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. 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).
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 the sole emperor of the Roman Empire .
455 – Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate , emperor of the Western Roman Empire .
1001 – The Raja of Butuan in what is now the Philippines sends a tributary mission to the Song dynasty .
1337 – Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall , the first Duchy in England.
1452 – The Battle of Los Alporchones is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the Emirate of Granada and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile and Murcia resulting in a Christian victory.
1560 – Fort Coligny on Villegagnon Island in Rio de Janeiro is attacked and destroyed during the Portuguese campaign against France Antarctique .
1677 – The Siege of Valenciennes , during the Franco-Dutch War , ends with France's taking of the city.
1776 – American Revolution : British forces evacuate Boston , ending the Siege of Boston , after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions 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.
1842 – The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed;
1860 – The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki , New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand land wars .
1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
1891 – SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.
1921 – The Second Polish Republic 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 Lvov Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today 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 – Belgium , France , Luxembourg , the Netherlands 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 .
1963 – Mount Agung erupted on Bali killing more than 1,100 people.
1966 – Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb .
1968 – As a result of nerve gas testing in Skull Valley, Utah , over 6,000 sheep are found dead .
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, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War .
1979 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.
1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez , aka the "Night Stalker", commits the first two murders in his Los Angeles 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 : Car bomb attack kills 29 and injures 242.
1992 – A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%.
2000 – Five hundred thirty members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in a fire, considered to be a mass murder or suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult. Elsewhere another 248 members are later found dead.
2003 – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook , resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq .
2004 – Unrest in Kosovo : More than 22 are killed and 200 wounded. Thirty-five Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Serbia are destroyed.
2011 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1972 relating to Somalia is adopted.
2011 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 relating to Libyan Civil War is adopted.
763 – Harun al-Rashid , Abbasid caliph (d. 809)
1231 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (d. 1242)
1473 – James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
1628 – François Girardon , French sculptor (d. 1715)
1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre , French harpsichord player and composer (d. 1729)
1676 – Thomas Boston , Scottish philosopher and theologian (d. 1732)
1686 – Jean-Baptiste Oudry , French painter and engraver (d. 1755)
1725 – Lachlan McIntosh , Scottish-American general and politician (d. 1806)
1777 – Patrick Brontë , Irish-English priest and author (d. 1861)
1777 – Roger B. Taney , American politician and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1864)
1780 – Thomas Chalmers , Scottish minister, economist, and educator (d. 1847)
1781 – Ebenezer Elliott , English poet and educator (d. 1849)
1804 – Jim Bridger , American fur trader and explorer (d. 1881)
1820 – Jean Ingelow , English poet and author (d. 1897)
1834 – Gottlieb Daimler , German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (d. 1900)
1839 – Josef Rheinberger , Liechtensteiner-German organist and composer (d. 1901)
1846 – Kate Greenaway , English author and illustrator (d. 1901)
1849 – Charles F. Brush , American businessman and philanthropist, co-invented the Arc lamp (d. 1929)
1849 – Cornelia Clapp , American marine biologist (d. 1934)
1856 – Mikhail Vrubel , Russian painter (d. 1910)
1862 – Silvio Gesell , Belgian merchant and economist (d. 1930)
1864 – Joseph Baptista , Indian engineer, lawyer, and politician (d. 1930)
1866 – Pierce Butler , American lawyer and jurist (d. 1939)
1867 – Patrice Contamine de Latour , Spanish poet (d. 1926)
1877 – Otto Gross , Austrian-German psychoanalyst and philosopher (d. 1920)
1880 – Patrick Hastings , English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1952)
1880 – Lawrence Oates , English lieutenant and explorer (d. 1912)
1881 – Walter Rudolf Hess , Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
1884 – Alcide Nunez , American clarinet player (d. 1934)
1885 – Ralph Rose , American shot putter, discus thrower, and tug of war competitor (d. 1913)
