Battle of Munda
45 BC In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda
Emperor Commodus
180 Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius dies leaving his son Commodus aged 18 as sole emperor
Snakes Alive! It's St Patrick's Day
432 Saint Patrick, aged about 16 is captured by Irish pirates from his home in Great Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland (traditional date)
Duchy of Cornwall
1337 Edward the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy made in England
- 1452 Battle of Los Alporchones: forces of Kingdoms of Castile and Murcia defeat Emirate of Granada near Lorca, part of the Spanish Reconquista
Magellan Reaches the Philippines
1521 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines
- 1537 French troops invade Flanders
- 1580 Prince William I of Orange welcomed in Amsterdam
- 1722 William IV Prince of Orange appointed mayor of Drente
- 1756 St. Patrick's Day is first celebrated in NYC at the Crown & Thistle Tavern
- 1757 Prince Mas Saïd of Mataram surrenders to Mangkubumi in Java
- 1762 1st St Patrick's Day parade in NYC
- 1775 Transylvania Land Company, headed by Richard Henderson, buys most of Kentucky through treaty signed with Cherokee chiefs at Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River (later declared illegal)
- 1776 British forces evacuate Boston to Nova Scotia during Revolutionary War
- 1800 British warship HMS Queen Charlotte catches fire off the Tuscan Archipelago; 700 die
- 1804 Friedrich Schiller's play "Wilhelm Tell" premieres
- 1824 Britain & Netherlands sign a trade agreement
Joseph Grimaldi Bows Out
1829 Final performance by famous clown Joseph Grimaldi at a benefit performance at Sadler's Wells, London
- 1833 Phoenix Society forms (NY)
- 1842 Treaty of 1842: Wyandotte (Huron) Indian nation cedes 114,000 acres of land in Ohio and Michigan to US, in exchange for 148,000 acres west of the Mississippi
- 1845 Bristol man Henry Jones patents self-raising flour
- 1845 Rubber band patented by Stephen Perry of London
- 1854 1st park land purchased by a US city, Worcester, Massachusetts
Japanese Embassy to the US
1860 Six years after the forcible ending of Japan's isolationist policy by US Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry, the Japanese Embassy arrives in San Francisco to sign a Treaty of Friendship
Unification of Italy
1861 Italy is unified into a single kingdom under Victor Emmanuel II following the campaigns led by Giuseppe Garibaldi
- 1863 Battle of Kelly's Ford, Virginia with 211 causalities
- 1868 Postage stamp canceling machine patent issued
- 1870 Mass legislature authorizes incorporation of Wellesley Female Seminary
- 1871 National Association of Professional Base-Ball players organized
- 1876 British high jump champion Marshall Jones Brooks clears 1.83m at Oxford, England for unofficial world record; thought to be first leap over 6'
- 1876 General Crook destroy Cheyennes & Oglala-Sioux Indian camps
- 1877 Australia's English born all-rounder Billy Midwinter completes Test cricket's first 5-wicket haul, 5-78 in the first ever Test match v England in Melbourne
- 1884 John Joseph Montgomery makes 1st glider flight at Otay, California
- 1886 Carrollton Massacre (Mississippi) 20 African Americans killed
- 1891 British Steamer "Utopia" sinks off Gibraltar killing 574
- 1893 Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup (Stanley Cup): Montreal Hockey Club claim inaugural trophy after finishing top of final Amateur Hockey Association of Canada standings with a 7–1–0 record
- 1894 US & China sign treaty preventing Chinese laborers from entering US
Boxing Title Fight
1897 British boxer Bob Fitzsimmons KOs American champion 'Gentleman' Jim Corbett in the 14th round to win World Heavyweight title in Carson City, Nevada
1st Modern Submarine
1898 John Philip Holland achieves successful test run for the first modern submarine off Staten Island, submerging for 1 hour 40 minutes
- 1899 Windsor luxury hotel in NYC catches fire, 92 die
Music History
1900 American modern dancer Isadora Duncan gives her first Europen performance in London, England [1]
