/year

March 3 in history

242 sourced entries recorded on March 3, from 264 CE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 264March 1–3 – Zhong Hui's Rebellion in China is quelled.source
  • 422Theodosius II issues a law to form provisions in peacetime. He instructs landowners leasing towers in the Theodosian Walls to assist with the build-up of emergency goods. Theodosius pays an annual tribute of 350 pounds of gold to the Huns in order to buy peace.source
  • 473Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Emperor Leo I refuses to recognize him, and chooses Julius Nepos as candidate to the Western throne.source
  • 724Empress Genshō abdicates the throne, in favor of her 23-year-old nephew, Prince Obito, who becomes the 45th monarch of Japan as the Emperor Shōmu. He is the son of the late Emperor Monmu.source
  • 824(9.19.13.15.19) (9th B'ak'tun, 19th K'atun, 13th year (Tun) 15th month (Winal) 19th day (K'in)) Juun Tsak-Took becomes the new ruler of the Mayan city state of Machaquila (in what is now Guatemala), along with co-ruler and Ti-Chaak become the after the death of Sihyaj K'in Ich’aak II. Juun Tsak-Tookwill until his 840.source
  • 1067Battle on the Nemiga River: The three sons of Grand Prince Yaroslav I (the Wise) – Iziaslav I, Sviatoslav II, and Vsevolod I – defeat the forces under Vseslav of Polotsk.source
  • 1225As the envoy of Pope Honorius III, Romanus, Cardinal-deacon of San Angelo, leaves Rome to travel to France to the court of King Louis XIII.source
  • 1284Statute of Rhuddlan: King Edward I of England brings Wales under direct rule after the Welsh Wars (1277–1283). He appoints sheriffs and bailiffs for the northern territories while the southern areas are left under the control of the Marcher Lords. English law is introduced in criminal cases, though the Welsh are allowed to maintain their customary laws in some cases of property disputes. He arranges a Round Table (tournament) at Nefyn in Wales and promises the Welsh that he will provide them with a Prince of Wales. On April 25, his son, the future Edward II of England, is born at Caernarfon Castle in Wales.source
  • 1302Upon the death of Roger-Bernard III, Count of Foix, who had founded the Co-principality of Andorra in 1278, Roger's son Count Gaston continues as the new French administrator on behalf of King Philip of France. The holder of the title Count of Foix will continue to be the French representative in Andorra, with almost 200 years of unbroken rule, until the death of Gaston IV in 1472.source
  • 1310Konrad I of Oleśnica and his brother Boleslaw, sons and heirs of Henry III, Duke of Głogów renounce their rights to Gdańsk Pomerania (now part of Poland) in return for payment by the principality of Brandenburg, ruled by the Margrave Heinrich I.source
  • 1323The Earl of Carlisle is tried and convicted for treason, then executed later in the day. Carlisle is hanged, drawn and quartered, and parts of his body are sent to various sites in England for public display.source
  • 1323Andrew Harclay executed for treason by Edward II of England.source
  • 1331William de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, appointed lieutenant. Ordinances for Conduct of Irish government includes a decree that there should be one law for Irish and Anglo-Irish, except for betaghssource
  • 1337Ordinance by King Edward III of England and council in parliament at Westminster that landholders in Ireland should pay subsidy for defence of their marchessource
  • 1353Bern signs an alliance with the Old Swiss Confederacy.source
  • 1365Battle of Gataskogen: Albert of Mecklenburg defeats and captures Magnus Eriksson, obtaining the throne of Sweden.source
  • 1374Genoa makes a second assault on Kyrenia in Cypturs by land and sea and overcomes the defenders.source
  • 1382The Mailottins massacre takes place in Paris when revenue agents for King Charles VI arrive at the Les Halles market to collect taxes. The agents are killed by a mob of almost 500 merchants, and the number of people involved increases to several thousand, with the rioters seizing a large store of iron mallets (mallots) at the Place de Greve. Armed with heavy weapons, the mallotins begin attacking and looting churches, businesses, government offices and homes of wealthy people and then attack the Jewish section of city. An estimated 30 people are killed by the mob.source
