March 15
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
March 15 is the 74th day of the year (75th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 291 days remaining until the end of the year.
In the Roman calendar March 15 was known as the Ides of March.
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Events [change]
- 44 BC – Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March.
- 280 - Sun Hao of Eastern Wu surrenders to Sima Yan, beginning the Jin Dynasty.
- 1311 – Battle of Halmyros: The Catalan Company defeats Walter V of Brienne to take control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in Greece.
- 1493 – Christopher Columbus returns to Spain after his first trip to the Americas.
- 1545 – First meeting of the Council of Trent.
- 1672 – Charles II of England issues the Royal Declaration of Indulgence.
- 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Courthouse – Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat an American force numbering 4,400.
- 1781 - French astronomer Pierre Mechain discovers the spiral galaxies Messier 98, Messier 99 and Messier 100.
- 1783 – In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. The plea is successful and the threatened coup d'etat never takes place.
- 1820 – Maine becomes the 23rd U.S. state.
- 1827 – The University of Toronto is chartered.
- 1848 – Revolution breaks out in Pest in Hungary. The Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party.
- 1875 - Archbishop of New York John McCloskey becomes the first American cardinal.
- 1877 – The first Test cricket match begins, between England and Australia.
- 1888 - The Anglo-Tibetan War of 1888 begins.
- 1892 – Liverpool FC is founded.
- 1906 – Rolls-Royce Ltd. is registered.
- 1909 – Selfridges department store opens in London.
- 1916 – President Woodrow Wilson sends 12,000 United States troops over the Mexican border to pursue Pancho Villa.
- 1917 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates himself and his son from the Russian throne and his brother the Grand Duke becomes Tsar.
- 1919 – The American Legion forms in Paris.
- 1922 – After Egypt gains nominal independence from the United Kingdom, Fuad I becomes King of Egypt.
- 1926 - In Greece, Theodoros Pangalos is elected President without opposition.
- 1931 - The ship SS Viking explodes off Newfoundland, killing 27 of the 147 people on board.
- 1933 - Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss keeps members of the National Council from convening, starting an Austrofascist dictatorship.
- 1939 – World War II: Nazi troops occupy the remaining part of Bohemia and Moravia; Czechoslovakia ceases to exist.
- 1943 – World War II: Third Battle of Kharkov – the Germans retook the city of Kharkov from the Soviet armies in bitter street fighting.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino – Allied aircraft bomb the Nazi-held monastery and stage an assault.
- 1944 - First flight of a Philippines Airlines plane. It is the oldest airline in Asia to operate under its original name.
- 1945 - World War II: Soviet forces begin an offensive to push Germans from Upper Silesia,
- 1952 – In Cilaos, Réunion, 73 inches (1,870mm) of rain falls in one day, setting a new world record.
- 1956 – The Broadway musical My Fair Lady opens in New York City.
- 1961 – South Africa withdraws from the British Commonwealth.
- 1963 – Victor Feguer, a Federal prisoner, is put to death at the Fort Madison, Iowa prison. This would be the last execution of a Federal prisoner until the execution of Timothy McVeigh in 2001.
- 1965 - Lyndon B. Johnson says "We Shall Overcome" in support of the Voting Rights Act.
- 1970 – The Expo '70 world's fair opens in Osaka, Japan.
- 1976 – KISS releases the legendary album Destroyer.
- 1978 - Somalia and Ethiopia sign a truce to end the Ethiopian-Somali War.
- 1985 - The first internet domain name is registered - symbolics.com.
- 1985 - Brazil's military dictatorship ends.
- 1986 - The New World Hotel in Singapore collapses, killing 33 people.
- 1988 – Publication of Marvin Minsky's Society of Mind theory.
- 1988 – The Halabja poison gas attack of the Iran-Iraq War begins.
- 1989 – The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is established.
- 1990 – Gulf War: Iraq hangs British journalist Farzad Bazoft for spying.
- 1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first executive president of the Soviet Union.
- 1990 – The Soviet Union announces that Lithuania's declaration of independence is invalid.
- 1990 – The ethnic clashes of Targu Mures begin on the anniversary of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas.
- 1991 – Four Los Angeles, California police officers are indicted for the videotaped March 3, 1991 beating of motorist Rodney King during an arrest.
- 1991 – Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
- 2001 - An explosion occurs on a Petrobras oil platform off Brazil, causing a major oil spill.
- 2003 - Hu Jintao becomes the leader of the People's Republic of China, with Wen Jiabao as Premier.
- 2003 - The Central African Republic's President Ange-Felix Patasse is removed in a coup by Francois Bozize.
- 2004 – Announcement of the discovery of 90377 Sedna, the farthest natural object in the Solar system so far observed.
- 2008 - An explosion occurs at an Albanian Army and Munitions base, killing 26 people. It happens near the village of Gerdec.
