March 10 is the 69th day of the year (70th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 296 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Sunday or Monday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Wednesday or Friday (56).
241 BC – First Punic War : Battle of the Aegates Islands : The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa against the Berbers , and makes a triumphal entry into Carthage .
1607 – Susenyos I defeats the combined armies of Yaqob and Abuna Petros II at the Battle of Gol in Gojjam , making him Emperor of Ethiopia .
1629 – Charles I of England dissolves Parliament , beginning the eleven-year period known as the Personal Rule .
1735 – An agreement between Nader Shah and Russia is signed near Ganja, Azerbaijan and Russian troops are withdrawn from Baku .
1762 – French Huguenot Jean Calas , who had been wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.
1804 – Louisiana Purchase : In St. Louis, Missouri , a formal ceremony is conducted to transfer ownership of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States.
1814 – Napoleon I of France is defeated at the Battle of Laon in France.
1816 – Crossing of the Andes : A group of royalist scouts are captured during the Action of Juncalito .
1830 – The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army is created.
1848 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate , ending the Mexican–American War .
1861 – El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Ségou , destroying the Bamana Empire of Mali .
1876 – The first successful test of a telephone is made by Alexander Graham Bell .
1891 – Almon Strowger , an undertaker in Topeka, Kansas , patents the Strowger switch , a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching.
1906 – The Courrières mine disaster , Europe's worst ever, kills 1099 miners in northern France.
1909 – By signing the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 , Thailand relinquishes its sovereignty over the Malay states of Kedah , Kelantan , Perlis and Terengganu , which become British protectorates .
1915 – The Battle of Neuve Chapelle begins. This is the first large-scale operation by the British Army in WWI.
1917 – Some provinces and cities in the Philippines are incorporated due to the ratification of Act No. 2711 or the Administrative Code of the Philippines.
1922 – Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition , and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation.
1933 – The 6.4 Mw Long Beach earthquake affects the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe ), leaving 115–120 people dead, and causing an estimated $40 million in damage.
1944 – Greek Civil War : The Political Committee of National Liberation is established in Greece by the National Liberation Front .
1945 – The U.S. Army Air Force firebombs Tokyo , and the resulting conflagration kills more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians.
1952 – Fulgencio Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba and appoints himself as the "provisional president".
1959 – Tibetan uprising : Fearing an abduction attempt by China, thousands of Tibetans surround the Dalai Lama 's palace to prevent his removal.
1966 – Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacked rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi , precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.
1968 – Vietnam War : Battle of Lima Site 85 , concluding the 11th with largest single ground combat loss of United States Air Force members (12) during that war.
1969 – In Memphis, Tennessee , James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr . He later unsuccessfully attempts to recant.
1970 – Vietnam War: Captain Ernest Medina is charged by the U.S. military with My Lai war crimes .
1975 – Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Campaign : North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in the South on their way to capturing Saigon in the final push for victory over South Vietnam.
1977 – Astronomers discover the rings of Uranus .
1990 – In Haiti , Prosper Avril is ousted 18 months after seizing power in a coup .
2000 – The Nasdaq Composite stock market index peaks at 5132.52, signaling the beginning of the end of the dot-com boom .
2006 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars .
2017 – The impeachment of President Park Geun-hye of South Korea in response to a major political scandal is unanimously upheld by the country's Constitutional Court , ending her presidency.