  • 1384King Richard II of England summons the members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to assemble at Salisbury on April 29.source
  • 1421Zheng He receives an imperial order from China's Emperor Zhu Di to begin the Ming treasure voyages, carrying imperial letters, silk products and other gifts to various rulers of countries around the Indian Ocean.source
  • 1480The Treaty of Lucerne is signed between the Duchy of Milan and the Old Swiss Confederation, 15 months after the Battle of Giornico. Milan cedes the Leventina District to the Canton of Uri.source
  • 1497The Russo-Swedish War (1495–1497) ends with a six year truce signed in Russia at Novgorod. Due to gathering unrest at home, the Swedish leader Sten Sture the Elder is forced to offer a peace to Ivan III of Moscow.source
  • 1515Mary Tudor, sister of King Henry VIII of England and widow of King Louis XII of France, is secretly married to the Duke of Suffolk in the presence of the new King of France, Francois.source
  • 1538Marriage between Svante Stensson Sture and Martha Leijonhufvud.source
  • 1575Battle of Tukaroi: The Mughal Empire decisively defeats the Karrani dynasty of Bengal. The battle took place near the village of Tukaroi in present-day Balasore District of Odisha.source
  • 1575The Battle of Tukaroi was fought.source
  • 1580George de Lalaing, Count of Rennenberg defects from the Union of Utrecht and the Dutch Republic, and turns over the province of Groningen to King Philip II of Spain.source
  • 1586Battle of Werl in the Duchy of Westphalia (Germany): Claude de Berlaymont and a large force of 4,000 troops attempt to capture Maarten Schenck van Nydeggen, who had plundered the territory of Vest Recklinghausen within the Electorate of Cologne. Schenk and his men are able to escape after five days.source
  • 1592Trinity College Dublin, Ireland's oldest university, is founded.source
  • 1613March 3 (February 21 O.S.) – An assembly of the Russian Empire elects Mikhail Romanov Tsar of Russia, ending the Time of Troubles. The House of Romanov will remain a ruling dynasty until 1917.source
  • 1627After the First Manchu invasion of Korea, the Joseon dynasty of Korea becomes a tributary state of the Manchus, but still pays respects to the Ming dynasty of China. After rejecting a Manchu alteration to the original diplomatic terms in 1636, the Manchus invade again in 1637.source
  • 1630A fleet sent by the Dutch West India Company captures Recife from the Portuguese, establishing Dutch Brazil.source
  • 1636A "great charter" to the University of Oxford establishes the Oxford University Press as the second of the privileged presses.source
  • 1638Thirty Years' War: Battle of Rheinfelden – A mercenary army under Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, fighting for France, defeats forces of the Holy Roman Empire.source
  • 1638Battle of Rheinfelden: A mercenary army under Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, fighting for France, defeats Imperial forces.source
  • 1639The early settlement of Taunton, Massachusetts, is incorporated as a town.source
  • 1645Simon Paulli gives his first public lecture in the new Domus Anatomica in Copenhagen.source
  • 1646the title of Earl of Leinster in the Peerage of Ireland is created for Robert Cholmondeley.source
  • 1656Fyodor Baykov, the Russian Empire's first envoy to China, is admitted to the Forbidden City within Beijing, after being sent by Tsar Alexis to negotiate a trade agreement with the Emperor Shunzi.source
  • 1660General John Lambert, who had attempted to stop the Restoration, is arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London. He escapes on April 9 but is recaptured on April 24. Though spared the death penalty for treason in 1662, he remains incarcerated on the island of Guernsey for the rest of his life until his death at age 64 on March 1, 1684.source
  • 1671Pomone, written by Robert Cambert and considered by modern scholars to be the first French opera, is given its first performance. Using innovative costumes, and machinery for special stage effects, the premiere performed by the Académie d'Opéra at the Salle de la Bouteille theater in Paris is a success.source
  • 1686A group of 107 French Canadian soldiers, under the command of Pierre de Troyes, begins the Hudson Bay expedition, departing from Montreal on an 800 mi journey to take control of the properties of British North American settlers of the Hudson's Bay Company. The group marches for 82 days and arrives at the first Hudson's Bay fort, at Moose Factory on June 19.source
