From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
March 17 is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 289 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 45 BC In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
- 180 Marcus Aurelius dies leaving Commodus as the sole emperor of the Roman Empire.
- 624 Muslim history: Led by Muhammad, the Muslims of Medina defeat the Quraysh of Mecca in the Battle of Badr.
- 1337 Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy made in England.
- 1756 Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).
- 1776 American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery overlooking the city.
- 1780 American Revolution: George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday "as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence".
- 1805 The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King.
- 1845 The rubber band is patented.
- 1860 The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand land wars.
- 1861 The Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) is proclaimed.
- 1901 An exhibition of seventy-one Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation.
- 1906 The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity is founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
- 1910 Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte found Camp Fire Girls (now Camp Fire USA) (formally announced in 1912).
- 1917 Delta Phi Epsilon is founded at New York University Law School.
- 1921 The Second Republic of Poland adopts the March Constitution.
- 1939 Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and Japan begins,
- 1941 In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1942 Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lviv Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp (eastern Poland).
- 1945 The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany collapses, ten days after its capture.
- 1947 First flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber.
- 1948 Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
- 1950 Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name "Californium."
- 1957 A plane crash in Cebu, Philippines kills Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
- 1958 The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.
- 1959 Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India.
- 1960 U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
- 1966 Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
- 1969 Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
- 1970 My Lai Massacre: The United States Army charges 14 officers with suppressing information related to the incident.
- 1973 The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family.
- 1975 The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad enters its third and final bankruptcy, and William M. Gibbons is selected as receiver and bankruptcy trustee for the railroad.
- 1979 The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.
- 1985 Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker," commits his first two murders in Los Angeles, California murder spree.
- 1988 A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
- 1988 Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet.
- 1992 Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires: Suicide car bomb attack kills 29 and injures 242.
- 2000 More than 800 members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in is considered to be a mass murder and suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult.
- 2003 Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet over his disagreement with government plans for the war with Iraq.
- 2004 Unrest in Kosovo: More than 22 killed, 200 wounded, and the destruction of 35 Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Belgrade and Nis.
- 2008 Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer resigns after a scandal involving a high-end prostitute. Lieutenant Governor David Paterson becomes New York State governor.
[edit] Births
- 1231 Emperor Shijō of Japan (d. 1242)
- 1473 King James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
- 1628 Franηois Girardon, French sculptor (d. 1715)
- 1676 Thomas Boston, Scottish church leader (d. 1732)
