherine the Great of Russia issues a manifesto prohibiting freed serfs from being returned to serfdom.source
  • 1776American Revolutionary War: Threatened by Patriot cannons on Dorchester Heights, the British evacuate Boston, ending the 11‑month Siege of Boston.source
  • 1780American Revolutionary War: The British San Juan Expedition sails from Jamaica under the command of Captains John Polson and Horatio Nelson to attack the Captaincy General of Guatemala (modern-day Nicaragua) in New Spain.source
  • 1780American Revolutionary War: the British San Juan Expedition sails from Jamaica under the command of Captains John Polson and Horatio Nelson to attack the Captaincy General of Guatemala (modern-day Nicaragua) in New Spain.source
  • 1783Installation dinner for the founding of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick by King George III of the United Kingdom takes place in Dublin Castle.source
  • 1787The Bank of North America, the central bank of the United States government under the Articles of Confederation, is re-incorporated after its charter had expired in 1786.source
  • 1800The British Royal Navy ship of the line, HMS Queen Charlotte, catches fire off the coast of Capraia, with the loss of 673 lives.source
  • 1801Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth becomes Prime Minister.source
  • 1804Friedrich Schiller's play Wilhelm Tell is first performed at Weimar, under the direction of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.source
  • 1804Friedrich Schiller's play Wilhelm Tell, is first performed at Weimar, under the direction of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.source
  • 1813Napoleonic Wars: Prussia declares war on France, and introduces the Iron Cross military award (backdated to March 10).source
  • 1814The Assembly resolve that the council's disallowance of a money bill is contrary to English and Canadian usage.source
  • 1816Richmond Bridge, designed by James Savage, is opened over Dublin's River Liffey.source
  • 1820The first British settlers arrive in Table Bay, Cape Town on the "Nautilus" and the "Chapman".source
  • 1824The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 is signed to resolve territorial disputes between the British Empire and the Netherlands over control of the Malay Peninsula and the Dutch East Indies (now Malaysia and Indonesia)source
  • 1824Anglo-Dutch Treaty signed in London.source
  • 1825The Norfolk & Dedham Group is founded as The Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company in the United States.source
  • 1825The Norfolk & Dedham Group is founded as The Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company.source
  • 1836Texas Revolution – Convention of 1836: Delegates adopt the Constitution of the Republic of Texas, modeled after the United States Constitution. It allows slavery, requires free blacks to petition Congress to live in the country, but prohibits the slave trade.source
  • 1842The Female Relief Society of Nauvoo, forerunner to the philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) is formally organized.source
  • 1843earthquake in the Irish Sea.source
  • 1845Stephen Perry patents the rubber band, in the United Kingdom.source
  • 1848Poem In Kümmernis und Dunkelheit was written in London by German poet Ferdinand Freiligrath.source
  • 1852Annibale de Gasparis discovers the asteroid Psyche from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte in Naples.source
  • 1853St Kilda Road robberiessource
  • 1855Taiping Rebellion: A Taiping army of 350,000 invades Anhui.source
  • 1860The First Taranaki War begins at Waitara, New Zealand, when Māori refuse to sell land to British settlers.source
  • 1860The assault on Te Kohia pā marks the beginning of the First Taranaki War.source
  • 1861Unification of Italy: The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed by the new Parliament, with Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia becoming its king.source
  • 1862The first railway line in Finland, between the cities of Helsinki and Hämeenlinna, is officially opened.source
  • 1878Emancipated U.S. slave and Baptist minister Rev. John Jasper first preaches his sermon "The Sun Do Move."source
  • 188317 March Ireland 1–1 Wales (in Belfast)source
  • 1886A white mob storms a courthouse in Carroll County, Mississippi, killing 23 African Americans.source
