March 17

Events

• 45 BC - In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
• 1577 - formation of the Cathay Company to send Martin Frobisher back to the New World for more gold
• 1673 - Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet begin their exploration of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi river.
• 1756 - St. Patrick's Day is celebrated in New York City for the first time (at the Crown and Thistle Tavern).
• 1776 - American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington places artillery overlooking the city.
• 1805 - The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King.
• 1845 - The rubber band is invented
• 1861 - The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
• 1886 - Carrollton Massacre: 20 African Americans are killed in Mississippi.
• 1891 - The British steamship SS Utopia sinks off the coast of Gibraltar, killing 574.
• 1901 - A showing of 71 Vincent van Gogh paintings in Paris, 11 years after his death, creates a sensation.
• 1910 - Luther Gulick and his wife Charlotte found Camp Fire Girls (formally announced in 1912).
• 1921 - The Second Republic of Poland adopts the March Constitution.
• 1931 - Nevada legalizes gambling.
• 1939 - Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945): The Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and the Japanese break out.
• 1941 - In Washington, DC, the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• 1948 - Benelux, France, and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the NATO Agreement.
• 1950 - University of California, Berkeley researchers announce the creation of element 98, which they name "Californium".
• 1958 - The United States launches the Vanguard 1 satellite.
• 1959 - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet and travels to India.
• 1966 - Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
• 1969 - Golda Meir of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, becomes Prime Minister of Israel.
• 1970 - My Lai massacre: The United States Army charges 14 officers with suppressing information related to the incident.
• 1985 - Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the "Night Stalker", commits his first two murders in Los Angeles, California murder spree.
• 1988 - A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into the side of the mountains near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
• 1992 - A suicide car-bomb kills 29 and injures 242 at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• 2003 - British Cabinet Minister, Robin Cook, resigns over government plans for war with Iraq.
• 2004 - Massive Unrest in Kosovo. Over 22 killed, 200 wounded, 15 destroyed Serb Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Belgrade and Nis.
  

  Births

• 1473 - King James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
• 1777 - Roger Taney, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1864)
• 1780 - Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor, social reformer, educator, author, and scientist (d. 1847)
• 1804 - Jim Bridger, American trapper and explorer (d. 1881)
• 1820 - Jean Ingelow, English poet (d. 1897)
• 1834 - Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and inventor (d. 1900)
• 1846 - Kate Greenaway, English children's author and illustrator (d. 1901)
• 1862 - Silvio Gesell, economist (d. 1930)
• 1866 - Pierce Butler, justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1939)
• 1870 - Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (d. 1951)
• 1880 - Sir Patrick Hastings, barrister (d. 1952)
• 1884 - Alcide Nunez, jazz musician (d. 1934)
• 1888 - Frank Buck, big game hunter (d. 1950)
• 1894 - Paul Green, novelist, playwright (d. 1981)
• 1895 - Shemp Howard, actor (d. 1955)
• 1902 - Bobby Jones, golfer (d. 1971)
• 1908 - Brigitte Helm, actress (d. 1996)
• 1912 - Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist (d. 1987)
• 1914 - Sammy Baugh, American football player
• 1916 - Ray Ellington, British singer (d. 1985)
• 1918 - Mercedes McCambridge, actress (d. 2004)
• 1919 - Nat King Cole, singer (d. 1965)
• 1920 - Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
• 1926 - Siegfried Lenz, writer
• 1930 - James Irwin, astronaut (d. 1991)
• 1933 - Laurence M. Janifer, science fiction author
• 1933 - Myrlie Evers-Williams, civil rights activist
• 1936 - Ladislav Kupkovic, composer
• 1936 - Ken Mattingly, astronaut
• 1938 - Rudolf Nureyev, dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
• 1940 - Mark White, Texas politician
• 1941 - Paul Kantner, American musician (Jefferson Airplane)
• 1942 - John Wayne Gacy, serial killer (d. 1994)
• 1944 - John Sebastian, singer, songwriter
• 1944 - Pattie Boyd, British photographer, fashion model
• 1944 - Cito Gaston, American baseball player and coach
• 1945 - Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (d. 1982)
• 1947 - James Morrow, science fiction author
• 1948 - William Gibson, writer
• 1949 - Patrick Duffy, actor
• 1951 - Kurt Russell, actor
• 1954 - Lesley-Anne Down, actress
• 1955 - Gary Sinise, actor
• 1955 - Paul Overstreet, country singer
• 1956 - Patrick McDonnell, cartoonist
• 1957 - Michael Kelly, American journalist (d. 2003)
• 1959 - Danny Ainge, basketball player and coach, baseball player
• 1964 - Rob Lowe, actor
• 1967 - William Patrick Corgan, Jr, musician
• 1967 - Barry Minkow, businessman
• 1969 - Mathew St. Patrick, American actor
• 1972 - Mia Hamm, US soccer player
• 1973 - Caroline Corr, singer, musician
• 1976 - Stephen Gately, Boyzone; singer, musician, actor
  

  Deaths

• 45 BC - Titus Labienus (b. c. 100 BC), Roman leader (in battle)
• 45 BC - Gnaeus Pompeius (executed)
• 180 - Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
• 461 - Saint Patrick, patron saint of Ireland (b. c. 373)
• 1040 - Harold Harefoot, King of England (b. c. 1016)
• 1058 - King Lulach I of Scotland (b. c. 1029)
• 1425 - Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Ashikaga shogun (b. 1407)
• 1640 - Philip Massinger, English dramatist
• 1704 - Menno van Coehoorn , Dutch military engineer (b. 1641)
• 1782 - Daniel Bernoulli, mathematician (b. 1700)
• 1853 - Christian Doppler, Austrian physician and mathematician
• 1917 - Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
• 1956 - Irene Joliot-Curie, scientist (b. 1897)
• 1956 - Fred Allen, American actor, comedian
• 1957 - Ramon Magsaysay, President of the Philippines
• 1965 - Amos Alonzo Stagg, baseball, basketball, football coach and player (b. 1862)
• 1976 - Luchino Visconti, director, (b. 1906)
• 1987 - Santo Trafficante, Jr, gangster
• 1989 - Merritt Butrick, American actor
• 1990 - Capucine, actress (b. 1931)
• 1993 - Helen Hayes, actress (b. 1900)
• 1995 - Ronnie Kray, British gangster
• 1999 - Rod Hull, British actor
• 2002 - Pat Weaver, American broadcast executive
• 2002 - Rosetta LeNoire, American actress, producer
• 2003 - Klaus Oldendorff, ship owner
• 2004 - J.J. Jackson, original MTV VJ (b. 1941 or 1942)
• 2005 - Andre Norton, science fiction author (b. 1912)
• 2005 - George F. Kennan, American Cold War strategist and historian
• 1985 - Sara Vanore, fashion icon, Alladin enthusiast
  

  Holidays and observances

• Ancient Latvia - Kustonu Diena observed
• Boston, Massachusetts - Evacuation Day
• Feast day of St Patrick: a public holiday in Ireland and Montserrat, widely celebrated in North America (see St. Patrick's Day)
• ancient Rome - the second day of the Bacchanalia in honor of Bacchus
• ancient Rome - the Liberia in honor of Liber
   
  

  External links

• BBC: On This Day

March 16 - March 18 - February 17 - April 17 -- listing of all days