  • 1700Shivaji II accedes to the throne of the Maratha Empire as the 4th Chhatrapati after his father Rajaram I's death.source
  • 1702March 3 (February 20 O.S.) – King William III of England is fatally injured in an accident when he is thrown from his horse, "Sorrel", when it trips on a molehill in Hampton Court Park near London. Already in poor health before the accident, he dies from complications 16 days later at the age of 51.source
  • 1712Scottish Episcopalians Act 1711 comes into effect, leading to incorporation of the Scottish Episcopal Church.source
  • 1712Scottish Episcopalians Act 1711 comes into effect, leading to incorporation of the Scottish Episcopal Church.source
  • 1717February 26–March 6 – What becomes the northeastern United States is paralyzed by a series of blizzards that bury the region.source
  • 1732English Captain Charles Gough rediscovers Gough Island in the South Atlantic.source
  • 1732Captain Charles Gough rediscovers Gough Island in the South Atlantic.source
  • 1787By a vote of 33 to 29, Harrisburg is approved as the new capital of Pennsylvania.source
  • 1793March 1–3 – John Langdon serves as President pro tempore of the United States Senate.source
  • 1799Hawkesbury River floods, killing one.source
  • 1802Ludwig van Beethoven publishes his Piano Sonata No. 14, commonly known as the "Moonlight Sonata" (Mondschein), in Vienna; the availability of the sheet music is announced by Giovanni Cappi in the newspaper Wiener Zeitung.source
  • 1802Ludwig van Beethoven publishes his Piano Sonata No. 14, commonly known as the "Moonlight Sonata" (Mondschein), in Vienna; the availability of the sheet music is announced by Giovanni Cappi in the newspaper Wiener Zeitung.source
  • 1810Launch of the Carmarthen Journal, the oldest surviving newspaper in Wales.source
  • 1811Sparekassen Bikuben is founded in Copenhagen.source
  • 1814The Governor refuses to suspend Chief Justices Sewell and Monk, on suggestion of one branch of the Legislature. James Stuart moves, affirming the Assembly's right to inform the Governor of irregularities, without concurrence of the council; and that the Governor has violated the Constitution.source
  • 1817The U.S. Congress passes a law to split the Mississippi Territory, after Mississippi drafts a constitution, creating the Alabama Territory, effective in August.source
  • 1817On his last day in office, U.S. President James Madison vetoes John C. Calhoun's Bonus Bill as unconstitutional after it has passed both houses of the U.S. Congress. Stephen Minicucci, Internal Improvements and the Union, 1790–1860, Studies in American Political Development (2004), 18: p.160-185, (2004), Cambridge University Presssource
  • 1817President James Madison vetoes John C. Calhoun's Bonus Bill.source
  • 1818construction of the Union Canal begins at the Edinburgh end.source
  • 1820March 3 and 6 – The Missouri Compromise becomes law, allowing admission of Missouri and Maine, as slave and free states respectively, as U.S. states.source
  • 1820A fire in Guangzhou in China burns 15,000 houses and kills an undetermined number of people.source
  • 1820March 3 & 6 – Slavery in the United States: The Missouri Compromise becomes law.source
  • 1828Dom Pedro I, Emperor of Brazil and former King of Portugal, signs a document "to complete my abdication of the Portuguese crown" (made in 1826), to renounce all claims in favor of his daughter Queen Maria II, and to declare "indubitable proof" that he wishes Portugal to be "perpetually separated from the Brazilian nation....in such a manner as may render even the idea of reunion impracticable."source
  • 1845Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state. On the same day, both houses of the U.S. Congress vote by a two-thirds majority, to override a presidential veto for the first time in history in order to pass legislation.source
  • 1845Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state (see History of Florida).source
  • 1846February 20–March 3 – Kraków uprising: Polish nationalists stage an uprising in the Free City of Kraków; it is suppressed by forces of the Austrian Empire, supported by peasants.source
  • 1849Minnesota becomes a United States territory.source
