March 29

March 29 is the 88th day of the year (89th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 277 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Friday or Saturday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Wednesday (56).

Events

• 502 – King Gundobad issues a new legal code (Lex Burgundionum) at Lyon that makes Gallo-Romans and Burgundians subject to the same laws.
• 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
• 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures the Byzantine city of Thessalonica.
• 1461 – Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England.
• 1500 – Cesare Borgia is given the title of Captain General and Gonfalonier by his father Rodrigo Borgia after returning from his conquests in the Romagna.
• 1549 – The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded.
• 1632 – Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629.
• 1638 – Swedish colonists establish the first European settlement in Delaware, naming it New Sweden.
• 1683 – Yaoya Oshichi, 16-year-old Japanese girl, burnt at the stake for an act of arson committed due to unrequited love.
• 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden dies after being shot in the back at a midnight masquerade ball at Stockholm's Royal Opera 13 days earlier. He is succeeded by Gustav IV Adolf.
• 1806 – Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.
• 1809 – King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d'état. At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland's four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden.
• 1831 – Great Bosnian uprising: Bosniaks rebel against Turkey.
• 1847 – Mexican–American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
• 1849 – The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
• 1857 – Sepoy Mangal Pandey of the 34th Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry mutinies against the East India Company's rule in India and inspires the protracted Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins.
• 1867 – Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes the Dominion of Canada on July 1.
• 1871 – The Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.
• 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
• 1882 – The Knights of Columbus are established.
• 1886 – Dr. John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta.
• 1911 – The M1911 .45 ACP pistol becomes the official U.S. Army side arm.
• 1930 – Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.
• 1936 – In Germany, Adolf Hitler receives 99% of the votes in a referendum to ratify Germany's illegal reoccupation of the Rhineland, receiving 44.5 million votes out of 45.5 million registered voters.
• 1941 – The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time.
• 1941 – World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.
• 1942 – The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II is the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city.
• 1945 – World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England.
• 1945 – World War II: The German 4th Army is almost destroyed by the Soviet Red Army.
• 1946 – Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, one of Mexico's leading universities, is founded.
• 1947 – Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.
• 1951 – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
• 1955 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 106 is adopted.
• 1957 – The New York, Ontario and Western Railway makes its final run, the first major U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.
• 1961 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
• 1962 – Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina's armed forces, ending an 11½ day constitutional crisis.
• 1971 – My Lai Massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
• 1971 – A Los Angeles jury recommends the death penalty for Charles Manson and three female followers.
• 1973 – Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.
• 1973 – Operation Barrel Roll, a covert US bombing campaign in Laos to stop communist infiltration of South Vietnam, ends.
• 1974 – NASA's Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.
• 1974 – Local farmers in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China, discover the Terracotta Army that was buried with Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China, in the third century BCE.
• 1982 – The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.
• 1984 – The Baltimore Colts load its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer its operations to Indianapolis.
• 1990 – The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.
• 1993 – Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province.
• 1999 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time, during the height of the dot-com bubble.
• 1999 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes the Chamoli district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, killing 103.
• 2002 – In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
• 2004 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO as full members.
• 2006 – Solar eclipse of March 29, 2006
• 2010 – Two suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40.
• 2013 – At least 36 people are killed when a 16-floor building collapses in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
• 2013 – A landslide kills 66 people in China's Tibet Autonomous Region near Lhasa.
• 2014 – The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.