- 1900 In South Africa, British troops relieve Mafeking, besieged by the Boers since 13 October, 1899
Van Gogh Paintings Shown
1901 At a show in Paris, 71 Vincent van Gogh's paintings cause a sensation, 11 years after his death
- 1901 Free thinking-Democratic Union forms in Netherlands
Quantum Theory of Light
1905 Albert Einstein finishes his scientific paper detailing his Quantum Theory of Light, one of the foundations of modern physics
- 1906 Stanley Cup, Dey's Arena, Ottawa, ON: ECAHA playoff: Montreal Wanderers lose, 9-3 to Ottawa HC but win challenge series, 12-10 on aggregate
- 1906 The Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity is founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio
Boxing Title Fight
1908 Canadian champion Tommy Burns KOs Irish challenger Jem Roche in 1:28s of the 1st round at the Theatre Royal, Dublin; then quickest world heavyweight boxing title fight
Murder of Interest
1917 Albert Anastasia is convicted of murdering longshoreman George Turino
- 1917 Delta Phi Epsilon is founded at New York University Law School
- 1918 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Rosemary Beresford
Figure Skating History
1918 US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Nathaniel Niles
Soviet History
1921 Vladimir Lenin proclaims New Economic Politics
Theater Premiere
1924 Eugene O'Neill's play "Welded" premieres in NYC
- 1924 Netherlands & USSR begin talks over USSR recognition
- 1924 Sweden & USSR exchange diplomats
- 1926 Dutch Calvinists oust Rev J G Geelkerken over Genesis 3
Music Premiere
1926 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical "The Girl Friend", starring Sammy White and Eva Puck, opens at the Vanderbilt Theatre, NYC; runs for 301 performances
- 1926 Spain & Brazil prevent Germany joining League of Nations
- 1927 US government doesn't sign League of Nations disarmament treaty
- 1929 General Motors acquires German auto manufacturer Adam Opel
- 1929 Spanish dictator Primo de Rivera closes university of Madrid
- 1930 Construction begins of the Empire State Building, the world's 1st skyscraper of 100+ stories, on 5th Avenue in New York City
German History
1932 German police raid Adolf Hitler's Nazi headquarters
NHL Record
1932 Montreal Canadiens center Howie Morenz registers his 334th career point with an assist in a 10-4 win v NY Americans; passes Cy Denneny as NHL leader for career points
- 1934 England beats Scotland, 6-3 at Twickenham, London to win the Home Nations Rugby Championship and Triple Crown
- 1935 KSO-AM in Des Moines Iowa call sign is given to KWCR
Italian Air Force Bombs Barcelona
1938 The Italian Air Force, in support of Francisco Franco, bombs Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War
- 1943 Aldemarin (Ned) & Fort Cedar Lake (US) torpedoed & sinks
- 1943 F. Hugh Herbert's "Kiss & Tell" premieres in NYC
- 1943 Physician Willem J. Kolff performs the world's first 'hemodialysis' using his artificial kidney machine, however the treatment is unsuccessful and the patient dies, in the Netherlands
- 1944 Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupts after months of volcanic unrest, destroying several towns near the volcano
- 1945 Allied ships bomb North-Sumatra
Event of Interest
1947 Arnold J. Toynbee appears on the front cover of Time magazine
Event of Interest
1950 Belgian government of Gaston Eyskens resigns due to constitutional crisis
- 1950 Element 98 (Californium) announced
- 1951 Government of Drees takes power
- 1951 Test cricket debut of great English fast bowler Brian Statham, England v NZ at Christchurch; goes on to play 70 Tests, 252 wickets @ 24.84
Baseball History
1953 Bill Veeck says he will sell his 80% of St Louis Browns for $2,475M
- 1953 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1953 WBAY TV channel 2 in Green Bay, WI (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1953 WWLP TV channel 22 in Springfield, MA (NBC) begins broadcasting
Radio History
1955 After Maurice Richard is suspended for the remainder of the season, riots break out in Montreal. 37 people are injured and over 100 are arrested. The following morning, Richard goes on the radio to ask citizens to stop vandalizing the city.
