- 1075 Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Umar al-Zamakhshari, Muslim scholar of Persian origin, born in Zamakhshar, Khwarezmia (d. 1144)
- 1380 Lidwina, Dutch mystic (Christ's Bride) and saint, born in Schiedam, Netherlands (d. 1433)
- 1395 John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, English military leader (d. 1447)
- 1496 Mary Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England and queen consort of Louis XII of France (d. 1533)
- 1548 Cornelis Ketel, Dutch portrait painter/poet
- 1556 Francois-Hercule de Valois, French duke of Anjou/Brabant
- 1578 Adam Elsheimer, German painter/cartoonist/etcher, baptized
- 1590 Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (d. 1649)
- 1602 Jacques de Billy, French mathematician (d. 1679)
- 1603 Simon Bradstreet, Massachusetts Bay colonist (d. 1693)
- 1609 Frederick III, King of Denmark & Norway (1648-70); absolutist
- 1640 Philippe de la Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1719)
- 1679 Matthew Decker, English merchant and writer (d. 1759)
- 1685 Ralph Ersine, Scottish minister (d. 1752)
- 1690 Christian Goldbach, German mathematician (Goldbach position)
- 1701 Niclas Sahlgren, Swedish merchant and philanthropist (d. 1776)
- 1765 David H Chasse, Dutch baron/general (fought Napoleon at Waterloo)
- 1780 Milos Obrenovic, Leader of The Second Serbian Uprising and Prince of Serbia (d. 1860)
John C. Calhoun
1782 John C. Calhoun, Andrew Jackson's Vice President (1825-32), born in Abbeville, South Carolina (d. 1850)
John C. Calhoun
- 1813 Friedrich Hebbel, writer
- 1828 William Randal Cremer, English politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1908)
- 1829 William R Boggs, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army) and chief of engineers, born in Augusta, Georgia (d. 1911)
- 1830 Numa D Fustel de Coulanges, French historian/sociologist
Grover Cleveland
1837 Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th US President (1885-89, 1893-97), born in Caldwell, New Jersey (d. 1908)
Grover Cleveland
- 1838 Jan B Stobbaerts, Flemish painter
- 1838 Randal Cremer, Britain, trade unionist, pacifist (Nobel 1903)
- 1839 Francis Fessenden, American lawyer, politician, and Major General (Union Army), born in Portland, Maine (d. 1906)
- 1840 William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (d. 1901)
- 1842 Stéphane Mallarmé, French poet (d. 1898)
- 1843 Jules HPFX Vandenpeereboom, premier of Belgium (1899)
- 1848 Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, daughter of Queen Victoria (d. 1939)
Rudolf Diesel
1858 Rudolf Diesel, French-born German engineer (invented the diesel engine), born in Paris, France (disappeared 1913)
Rudolf Diesel
Neville Chamberlain
1869 [Arthur] Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister (C, 1937-40), born in Birmingham, England
Neville Chamberlain
Cluny MacPherson
1879 Cluny MacPherson, Canadian doctor and inventor of the gas mask, born in St. John's, Newfoundland (d. 1966)
Cluny MacPherson
- 1884 Bernard Cronin, Australian author and journalist (d. 1968)
- 1886 Kurt Koffka, German Gestalt psychologist
- 1886 Marianne [Goudeket-]Philips, Dutch author (Between Heaven & Earth)
- 1888 Joseph Csaky, Hungarian/French sculptor
- 1889 F Rijkens, oldest living person in Netherlands
- 1890 Gerardus van der Leeuw, Dutch religion historian/minister of Education
- 1892 Robert P Tristram Coffin, poet/reporter (WWII)
- 1893 Wilfred Owen, England, anti-war poet (Anthem for Doomed Youth)
- 1898 Jake Swirbul, American aircraft manufacturer (d. 1960)
- 1899 Lavrenti Beria, chief of Soviet secret police under Stalin
- 1901 William H. Johnson, African-American artist of the Harlem Renaissance (d. 1970)
- 1904 Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (d. 1926)
- 1905 Mollie Parnis, American fashion designer (Mollie Roberts Collection), born in NYC, New York
- 1905 Thomas Townsend Brown, American scientist (d. 1985)
- 1906 Roy L Johnson, US admiral (WW II-Pacific Ocean)
- 1909 Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (d. 2007)
- 1910 Chiang Ching-huo, son of Chinese president Chiang Kai-shek/President (1978-88)
- 1911 Smiley Burnette, Summum Ill, cowboy (Charlie-Petticoat Junction)
- 1913 Margaret Hesse, princess of Hesse/Rhine