Births

• 1187 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (d. 1203)
• 1553 – Vitsentzos Kornaros, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1614)
• 1584 – Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English general and politician (d. 1648)
• 1602 – John Lightfoot, English priest, scholar, and academic (d. 1675)
• 1713 – John Ponsonby, Irish politician (d. 1789)
• 1735 – Johann Karl August Musäus, German author (d. 1787)
• 1747 – Johann Wilhelm Hässler, German pianist and composer (d. 1822)
• 1751 – Supply Belcher, American singer-songwriter (d. 1836)
• 1769 – Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, French general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of France (d. 1851)
• 1780 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish adventurer (d. 1841)
• 1790 – John Tyler, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the United States (d. 1862)
• 1799 – Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1869)
• 1802 – Johann Moritz Rugendas, German landscape painter of Spanish America (d. 1858)
• 1815 – Costache Caragiale, Romanian actor and manager (d. 1877)
• 1816 – 10th Dalai Lama (d. 1837)
• 1819 – Edwin Drake, American businessman (d. 1880)
• 1824 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist, physician, and philosopher (d. 1899)
• 1826 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German journalist and politician (d. 1900)
• 1862 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (d. 1947)
• 1867 – Cy Young, American baseball player and manager (d. 1955)
• 1869 – Aleš Hrdlička, Czech-American anthropologist and scholar (d. 1943)
• 1870 – Pavlos Melas, French-Greek captain (d. 1904)
• 1871 – Tom Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1939)
• 1873 – Tullio Levi-Civita, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
• 1874 – Lou Henry Hoover, American wife of Herbert Hoover, 33rd First Lady of the United States (d. 1944)
• 1876 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (d. 1908)
• 1878 – Albert Von Tilzer, American songwriter (d. 1956)
• 1884 – Ed Archibald, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1965)
• 1885 – Dezső Kosztolányi, Hungarian author and poet (d. 1936)
• 1888 – Enea Bossi, Sr., Italian-American engineer, designed the Budd BB-1 Pioneer and Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante (d. 1963)
• 1889 – Warner Baxter, American actor (d. 1951)
• 1889 – Howard Lindsay, American producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor (d. 1968)
• 1891 – Yvan Goll, French-German poet and playwright (d. 1950)
• 1891 – Alfred Neubauer, Czech race car driver and manager (d. 1980)
• 1892 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (d. 1975)
• 1893 – Astrid Holm, Danish actress (d. 1961)
• 1895 – Ernst Jünger, German philosopher and author (d. 1998)
• 1896 – Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (d. 1962)
• 1899 – Lavrentiy Beria, Georgian-Russian general and politician (d. 1953)
• 1900 – Bill Aston, English race car driver (d. 1974)
• 1900 – John McEwen, Australian farmer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1980)
• 1901 – Andrija Maurović, Croatian author and illustrator (d. 1981)
• 1902 – Marcel Aymé, French author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
• 1902 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (d. 1979)
• 1902 – William Walton, English composer (d. 1983)
• 1903 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician, 14th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 1999)
• 1903 – Arthur Negus, English television host (d. 1985)
• 1905 – Philip Ahn, American actor (d. 1978)
• 1906 – James Bausch, American decathlete and football player (d. 1974)
• 1906 – E. Power Biggs, English-American organist and composer (d. 1977)
• 1907 – Braguinha, Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2006)
• 1908 – Arthur O'Connell, American actor (d. 1981)
• 1908 – Dennis O'Keefe, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
• 1911 – Tito Arévalo, Filipino actor and composer (d. 2000)
• 1911 – Brigitte Horney, German actress and singer (d. 1988)
• 1912 – Hanna Reitsch, Polish-German soldier and pilot (d. 1979)
• 1913 – R. S. Thomas, Welsh priest and poet (d. 2000)
• 1914 – Phil Foster, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1985)
• 1914 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (d. 2014)
• 1916 – Peter Geach, English philosopher and academic (d. 2013)
• 1916 – Eugene McCarthy, American poet and politician (d. 2005)
• 1917 – Man o' War, American race horse (d. 1947)
• 1917 – Tommy Holmes, American baseball player (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Pearl Bailey, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
• 1918 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (d. 1991)
