- Mar 1 Ski lift malfunctions at Luz-Ardiden in Pyrenees, kills five people
- Mar 1 NY Times raises its price from 25 cents to 30 cents
- Mar 1 Russian spacecraft Venera 14 lands on Venus, sends back data
- Mar 2 Terror group "The Illuminated Path" frees 260 prisoners in Peru
- Mar 3 Senate begins debate on expulsion of Sen Harrison Williams (D-NJ)
- Mar 4 2nd double hat trick in Islander history-Bossy & D Potvin
- Mar 4 NASA launches Intelsat V satellite, no. 504
- Mar 4 Bertha Wilson is appointed as first woman to sit on the Supreme Court of Canada
- Mar 5 Gaylord Perry (with 297 wins) signs with Seattle Mariners
- Mar 5 Russian spacecraft Venera 14 lands on Venus sends back data
- Mar 6 NBA highest scoring game: San Antonio beat Milwaukee 171-166 (3 OT)
- Mar 6 Susan Birmingham makes then world's loudest recorded human shout (120 dB)
- Mar 6 23rd SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Alabama beats Kentucky, 48-46
- Mar 7 Jarmilla Kratochvilova run world record 400 m indoor (49.59 sec)
- Mar 7 NCAA Tournament Selection televised live for 1st time
- Mar 7 29th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: North Carolina beats Virginia, 47-45
Event of Interest
Mar 10 US President Reagan proclaims economic sanctions against Libya
Ronald Reagan
- Mar 10 Saleem Malik scores 100 in 2nd inning of Test Cricket debut (v SL)
- Mar 10 Sygyzy: all 9 planets aligned on same side of Sun
- Mar 10 Travis Jackson & Happy Chandler elected to Hall of Fame
- Mar 10 The United States places an embargo on Libyan petroleum imports because of their support of terrorist groups.
Film and TV Awards
Mar 10 8th People's Choice Awards: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field & Jane Fonda win (Motion Picture) and Alan Alda & Barbara Mandrell win (TV)
- Mar 11 Failed military coup under Rambocus and Hawker in Suriname
- Mar 11 Harrison Williams (Sen-D-NJ) resigns rather than face expulsion
- Mar 11 Detroit Pistons play the Chicago Bulls, with final score of Detroit 152 to Chicago 144 and Detroit having 20 blocked shots
- Mar 11 US boycotts Libyan crude oil
- Mar 12 1st-class debut of Courtney Walsh, Jamaica v Leeward Islands
- Mar 12 PLO chief Yassar Arafat appears on "Nightline"
Event of Interest
Mar 13 Ice Dance Championship at Copenhagen won by Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (GBR)
Christopher Dean
Jayne Torvill
- Mar 13 Ice Pairs Championship at Copenhagen won by Baess & Thierbach (GDR)
Event of Interest
Mar 13 Men's Figure Skating Champions in Copenhagen won by Scott Hamilton (USA)
Scott Hamilton
- Mar 13 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champs in Copenhagen won by Elaine Zayak (USA) who lands 6 triple jumps
Television Premiere
Mar 13 ABC TV crime drama "T.J. Hooker" premieres, starring William Shatner
William Shatner
- Mar 14 Sidath Wettimuny scores Sri Lanka's 1st Test Cricket century
- Mar 15 Actress Theresa Saladana, stabbed repeatedly by obsessed fan
- Mar 15 KGB-AM in San Diego CA changes call letters to KCNN (now KPOP)
- Mar 15 Nicaragua suspends their citizens rights for 30 days
- Mar 17 4 Dutch TV crew members shot dead in El Salvador
- Mar 18 Singer Teddy Pendergrass' spinal cord severed in a car accident
- Mar 19 National Guard jet tanker crashes killing 27
- Mar 19 Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the U.K.
- Mar 20 1st-class debut of Richie Richardson, Leeward Is v Barbados
- Mar 20 France performs nuclear test
- Mar 20 Joan Jett & Blackhearts' "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" goes #1 for 7 weeks
- Mar 20 Rev A Treurnicht forms Conservative Party of South Africa
- Mar 20 France beats Ireland, 22-9 at the Parc des Princes, Paris but the Irish take the Five Nations Rugby Championship with a 3-1 record and also their 5th Triple Crown
- Mar 21 "Little Johnny Jones" opens & closes at Alvin Theater NYC
- Mar 21 Jerry Pate celebrates golf win by jumping into the water hazard
Film Premier
Mar 21 Movie "Annie" directed by John Huston, starring Aileen Quinn, Albert Finney and Carol Burnett premieres
Carol Burnett
Coup d'état
Mar 23 Guatemala military coup under General Efraín Rios Montt, President Romeo Lucas flees
Efraín Ríos Montt
NHL Record
Mar 23 Isle's Mike Bossy's 20th career hat trick-4 goals
Mike Bossy
- Mar 24 US sub Jacksonville collides with a Turkish freighter near Virginia
Event of Interest
Mar 25 Wayne Gretzky becomes 1st NHL to score 200 points in a season
Wayne Gretzky
Music Single
Mar 26 Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder release the single "Ebony & Ivory" in the UK
Stevie Wonder
Paul McCartney
- Mar 26 Soap opera "Capitol" premieres
- Mar 27 "Best Little Whorehouse..." closes at 46th St NYC after 1577 performances
- Mar 27 Imran takes 14-116 for cricket match v Sri Lanka at Lahore
- Mar 27 Randy Holt sets Wash Cap record of 34 penalty minutes
- Mar 28 12th Easter Seal Telethon raises $19,500,000
- Mar 28 1st NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Louisiana Tech beats Cheney, 76-62; Lady Techsters' forward Janice Lawrence tournament MOP
- Mar 28 JN Duartes' Christian Democrats win elections in El Salvador
- Mar 28 Last AIAW Women's Basketball Championship, Rutgers beat Texas 83-77 in Philadelphia
- Mar 29 2nd Golden Raspberry Awards: "Mommie Dearest" wins
Event of Interest
Mar 29 44th NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: North Carolina beats Georgetown, 63-62; Tar Heels' future Hall of Fame small forward James Worthy named Tournament Most Outstanding Player
James Worthy
Academy Awards
Mar 29 54th Academy Awards: "Chariots of Fire", Henry Fonda & Katharine Hepburn win
Katharine Hepburn
Henry Fonda
- Mar 29 Delhi 707 beat Karnataka 705 on 1st innings to win Ranji Trophy
- Mar 30 3rd space shuttle mission-Columbia 3 lands at White Sands, NM
- Mar 30 John Pielmeier's "Agnes of God" premieres in NYC
- Mar 31 Arkas tanker at Montz La, spills 1.47 million gallons of oil
- Mar 31 Rock group Doobie Brothers split up
- Mar 31 NBA and Players Association reach a 4-year agreement that includes a 53% revenue-sharing plan in return for minimum & maximum payrolls; first of its kind in team sports