852 – Qian Liu , Chinese warlord and king (d. 932)
1415 – Vasily II of Moscow (d. 1462)
1430 – Oliviero Carafa , Catholic cardinal (d. 1511)
1452 – Ferdinand II of Aragon (d. 1516)
1503 – Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1564)
1536 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk , English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (d. 1572)
1604 – Johann Rudolf Glauber , German-Dutch alchemist and chemist (d. 1670)
1628 – Marcello Malpighi , Italian physician and biologist (d. 1694)
1709 – Georg Wilhelm Steller , German botanist, zoologist, physician, and explorer (d. 1746)
1745 – John Gunby , American general (d. 1807)
1749 – Lorenzo Da Ponte , Italian-American priest and poet (d. 1838)
1769 – Joseph Williamson , English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1840)
1772 – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel , German poet and critic (d. 1829)
1787 – Francisco de Paula Martínez de la Rosa y Berdejo , Spanish playwright and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1862)
1787 – William Etty , English painter and academic (d. 1849)
1788 – Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff , German author, poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1857)
1810 – Samuel Ferguson , Irish poet and lawyer (d. 1886)
1844 – Pablo de Sarasate , Spanish violinist and composer (d. 1908)
1845 – Alexander III of Russia (d. 1894)
1846 – Edward Baker Lincoln , American son of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1850)
1850 – Spencer Gore , English tennis player and cricketer (d. 1906)
1853 – Thomas Mackenzie , Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
1867 – Hector Guimard , French-American architect, designed the La Bluette (d. 1942)
1867 – Lillian Wald , American nurse, humanitarian, and author, founded the Henry Street Settlement (d. 1940)
1870 – David Riazanov , Russian theorist and politician (d. 1938)
1873 – Jakob Wassermann , German-Austrian soldier and author (d. 1934)
1881 – Thomas Quinlan , English businessman (d. 1951)
1885 – Tamara Karsavina , Russian-English ballerina and educator (d. 1978)
1888 – Barry Fitzgerald , Irish actor (d. 1961)
1889 – Toshitsugu Takamatsu , Japanese martial artist and educator (d. 1972)
1891 – Sam Jaffe , American actor and engineer (d. 1984)
1892 – Arthur Honegger , French-Swiss composer and educator (d. 1955)
1892 – Gregory La Cava , American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1952)
1900 – Pandelis Pouliopoulos , Greek lawyer and politician (d. 1943)
1903 – Bix Beiderbecke , American cornet player, pianist, and composer (d. 1931)
1903 – Clare Boothe Luce , American playwright, journalist, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (d. 1987)
1908 – Kristjan Palusalu , Estonian wrestler, trainer, and referee (d. 1987)
1911 – Warner Anderson , American actor (d. 1976)
1914 – Chandler Harper , American golfer (d. 2004)
1914 – K. P. Ratnam , Sri Lankan academic and politician (d. 2010)
1915 – Harry Bertoia , Italian-American sculptor and furniture designer (d. 1978)
1915 – Charles Groves , English conductor and director (d. 1992)
1916 – Davie Fulton , Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 2000)
1917 – Frank Perconte , American soldier (d. 2013)
1918 – Günther Rall , German general and pilot (d. 2009)
1919 – Marion Hutton , American singer and actress (d. 1987)
1920 – Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns , American country musician, comedian, and mandolin player (d. 1989)
1920 – Alfred Peet , Dutch-American businessman, founded Peet's Coffee & Tea (d. 2007)
1920 – Boris Vian , French author and playwright (d. 1959)
1922 – Kiyoshi Yamashita , Japanese painter (d. 1971)
1923 – Val Logsdon Fitch , American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
1925 – Manolis Anagnostakis , Greek poet and critic (d. 2005)
1925 – Bob Lanier , American lawyer, banker, and politician, 58th Mayor of Houston (d. 2014)
1926 – Marques Haynes , American basketball player (d. 2015)
1927 – Claude Laydu , Belgian-French actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
1928 – Sara Montiel , Spanish actress (d. 2013)