Emmy Awards
1956 8th Emmy Awards: "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Phil Silvers Show". Phil Silvers & Lucille Ball win
- 1957 Dutch ban on Sunday driving lifted
Plane Crash
1957 Presidential plane crashes on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu, Philippines killing 25 including Filipino President Ramon Magsaysay
Film Release
1960 One of the first French New Wave films, "Breathless", directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg is released in France
Event of Interest
1960 US President Eisenhower forms anti-Castro-exile army under the CIA
- 1960 WSLA (now WAKA) TV channel 8 in Selma, AL (CBS) begins broadcasting
Event of Interest
1961 Jaguar head William Lyons debuts the first E-Type model at the Geneva International Motor Show, creating a sensation
- 1961 NY DA arrests professional gamblers who implicate Seton Hall players
- 1961 South Africa leaves British Commonwealth
Beatification
1963 Elizabeth Ann Seton of NY beatified (canonized in 1975)
- 1963 Eruptions of Mount Agung on Bali, kills 1,900 Balinese
- 1965 Beatles announce their second film is titled "8 Arms to Hold You" ; later changed to "Help!"
- 1966 South Africa's government bans Defense & Aid Fund
- 1966 US submarine locates missing hydrogen bomb on the Mediterranean sea floor
- 1967 British harpist Shiela Bromberg plays with string section for the Sgt. Pepper track "She's Leaving Home", becomes the first female to perform on a Beatles recording
- 1968 2-tiered gold price negotiated in Washington, D.C. by US & 6 European nations
Television Debut
1968 Bee Gees make their US TV debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" performing "To Love Somebody" and "Words"
Israeli History
1969 Golda Meir becomes Israel's 4th Prime Minister, the first and only female to hold the office
Back off Boogaloo
1972 Ringo Starr releases single "Back off Boogaloo" in the UK
British History
1973 Queen Elizabeth II opens new London Bridge
Iran Nationalizes its Oil
1973 Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and a consortium of Western firms led by British Petroleum agree to the formal nationalization of Iran's oil industry in return for an assured 20-year supply of Iranian oil
- 1973 St. Patrick's Day marchers carry 14 coffins commemorating Bloody Sunday
- 1975 Valeri Muratov skates world record 1000m (1:16.92)
- 1976 4 Catholic civilians (including 2 children) are killed and twelve wounded when the Ulster Volunteer Force explode a car bomb at Hillcrest Bar, Dungannon
- 1976 Boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter is retried in the US after being convicted of murder in 1967 (sentence is upheld but overturned 1985)
- 1976 Malikov skates world record 1000m (1:15.76)
- 1976 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1977 Australia wins cricket Centenary Test by 45 runs, same result as 1877
- 1978 Amoco Cadiz tanker spills 1.6 mil gallons of oil off French coast
- 1978 Reds don green uniforms for St Patricks Day
- 1979 Ice Dance Championship at Vienna won by N Linichuk & G Karponosov USSR
- 1979 Ice Pairs Championship at Vienna won by Tai Babilonia & R Gardner USA
- 1979 Men's Figure Skating Champ in Vienna won by Vladimir Kovalev (USSR)
- 1979 The Penmanshiel Tunnel in Berwickshire, Scotland, collapses during engineering works, killing two workers
- 1979 Wales beats England, 27-3 at the National Stadium, Cardiff for its 2nd consecutive Five Nations Rugby Championship and record 21st outright title; record 4th straight Triple Crown
- 1979 Worlds Ladies' Figure Skating Champ in Vienna won by Linda Fratianne
- 1981 FC Lisse, Dutch soccer team forms
- 1982 4 Dutch TV crew members shot dead in El Salvador
NBA History
1983 70th hat trick in Islander history-Mike Bossy
- 1984 Scotland beats France, 21-12 at Murrayfield to win the Five Nations Rugby Championship outright and Triple Crown for first time since 1938; Grand Slam first time since 1925
Sports History
1985 Matti Nykanen of Finland set a world ski jump record of 623'
Cricket History
1987 Sunil Gavaskar ends his Test career with an innings of 96 v Pak
- 1988 "Les Miserables" opens at Det Norske Teatret, Oslo
- 1988 Iran says Iraq uses poison gas
- 1988 Then highest scoring NCAA basketball game to date; Loyola-Marymont 119, Wyoming 115
- 1989 "Chu Chem" opens at Ritz Theater NYC for 44 performances
- 1989 Dorothy Cudahy is 1st female grand marshal of St. Patrick Day Parade
- 1990 PBA National Championship Won by Jim Pencak
- 1990 Scotland beats England, 13-7 at Murrayfield, Edinburgh for it's 14th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship, 3rd Grand Slam title and 10th Triple Crown
BAFTA Awards
1991 44th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs): "Goodfellas" Best Film, Martin Scorsese Best Director
- 1991 9 of 15 Soviet reps officially approve new union treaty