1886 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (d. 1974)
1888 – Paul Ramadier , French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1961)
1889 – Harry Clarke , Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator (d. 1931)
1892 – Sayed Darwish , Egyptian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1923)
1894 – Paul Green , American playwright and academic (d. 1981)
1895 – Lloyd Rees , Australian painter (d. 1988)
1901 – Alfred Newman , American composer and conductor (d. 1970)
1902 – Bobby Jones , American golfer and lawyer (d. 1971)
1904 – Chaim Gross , Austrian-American sculptor and educator (d. 1991)
1906 – Brigitte Helm , German-Swiss actress (d. 1996)
1907 – Jean Van Houtte , Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1991)
1907 – Takeo Miki , Japanese politician, 41st Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1988)
1910 – Sonny Werblin , American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1991)
1912 – Bayard Rustin , American activist (d. 1987)
1914 – Sammy Baugh , American football player and coach (d. 2008)
1915 – Ray Ellington , English drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)
1915 – Bill Roycroft , Australian equestrian rider (d. 2011)
1919 – Nat King Cole , American singer, pianist, and television host (d. 1965)
1920 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman , Bangladeshi politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
1921 – Meir Amit , Israeli general and politician, 12th Israeli Minister of Communications (d. 2009)
1922 – Patrick Suppes , American psychologist and philosopher (d. 2014)
1924 – Stephen Dodgson , English composer and educator (d. 2013)
1925 – Gabriele Ferzetti , Italian actor (d. 2015)
1926 – Siegfried Lenz , Polish-German author and playwright (d. 2014)
1927 – Betty Allen , American soprano and educator (d. 2009)
1928 – William John McKeag , Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2007)
1930 – Paul Horn , American-Canadian flute player and saxophonist (d. 2014)
1930 – James Irwin , American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1991)
1931 – Patricia Breslin , American actress (d. 2011)
1931 – David Peakall , English-American chemist and toxicologist (d. 2001)
1933 – Myrlie Evers-Williams , American journalist and activist
1933 – Penelope Lively , English author
1935 – Fred T. Mackenzie , American biologist and academic
1935 – Adam Wade , American singer, drummer, and actor
1936 – Ladislav Kupkovič , Slovakian composer and conductor (d. 2016)
1936 – Ken Mattingly , American admiral, pilot, and astronaut
1937 – Galina Samsova , Russian ballerina
1938 – Rudolf Nureyev , Russian-French dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
1938 – Keith O'Brien , Northern Ireland-born Scottish cleric, theologian, and cardinal
1938 – Zola Taylor , American singer (d. 2007)
1939 – Jim Gary , American sculptor (d. 2006)
1939 – Bill Graham , Canadian academic and politician, 4th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1939 – Robin Knox-Johnston , English sailor and first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe
1939 – Giovanni Trapattoni , Italian footballer and manager
1940 – Mark White , American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Texas
1941 – Wang Jin-pyng , Taiwanese soldier and politician
1941 – Paul Kantner , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
1941 – Max Stafford-Clark , English director and academic
1943 – Jeff Banks , Welsh fashion designer
1943 – Andrew Brook , Canadian philosopher, author, and academic
1944 – Pattie Boyd , English model, author, and photographer
1944 – Cito Gaston , American baseball player and manager
1944 – John Sebastian , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – Michael Hayden , American general, 20th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
1947 – Yury Chernavsky , Russian-American songwriter and producer
1948 – William Gibson , American-Canadian author and screenwriter
1948 – Alex MacDonald , Scottish footballer and manager
1949 – Patrick Duffy , American actor, director, and producer
1949 – Pat Rice , Irish footballer and coach
1949 – Stuart Rose , English businessman
1951 – Scott Gorham , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Craig Ramsay , Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1951 – Kurt Russell , American actor and producer
1952 – Barry Horne , English activist (d. 2001)
1953 – Filemon Lagman , Filipino activist (d. 2001)
1953 – Chuck Muncie , American football player (d. 2013)
1954 – Lesley-Anne Down , English actress
1955 – Mark Boone Junior , American actor and producer
1955 – Cynthia McKinney , American activist and politician
1955 – Paul Overstreet , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1955 – Gary Sinise , American actor, director, and bass player
1956 – Patrick McDonnell , American author and illustrator
1957 – Michael Kelly , American journalist and author (d. 2003)
1958 – Christian Clemenson , American actor
1958 – Jorge Ramos , Mexican-American journalist and author
1959 – Danny Ainge , American baseball and basketball player
1959 – Paul Black , American singer-songwriter and drummer
1960 – Arye Gross , American actor
1960 – Vicki Lewis , American actress and singer
1961 – Alexander Bard , Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