1928 – James Earl Ray , American criminal; assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (d. 1999)
1929 – Sam Steiger , American journalist and politician (d. 2012)
1930 – Sándor Iharos , Hungarian runner (d. 1996)
1931 – Georges Dor , Canadian author, playwright, and composer (d. 2001)
1932 – Marcia Falkender, Baroness Falkender , English politician
1932 – Udupi Ramachandra Rao , Indian physicist and engineer
1933 – Ralph Emery , American radio and television host
1933 – Elizabeth Azcona Cranwell , Argentinian poet and translator (d. 2004)
1934 – Gergely Kulcsár , Hungarian javelin thrower and coach
1935 – Graham Farmer , Australian footballer and coach
1936 – Sepp Blatter , Swiss businessman
1936 – Alfredo Zitarrosa , Uruguayan singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 1989)
1938 – Norman Blake , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1938 – Ieronymos II of Athens , Greek archbishop
1939 – Asghar Ali Engineer , Indian activist and author (d. 2013)
1939 – Hugh Johnson , English author and critic
1939 – Irina Press , Ukrainian-Russian hurdler and pentathlete (d. 2004)
1940 – Chuck Norris , American actor, producer, and martial artist
1940 – David Rabe , American playwright and screenwriter
1940 – Dean Torrence , American singer-songwriter
1943 – Peter Berresford Ellis , English historian and author
1945 – Katharine Houghton , American actress and playwright
1945 – Madhavrao Scindia , Indian politician, Indian Minister of Railways (d. 2001)
1946 – Mike Hollands , Australian animator and director, founded Act3animation
1946 – Jim Valvano , American basketball player and coach (d. 1993)
1947 – Kim Campbell , Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Canada
1948 – Austin Carr , American basketball player and sportscaster
1949 – Bill Buxton , Canadian computer scientist and academic
1949 – Barbara Corcoran , American businesswoman and television personality
1952 – Johanna Lindsey , German-American author
1952 – Morgan Tsvangirai , Zimbabwean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
1953 – Paul Haggis , Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
1954 – Didier Barbelivien , French singer-songwriter
1955 – Gary Louris , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1955 – Toshio Suzuki , Japanese race car driver
1956 – Robert Llewellyn , English actor, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Larry Myricks , American long jumper and sprinter
1957 – Osama bin Laden , Saudi Arabian terrorist, founded al-Qaeda (d. 2011)
1958 – Garth Crooks , English footballer and sportscaster
1958 – Steve Howe , American baseball player (d. 2006)
1958 – Sharon Stone , American actress and producer
1960 – Jörn-Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen , German-American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
1961 – Laurel Clark , American captain, physician, and astronaut (d. 2003)
1961 – Bobby Petrino , American football player and coach
1962 – Jasmine Guy , American actress, singer, and director
1962 – Seiko Matsuda , Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
1963 – Jeff Ament , American bass player and songwriter
1963 – Felipe Ramos , Mexican footballer and referee
1963 – Rick Rubin , American record producer, founded Def Jam Recordings
1964 – Neneh Cherry , Swedish singer-songwriter
1964 – Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
1964 – Jojo Lastimosa , Filipino basketball player and coach
1964 – Nikola Mladenov , Macedonian journalist (d. 2013)
1965 – Jillian Richardson , Canadian sprinter
1965 – Rod Woodson , American football player, coach, and sportscaster
1966 – Edie Brickell , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1966 – Mike Timlin , American baseball player
1967 – Omer Tarin , Pakistani-English poet and scholar
1968 – Thio Li-ann , Singaporean lawyer and academic
1968 – Pavel Srníček , Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
1969 – Paget Brewster , American actress
1969 – Walter Schreifels , American singer-songwriter and producer
1970 – Matt Barlow , American singer-songwriter
1971 – Jon Hamm , American actor and director
1972 – Timbaland , American rapper and producer
1973 – Jason Croker , Australian rugby league player and coach
