On This Day in History for March 17
Events in History
- 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 Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius dies leaving his son Commodus aged 18 as sole emperor
- 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)
- 455 Roman senator Petronius Maximus proclaimed Emperor
- 1190 Crusades complete massacre of Jews of York England
- 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
- 1521 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan reaches the Philippines
- More Events in History
James IV
Gottlieb Daimler
Eisaku Satō
Bayard Rustin
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
John Wayne GacyWeddings in History
- 1905 Eleanor Roosevelt (20) marries Franklin D. Roosevelt (23) later 32nd US President in New York, & given away by her uncle, 26th President Theodore Roosevelt
- 1967 "The Color Purple" novelist Alice Walker (23) weds civil rights lawyer Melvyn Leventhal (23) in New York City; divorce in 1976
- 2006 Publicist Lizzie Grubman (35) weds Chris Stern in New York
More Weddings in History
Marcus Aurelius
Ibn Khaldūn
Christian Doppler
Irene Joliot-Curie
Ramon MagsaysayMarch in History
My Lai: America's Village of Shame
American soldiers fighting in Vietnam entered the village of My Lai on this day. What followed was a massacre of civilians that shames US military history.
March 16, 1968
Snakes Alive! It's St Patrick's Day
Today is St Patrick’s Day – an event celebrated not just in Ireland but across the world, particularly in the United States with its large Irish communities.
March 17, 1776
Italian Air Force Bombs Barcelona
The Italian Air Force conducts a bombing campaign in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War
March 17, 1938
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