- 1725 Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-born military and political leader (d. 1806)
- 1777 Roger Brooke Taney, 5th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1864)
- 1780 Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor, social reformer, author, and scientist (d. 1847)
- 1781 Ebenezer Elliott, British poet (d. 1849)
- 1787 Edmund Kean, English actor (d. 1833)
- 1804 Jim Bridger, American trapper and explorer (d. 1881)
- 1820 Jean Ingelow, English poet (d. 1897)
- 1834 Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and inventor (d. 1900)
- 1846 Kate Greenaway, English children's author and illustrator (d. 1901)
- 1856 Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (d. 1910)
- 1862 Silvio Gesell, Belgian economist (d. 1930)
- 1864 Joseph Baptista, Indian Home Rule Movement founder (d. 1930)
- 1866 Pierce Butler, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1939)
- 1870 Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (d. 1951)
- 1880 Sir Patrick Hastings, British barrister (d. 1952)
- 1880 Lawrence Oates, English army officer and Antarctic explorer (d. 1912)
- 1881 Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1973)
- 1883 Urmuz, Romanian writer (d. 1923)
- 1884 Alcide Nunez, American jazz clarinetist (d. 1934)
- 1886 Princess Patricia of Connaught, British princess (d. 1974)
- 1888 Paul Ramadier, French politician (d. 1961)
- 1892 Benjamin Drake Van Wissen, Australian Engineer (d. 1984)
- 1894 Paul Green, American writer (d. 1981)
- 1897 Jozef C. Mazur, American stained glass artist and painter (d. 1970)
- 1901 Alfred Newman, American film composer (d. 1970)
- 1902 Bobby Jones, American golfer (d. 1971)
- 1907 Sonny Werblin, American football franchise owner (d. 1991)
- 1908 Brigitte Helm, German actress (d. 1996)
- 1912 Bayard Rustin, American civil rights activist (d. 1987)
- 1914 Sammy Baugh, American football player (d. 2008)
- 1915 Henry Bumstead, American art director (d. 2006)
- 1916 Ray Ellington, British singer (d. 1985)
- 1919 Nat King Cole, American singer (d. 1965)
- 1920 Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Founding Leader of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
- 1921 Meir Amit, Israeli politician and general (d. 2009)
- 1925 Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian film and stage actor
- 1926 Siegfried Lenz, German writer
- 1928 William John McKeag, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
- 1930 James Irwin, American astronaut (d. 1991)
- 1931 David Peakall, British scientist (d. 2001)
- 1932 Donald N. Langenberg, American physicist
- 1933 Myrlie Evers-Williams, American activist
- 1936 Ladislav Kupkovic, Slovakian composer
- 1936 Patty Maloney, American actress
- 1936 Ken Mattingly, American astronaut
- 1937 Rudy Ray Moore, American comedian and actor (d. 2008)
- 1937 Adam Wade, American singer and actor
- 1938 Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-born dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
- 1938 Keith Michael Patrick O'Brien, Northern Irish clergyman
- 1938 Zola Taylor, American singer (The Platters) (d. 2007)
- 1939 Jim Gary, American sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1939 Robin Knox-Johnston, British Yachtsman
- 1940 Mark White, American politician
- 1941 Paul Kantner, American musician (Jefferson Airplane)
- 1941 Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwanese politician
- 1942 John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (d. 1994)
- 1942 Dimitris Poulikakos, Greek composer, singer and actor
- 1944 Pattie Boyd, British photographer and model
- 1944 Cito Gaston, American baseball player and manager
- 1944 John Sebastian, American singer and songwriter
- 1945 Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (d. 1982)
- 1945 Michael Hayden, American Air Force General, CIA director
- 1945 Katri Helena, Finnish singer
- 1947 Jan Andersson, Swedish politician
- 1947 Yury Chernavsky, Russian-born composer and producer
- 1947 James Morrow, American author
- 1948 William Gibson, American writer
- 1948 Alex MacDonald, Scottish footballer and football manager
- 1949 Patrick Duffy, American actor
- 1949 Daniel Lavoie, French Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1949 Pat Rice, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