  • 1849The United States Congress passes the Gold Coinage Act allowing the minting of two additional denominations of gold coins, the gold dollar and the double eagle.source
  • 1849The U.S. Congress passes the Gold Coinage Act allowing the minting of gold coins.source
  • 1849The United States Department of the Interior is established, incorporating the Census Office, United States General Land Office, Office of Indian Affairs and Patent and Trademark Office.source
  • 1854Australia's first telegraph line, linking Melbourne and Williamstown, Victoria, opens.source
  • 1855The United States Congress appropriates $30,000 to create the U.S. Camel Corps.source
  • 1857France and the United Kingdom formally declare war on China, in the Second Anglo-Chinese War.source
  • 1857The largest slave auction in U.S. history is held, dubbed The Weeping Time. Over a 2-day period (starting March 2), Pierce M. Butler sells 436 men, women, children, and infants, all of whom are kept in stalls meant for horses at a racetrack in Savannah, Georgia, for weeks beforehand.source
  • 1859March 2–3 – The Great Slave Auction, the largest single sale of slaves in U.S. history, with more than 400 people sold, takes place near Savannah, Georgia.source
  • 1859Construction begins on the first railway in northern India as tracks are laid between the modern-day locations of Allahabad and Kanpur.source
  • 1861March 3 (February 19 O.S.) – Emancipation reform of 1861: Alexander II abolishes serfdom in the Russian Empire.source
  • 1862Leopold I of Belgium writes a letter to the dean of Windsor expressing a desire to be buried alongside his first wife, Princess Charlotte of Wales.source
  • 1863Idaho Territory is organized by the U.S. Congress.source
  • 1865The U.S. Congress authorizes formation of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.source
  • 1865Thomas Sutherland founds the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.source
  • 1865Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, founded by Scottish businessman Thomas Sutherland, begins operation in British Hong Kong.source
  • 1871The first American civil service reform legislation is signed into law by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, creating the United States Civil Service Commission.source
  • 1871German federal election, 1871source
  • 1873Censorship: The United States Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail.source
  • 1873Censorship: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, or lascivious" books through the mail.source
  • 1875The Page Act of 1875 is enacted. Passed amid rising nativistic and anti-Chinese sentiment, the Act restricts the immigration of Chinese women to the U.S.source
  • 1875The Page Act of 1875 is enacted in the United States, effectively prohibiting the immigration of Chinese women.source
  • 1875The first indoor ice hockey game is played at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.source
  • 1875Bizet's Carmen is first performed at the Opéra-Comique, Paris, France, three months before the composer's death.source
  • 1876Kentucky meat shower.source
  • 1878March 3 (February 19 O.S.) – Treaty of San Stefano signed between the Russian and Ottoman Empires following Russian victory in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) provides for establishment of an autonomous Principality of Bulgaria (although not as large as originally envisaged). Russia however regards the treaty as a preliminary one only, refusing on March 25 a British proposal to lay it before a European congress, and matters are finally settled in July's Treaty of Berlin.source
  • 1879United States Geological Survey is founded.source
  • 1885The New South Wales Contingent, consisting of an infantry battalion and an artillery battalion, leaves Sydney to fight in the Sudan Campaign.source
  • 1885A subsidiary of the American Bell Telephone Company, American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), is incorporated in New York.source
  • 1886The Treaty of Bucharest ends the Serbo-Bulgarian War in the Balkans.source
  • 1886The Treaty of Bucharest is signed in the Romanian capital, bringing to an end the Serbo-Bulgarian War.source
  • 1887The United States imposes the Fisheries Retaliation Act putting limits on Canadian fishermen and traderssource
  • 1887Anne Sullivan begins teaching Helen Keller.source