  • 1890The first railway in Transvaal, the Randtram, opens between Boksburg and Braamfontein in Johannesburg.source
  • 1890The first railway line in the Transvaal, known as the Randtram, is opened for service between Boksburg and Braamfontein in Johannesburg.source
  • 1891The British steamship SS Utopia, carrying Italian migrants to New York, sinks in the inner harbor of Gibraltar after collision with the battleship HMS Anson, killing 564.source
  • 1891the British steamship SS Utopia sinks in the inner harbour of Gibraltar after collision with the battleship HMS Anson, killing 564.source
  • 1892The St. Patrick's Day Snowstorm besieges Tennessee with upwards of 26 inches of snow, establishing accumulation records that still stand.source
  • 1899A fire kills 86 people at the Windsor Hotel in New York City.source
  • 1901The first large-scale showing of Van Gogh's paintings takes place in Paris, as 71 are shown at the Bernheim-Jeune gallery, 11 years after his death.source
  • 1905March 14 – 23 of the 26 crew of the British barque Kyber die when the ship is wrecked off England's Land's End.source
  • 1906The 6.8 Ms Meishan earthquake affected the southwestern portion of the island with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing at least 1,258 deaths and several thousand injuries.source
  • 1908the Tinnevely riot breaks out in Tirunelvelisource
  • 1910Progressive Republicans in the United States House of Representatives rebel against Speaker Joseph Gurney Cannon, removing him from the Rules Committee and stripping him of his power to appoint committee chairmen.source
  • 1913The Military Aviation Academy (Escuela de Aviación Militar) is founded in Uruguay, to become the Military Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Militar) on 4 December 1952 (the Uruguayan Air Force (FAU) will grow from this foundation).source
  • 1920March 13–17 – Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz's Kapp Putsch (an attempted coup in Germany) briefly ousts the Weimar Republic government from Berlin, but fails due to public resistance and a general strike.source
  • 1921The Red Army crushes the Kronstadt rebellion, and a number of sailors flee to Finland.source
  • 1921Marie Stopes opens the first birth control clinic in the British Empire in London, UK.source
  • 1923Dobrolyot is formed as the first Soviet civil aviation service; it will become part of flag carrier Aeroflot.source
  • 1929The second of the Davos University Conferences opens in Switzerland; this includes the Cassirer–Heidegger debate in philosophy.source
  • 1936March 17–18 – Pittsburgh Flood of 1936 ("St. Patrick's Day Flood"): Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, suffers the worst flooding in its history.source
  • 1938Poland presents an ultimatum to Lithuania, to establish normal diplomatic relations that were severed over the Vilnius Region.source
  • 1939The nationalist governments of Spain and Portugal sign the Iberian Pact in Lisbon, pledging mutual defence of the Iberian Peninsula and neutrality in the event of a general European war.source
  • 1939March 10–21 — 18th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)source
  • 1941In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.source
  • 1941British Minister of Labour Ernest Bevin calls for women to fill vital jobs.source
  • 1942The Holocaust: Operation Reinhard – The Nazi German Bełżec extermination camp opens in occupied Poland, about 1 km south of the railroad station at Bełżec in the Lublin district of the General Government. At least 434,508 people are killed here up to December 1942.source
  • 1942Holocaust: the Nazi German extermination camp Belzec opens in occupied Poland about 1 km south of the local railroad station of Belzec in the Lublin district of the General Government. Between March 1942 and December 1942, at least 434,508 people were killed there.source
  • 1943March 17 (Saint Patrick's Day) – Éamon de Valera, Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, makes the speech "The Ireland That We Dreamed Of", commonly called the "comely maidens" speech, in Dublin Castle.source
  • 1948The Hells Angels motorcycle gang is founded in California.source
  • 19501950 Campeonato Profesional: The División Mayor del Fútbol Profesional Colombiano (DIMAYOR) announces that all teams in the tournament must wear jersey numbers and follow the predetermined times for matches from now on.source
