March 15
is the
74th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (75th in
Leap years). There are 291 days remaining.
In the Roman calendar
March 15 was known as the
Ides of March.
*
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.
*
221 -
Liu Bei, a
Chinese warlord and member of the
Han royal house, declares himself
emperor of
Shu-Han, claiming his legitimate
succession to the
Han dynasty.
*
351 -
Constantius II elevates his cousin
Gallus to
Caesar, and puts him in charge of the Eastern part of the
Roman Empire.
*
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.
*
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. The Habsburg rulers are compelled to meet the demands of the Reform party.
*
1873 -
Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity is founded at
Massachusetts Agricultural College*
1877 - The first
Test cricket match begins, between
England and
Australia.
*
1892 -
Liverpool Football Club founded by John Houlding
*
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
U.S.-Mexico 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.
*
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.
*
1952 - In
Cilaos,
Réunion, 73 inches (1,870mm) of
rain falls in one day, setting a new world record.
*
1953 - World contact day
*
1956 - The Broadway musical
My Fair Lady opens in
New York City.
*
1961 -
South Africa withdraws from the
Commonwealth of Nations.
*
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.
*
1970 - The
Expo '70 world's fair opens in Osaka, Japan.
*
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 Târgu Mureş begin on the anniversary of
the Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas.
*
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.
*
1998 -
Titanic defeats
Star Wars for the #1 place in the North American domestic box office, grossing $471 million.
*
2004 - Announcement of the discovery of
90377 Sedna, the farthest natural object in the
Solar system so far observed.
*
1455 -
Pietro Accolti, Italian Catholic cardinal (d.
1532)
*
1591 -
Alexandre de Rhodes, French Jesuit missionary (d.
1660)
*
1638 -
Shunzhi Emperor of China*
1666 -
George Bähr, German architect (d.
1738)
*
1684 -
Francesco Durante, Italian composer (d.
1755)
*
1713 -
Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French astronomer (d.
1762)
*
1767 -
Andrew Jackson, 7th
President of the United States (d.
1845)
*
1779 -
Lord Melbourne,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, (d.
1848)
*
1813 -
John Snow, English physician (d.
1858)
*
1830 -
Paul Heyse, German writer,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
1914)
* 1830 -
Élisée Reclus, French geographer and anarchist (d.
1905)
*
1835 -
Eduard Strauss, Austrian composer (d.
1916)
*
1854 -
Emil Adolf von Behring, German physician;
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d.
1917)
*
1865 -
Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian composer (d.
1935)
*
1882 -
Jim Lightbody, American runner (d.
1953)
*
1890 -
Boris Nikolaevich Delaunay, Russian mathematician (d.
1980)
*
1897 -
Jackson Scholz, American runner (d. 1986)
*
1905 -
Berthold Graf Schenk von Stauffenberg, German lawyer and Nazi opponent (d.
1944)
*
1907 -
Zarah Leander, Swedish actress and singer (d.
1981)
*
1912 -
Lightnin' Hopkins, American musician (d.
1982)
*
1913 -
MacDonald Carey, American actor (d.
1994)
* 1913 -
Lew Wasserman, American Hollywood agent and studio executive (d.
2002)
*
1914 -
Aniello Dellacroce, American gangster (d.
1985)
*
1915 -
Joe E. Ross, American actor and comedian (d.
1982)
*
1916 -
Harry James, American musician and band leader (d.
1983)
*
1918 -
Richard Ellmann, American biographer (d.
1987)
*
1919 -
Lawrence Tierney, American actor (d.
2002)
*
1920 -
Lawrence Sanders, American novelist (d.
1998)
* 1920 -
E. Donnall Thomas, American physician, recipient of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine*
1924 -
Walter Gotell, German actor (d.
1997)
*
1926 -
Norm Van Brocklin, American football player (d.
1983)
*
1927 -
Stanisław Kania, Polish politician
* 1927 -
Carl Smith, American singer
*
1930 -
Zhores Ivanovich Alferov, Russian physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate
*
1932 -
Alan Bean, American astronaut
*
1933 -
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
*
1934 -
Aldo Giorgini, Italian artist
*
1935 -
Judd Hirsch, American actor
* 1935 -
Jimmy Swaggart, American televangelist
*
1936 -
Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (d.
1986)
*
1940 -
Phil Lesh, American musician (
Grateful Dead)
*
1941 -
Mike Love, American musician (
The Beach Boys)
*
1943 -
David Cronenberg, Canadian film director
*
1944 -
Sly Stone, American musician
*
1945 -
Mark J. Green, American lawyer, author, and public official
*
1946 -
Bobby Bonds, American baseball player (d.
2003)
*
1947 -
Ry Cooder, American guitarist
*
1948 -
Sérgio Vieira de Mello, Brazilian diplomat (d.