  • 18883 March Wales 11–0 Ireland (in Wrexham)source
  • 1890The first American football game in Ohio State University history is played in Delaware, Ohio, against Ohio Wesleyansource
  • 1891The Ocean Mail Act of 1891 is passed by the Fifty-first United States Congress, providing subsidies to steamships for the carrying of mails between US and foreign ports.source
  • 1891The International Copyright Act of 1891 is passed, by the 51st United States Congress.source
  • 1891The International Copyright Act of 1891 is passed by the Fifty-first United States Congress.source
  • 1891Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, predecessor of Shoshone National Forest, in Wyoming is established as the first United States National Forest.source
  • 1895In Munich, Germany, bicyclists have to pass a test and display license plates.source
  • 1896Publication begins for Der Eigene, the world's first magazine with an orientation to male homosexuality, by Adolf Brand in Berlin.source
  • 1898Cape Midland – Middelburg to Graaff-Reinet, 91 mi.source
  • 1899Guglielmo Marconi conducts radio beacon experiments on Salisbury Plain and notices that radio waves are being reflected back to the transmitter by objects they encounter, one of the early steps in the development of radar.source
  • 1903The British Admiralty announces plans to build the Rosyth Dockyard as a naval base at Rosyth in Scotland.source
  • 1904Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison's cylinder.source
  • 1904Kaiser Wilhelm II becomes the first person to make a political recording of a document, using Thomas Edison's cylinder.source
  • 1905Tsar Nicholas II of Russia announces the creation of an elected assembly, the Duma, to represent the people of the Russian Empire in an advisory capacity, although the real power to make laws will remain with the Tsar and the cabinet of ministers.source
  • 1910Morocco signs accords with France in Paris, permitting the French to occupy Casablanca and Oujda in return for military training, as part of refinancing of loans.source
  • 1913The Woman Suffrage Procession takes place in Washington, D.C. led by Inez Milholland on horseback.source
  • 1918WWI: The Central Powers and Bolshevist Russia sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending Russia's involvement in the war.source
  • 1918Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Bolshevist Russia cedes sovereignty over Estonia to Germany.source
  • 1919April – Russian Civil War: Beginning of the Chapan War as peasants of the provinces of Samara and Simbirsk rebel against Soviet rule.source
  • 1921Shipwreck of SS Hong Mohsource
  • 1923The first issue of TIME magazine is published.source
  • 1924The Ottoman Caliphate, a remnant of the Ottoman Empire abolished on November 1, 1922, and one of the historical claims of succession to the Islamic State of Muhammad, comes to an end with the deposition of Abdülmecid II, Caliph of the Ottoman dynasty. This marks the end of an era, giving way to the drastic political transformations of Turkey under President Atatürk's reforms.source
  • 1924Executive Bureau of the Central Committee of the Khorezm Communist Party approved the initiative on the national delimitation of the Central Asiasource
  • 1924The Ministry of Sharia and the Foundations was abolished; the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the Directorate General of Foundations were establishedsource
  • 1929A revolt by Generals José Gonzalo Escobar and Jesús María Aguirre fails in Mexico.source
  • 1929Escobar Rebellion: A revolt by Generals José Gonzalo Escobar and Jesús María Aguirre, challenging the power of Plutarco Elías Calles, ends in failure.source
  • 1930The Romanian Society of Geology is founded with Ludovic Mrazek as president.source
  • 19331933 Sanriku earthquake: A powerful earthquake and tsunami hit Honshū, Japan, killing approximately 3,000 people.source
  • 1933Ching Yun University is established.source
  • 1934the third Theatre Royal, Dublin, closes.source
  • 1936Legislative Assembly passed a motion to terminate the Ottawa trade agreement.source
  • 1936March 2–8. Strike action at Polish-Swiss Chocolate Factory Philippe Suchard in Kraków,source
  • 1938Sir Nevile Henderson, British Ambassador to Germany, presents a proposal to Hitler for an international consortium to rule much of Africa (in which Germany would be assigned a leading role), in exchange for a German promise never to resort to war to change her frontiers; Hitler rejects the British offer.source