1961 – Sam Bowie , American basketball player
1961 – Dana Reeve , American actress, singer, and activist (d. 2006)
1961 – Casey Siemaszko , American actor
1962 – Carsten Almqvist , Swedish business executive
1962 – Ank Bijleveld , Dutch politician
1962 – Kalpana Chawla , Indian-American engineer and astronaut (d. 2003)
1962 – Janet Gardner , American singer and guitarist
1962 – Clare Grogan , Scottish singer and actress
1962 – Roxy Petrucci , American drummer
1962 – Rob Sitch , Australian actor, director, and producer
1963 – Roger Harper , Guyanese cricketer and coach
1964 – Stefano Borgonovo , Italian footballer (d. 2013)
1964 – Lee Dixon , English footballer and journalist
1964 – Rob Lowe , American actor and producer
1964 – Jacques Songo'o , Cameroonian footballer and coach
1965 – Andrew Hudson , South African cricketer
1966 – Andrew Rosindell , English journalist and politician
1967 – Jason Alchin , Australian rugby league player
1967 – Van Conner , American bass player
1967 – Billy Corgan , American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1967 – Barry Minkow , American pastor and businessman
1968 – Eri Nitta , Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
1968 – Mathew St. Patrick , American actor and producer
1969 – Edgar Grospiron , French skier
1969 – Alexander McQueen , English fashion designer, founded own eponymous brand (d. 2010)
1970 – Patrick Lebeau , Canadian ice hockey player
1970 – Gene Ween , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1971 – Bill Mueller , American baseball player and coach
1972 – Melissa Auf der Maur , Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player
1972 – Torquil Campbell , English-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
1972 – Mia Hamm , American soccer player
1973 – Rico Blanco , Filipino singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1973 – Caroline Corr , Irish singer and drummer
1973 – Vance Wilson , American baseball player and manager
1974 – Mark Dolan , English comedian and television host
1974 – Oliver Palotai , German keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
1975 – Justin Hawkins , English singer-songwriter
1975 – Puneeth Rajkumar , Indian actor, singer, and producer
1975 – Test , Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2009)
1975 – Natalie Zea , American actress
1976 – Scott Downs , American baseball player
1976 – Stephen Gately , Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor (d. 2009)
1976 – Álvaro Recoba , Uruguayan footballer
1977 – Tamar Braxton , American singer-songwriter and actress
1978 – Zachery Kouwe , American journalist
1979 – Andrew Ference , Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Stephen Kramer Glickman , Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and fashion designer
1979 – Lollipop , American wrestler and manager
1980 – Danny Califf , American soccer player
1980 – Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi , Pakistani tennis player
1981 – Aaron Baddeley , American-Australian golfer
1981 – Servet Çetin , Turkish footballer
1981 – Kyle Korver , American basketball player
1982 – Steven Pienaar , South African footballer
1983 – Raul Meireles , Portuguese footballer
1984 – Ryan Rottman , American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1985 – Vassiliki Arvaniti , Greek volleyball player
1985 – Tuğba Karademir , Turkish-Canadian figure skater
1986 – Chris Davis , American baseball player
1986 – Edin Džeko , Bosnian footballer
1986 – Miles Kane , English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1986 – Silke Spiegelburg , German pole vaulter
1987 – Federico Fazio , Argentinian footballer
1987 – Krisnan Inu , New Zealand rugby league player
1987 – Ryan Parent , Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – Bobby Ryan , American ice hockey player
1988 – Rasmus Elm , Swedish footballer
1988 – Fraser Forster , English footballer
1988 – Ryan White , Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – Shinji Kagawa , Japanese footballer
1990 – Hozier , Irish singer-songwriter and musician
1990 - Saina Nehwal , Indian Badminton Player
1991 – Jack De Belin , Australian rugby league player
1993 – Matteo Bianchetti , Italian footballer
1995 – Ashley Taylor , Australian rugby league player
1997 – Katie Ledecky , American swimmer
45 BC – Titus Labienus , Roman tribune and general (b. 100 BC)
45 BC – Publius Attius Varus , Roman governor of Africa
180 – Marcus Aurelius , Roman emperor (b. 121)
624 – Amr ibn Hishām , Arab polytheist
659 – Gertrude of Nivelles , Belgian nun and saint (b. 626)
836 – Haito , bishop of Basel
1040 – Harold Harefoot , English king (b. 1015)
1058 – Lulach , King of Scotland
1199 – Jocelin of Glasgow , Scottish monk and bishop (b. 1130)
1267 – Peter of Montereau , architect (b. c. 1200)
1270 – Philip of Montfort, Lord of Tyre
1272 – Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (b. 1220)
1361 – An-Nasir Hasan , Mamluk Sultan of Egypt (b. 1334/35)
1394 – Louis, Count of Enghien , Count of Conversano and Brienne
1516 – Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours (b. 1479)
1565 – Alexander Ales , Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1500)
1620 – John Sarkander , Polish-Moravian priest and saint (b. 1576)
1640 – Philip Massinger , English playwright (b. 1583)
1649 – Gabriel Lalemant , French missionary and saint (b. 1610)