- 1950 Patrick Adams, American record producer and songwriter
- 1951 Donald Findlay, Scottish lawyer
- 1951 Scott Gorham, American musician (Thin Lizzy)
- 1951 Craig Ramsay, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1951 Kurt Russell, American actor
- 1952 Nikos Xydakis, Greek musician and composer
- 1952 Barry Horne, Animal rights activist (d. 2001)
- 1953 Filemon Lagman, Filipino communist revolutionary (d. 2001)
- 1953 Chuck Muncie, American football running back
- 1954 Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
- 1955 Cynthia McKinney, American politician, Presidential candidate
- 1955 Gary Sinise, American actor
- 1956 Patrick McDonnell, American cartoonist
- 1957 Mal Donaghy, Northern Irish footballer
- 1957 Michael Kelly, American journalist (d. 2003)
- 1958 Pat Bolland, Canadian Broadcaster
- 1959 Danny Ainge, American basketball player and coach
- 1959 Paul Black, American rock singer
- 1959 Christian Clemenson, American actor
- 1960 Arye Gross, American actor
- 1960 Vicki Lewis, American actress
- 1961 Sam Bowie, American basketball player
- 1961 Andrew Paul, English actor
- 1961 Dana Reeve, American actress and activist (d. 2006)
- 1961 Casey Siemaszko, American actor
- 1961 Alexander Bard, Swedish artist, singer (Army Of Lovers), music producer, and philosopher
- 1962 Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, Dutch politician
- 1962 Clare Grogan, Scottish actress-singer
- 1963 Alex Fong Chung-Sun, Chinese actor
- 1963 Nick Peros, Canadian composer
- 1964 Lee Dixon, English footballer
- 1964 Rob Lowe, American actor
- 1964 Jacques Songo'o, Cameroonian footballer
- 1966 Jeremy Sheffield, English actor
- 1967 Billy Corgan, American musician (Smashing Pumpkins)
- 1967 Barry Minkow, American religious leader and ex-convict
- 1969 Alexander McQueen, British fashion designer (d. 2010)
- 1969 Mathew St. Patrick, American actor
- 1969 Patricia Ford, American model
- 1970 Gene Ween, American musician (Ween)
- 1970 Yanic Truesdale, Canadian actor
- 1971 Bill Mueller, American baseball player
- 1972 Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian musician
- 1972 Marc Gunn, poet, podcaster, and musician (Brobdingnagian Bards)
- 1972 Mia Hamm, American soccer player
- 1973 Rico Blanco, Filipino singer (Rivermaya)
- 1973 Caroline Corr, Irish singer and musician
- 1973 Vance Wilson, American baseball player
- 1973 Jerome Woods, American football player
- 1974 Marisa Coughlan, American actress
- 1974 Mark Dolan, British TV show host
- 1974 Oliver Palotai, German keyboardplayer (Doro)
- 1975 Puneet Rajkumar, Indian (Kannada) actor, singer and director
- 1975 Justin Hawkins, British singer (The Darkness)
- 1975 Mason Jennings, American folksinger
- 1975 Andrew "Test" Martin, Canadian wrestler (d. 2009)
- 1975 Natalie Zea, American actress
- 1975 Gina Holden, Canadian actress
- 1976 Brittany Daniel, American actress
- 1976 Cynthia Daniel, American actress and photographer
- 1976 Scott Downs, American baseball player
- 1976 Stephen Gately, Irish singer, musician, and actor (Boyzone) (d. 2009)
- 1976 Αlvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer
- 1978 Adam Jennings, British actor, producer and director
- 1979 Nicole "Coco" Austin, American glamor model
- 1979 Stormy Daniels, American pornographic actress
- 1979 Andrew Ference, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 Samoa Joe, Samoan wrestler
- 1979 Sharman Joshi, Indian actor
- 1980 Danny Califf, American soccer player
- 1981 Aaron Baddeley, Australian golfer
- 1981 Servet Ηetin, Turkish football player
- 1981 Kyle Korver, American basketball player
- 1982 Steven Pienaar, South African Footballer
- 1985 Vassiliki Arvaniti, Greek beach volleyball player
- 1986 Olesya Rulin, American actress
- 1986 Miles Kane, British musician
- 1986 Edin Deko, Bosnian Footballer
- 1987 Krisnan Inu, New Zealand rugby player
- 1987 Ryan Parent, Canadian hockey player
[edit] Deaths
- 45 BC Titus Labienus, Roman leader
- 180 Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
- 460 Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland (b. 387)
- 659 Gertrude of Nivelles, Belgian abbess (b. 626)
- 1040 Harold Harefoot, King of England
- 1058 King Lulach I of Scotland