  • 1938The Santa Ana River in California, United States, spills over its banks during a rainy winter, killing 58 people in Orange County, and causing trouble as far inland as Palm Springs.source
  • 1938The Santa Ana River in California spills over its banks during a rainy winter, killing 58 people in Orange County and causing trouble as far inland as Palm Springs.source
  • 1940Flooding of Poulaphouca Reservoir was begun by damming the River Liffey at Poulaphouca as part of the Electricity Supply Board project to build Ireland's second hydroelectricity generating station, together with an improved water supply for Dublin.source
  • 1944Italy: in one of the deadliest railway disasters in history, over 500 clandestine passengers die of carbon monoxide poisoning when a steam freight train stops in a railway tunnel near Balvano, Basilicata, Southern Italy.source
  • 1947Sekisui Chemical was founded.source
  • 1951March 3 or 5 – Jackie Brenston "and His Delta Cats" (actually Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm) record "Rocket 88" at Sam Phillips' Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, a candidate for the first rock and roll record (released in April). It is covered on June 14 by Bill Haley and His Saddlemen.source
  • 1953CF-CUN, a de Havilland DH-106 Comet 1A of CPAL named Empress of Hawaii, crashed during takeoff from Karachi's Mauripur RAF Station during its delivery flight at 03:35 at 30 m (98 feet) elevation, killing all 11 occupants. The plane was headed to Singapore's Seletar Airport to be flown to Sydney for an inaugural flight to Honolulu on April 28. The crash was found to have been caused by the pilot, who had little experience with the Comet, taking off at night without obeying prescribed takeoff technique.source
  • 1957Net als toen, sung by Corry Brokken (music by Guus Jansen, lyrics by Willy van Hemert), wins the Eurovision Song Contest 1957 (held at Frankfurt), for the Netherlands.source
  • 1958The national identity card is created. To avoid fraud, the document must always bear all the names (they can be 1, 2, 3, or even 4), the surnames of both parents (in the old days, if the father did not recognize the child, he or she had to bear the mother's first surname as both surnames), nationality (Chile or another country), date of birth (any) and the Unique National Role or RUN.source
  • 1959Lunar probe Pioneer 4 becomes the first American object to escape dominance by Earth's gravity.source
  • 1961Hassan II is crowned King of Morocco.source
  • 1961Henny Astrup, actress (born 1876)source
  • 1963Dixie Willis breaks Lyudmila Shevtsova's world record (2:04.3) in the women's 800 metres, clocking 2:01.2 in Perth.source
  • 1966A F5 tornado strikes Mississippi and Alabama, causing catastrophic damage over its 200 miles, and kills 57 peoplesource
  • 1968Air France Flight 212, a Boeing 707, crashes in Guadeloupe while approaching an airport. As a result, 63 people die.source
  • 1969Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 (James McDivitt, Rusty Schweickart, David Scott) to test the lunar module.source
  • 1969In a Los Angeles court, Sirhan Sirhan admits that he killed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.source
  • 1970A People's March is organized by the Movement for a Democratic Philippines, and the group marches from Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City to Post Office Building in Plaza Lawton, Manila.source
  • 1973Republican Party merges with Reliance Party to become Republican Reliance Party.source
  • 1974Turkish Airlines Flight 981, travelling from Paris to London, crashes in the woods near Paris, killing all 346 aboard. This was the deadliest aircraft accident in history up to this time, and remains the deadliest single aircraft accident with no survivors.source
  • 1974Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes near Paris with 346 fatalities.source
  • 1977Nehru Planetarium commissioned.source
  • 1978Ethiopia admits that its troops are fighting with the aid of Cuban soldiers, against Somalian troops in the Ogaden.source
  • 1978Rhodesian Bush War: Rhodesia attacks Zambia.source
  • 1978The New York Post publishes an article about David Rorvik's book The Cloning of Man, about a supposed cloning of a human being.source