  • 1951Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster formed in Crossgar, County Down, by Ian Paisley.source
  • 1953The first nuclear test of Operation Upshot–Knothole is conducted in Nevada, with 1,620 spectators at 3.4 km.source
  • 1954Ma'ale Akrabim massacre: Armed Palestinian Arab militants ambush and board an Israeli civilian passenger bus traveling from Eilat to Tel Aviv. Eleven Israelis on the bus are killed by the militants. Four passengers survived, two of whom are wounded by the militants.source
  • 1954The young Argentine dancer Nélida Lobato performs at the theatre Bim-Bam-Bum in Santiago.source
  • 1955The Richard Riot erupts in Montreal after the NHL suspends Maurice Richard for the remainder of the season.source
  • 1958The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.source
  • 1959Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama escapes Tibet and arrives in India.source
  • 1960U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approves a covert Central Intelligence Agency plan to train a paramilitary force against Cuba, which will result in the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.source
  • 1960Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 710 crashes near Tell City, Indiana, killing all 63 on board.source
  • 1963Mount Agung erupts on Bali, killing approximately 1,500.source
  • 1965In response to the events of March 7 and 9 in Selma, Alabama, President Johnson sends a bill to Congress that forms the basis for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It is passed by the Senate on May 26, the House on July 10, and signed into law by President Johnson on August 6.source
  • 1969Golda Meir becomes the first female prime minister of Israel.source
  • 1969The Longhope life-boat is lost after answering a mayday call during severe storms in the Pentland Firth between Orkney and the northern tip of Scotland; the entire crew of 8 die.source
  • 1972Lon Nol proclaimed himself to be the first President of the Khmer Republic, an office that had been vacant for the first two years of the republic's existence.source
  • 1972Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi visited prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his birthday. Indian army leaves Dhaka.source
  • 1972The commissioning of Unit 2 of Linkou Power Plant in Taipei County.source
  • 1973A magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit a southern Luzon area kills 14 and injures a hundred. It causes an estimated $2 million in damage; the municipalities of Lopez and Calauag in Quezon are the hardest hit.source
  • 1974Members of Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini fired upon demonstrators from the Jatiyo Samajtantarik Dal, who were blockading the residence of the home minister, Mansur Ali, located in the Ramna area of Dhaka. The incident reportedly claimed at least fifty lives.source
  • 1978An oil tanker, Amoco Cadiz, runs aground on the coast of Brittany.source
  • 1979The Penmanshiel Tunnel in the UK collapses, killing two workers.source
  • 1981In Italy, the Propaganda Due Masonic lodge is discovered.source
  • 1982An IKON TV-crew with Koos Koster, Jan Kuiper, Joop Willemse and Hans Terlaag are ambushed and killed in El Salvador. They were trying to interview FMLN rebels because of the upcoming election that will be held on March 28.source
  • 1985Expo '85, an international exhibition, opens in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, running until September 16.source
  • 1985September 16 – Expo '85 was held at the Tsukuba, Ibaraki prefecture.source
  • 1987Three explosions damage the railway line between Newcastle and Johannesburg.source
  • 1988Eritrean War of Independence – Battle of Afabet: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on 3 sides by military units of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF).source
  • 1988A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into the side of the mountains near the Venezuelan border, killing 143 people.source
  • 1988Avianca Flight 410 crashes in Cúcuta, killing all 143 people on board.source
  • 1989The Civic Tower of Pavia, built in the eleventh century, collapses.source
  • 1993The Kurdistan Workers' Party announces a unilateral ceasefire in Iraq.source
  • 1995Flor Contemplacion, a Filipina domestic worker, was hanged for the murder of fellow worker Delia Maga and her three-year-old son, Nicholas Huang which she committed on 4 May 1991.source