1973 – Chris Sutton , English footballer and manager
1973 – Mauricio Taricco , Argentinian footballer and manager
1974 – Cristián de la Fuente , Chilean-American model, actor, and producer
1974 – Biz Stone , American businessman, co-founded Twitter
1975 – Jamie Arnold , American-Israeli basketball player and coach
1975 – Håvard Wiik , Norwegian pianist and composer
1976 – Kisaki , Japanese bass player, songwriter, and producer
1976 – Barbara Schett , Austrian tennis player and sportscaster
1977 – Robin Thicke , American singer
1978 – Camille , French singer-songwriter and actress
1978 – Neil Alexander , Scottish footballer
1978 – Benjamin Burnley , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Ashley Callus , Australian swimmer
1980 – Lars Horntveth , Norwegian saxophonist and composer
1981 – Samuel Eto'o , Cameroonian footballer and manager
1981 – Ángel López , Spanish footballer
1981 – Steven Reid , English-Irish footballer and manager
1982 – Kwame Brown , American basketball player
1982 – Keke Wyatt , American singer-songwriter and actress
1983 – Étienne Boulay , Canadian football player
1983 – Rafe Spall , English actor
1983 – Janet Mock , American journalist, author, and activist
1983 – Carrie Underwood , American singer-songwriter and actress
1984 – Ben May , English footballer
1984 – Olivia Wilde , American actress and producer
1985 – Lassana Diarra , French footballer
1985 – Casey Dienel , American singer-songwriter and pianist
1985 – Morgan Uceny , American runner
1987 – Martellus Bennett , American football player
1987 – Greg Eastwood , New Zealand rugby league player
1987 – Ebba Jungmark , Swedish high jumper
1987 – Tuukka Rask , Finnish ice hockey player
1987 – Emeli Sandé , English-Scottish singer-songwriter
1987 – Liu Shishi , Chinese actress and ballerina
1988 – Josh Hoffman , Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
1990 – Inna Deriglazova , Russian fencer
1992 – Neeskens Kebano , French footballer
1993 – Jack Butland , English footballer
1993 – Alfred Duncan , Ghanaian footballer
1995 – Zach LaVine , American basketball player
1995 – Sergey Mozgov , Russian ice dancer
1997 – Julia Barretto , Filipino actress and singer
1997 – Belinda Bencic , Swiss tennis player
483 – Pope Simplicius
948 – Liu Zhiyuan , Shatuo founder of the Later Han dynasty (b. 895)
1039 – Eudes, Duke of Gascony
1222 – Johan Sverkersson , king of Sweden since 1216 (b. 1201)
1391 – Tvrtko I of Bosnia (b. 1338)
1476 – Richard West, 7th Baron De La Warr (b. 1430)
1510 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg , Swiss priest and theologian (b. 1445)
1513 – John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford , English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1443)
1585 – Rembert Dodoens , Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1517)
1588 – Theodor Zwinger , Swiss physician and scholar (b. 1533)
1670 – Johann Rudolf Glauber , German-Dutch chemist and engineer (b. 1604)
1724 – Urban Hjärne , Swedish chemist, geologist, and physician (b. 1641)
1776 – Élie Catherine Fréron , French author and critic (b. 1719)
1792 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute , Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1713)
1823 – George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith , Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1746)
1832 – Muzio Clementi , Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1752)
1861 – Taras Shevchenko , Ukrainian poet, playwright, and ethnographer (b. 1814)
1872 – Giuseppe Mazzini , Italian journalist and politician (b. 1805)
1898 – Marie-Eugénie de Jésus , French nun and saint, founded the Religious of the Assumption (b. 1817)
1895 – Charles Frederick Worth , English-French fashion designer, founded the House of Worth (b. 1826)
1897 – Savitribai Phule , Indian poet and activist (b. 1831)
1910 – Karl Lueger , Austrian lawyer and politician Mayor of Vienna (b. 1844)
1910 – Carl Reinecke , German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1824)
1913 – Harriet Tubman , American nurse and activist (b. 1820)
1925 – Myer Prinstein , Polish-American jumper and lawyer (b. 1878)
1930 – Misuzu Kaneko , Japanese poet and songwriter (b. 1903)