  • 1980Pierre Trudeau returns to office as Prime Minister of Canada.source
  • 1985The 8.0 Mw Algarrobo earthquake hits Santiago and Valparaíso, Chile, leaving 177 dead, 2,575 injured, 142,489 houses destroyed, and approximately a million people homeless.source
  • 1986Full independence of Australia - Australia Act 1986: This law formally severed all legal ties between Australia and the United Kingdom.source
  • 1986The first paper is published describing the atomic force microscope invented the previous year by Gerd Binnig, Calvin Quate and Christopher Berger.source
  • 1989Jammu Siltavuori abducts and murders two eight-year-old girls in the Myllypuro suburb of Helsinki, Finland.source
  • 1990The International Trans-Antarctic Scientific Expedition, a group of six explorers from six nations, completes the first dog sled crossing of Antarctica.source
  • 1991A video captures the beating of motorist Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers. Four Los Angeles police officers are indicted on March 15 for the beating.source
  • 1995United Nations Operation in Somalia II, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Somalia, ends.source
  • 1995The Iraqi National Congress, backed by the CIA, along with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan attack the city of Kirkuk, the incursion increased the opposition's foothold in northern Iraq but did not meaningfully change the map as the expected US support didn't materialize.source
  • 1996José María Aznar, leader of the Popular Party, is elected as Prime Minister of Spain, replacing Felipe González.source
  • 1996March 3–4 – Two suicide bombs explode in Israel, killing 32 people. The Yahya Ayyash Units admit responsibility, and Palestinian president Yasser Arafat condemns the killings in a televised address. Israel warns of retaliation.source
  • 2000February 23–March 7 – Mayon volcano in Albay erupts, with the most violent occurred, February 28 – March 1; its status is raised to the highest, Alert Level 5, on February 24 due to its hazardous explosions with pyroclastic and lahar flows that affected parts of the province, with several thousands evacuated even outside identified danger zones.source
  • 2002March 2–10 – Afghan and coalition troops carry out Operation Anaconda in the Shah-i-Kot Valley, the largest combat operation against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to that point.source
  • 2006Kenya and Sudan, completing trade talks that have gone on since 2001, announce plans to sign a landmark trade agreement.source
  • 2007A total lunar eclipse occurs and is visible in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. It is the 52nd lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros series 123 occurring at the moon's descending node. The moon is just 3.2 days before apogee, making it fairly small.source
  • 2011Essam Sharaf was appointed Prime Minister of Egypt by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, replacing Ahmed Shafik.source
  • 2015An archaeological expedition finds the legendary White City in northeastern Honduras, with artifacts that date to A.D. 1000 to 1400.source
  • 2017Nintendo releases the Switch worldwide.source
  • 2019An uncrewed demonstration flight of the new crew capable version of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, intended to carry American astronauts into space, achieves successful autonomous docking with the International Space Station.source
  • 20222022 Russian invasion of Ukraine: Russia is condemned by world leaders following an attack by its troops on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – the largest in Europe – which led to a fire at the site.source
  • 2023First match day of the 2023 Brunei Super League was played.source
  • 2025The Trump administration pauses military aid to Ukraine, following the Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy the previous week.source

Births

  • 1279Ismail I, Nasrid ruler of Granada (died 1325)source
  • 1439Ashikaga Yoshimi, brother of Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshimasa (died 1491)source
  • 1455King John II of Portugal (died 1495)source
  • 1455Ascanio Sforza, Italian Catholic cardinal (died 1505)source
  • 1500Reginald Pole, Archbishop of Canterbury (died 1558)source
  • 1506Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja (died 1555)source