• 1918 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam's Club (d. 1992)
• 1919 – Eileen Heckart, American actress (d. 2001)
• 1920 – John M. Belk, American businessman and politician (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Clarke Fraser, American-Canadian geneticist and academic (d. 2014)
• 1920 – Pierre Moinot, French author (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Theodore Trautwein, American lawyer and judge (d. 2000)
• 1921 – Sam Loxton, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (d. 2011)
• 1923 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
• 1923 – Betty Binns Fletcher, American lawyer and judge (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Bob Haymes, American singer-songwriter, and actor (d. 1989)
• 1926 – Moshe Sanbar, Hungarian-Israeli banker and economist (d. 2012)
• 1927 – John McLaughlin, American journalist and producer (d. 2016)
• 1927 – John Vane, English pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
• 1928 – Romesh Bhandari, Pakistani-Indian politician, 13th Foreign Secretary of India (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Keith Botsford, Belgian-American journalist, author, and academic
• 1928 – Vincent Gigante, American boxer and mobster (d. 2005)
• 1929 – Utpal Dutt, Indian actor, director, and playwright (d. 1993)
• 1929 – Sheila Kitzinger, English activist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Richard Lewontin, American biologist, geneticist, and academic
• 1929 – Lennart Meri, Estonian director and politician, 2nd President of Estonia (d. 2006)
• 1930 – Anerood Jugnauth, Mauritian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Mauritius
• 1931 – Ștefan Andrei, Romanian politician, 87th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2014)
• 1931 – Sopubek Begaliev, Kyrgyzstani economist and politician (d. 2002)
• 1931 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Norman Tebbit, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• 1933 – Jacques Brault, Canadian poet and academic
• 1934 – Shahryar Khan, Indian-Pakistani politician and diplomat, 20th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
• 1934 – Nimal Mendis, Sri Lankan singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
• 1935 – Ruby Murray, English singer and actress (d. 1996)
• 1936 – Richard Rodney Bennett, English-American composer and educator (d. 2012)
• 1936 – Mogens Camre, Danish politician
• 1936 – John A. Durkin, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
• 1936 – Judith Guest, American author and screenwriter
• 1936 – Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (d. 2014)
• 1937 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
• 1937 – Smarck Michel, Haitian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2012)
• 1938 – Barry Jackson, English actor and stuntman (d. 2013)
• 1938 – Bert de Vries, Dutch politician
• 1939 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (d. 2008)
• 1939 – Terence Hill, Italian actor, director, and producer
• 1940 – Ray Davis, American singer (d. 2005)
• 1940 – Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter
• 1940 – John Suchet, English journalist and game show host
• 1941 – Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr., American astrophysicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1942 – Julie Goodyear, English actress
• 1942 – Bob Lurtsema, American football player
• 1942 – Scott Wilson, American actor
• 1943 – Vangelis, Greek keyboard player and songwriter
• 1943 – Chad Allan, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1943 – Eric Idle, English actor and comedian
• 1943 – John Major, English banker and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1944 – Terry Jacks, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1944 – Denny McLain, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1945 – Walt Frazier, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1945 – Speedy Keen, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2002)
• 1945 – Willem Ruis, Dutch game show host (d. 1986)
• 1946 – James Boyle, Scottish broadcaster
• 1946 – Richard Holmes, English soldier and historian (d. 2011)
• 1946 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2007)
• 1946 – Rigo Tovar, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Bruce Weber, American fashion photographer
• 1946 – Dennis Wolfberg, American comedian (d. 1994)
• 1947 – Inge Bödding, German sprinter
• 1947 – Robert Gordon, American singer and actor
• 1947 – Bobby Kimball, American singer-songwriter
• 1948 – Bud Cort, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1948 – Piet Souer, Dutch record producer, songwriter and arranger
• 1949 – Kayahan, Turkish singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
• 1949 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