- 1991 Irish Lesbians & Gays march in St. Patrick's Day parade
- 1991 John Robin Baitz' "Substance of Fire" premieres in NYC
- 1991 New Jersey raises turnpike tolls 70%
- 1992 "Death & the Maiden" opens at Brooks Atkinson NYC for 159 performances
People's Choice Awards
1992 18th People's Choice Awards: Kevin Costner & Julia Roberts win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Bill Cosby & Candice Bergen win (TV)
- 1992 Islamic Jihad car bombing of Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina kills 29 [1]
- 1992 Russian manned space craft TM-14, launches into orbit
Important Vote
1992 South African President F. W. de Klerk wins a white only referendum
- 1992 South African referendum of white voters on an end to apartheid, over two-thirds vote for an end to the system
People's Choice Awards
1993 19th People's Choice Awards: Kevin Costner & Demi Moore win (Dramatic Motion Picture) and Tim Allen & Candice Bergen win (TV)
- 1993 86 killed by bomb attack in Calcutta
- 1994 "Little More Magic" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 30 performances
- 1994 Iran transport aircraft crashes in Azerbaijan (32 killed)
- 1994 It is announced there is no smoking in Cleveland Indians new ballpark
- 1995 British pound hits 2.4545 to Dutch guilder (record)
Gerry Adams at the White House
1995 Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams visits the White House in Washington, D.C.
- 1995 US approves 1st chicken pox vaccine, Varivax by Merck & Co
- 1996 "Bus Stop" closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC after 29 performances
- 1996 "Getting Away With Murder" opens at Broadhurst NYC for 17 performances
Cricket World Cup
1996 Cricket World Cup, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Pakistan: Aravinda de Silva scores 107 no and takes 3/42 as Sri Lanka beats Australia by 7 wickets; Sanath Jayasuriya, Player of Series
- 1997 CNN begin Spanish broadcasts
- 2000 The 800+ deaths of members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God is considered to be a mass murder and suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult
- 2001 OPEC decides to cut output by 4% or 1 million barrels per day, effective April 1
WrestleMania
2002 WrestleMania XVIII, Skydome, Toronto, ON (68,237): Triple H beats Chris Jericho for the undisputed WWF Heavyweight title
- 2003 British Cabinet Minister Robin Cook, resigns over government plans for the war with Iraq.
- 2004 Unrest in Kosovo results in more than 22 killed, 200 wounded, and the destruction of 35 Serb Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Belgrade and Nis.
- 2008 New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns after a scandal involving a high-end prostitute. David Paterson becomes acting New York State governor.
- 2008 The popular online game for children, Fantage, is launched
- 2012 Bolton Wanderer footballer Fabrice Muamba collapses and is rushed to hospital during a live football match against Tottenham Hotspur
- 2012 MESSENGER spacecraft begins its extended mission
- 2012 Wales beats France, 16-9 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff to wrap up the Grand Slam and win the Six Nations Rugby Championship; Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny kicks 3 penalties and a conversion
- 2013 10 people are killed by a car bombing in Basra, Iraq
- 2013 54th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Ole Miss beats Florida, 66-63
- 2013 60th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Miami beats North Carolina, 87-77
Event of Interest
2013 Pope Francis delivers his first Angelus prayer and blessing
- 2013 Toyo Ito wins the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize
Music Single
2014 Sia releases her single "Chandelier" with a music video featuring Maddie Ziegler
- 2014 The Republic of Crimea is declared
- 2016 Archaeologists announce the discovery of an 2,500 year old iron age warrior king burial ground, with 75 graves in Pocklington, Northern England
Operation Car Wash
2016 Brazilian federal judge blocks swearing-in of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as Chief of Staff to President Dilma Rousseff, as part of "Car Wash" controversy
Beauty and the Beast
2017 Live-action remake "Beauty and the Beast" directed by Bill Condon and starring Emma Watson opens
- 2018 Africa's only female head of state, Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim confirms she is resigning amid an expenses scandal
- 2018 China's National People's Congress appoints Wang Qishan as vice-president
- 2018 Ireland beats England, 24-15 at Twickenham to wrap up Six Nations Rugby Championship; 3rd Grand Slam & 11th Triple Crown
Meeting of Interest
2019 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrives in the US for face-to-face meetings with Donald Trump