  • 1520Matthias Flacius, Croatian Protestant reformer (died 1575)source
  • 1583Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English diplomat, poet, and philosopher (died 1648)source
  • 1589Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch theologian (died 1676)source
  • 1606Edmund Waller, English poet (died 1687)source
  • 1652Thomas Otway, English dramatist (died 1685)source
  • 1690Gilbert Livingston (died 1746)source
  • 1746Izabela Czartoryska, Polish magnate princess (died 1835)source
  • 1756William Godwin, English writer (died 1836)source
  • 1756William Godwin, writer (died 1836)source
  • 1758Jens Schou Fabricius, politician (died 1841)source
  • 1793William Macready, English actor (died 1873)source
  • 1826Joseph Wharton, American industrialist (died 1909)source
  • 1845Georg Cantor, German mathematician (died 1918)source
  • 1847Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-born Canadian inventor (died 1922)source
  • 1869Henry Wood, British conductor (died 1944)source
  • 1869Michael von Faulhaber, German cardinal, archbishop (died 1952)source
  • 1897José Romero, Filipino politician (died 1978)source
  • 1914Teofilo Camomot, Roman Catholic bishop, servant of God (died 1988)source
  • 1978Bright Nxumalo, international footballersource
  • 1995Zahra Lari, figure skatersource

Deaths

  • 264Zhang Yi (or Bogong), Chinese general and politiciansource
  • 264Jiang Wei (or Boyue), Chinese general and regent (born 202)source
  • 532Winwaloe, saint and founder of Landévennec Abbey (b.c. 460)source
  • 1009Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, Umayyad chief minister (born 983)source
  • 1040Cunigunde, Holy Roman Empresssource
  • 1111Bohemond I, Italo-Norman nobleman (born 1054)source
  • 1195Hugh de Puiset, bishop of Durham (born c. 1125)source
  • 1239Vladimir IV of Kiev, Kievan Grand Prince (born 1187)source
  • 1267March 3 or 4 – Lars, Archbishop of Uppsalasource
  • 1302Roger-Bernard III, Count of Foix, French nobleman and knight (born 1243)source
  • 1302Roger-Bernard III, French nobleman and knight (born 1243)source
  • 1311March 3 (date buried) – Antony Bek, English bishop and patriarch (born 1245)source
  • 1323Andrew Harclay, English nobleman and knight (born 1270)source
  • 1363Simone Boccanegra, first doge of Genoa (approximate date)source
  • 1459Ausiàs March, Catalan poet from Valencia (born 1397)source
  • 1542Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, illegitimate son of King Edward IV of Englandsource
  • 1554John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (born 1503)source
  • 1573Claude, Duke of Aumale, third son of Claude, Duke of Guise (born 1526)source
  • 1588Henry XI of Legnica, Duke of Legnica (born 1539)source
  • 1616Matthias de l'Obel, physician of James I of England (born 1538)source
  • 1633Magnus Brahe, Lord High Constable and Lord High Steward (born 1564)source
  • 1678Philip Bell, British colonial governor (born 1590)source
  • 1700Chhatrapati Rajaram Raje Bhonsale, 3rd Maratha Emperor (born 1670)source
  • 1703Robert Hooke, English natural philosopher, architect and polymath (born 1635)source
  • 1707Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor of India (born 1618)source
  • 1765William Stukeley, English archaeologist (born 1687)source
  • 1814First Battle of Talca. Patriot Colonel Carlos Spano dies in the defense of Talca from the Royalist forces under the command of Ildefonso Elorreaga.source
  • 1815Ngāpuhi chief Ruatara dies. His protection of the mission at Rangihoua passes to his uncle Hongi Hika. Ruatara's plans to trade in wheat (see 1814) die with him.source
  • 1843David Porter, American naval officer (born 1780)source
  • 1847Charles Hatchett, English chemist (born 1765)source
  • 1879William Kingdon Clifford, English mathematician and philosopher (born 1845)source
  • 1908Sidney Hill, English philanthropist (born 1829)source
  • 1943173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green, London.source
  • 1983Hergé, 75, Belgian comic strip artist and representative of the ligne claire drawing style, created the series The Adventures of Tintin, Quick & Flupke, and The Adventures of Jo, Zette and Jocko, died while hospitalised in intensive care, since he had suffered cardiac arrest in late Februarysource
  • 1987Danny Kaye, 76, American singer, actor, dancer and comedian, internal bleeding and hepatitis.source