• 1949 – Dave Greenfield, English Keyboard player
• 1949 – Pauline Marois, Canadian social worker and politician, 30th Premier of Quebec
• 1949 – Keith Simpson, English historian and politician
• 1951 – William Clarke, American harmonica player (d. 1996)
• 1952 – Rainer Bonhof, German footballer
• 1952 – Russell Fairfax, Australian rugby player and coach
• 1952 – John Hendricks, American businessman, founded Discovery Communications
• 1952 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (d. 2012)
• 1953 – Tõnis Palts, Estonian politician, 39th Mayor of Tallinn
• 1954 – José Hoebee, Dutch female pop singer
• 1955 – Earl Campbell, American football player
• 1955 – Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor and director
• 1955 – Marina Sirtis, English-American actress and producer
• 1956 – Patty Donahue, American singer (d. 1996)
• 1956 – Dick Jol, Dutch football referee
• 1956 – Kurt Thomas, American gymnast and actor
• 1957 – Elizabeth Hand, American author
• 1957 – Christopher Lambert, American-French actor
• 1957 – Simon Lee, English scholar and academic
• 1958 – Pedro Bial, Brazilian journalist and producer
• 1958 – Travis Childers, American businessman and politician
• 1958 – Fiona Reynolds, English academic
• 1958 – Nouriel Roubini, Turkish-American economist and academic
• 1958 – Victor Salva, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1958 – Marc Silvestri, American publisher, founded Top Cow Productions
• 1959 – Henry Bellingham, English lawyer and politician
• 1959 – Barry Blanchard, Canadian mountaineer
• 1959 – Perry Farrell, American singer-songwriter
• 1959 – Michael Hayes, American wrestler and singer
• 1959 – Brad McCrimmon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2011)
• 1960 – Jo Nesbø, Norwegian singer-songwriter and skier
• 1960 – Wayne Pearce, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1961 – Gary Brabham, English-Australian race car driver
• 1961 – Mike Kingery, American baseball player
• 1961 – Amy Sedaris, American actress and comedian
• 1961 – Michael Winterbottom, English director and producer
• 1962 – Billy Beane, American baseball player and manager
• 1962 – Dan Bittman, Romanian singer-songwriter
• 1962 – Ted Failon, Filipino journalist and politician
• 1964 – Michael A. Jackson, American police officer and politician
• 1964 – Elle Macpherson, Australian model and actress
• 1964 – Ming Tsai, American chef and television host
• 1965 – Emilios T. Harlaftis, Greek astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (d. 2005)
• 1965 – Dominic Littlewood, English journalist
• 1965 – William Oefelein, American commander, pilot, and astronaut
• 1965 – Voula Patoulidou, Greek hurdler, long jumper, and politician
• 1966 – Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch politician, president of the Board of Governors of the European Stability Mechanism
• 1966 – Eric Gunderson, American baseball player
• 1966 – Sigrid Kirchmann, Austrian high jumper
• 1967 – Michel Hazanavicius, French director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1967 – Brian Jordan, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1967 – John Popper, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player
• 1968 – Sue Foley, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress
• 1969 – Kim Batten, American hurdler
• 1969 – Shinichi Mochizuki, Japanese mathematician
• 1969 – Jimmy Spencer, American football player and coach
• 1971 – Robert Gibbs, American political adviser, 28th White House Press Secretary
• 1971 – Lara Logan, South African-American journalist
• 1971 – Hidetoshi Nishijima, Japanese actor
• 1972 – Rui Costa, Portuguese footballer
• 1972 – Piet-Hein Geeris, Dutch field hockey player
• 1972 – Alex Ochoa, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
• 1972 – Priti Patel, English politician
• 1972 – Junichi Suwabe, Japanese voice actor and singer
• 1973 – Marc Overmars, Dutch footballer and coach
• 1973 – Sebastiano Siviglia, Italian footballer
• 1973 – Steve Smith, English high jumper
• 1974 – Miguel Gómez, Colombian-American photographer and educator
• 1975 – Jan Bos, Dutch speedskater and sprint cyclist.
• 1976 – Igor Astarloa, Spanish cyclist
• 1976 – Jennifer Capriati, American tennis player
• 1978 – Pierre Faber, French-German rugby player
• 1978 – Aaron Persico, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
• 1979 – Estela Giménez, Spanish gymnast
• 1979 – Lauri Lahesalu, Estonian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Tomoe Shinohara, Japanese singer, actress, fashion designer, and producer
• 1980 – Chris D'Elia, American comedian, actor, writer and rapper
• 1980 – Bill Demong, American skier
• 1980 – Josh Logan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1980 – Bruno Silva, Uruguayan footballer