2003)
* 1948 -
Kate Bornstein (born Albert Bornstein), American
transgender author and gender theorist
*
1950 -
Jørgen Olsen, Danish singer and
Eurovision Song Contest winner
*
1954 -
Craig Wasson, American actor
*
1955 -
Dee Snider, American singer
*
1956 -
Clay Matthews, American football player
*
1957 -
Park Overall, American actress
* 1957 -
David Silverman, American
animator (
The Simpsons)
*
1959 -
Harold Baines, American baseball player
* 1959 -
Fabio Lanzoni, Italian model
*
1961 -
Ervin Nemeth, Hungarian educator, author, and translator
*
1962 -
Sananda Maitreya (formerly Terence Trent D'Arby), American-born singer
*
1963 -
Bret Michaels, American musician (
Poison)
*
1967 -
Naoko Takeuchi, Japanese artist
*
1968 -
Kahimi Karie, Japanese singer
* 1968 -
Mark McGrath, American musician (
Sugar Ray)
* 1968 -
Sabrina Salerno, Italian singer
*
1971 -
Penny Lancaster, English model and celebrity
*
1972 -
Mark Hoppus, American musician (
(+44),
blink-182)
*
1974 -
Robert Fick, American baseball player
*
1975 -
Eva Longoria, American actress
* 1975 -
Veselin Topalov, Bulgarian chess player
*
1975 -
Darcy Tucker, Canadian Hockey Player
*
1976 -
Jennifer 8. Lee, American journalist
*
1977 -
Joe Hahn, American musician (
Linkin Park)
*
1978 -
Sid Wilson, American musician (
Slipknot)
*
1981 -
Mikael Forssell, Finnish footballer
* 1981 -
Young Buck, American rapper
*
1982 -
Emily Kennard, American actress
*
1983 -
Sean Biggerstaff, Scottish actor
*
1985 -
Antti Autti, Finnish snowboarder
*
1989 -
Caitlin Wachs, American actress
*
1992 -
Sosie Bacon, American actress
*
44 BC -
Julius Caesar (b.
100 BC)
*
220 -
Cao Cao, King of Wei
*
493 -
Odoacer, King of Italy (murdered) (b.
435)
*
1311 -
Walter V of Brienne, Duke of Athens
*
1416 -
John, Duke of Berry, son of
John II of France (b.
1340)
*
1575 -
Annibale Padovano, Italian composer (b.
1527)
*
1670 -
John Davenport, Connecticut pioneer (b.
1597)
*
1673 -
Salvator Rosa, Italian painter and poet (b.
1615)
*
1701 -
Jean Renaud de Segrais, French writer (b.
1624)
*
1711 -
Eusebio Kino, Italian Catholic missionary (b.
1645)
*
1820 - St
Clemens Maria Hofbauer, patron saint of Vienna (b.
1751*
1842 -
Luigi Cherubini, Italian composer (b.
1760)
*
1849 -
Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti, Italian cardinal and linguist (b.
1774)
*
1891 -
Théodore de Banville, French writer (b.
1823)
* 1891 - Sir
Joseph Bazalgette, English civil engineer (b.
1819)
*
1898 -
Henry Bessemer, English metallurgist (b.
1813)
*
1937 -
H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (b.
1890)
*
1941 -
Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian painter (b.
1864)
*
1957 -
Ernst Nobs, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b.
1886)
*
1959 -
Lester Young, American musician (b.
1909)
*
1962 -
Arthur Compton, American physicist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1892)
*
1966 -
Abe Saperstein, American basketball executive (b.
1902)
*
1970 -
Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian writer (b.
1897)
*
1972 -
Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter (b.
1910)
*
1975 -
Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (b.
1900)
*
1977 -
Antonino Rocca, Professional wrestler
*
1983 -
Rebecca West, English writer (b.
1892)
*
1990 -
Farzad Bazoft, Iranian-born journalist (hanged) (b.
1958)
* 1990 -
Tom Harmon, American football player and broadcaster (b.
1919)
*
1994 -
Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress and director (b.
1925)
*
1997 -
Gail Davis, American actress (b.
1925)
* 1997 -
Victor Vasarely, Hungarian painter (b.
1906)
*
1998 -
Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician and writer (b.
1903)
*
2001 -
Ann Sothern, American actress (b.
1909)
*
2003 - Dame
Thora Hird, British actress (b.
1911)
*
2004 -
Sir William Pickering, New Zealand-born space scientist (b.
1910)
* 2004 -
John Pople, English chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1925)
*
2005 -
Bob Bellear, the first
Indigenous Australian judge (b.
1944)
*
2006 -
George Rallis, former
Greek Prime Minister (b.
1918)
*
44 BC - Deaths of
Xena and
Gabrielle by
Crucifixion*
1972 - Worst day ever in
The Fairly Oddparents*
1973 - In an alternate timeline in
Back to the Future Part II,
George McFly murdered by
Biff Tannen.
*
1986 - Beginning of
The Pushcart War*
2337 - Discovery of
Yuggoth* 3019
T.A. -
Battle of the Pelennor Fields (
The Lord of the Rings)
*
C.E. 56 - Birth of
Fllay Allster, daughter of Earth Alliance Vice-Minister
George Allster, from
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
*St.
Longinus,
Roman soldier who
pierced the side of
Jesus on the cross. [
1]
*In the
Roman calendar, the
Ides of March.
*Turkey buzzards return to
Hinckley, Ohio.
*
International Day Against Police Brutality*For corporations in the United States that use the calendar year as their
fiscal year, the date on which the corporation must file its corporate income
tax return*
Constitution Day in
Belarus*National holiday in
Hungary celebrating the
1848 Revolution. (See also
Public holidays in Hungary)
*World Consumer Rights Day [
2]
*In
Japan,
Hounen MatsuriLiturgical feasts
*
Saint Clemens Maria Hofbauer (died 1820)
*
Blessed Arnicus of Averbode*
Saint Luise of Marillac*
Saint Lucretia*
On this day in Canada*
NY Times: On this day*
BBC: On This Day*
Today in History: March 15March 14 -
March 16 -
February 15 -
April 15 --
listing of all days