1680 – François de La Rochefoucauld , French author (b. 1613)
1704 – Menno van Coehoorn , Dutch soldier and engineer (b. 1641)
1715 – Gilbert Burnet , Scottish bishop and historian (b. 1643)
1741 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau , French poet and playwright (b. 1671)
1764 – George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield , English astronomer and politician (b. 1695)
1782 – Daniel Bernoulli , Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (b. 1700)
1828 – James Edward Smith , English botanist and entomologist (b. 1759)
1830 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr , French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1764)
1846 – Friedrich Bessel , German astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1784)
1849 – William II of the Netherlands (b. 1792)
1853 – Christian Doppler , Austrian physicist and mathematician (b. 1803)
1871 – Robert Chambers , Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (b. 1802)
1875 – Ferdinand Laub , Czech violinist and composer (b. 1832)
1893 – Jules Ferry , French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (b. 1832)
1917 – Franz Brentano , German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
1926 – Aleksei Brusilov , Georgian-Russian general (b. 1853)
1937 – Austen Chamberlain , English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs , Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1863)
1946 – Dai Li , Chinese general (b. 1897)
1949 – Aleksandra Ekster , Russian-French painter and set designer (b. 1882)
1956 – Fred Allen , American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and author (b. 1894)
1956 – Irène Joliot-Curie , French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1957 – Ramon Magsaysay , Filipino captain and politician, 7th President of the Philippines (b. 1907)
1958 – John Pius Boland , Irish tennis player and politician (b. 1870)
1961 – Susanna M. Salter , American activist and politician (b. 1860)
1965 – Amos Alonzo Stagg , American football player and coach (b. 1862)
1974 – Louis Kahn , American architect and academic, designed Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (b. 1901)
1976 – Luchino Visconti , Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
1981 – Paul Dean , American baseball player (b. 1913)
1983 – Haldan Keffer Hartline , American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
1983 – Louisa E. Rhine , American botanist and parapsychologist (b. 1891)
1990 – Capucine , French model and actress (b. 1928)
1992 – Grace Stafford , American actress (b. 1903)
1993 – Helen Hayes , American actress (b. 1900)
1994 – Mai Zetterling , Swedish-English actress and director (b. 1925)
1996 – René Clément , French director and screenwriter (b. 1913)
1996 – Andre Melendez (also known as "Angel Melendez"), Club Kid and drug dealer whose murder, by Michael Alig and Robert D. "Freeze" Riggs, is documented in numerous works of art, entertainment, and media (b. 1971)
1996 – Terry Stafford , American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
1997 – Jermaine Stewart , American singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1957)
1999 – Ernest Gold , Austrian-American composer (b. 1921)
1999 – Jean Pierre-Bloch , French activist (b. 1905)
2002 – Rosetta LeNoire , American actress and producer (b. 1911)
2002 – Văn Tiến Dũng , Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (b. 1917)
2002 – Sylvester "Pat" Weaver , American television broadcaster and producer (b. 1908)
2005 – Royce Frith , Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (b. 1923)
2005 – George F. Kennan , American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (b. 1904)
2005 – Andre Norton , American author (b. 1912)
2006 – Oleg Cassini , French-American fashion designer (b. 1913)
2006 – Ray Meyer , American basketball player and coach (b. 1913)
2006 – İstemihan Taviloğlu , Turkish composer and educator (b. 1945)
2007 – John Backus , American mathematician and computer scientist, designed Fortran (b. 1924)
2007 – Roger Bennett , American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1959)
2008 – Roland Arnall , French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (b. 1939)
2009 – Clodovil Hernandes , Brazilian television host and politician (b. 1937)
2010 – Alex Chilton , American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1950)
2010 – Sid Fleischman , American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2011 – Michael Gough , English actor (b. 1916)
2012 – Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria (b. 1923)
2012 – Margaret Whitlam , Australian swimmer and author (b. 1919)
2013 – William B. Caldwell III , American general (b. 1925)
2013 – Lawrence Fuchs , American scholar and academic (b. 1927)
2013 – A.B.C. Whipple , American journalist and historian (b. 1918)
2014 – Marek Galiński , Polish cyclist (b. 1974)
2014 – Joseph Kerman , American musicologist and critic (b. 1924)
2014 – Rachel Lambert Mellon , American gardener, philanthropist, art collector and political patron (b. 1910)
2015 – Frank Perris , Canadian motorcycle racer (b. 1931)
2016 – Meir Dagan , Israeli general (b. 1945)
2016 – Zoltán Kamondi , Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1960)
Holidays and observances [ edit ]
External links [ edit ]
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