• 1981 – Megan Hilty, American actress and singer
• 1981 – Jlloyd Samuel, Trinidadian footballer
• 1982 – Hideaki Takizawa, Japanese actor and singer
• 1983 – Donald Cerrone, American mixed martial artist and kick-boxer
• 1983 – Darius Draudvila, Lithuanian decathlete
• 1983 – Luiza Sá, Brazilian guitarist
• 1983 – Jamie Woon, English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1984 – Nate Adams, American motocross racer
• 1984 – Philippa Hanna, English singer-songwriter
• 1984 – Jenning Huizenga, Dutch professional racing cyclist
• 1984 – Juan Mónaco, Argentinian tennis player
• 1984 – Mai Satoda, Japanese singer
• 1985 – Fernando Amorebieta, Venezuelan footballer
• 1985 – Maxim Lapierre, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Mickey Pimentel, American football player
• 1986 – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, English footballer
• 1986 – Lucas Elliot Eberl, American actor and director
• 1986 – Yoo So-young, South Korean actress and singer
• 1986 – Ivan Ukhov, Russian high jumper
• 1987 – Danielle Byrnes, Australian model and actress
• 1987 – Gianluca Freddi, Italian footballer
• 1988 – Esther Cremer, German runner
• 1988 – Jesús Molina, Mexican footballer
• 1988 – Jürgen Zopp, Estonian tennis player
• 1989 – Arnold Peralta, Honduran footballer (d. 2015)
• 1989 – James Tomkins, English footballer
• 1990 – Carlos Alberto Peña, Mexican footballer
• 1990 – Teemu Pukki, Finnish footballer
• 1990 – Mark Rajevski, Estonian ice hockey player
• 1990 – Lyle Taylor, English footballer
• 1991 – Fabio Borini, Italian footballer
• 1993 – Thorgan Hazard, Belgian footballer

Deaths

• 87 BC – Emperor Wu of Han of China (b. 156 BC)
• 1058 – Pope Stephen IX (b. 1020)
• 1368 – Emperor Go-Murakami of Japan (b. 1328)
• 1461 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1421)
• 1578 – Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (b. 1527)
• 1578 – Arthur Champernowne, English admiral and politician (b. 1524)
• 1628 – Tobias Matthew, English archbishop and academic (b. 1546)
• 1629 – Jacob de Gheyn II, Dutch painter and engraver (b. 1565)
• 1683 – Yaoya Oshichi, Japanese arsonist (b. 1667)
• 1692 – Nicolaus Bruhns, Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer (b. 1665)
• 1703 – George Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, (b. 1678)
• 1751 – Thomas Coram, English captain and philanthropist, founded Foundling Hospital (b. 1668)
• 1772 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (b. 1688)
• 1788 – Charles Wesley, English missionary and poet (b. 1707)
• 1792 – Gustav III of Sweden (b. 1746)
• 1800 – Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, French general and engineer (b. 1714)
• 1803 – Gottfried van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian librarian and diplomat (b. 1733)
• 1826 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (b. 1751)
• 1829 – Cornelio Saavedra, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1759)
• 1848 – John Jacob Astor, German-American businessman (b. 1763)
• 1855 – Henri Druey, Swiss politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1799)
• 1873 – Francesco Zantedeschi, Italian priest and physicist (b. 1797)
• 1877 – Inazuma Raigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 7th Yokozuna (b. 1802)
• 1888 – Charles-Valentin Alkan, French pianist and composer (b. 1813)
• 1891 – Georges Seurat, French painter (b. 1859)
• 1900 – Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman (b. 1826)
• 1906 – Slava Raškaj, Croatian painter (b. 1878)
• 1911 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (b. 1837)
• 1912 – Henry Robertson Bowers, Scottish lieutenant and explorer (b. 1883)
• 1912 – Robert Falcon Scott, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1868)
• 1912 – Edward Adrian Wilson, English physician and explorer (b. 1872)
• 1924 – Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer and conductor (b. 1852)
• 1934 – Otto Hermann Kahn, German-American banker and philanthropist (b. 1867)
• 1940 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian-English rugby player and soldier (b. 1916)
• 1948 – Harry Price, English parapsychologist and author (b. 1881)
• 1948 – Olev Siinmaa, Estonian-Swedish architect (b. 1881)
• 1956 – Infante Alfonso of Spain (b. 1941)
• 1956 – Fuat Uzkınay, Turkish filmmaker (b. 1888)
• 1957 – Joyce Cary, Irish novelist (b. 1888)
• 1959 – Barthélemy Boganda, Central African priest and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Central Africa (b. 1910)
• 1963 – Gaspard Fauteux, Canadian dentist and politician, 19th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1898)
• 1963 – August Rei, Estonian soldier, journalist, and politician, 12th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1886)
• 1965 – Zlatko Baloković, Croatian-Italian violinist (b. 1895)