- 1913 William Hutchinson Murray, mountaineer/author
- 1913 Reinhard Hardegen, German U-Boat commander
- 1914 James Pack, naval officer museum curator
- 1915 Richard Thomas Condon, author
- 1918 Yevgeny Pepelyaev, Bodaybo, Irkutsk, Soviet Union, fighter pilot, (d. 2013)
- 1920 Eric Halsall, sheepdog trial commentator
- 1922 Egon Bahr, German journalist/politician, born in Treffurt, Thuringia (d. 2015)
Fred Shuttlesworth
1922 Fred Shuttlesworth, American civil rights activist, born in Mount Meigs, Alabama (d. 2011)
Fred Shuttlesworth
- 1925 James Pickles, English judge and columnist, born in Halifax, West Yorkshire (d. 2010)
- 1927 Lillian Vernon, founder and CEO of the Lillian Vernon Corporation (first company listed on US stock exchange started by a woman), born in Leipzig, Germany (d. 2015)
- 1928 Fidel V Ramos, pres (Phillipines)
- 1928 Julia Mullock, Princess of Korea
- 1929 Christa Wolf, German novelist (Divided Heaven)
- 1929 John Macurdy, American bass
- 1931 Howard Coble, American politician (Rep-R-NC, 1985-2015), born in Greensboro, North Carolina (d. 2015)
F. W. de Klerk
1932 F. W. de Klerk, South African President (1989-94), winner of 1993 Nobel Peace Price with Nelson Mandela, born in Johannesburg, Transvaal Province
F. W. de Klerk
- 1932 John Updike, Shillington Pa, poet/novelist (Rabbit Run)
- 1933 Unita Blackwell, 1st African American mayor in Mississippi
- 1935 Ole Barndorff-Nielsen, Danish mathematician
- 1936 Hans Peter Bleuel, writer
- 1938 Kenny Lynch, British entertainer, born in London
- 1941 Wolfgang Bauer, writer
- 1941 John W. Derr, American politician
- 1944 Dick Smith, Australian Adventurer and Businessman
- 1944 Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Israeli military leader and politician, (d. 2012)
- 1945 Hiroh Kikai, Japanese photographer
- 1946 Michael Reagan, talk show host, and son of Ronald and Nancy Reagan
- 1947 Steven H Schiff, (Rep-R-New Mexico)
- 1947 Roger Kenneth Evans, English politician
- 1948 Lockwood Phillips, American radio host
- 1950 Richard Kretchmer, English artist and historian
- 1951 Ben Cohen, American co-founder of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, born in Brooklyn, New York
- 1953 Helmer C Koetje, Dutch 2nd chamber member (CDA)
- 1953 Margaret L Augustine, project manager (Biosphere 2), born in Buffalo, New York
- 1954 James F Reilly II, Mt Home AFB Idaho, PhD/astronaut (STS 89, sk:100)
- 1955 Francis Slay, American politician, Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri (2001-17), born in St. Louis, Missouri
- 1956 Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American escort owner, born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania (d. 2008)
- 1957 Christer Fuglesang, physicist/astronaut (Mir backup), born in Stockholm, Sweden
- 1959 Luc Besson, French producer, writer, and director
- 1961 Mark Van Thillo, Wilrijk Belgium, co-capt (Biosphere 2)
- 1966 Daniel S. Nevins, American rabbi
- 1966 Peter Jones, British entrepreneur and businessman (Dragons' Den, American Inventor), born in Maidenhead, Berkshire
- 1967 Ken Edenfield, American basenall player
- 1968 Eudes, duc d'Angoulême, French prince
- 1968 Paul Marsden, British politician
- 1972 Nathan Quarry, American mixed martial arts fighter
- 1972 Reince Priebus [Rheinhold Priebus], American lawyer and political opertative (Trump Chief of Staff (Jan-Jul 2017), born in Dover, New Jersey
- 1973 Max Barry, Australian author
March in History
Nat King Cole's Struggle With Racism
Sure, he had unique talent and a golden voice, but as Nat King Cole, born on this day, was to discover, that wasn't enough for American racists.
March 17, 1917
The First People To Hop On A Bus
It was an idea probably two centuries years ahead of its time, but public buses first took to the streets of Paris on this day in history.
March 18, 1662
Dr Livingstone, I Presume?
Explorer David Livingstone, born on this day, spawned one of the most famous encounters when he was found in Africa by journalist Henry Stanley.
March 19, 1813
A First Lady Goes Shoplifting
While former Panama military dictator Manuel Noriega was awaiting his fate on racketeering charges, his wife Felicidad was having her own run-in with the law.
March 20, 1992