- 2011 - Arab Spring: The currently still ongoing civil war in Syria begins.
- 2013 - A transition of power within the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China is completed, with Xi Jinping as President and Li Keqiang as Premier.
Births [change]
- 933 – Romanos II, Byzantine Emperor (d. 963)
- 1275 - Margaret of England, English princess (d. 1333)
- 1455 - Pietro Accotti, Italian cardinal (d. 1532)
- 1611 - Jan Fyt, Flemish painter (d. 1661)
- 1638 – Shunzhi Emperor of China (d. 1661)
- 1684 - Francesco Durante, Italian composer (d. 1755)
- 1713 - Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French astronomer (d. 1762)
- 1737 - Amarindra, Queen Consort of Siam (d. 1826)
- 1738 - Cesare Beccaria, Italian philosopher (d. 1794)
- 1754 - Archibald Menzies, Scottish naturalist and surgeon (d. 1842)
- 1767 – Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States (d. 1845)
- 1770 - Samuel Bell, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1850)
- 1772 - Jozsef Ficzko, Burgenland Croatian writer (d. 1843)
- 1779 – William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1848)
- 1794 - Friedrich Christian Diez, German philologist (d. 1876)
- 1809 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, first President of Liberia (d. 1876)
- 1809 - William Cannon, Governor of Delaware (d. 1865)
- 1818 - Mariano Alvarez, Filipino general (d. 1924)
- 1821 - Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian physicist and chemist (d. 1895)
- 1830 – Paul von Heyse, German writer (d. 1914)
- 1835 - Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer (d. 1916)
- 1838 - Karl Davydov, Russian cellist (d. 1889)
- 1851 - William Mitchell Ramsay, Scottish archaeologist (d. 1939)
- 1854 – Emil Adolf von Behring, German doctor, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1901) (d. 1917)
- 1857 – Christian Michelsen, Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1925)
- 1864 - Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian composer (d. 1935)
- 1868 - Grace Chisholm Young, English mathematician (d. 1944)
- 1869 – Stanislaw Wojciechowski, President of Poland (d. 1953)
- 1874 - Eugene Fiset, Canadian physician and politician (d. 1951)
- 1874 - Harold L. Ickes, American politician (d. 1952)
- 1878 - Reza Shah Pahlavi of Persia (d. 1944)
- 1882 - James Lightbody, American middle-distance runner (d. 1953)
- 1887 - Marjorie Merriwether Post, American entrepreneur (d. 1973)
- 1890 - Boris Nikolaevich Delaunay, Russian mathematician (d. 1980)
- 1897 - Jackson Scholz, American runner (d. 1986)
- 1902 - Hu Gwan-sun, South Korean activist (d. 1920)
- 1905 - Berthold Schenk von Stauffenberg, German lawyer (d. 1944)
- 1907 – Zarah Leander, Swedish singer and actress (d. 1981)
- 1912 – Lightning Hopkins, American musician (d. 1982)
- 1916 - Fadil Hoxha, Yugoslavian politician (d. 2001)
- 1916 - Harry James, American musician and bandleader (d. 1983)
- 1918 - Punch Imlach, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1987)
- 1919 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1920 - Lawrence Sanders, American author (d. 1998)
- 1920 – E. Donnall Thomas, American physician (d. 2012)
- 1924 - Yuri Bondarev, Russian writer
- 1926 - Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
- 1927 - Christian Marquand, French director and actor (d. 2000)
- 1930 – Zhores Ivanovich Alferov, Russian physicist
- 1932 - Alan Bean, American astronaut
- 1933 - Philippe de Broca, French film director
- 1933 – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- 1934 - Aldo Giorgini, Italian artist (d. 1994)
- 1935 – Judd Hirsch, American actor
- 1935 – Jimmy Swaggart, American televangelist
- 1937 - Valentin Rasputin, Russian poet and writer
- 1939 - Ted Kaufman, American politician
- 1940 - Frank Dobson, British politician
- 1940 – Phil Lesh, American musician (Grateful Dead)
- 1941 - Mike Love, American musician (The Beach Boys)
- 1943 – David Cronenberg, Canadian director
- 1944 - Chi Cheng, Taiwanese athlete and politician
- 1944 - Francis Mankiewicz, Canadian film director and screenwriter (d. 1993)
- 1944 - Jacques Doillon, French film director
- 1945 - Mark J. Green, American politician
- 1946 - Bobby Bonds, American baseball player
- 1947 – Ry Cooder, American guitarist
- 1948 - Sergio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (d. 2003)