• 1970 – Anna Louise Strong, American journalist and author (b. 1885)
• 1971 – Dhirendranath Datta, Pakistani lawyer and politician (b. 1886)
• 1972 – J. Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank, English businessman, founded Rank Organisation (b. 1888)
• 1974 – Joe Stecher, American wrestler (b. 1893)
• 1979 – Yahya Petra of Kelantan (b. 1917)
• 1980 – Mantovani, Italian-English conductor and composer (b. 1905)
• 1981 – Eric Williams, Trinidadian historian and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1911)
• 1982 – Walter Hallstein, German academic and politician, 1st President of the European Commission (b. 1901)
• 1982 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (b. 1895)
• 1982 – Nathan Farragut Twining, American general (b. 1897)
• 1985 – The Singing Nun, Belgian singer-songwriter and nun (b. 1933)
• 1985 – Luther Terry, American physician and academic, 9th Surgeon General of the United States (b. 1911)
• 1986 – Harold Ritz, American actor (b. 1907)
• 1988 – Maurice Blackburn, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1914)
• 1988 – Ted Kluszewski, American baseball player and coach (b. 1924)
• 1991 – Lee Atwater, American political strategist and activist (b. 1951)
• 1991 – Guy Bourdin, French photographer (b. 1928)
• 1992 – Paul Henreid, Italian-American actor and director (b. 1908)
• 1994 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 1995 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (b. 1916)
• 1995 – Terry Moore, American baseball player and coach (b. 1912)
• 1996 – Frank Daniel, Czech-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• 1996 – Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1944)
• 1997 – Hans-Walter Eigenbrodt, German footballer and coach (b. 1935)
• 1999 – Joe Williams, American singer (b. 1918)
• 1999 – Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Helge Ingstad, Norwegian lawyer, academic, and explorer (b. 1899)
• 2001 – John Lewis, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Ayat al-Akhras, Palestinian suicide bomber (b. 1984)
• 2003 – Carlo Urbani, Italian physician and microbiologist (b. 1956)
• 2004 – Joel Feinberg, American philosopher and academic (b. 1926)
• 2005 – Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer (b. 1937)
• 2005 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Salvador Elizondo, Mexican author and poet (b. 1932)
• 2007 – Larry L'Estrange, English rugby player and soldier (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Calvin Lockhart, Bahamian-American actor (b. 1934)
• 2009 – Vladimir Fedotov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1943)
• 2009 – Monte Hale, American actor and musician (b. 1919)
• 2009 – Andy Hallett, American actor and singer (b. 1975)
• 2011 – Ângelo de Sousa, Portuguese painter and sculptor (b. 1938)
• 2011 – Iakovos Kambanelis, Greek author, poet, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Pap Cheyassin Secka, Gambian lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Bill Jenkins, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1930)
• 2012 – John Mallison, Australian pastor and author (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Lawrence Auster, American blogger and author (b. 1949)
• 2013 – Reginald Gray, Irish-French painter (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Brian Huggins, English-Canadian journalist and actor (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Enzo Jannacci, Italian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Liu Kang, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1961)
• 2013 – Ralph Klein, Canadian journalist and politician, 12th Premier of Alberta (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Art Phillips, Canadian businessman and politician, 32nd Mayor of Vancouver (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Hobart Alter, American businessman (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Karl Spillman Forester, American lawyer and judge (b. 1940)
• 2014 – Marc Platt, American actor and dancer (b. 1913)
• 2015 – William Delafield Cook, Australian-English painter (b. 1926)
• 2015 – Gerry Hardstaff, English cricketer (b. 1940)
• 2016 – Patty Duke, American actress (b. 1946)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Berthold
  • Eustace of Luxeuil
  • Gwladys
  • Gwynllyw
  • Hans Nielsen Hauge (Lutheran)
  • March 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • John Keble (commemoration, Anglican Communion)
• Earliest day on which the Octave Day of Easter can fall, while May 2 is the latest; observed on the Sunday after Easter. (Christianity)
• Boganda Day (Central African Republic)
• Commemoration of the 1947 Rebellion (Madagascar)
• Day of the Young Combatant (Chile)
• Youth Day (Taiwan)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History