  • 1996Sri Lanka wins the Cricket World Cup by beating Australia in the final.source
  • 1996Sri Lanka wins the 1996 Cricket World Cup, beating Australia by 7 wickets, making this Sri Lanka's first ever World Cup victory.source
  • 2000March 12–26 – Pope John Paul II visits Israel, and thus becomes the second pope to visit Israel. During his stay, the Pope visits Yad Vashem (the Israeli national Holocaust memorial) and the Western Wall placing a letter inside it in which he prayed for forgiveness for the actions against Jews in the past.source
  • 2000World Online is floated on the Amsterdam stock exchangesource
  • 2000Uganda mass suicide: 778 members of the Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in Uganda.source
  • 2004Ethnic violence breaks out in Kosovo between Albanians and Serbs.source
  • 2009The President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, is overthrown in a coup d'état, following a month of unrest in Antananarivo.source
  • 2011The United Nations Security Council votes 10–0 to create a no-fly zone over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians.source
  • 2012Mauritania's state information agency announces that Abdullah Senussi, Muammar Gaddafi's former intelligence chief, has been arrested at the airport in Nouakchott upon arrival from Morocco.source
  • 2018March 9-18: Belarus takes part in the 2018 Winter Paralympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.source
  • 2018March 9–18 – The 2018 Winter Paralympics are held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.source
  • 2020The Euro 2020 and 2020 Copa América association football tournaments are postponed until the summer of 2021 by UEFA and CONMEBOL, respectively.source
  • 2022Panama's maritime authority states that Russia has attacked three Panamanian-flagged civil vessels in the Black Sea since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, causing one of the ships to sink. No deaths have been reported.source
  • 2023The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russian Commissioner for Children's Rights, marking the first arrest warrant against a leader of a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.source
  • 2023March 8–21 – The 2023 World Baseball Classic is held in, and won by, Japan.source
  • 2024March 15–17 – 2024 Russian presidential election: Incumbent Vladimir Putin is reelected for a fifth term.source
  • 2025March 8–17 – The 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games are held in Turin, Italy.source

Births

  • 1078Abdul Qadir Gilani, Persian preacher (died 1166)source
  • 1231Shijō (Mitsuhito), emperor of Japan (died 1242)source
  • 1242Maud de Prendergast, Irish noblewoman (died 1272)source
  • 1473James IV, King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death (died 1513)source
  • 1523Giovanni Francesco Commendone, Italian Catholic cardinal (died 1584)source
  • 1548Honda Tadakatsu, Japanese general (died 1610)source
  • 1664Georg Österreich, German composer and music collector (died 1735)source
  • 1665Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichordist and composer (died 1729)source
  • 1676Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (died 1732)source
  • 1686Jean-Baptiste Oudry, French painter (died 1755)source
  • 1699Radu Cantacuzino, 18th-century Romanian prince (died 1761)source
  • 1725Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born American military and political leader (died 1806)source
  • 1741William Withering, British physician (died 1799)source
  • 1754Madame Roland (Jeanne Marie Manon Philipon), French politician (died 1793)source
  • 1775Ninian Edwards, founding political figure of the state of Illinois (died 1833)source
  • 1777Patrick Brontë, Irish Anglican curate and writer; father of writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë (died 1861)source
  • 1777Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the United States (died 1864)source
  • 1785Ellen Hutchins, Irish botanist (died 1815)source
  • 1814Kamehameha III, King of the Hawaiian Islands (died 1854)source
  • 1828Patrick Cleburne, Irish soldier, Confederate general (died 1864)source
  • 1834Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer, inventor (died 1900)source
  • 1893Seyyed Mohammad Hojjat Kooh Kamari, Iranian cleric.source
  • 1906Bahram Aryana, Iranian general.source