- 1950 - Jorgen Olsen, Danish singer
- 1952 - Howard Koh, American politician
- 1952 - Earl Ray Tomblin, Governor of West Virginia
- 1953 - Kumba Iala, former President of Guinea-Bissau
- 1954 - Bob Budiansky, American comic book writer, illustrator and editor
- 1955 - Dee Snider, American singer
- 1955 - Roberto Maroni, Italian politician
- 1956 - Paramanga Ernest Yonli, Burkina Faso politician
- 1957 – Joaquim de Almeida, Portuguese-American actor
- 1957 - David Silverman, American animator
- 1959 – Ben Okri, Nigerian writer
- 1961 - Terry Cummings, American basketball player
- 1961 - Craig Ludwig, American ice hockey player
- 1962 - Jimmy Baio, American actor
- 1962 – Markus Merk, German football referee
- 1962 - Terence Trent D'Arby, American singer
- 1963 - Bret Michaels, American musician
- 1964 - Fernando De Napoli, Italian footballer
- 1965 - Svetlana Medvedeva, former First Lady of Russia
- 1967 – Naoko Takeuchi, Japanese artist
- 1968 – Kahimi Karie, Japanese singer
- 1968 – Mark McGrath, American musician
- 1968 - Jon Schaffer, American musician
- 1972 – Mark Hoppus, American musician (+44 and blink-182)
- 1975 – Eva Longoria, American actress
- 1975 – Will.i.am, American musician (Black Eyed Peas)
- 1977 - Joe Hahn, American musician (Linkin Park)
- 1978 – Takeru Kobayashi, Japanese competitive eater
- 1981 – Mikael Forssell, Finnish footballer
- 1982 - Jordan Hastings, Canadian drummer
- 1985 - Javier Garrido, Spanish footballer
- 1985 – Curtis Davies, English footballer
- 1988 - James Reimer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1991 – Kii Kitano, Japanese actress
- 1993 – Alyssa Reid, Canadian singer
- 1994 - Nijel Amos, Botswana athlete
Deaths [change]
- 44 BC – Julius Caesar (b. 100 BC)
- 220 – Cao Cao, King of Wei (b. 155)
- 493 - Odoacer, King of Italy (b. 435)
- 1145 - Pope Lucius II
- 1311 - Battle of Halmyros:
- Walter V of Brienne, Duke of Athens
- Thomas d'Autrementcourt, Lord of Salona, Marshal of Achaea
- Albert Pallavicini, Margrave of Bodonitza
- Giorgio I Ghisi, Triarch of Euboea, Lord of Tinos, Mykonos, Serifos and Keos
- 1416 - John, Duke of Berry, son of John II of France (b. 1340)
- 1575 - Annibale Padovano, Italian composer (b. 1527)
- 1644 - Louise Juliana of Nassau, Regent of Bohemia (b. 1576)
- 1670 - John Davenport, Connecticut pioneer (b. 1597)
- 1673 - Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet (b. 1615)
- 1820 - Clemens Maria Hofbauer, Patron Saint of Vienna (b. 1751)
- 1842 – Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer (b. 1760)
- 1849 - Giuseppe Caspar Mezzafanti, Italian cardinal and linguist (b. 1774)
- 1898 - Henry Bessemer, English engineer, inventor and businessman (b. 1813)
- 1907 - William D. Bloxham, Governor of Florida (b. 1835)
- 1937 – H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (b. 1890)
- 1938 - Nikolai Bukharin, Soviet-Russian revolutionary and politician (b. 1888)
- 1941 - Alexei von Jawlensky, Russian painter (b. 1864)
- 1959 - Lester Young, American musician (b. 1909)
- 1961 – Akiba Rubinstein, Polish chess player (b. 1882)
- 1962 – Arthur Compton, American physicist (b. 1892)
- 1969 - Musashiyama Takeshi, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1909)
- 1975 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (b. 1900)
- 1981 - Rene Clair, French film director (b. 1898)
- 1983 – Rebecca West, English writer (b. 1892)
- 1988 - Dmitri Polyakov, Soviet double-agent (b. 1926)
- 1990 – Farzad Bazoft, Iranian-British journalist (b. 1958)
- 1991 - Bud Freeman, American jazz musician (b. 1906)
- 1993 – Karl Mai, German footballer (b. 1928)
- 1998 – Benjamin Spock, American paediatrician and author (b. 1903)
- 2003 - Thora Hird, British actress (b. 1911)
- 2004 - William Pickering, New Zealand-born space scientist (b. 1910)
- 2004 – John Pople, English chemist (b. 1925)
- 2006 – George Rallis, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Ron Silver, American actor (b. 1946)
- 2011 – Nate Dogg, American musician (b. 1969)
- 2013 - Booth Gardner, former Governor of Washington (b. 1936)
Observances [change]
- National Day of Hungary - Revolution of 1848
- Holiday in Liberia - Birthday of the country's first President, Joseph Jenkins Roberts
- Honen Matsuri (Japan)
- World Day for Muslim Culture, Peace, Dialogue and Film