- 1199 Jocelin, bishop of Glasgow
- 1272 Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (b. 1220)
- 1425 Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shogun (b. 1407)
- 1516 Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (b. 1478)
- 1565 Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian (b. 1500)
- 1640 Philip Massinger, English dramatist (b. 1583)
- 1649 Gabriel Lallemant, French Jesuit missionary, one of the Canadian Martyrs (b. 1610)
- 1680 Franηois de La Rochefoucauld, French writer (b. 1613)
- 1704 Menno van Coehoorn, Dutch military engineer (b. 1641)
- 1713 Juraj Jαnoνk, famous Slovak outlaw (b. 1688)
- 1715 Gilbert Burnet, Scottish Bishop of Salisbury (b. 1643)
- 1741 Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet (b. 1671)
- 1764 George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, English astronomer
- 1782 Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-born mathematician (b. 1700)
- 1830 Laurent, Marquis de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French marshal (b. 1764)
- 1846 Friedrich Bessel, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1784)
- 1849 William II of the Netherlands (b. 1792)
- 1853 Christian Doppler, Austrian physician and mathematician (b. 1803)
- 1871 Robert Chambers, Scottish naturalist (b. 1802)
- 1875 Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist (b. 1832)
- 1893 Jules Ferry, French statesman (b. 1832)
- 1912 Lawrence Oates, English army officer and Antarctic explorer (b. 1880)
- 1917 Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
- 1926 Aleksei Brusilov, Russian general (b. 1853)
- 1937 Austen Chamberlain, English statesman, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1863)
- 1941 Marguerite Nichols, American actress (b. 1895)
- 1946 Dai Li, Chinese spymaster (b. 1897)
- 1949 Aleksandra Ekster, Russian painter (b. 1882)
- 1956 Fred Allen, American actor and comedian (b. 1894)
- 1956 Irene Joliot-Curie, French physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1897)
- 1957 Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines (b. 1907)
- 1961 Susanna M. Salter, American politician (b. 1860)
- 1962 Pat Clayton, British surveyor and explorer (b. 1896)
- 1965 Amos Alonzo Stagg, American football coach (b. 1862)
- 1974 Louis Kahn, American architect
- 1976 Luchino Visconti, Italian director (b. 1906)
- 1981 Paul Dean, American baseball player (b. 1913)
- 1983 Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
- 1987 Santo Trafficante, Jr., American gangster (b. 1914)
- 1988 Nikolas Asimos, Greek counter-culture composer and singer (b. 1949)
- 1989 Merritt Butrick, American actor (b. 1959)
- 1990 Capucine, French actress (b. 1931)
- 1990 Ric Grech, British bass player (Blind Faith Traffic) (b. 1946)
- 1992 Grace Stafford, American actress (b. 1903)
- 1993 Helen Hayes, American actress (b. 1900)
- 1994 Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress and director (b. 1925)
- 1995 Ronnie Kray, British gangster (b. 1933)
- 1995 Rick Aviles, American actor (b. 1952)
- 1996 Renι Clιment, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1913)
- 1996 Terry Stafford, American singer (b. 1941)
- 1999 Ernest Gold, Austrian composer (b. 1921)
- 1999 Rod Hull, British comedian (b. 1936)
- 2002 Rosetta LeNoire, American actress (b. 1911)
- 2002 Pat Weaver, American broadcast executive (b. 1908)
- 2003 Su Buqing, Chinese mathematician and educator (b. 1902)
- 2004 J. J. Jackson, American television personality (b. 1941)
- 2004 Rachel Hudson, British murder victim (b. 1984)
- 2005 George F. Kennan, American Cold War strategist and historian (b. 1904)
- 2005 Andre Norton, American writer (b. 1912)
- 2006 Bob Blue, American singer/songwriter (b. 1948)
- 2006 Oleg Cassini, American fashion designer (b. 1913)
- 2006 Ray Meyer, American basketball coach (b. 1913)
- 2006 Bob Papenbrook, American voice actor (b. 1955)
- 2007 John Backus, American computer scientist (b. 1924)
- 2007 Roger Bennett, American gospel performer (b. 1959)
- 2007 Jim Cronin, British animal welfare activist (b. 1951)
- 2008 Roland Arnall, United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (b. 1939)
- 2009 Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian politician and TV host (b. 1937)
[edit] Holidays and observances