  • 1920Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, founder, 2-time president and second prime minister of Bangladesh (died 1975)source
  • 1938Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-born dancer, choreographer (died 1993)source
  • 1942John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (died 1994)source
  • 1979Samoa Joe, American professional wrestlersource
  • 2017Constitution Hill, National Hunt racehorsesource

Deaths

  • 45 BCEPublius Attius Varus, Roman governor (killed in the Battle of Munda)source
  • 45 BCETitus Labienus, Roman general (killed in the Battle of Munda) (born c. 100 BC)source
  • 180Emperor Marcus Aurelius dies after a week's illness at his camp in Vindobona (modern Vienna). He is succeeded by his son Commodus (age 18).source
  • 180Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (born 121)source
  • 188Julian, pope and patriarch of Alexandriasource
  • 493March 17 (approximate date) – Saint Patrick, Romano-British Christian missionary, patron saint of Irelandsource
  • 624Amr ibn Hishām, Arab polytheistsource
  • 659Gertrude of Nivelles, Frankish abbess (born c.628)source
  • 836Haito, bishop of Baselsource
  • 905Li Yu, Prince of De, prince of the Tang Dynastysource
  • 1008Kazan, emperor of Japan (born 968)source
  • 1036Gebhard II, bishop of Regensburgsource
  • 1040Harold Harefoot, king of Englandsource
  • 1040King Harold Harefoot dies at Oxford at the age of 24. His illegitimate son Ælfwine Haroldsson is left in the care of his grandmother, Ælfgifu of Northampton.source
  • 1058Lulach ("the Unfortunate"), king of Scotlandsource
  • 1058King Lulach ("the Unfortunate") of Scotland is killed in battle against his cousin and rival Malcolm III ("Canmore") who becomes king of the Scots.source
  • 1199Jocelin of Glasgow (or Jocelyn), Scottish bishopsource
  • 1241Köten, Cuman chieftainsource
  • 1267Peter of Montereau, French architect (born c. 1200)source
  • 1267Pierre de Montreuil, French architect (birth date unknown)source
  • 1270Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyresource
  • 1272Go-Saga, emperor of Japan (born 1220)source
  • 1303Otto IV, French nobleman and co-ruler (House of Ivrea)source
  • 1348"Hugo de Calce, papal clerk, collector and gatherer of the tax in Dublin, was killed."source
  • 1361An-Nasir Hasan, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, is killed by one of his own mamluks, Yalbugha al-Umari, who, with the senior Mamluk emirs, has al-Mansur Muhammad installed as the new sultan.source
  • 1361An-Nasir Hasan, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt (born 1334/35)source
  • 1394Louis, Count of Enghien, Count of Conversano and Briennesource
  • 1406Ibn Khaldun, African Arab historian (born 1332)source
  • 1425Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shōgun (born 1407)source
  • 1516Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours, ruler of Florence (born 1449)source
  • 1527Rana Sanga, Indian ruler (born 1484)source
  • 1563Girolamo Seripando, Italian Catholic cardinal (born 1493)source
  • 1575Georg Cracow, German lawyer and politician (born 1525)source
  • 1640Philip Massinger, English dramatist (born 1583)source
  • 1640Philip Massinger, dramatist (born 1583)source
  • 1681Zheng Jing, Chinese pirate (born 1642)source
  • 168717 March Dorothea Elisabeth Christiansdatter, princess (born 1629)source
  • 1704Menno van Coehoorn, Dutch military engineer (born 1641)source
  • 1715Gilbert Burnet, Scottish Bishop of Salisbury (born 1643)source
  • 1738Peder Colbjørnsen, timber merchant and war hero (born 1683).source
  • 1781Johannes Ewald, dramatist, poet (born 1743)source
  • 1782Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-born mathematical physicist (born 1700)source
  • 1830Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French marshal (born 1764)source
  • 1846Friedrich Bessel, German mathematician and astronomer (born 1784)source
  • 1914Antun Gustav Matoš, writer (born 1873)source
  • 19571957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash: Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others are killed in a plane crash.source
  • 1957President Magsaysay dies in a plane crash. Vice President Carlos P. Garcia assumes the presidency.source
  • 1988Nikolas Asimos, composer and singer (born 1949)source
  • 2005George F. Kennan, 101, American diplomat and historian.source
  • 2021Ed Armbrister, 72, baseball player (Cincinnati Reds); complications from diabetes.source