1937 – Yevgeny Zamyatin , Russian journalist and author (b. 1884)
1940 – Mikhail Bulgakov , Russian novelist and playwright (b. 1891)
1942 – Wilbur Scoville , American pharmacist and chemist (b. 1865)
1948 – Zelda Fitzgerald , American author, poet, and dancer (b. 1900)
1948 – Jan Masaryk , Czech soldier and politician (b. 1886)
1950 – Marguerite De La Motte , American actress (b. 1902)
1951 – Kijūrō Shidehara , Japanese lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1872)
1965 – Archibald Frazer-Nash , English engineer, founded Frazer Nash (b. 1889)
1966 – Frits Zernike , Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
1966 – Frank O'Connor , Irish short story writer, novelist, and poet (b. 1903)
1967 – Yiorgos Batis , Greek bouzouki player and composer (b. 1885)
1973 – Bull Connor , American politician (b. 1897)
1977 – E. Power Biggs , English-American organist and composer (b. 1906)
1982 – Minoru Shirota , Japanese physician and microbiologist, invented Yakult (b. 1899)
1985 – Konstantin Chernenko , Russian soldier and politician, 8th Head of State of The Soviet Union (b. 1911)
1985 – Bob Nieman , American baseball player and scout (b. 1927)
1986 – Ray Milland , Welsh-American actor and director (b. 1905)
1988 – Andy Gibb , Manx-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1958)
1989 – Kermit Beahan , American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
1990 – Pat McDonald , Australian actress (b. 1921)
1990 – Otto Schuhart , German captain (b. 1901)
1992 – Giorgos Zampetas , Greek bouzouki player and composer (b. 1925)
1993 – Dino Bravo , Italian-Canadian wrestler (b. 1949)
1996 – Ross Hunter , American film producer (b. 1926)
1996 – Butch Laswell , American motorcycle stunt rider (b. 1958)
1997 – LaVern Baker , American singer and actress (b. 1929)
1998 – Lloyd Bridges , American actor and director (b. 1913)
1999 – Oswaldo Guayasamín , Ecuadorian painter and sculptor (b. 1919)
2001 – Massimo Morsello , Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1958)
2004 – Renos Apostolidis , Greek philologist, author, and critic (b. 1924)
2005 – Dave Allen , Irish-English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
2006 – Anna Moffo , American soprano (b. 1932)
2007 – Ernie Ladd , American football player and wrestler (b. 1938)
2010 – Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy , Egyptian scholar and academic (b. 1928)
2011 – Bill Blackbeard , American author and illustrator (b. 1926)
2012 – Bert R. Bulkin , American engineer (b. 1929)
2012 – Jean Giraud , French author and illustrator (b. 1938)
2012 – Mykola Plaviuk , Ukrainian politician, President Ukrainian People's Republic in Exile (b. 1925)
2012 – Frank Sherwood Rowland , American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
2012 – Tan Boon Teik , Malaysian-Singaporean lawyer and politician, Attorney-General of Singapore (b. 1929)
2013 – Jim Anderson , Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1930)
2013 – Robert Chrisman , American poet, scholar, and critic, co-founded The Black Scholar (b. 1937)
2013 – Danny Zialcita , Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
2014 – Don Ingalls , American writer and producer (b. 1918)
2014 – Samuel W. Lewis , American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Israel (b. 1930)
2014 – Joe McGinniss , American journalist and author (b. 1942)
2014 – Rob Williams , American basketball player (b. 1961)
2015 – Richard Glatzer , American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
2015 – Tim Rucks , American football player and coach (b. 1960)
2015 – Claude Sitton , American journalist and academic (b. 1925)
2015 – Stuart Wagstaff , English-Australian actor (b. 1925)
2016 – Ken Adam , German-English production designer and art director (b. 1921)
2016 – Keith Emerson , English keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1944)
2016 – Roberto Perfumo , Argentinian footballer and sportscaster (b. 1942)
2016 – Jovito Salonga , Filipino lawyer and politician, 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines (b. 1920)
2016 – Anita Brookner , English novelist and art historian (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
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